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Athena's Reading List 2017


Athena

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Glad to hear you liked the film ok enough. I'll be watching it at some point, I already own it (my sister borrowed it from me actually), but I'll probably read some more of the books first. I looked up Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Valentine, and he doesn't look like how I imagine Valentine in my head based on reading the book.

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I have read both Cassandra Clare series and enjoyed them. The Infernal Devices is probably best read before the Mortal Instruments, but it's not essential. I saw the film, but didn't like all the changes they made, although it looked good.  :smile:

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I read Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - The Illuminae Files 2: Gemina. This is book 2 in a trilogy (I believe). I read the first book last year in August. I was excited to read the second book but I waited until I really felt in the mood for it. Last Monday I found myself really in the mood for it, so I started to read Gemina. The books are unique in that the story is told through chatlogs, video footage analyses, diary entries, things like that. The pages generally look pretty interesting, and the sections aren't too long which I liked. In the first book it took me a bit of time to get into it because I wasn't used to the way it was told. It was easier to get into book 2, I knew more about what to expect. The story contained several good plot twists (like, I couldn't believe some of them at first!). I wanted to keep on reading the book, it was suspenseful. There was quite a bit of action and I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen to the characters. I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved it. I'm eager to read the third book in this series, though I don't know anything about a release date yet (nor a title) so it might take a while. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading Gemina (it'll be one of the favourites of the month in my monthly summary).

 

This Trilogy sounds interesting. I may put it in my TBR  mind. :)  I am still waiting for the 3rd book of the Mistborn Trilogy, but should get it soon.

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I have read both Cassandra Clare series and enjoyed them. The Infernal Devices is probably best read before the Mortal Instruments, but it's not essential. I saw the film, but didn't like all the changes they made, although it looked good.  :smile:

 

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed both series :).

 

This Trilogy sounds interesting. I may put it in my TBR  mind. :)  I am still waiting for the 3rd book of the Mistborn Trilogy, but should get it soon.

If you do read it, I hope you enjoy it :). I hope you'll get The Hero of Ages soon and that you enjoy it :). I thought it wrapped up the trilogy nicely for the most part. I look forward to hear / read your thoughts.

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January 2017 Summary

 

Books read: 11

Pages read: 4462

 

Most impressive / Favourite(s) of the month:

Diane Chamberlain - Keeper of the Light / Kiss River 1: Keeper of the Light

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - The Illuminae Files 2: Gemina

A. S. King - Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

Nicola Yoon - The Sun Is Also A Star

Blake Charlton - Spellwright 1: Spellwright

Blake Charlton - Spellwright 2: Spellbound

 

Slightly less my favourites but still really good, this month:

Herbert Blankesteijn - NL Digitaal

David Levithan - The Lover's Dictionary

David Baddiel - The Person Controller

Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn 4: Wax and Wayne 0: The Alloy of Law

Cassandra Clare - The Mortal Instruments 1: City of Bones

 

Biggest disappointment(s) / Least favourite(s) of the month:

Blake Charlton - Spellwright 3: Spellbreaker (abandoned around 25%)

 

Shortest books read this month:

David Levithan - The Lover's Dictionary (215 pages)

 

Longest books read this month:

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - The Illuminae Files 2: Gemina (659 pages)

 

Other notes:

I almost forgot to post the monthly summary!

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I read Chérie Carter-Scott - If Life is a Game, These are the Rules. Someone recommended this book to me, so I decided to read it. I think it's a great book for people who believe similarly as the author. I however, am not sure what I believe, and found myself not always agreeing with what the author wrote about. The first half of the book contained wisdom that seemed pretty wise to me, but particularly in the last half I often didn't quite agree with the author. I don't know if I believe that everything happens for a reason and that it's all part of some higher power's plan. I used to think so many years ago, but then certain things happened and since then I'm not sure anymore if I believe that. I feel that there is a random element involved, kind of a mixture between 'meant to be', and 'randomness'.

 

Anyway, the author believes everything happens for a reason as part of the higher power's plan, and based upon those beliefs the rules and wisdom in the book makes sense. But since I'm not sure if I believe what the author believes, the book didn't totally work for me. Anyway, it's not my intent to discuss my beliefs here, I'm just posting some thoughts about the book, though it's not quite possible to do so without mentioning spirituality.

 

Another problem I often have with books like these, is while I find them interesting, I sometimes have trouble translating such lessons to my own life. The book mentions examples and those are helpful, but it's not always enough for me. I guess that's where a therapist or coach or whatever comes in (I have a therapist.). I find it hard to take the generalised ideas and convert them into concrete, practical things. This is a problem with myself (my autism makes it so), not with this book. It's a problem more with the genre or type of book, rather than the book itself.

 

I gave the book 4 stars on GoodReads (it would be 3.5 stars but GoodReads doesn't do half stars). That's not reflective of my 'enjoyment' of the book or its usefulness to me, but more that I think that if you do believe what the author believes, then I think it's a good book (and many people do believe what the author believes), and I can certainly see it being useful for other people. It's nicely written, I liked the personal examples the author mentions and the lessons in there make sense to me if one has the 'everything happens for a reason as part of a plan' belief. It just didn't totally work for me, because I don't believe the same things the author believes.

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I tried The Illuminae tonight but just couldn't get into it so I gave it up. I just couldn't adapt to the way the story was told.

That's a shame. I like the format, but I agree that it's not everyone's "cup of tea". Sorry you didn't get on with it.

 

I hope your next read will be more enjoyable :).

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I read Victoria Farkas - Dik in mijn Hoofd. After reading quite a few English books this year, I felt in the mood to read something in Dutch (and preferably from a Dutch author). Hence I decided to read this YA book, in Dutch by a Dutch author. It's hard to explain to anyone who reads books only in one language (on this forum, presumably English), but I just felt the need to read something in Dutch. Anyway, this book is about a girl in high school who is struggling with self esteem issues and chaos in her head. I quite enjoyed reading this book.

 

Next I read Diane Chamberlain - Keeper Of The Light / Kiss River 2: Kiss River. I finally felt in the mood to continue the series. Though I should point out you could read this book while not having read Keeper Of The Light (book 1), I wouldn't recommend it because you'd be missing out on the history of the characters. Things are briefly explained throughout the story, but you'll get more out of the book if you read Keeper Of The Light first. The trilogy ends with Her Mother's Shadow, which I plan to read in a while. On to book 2, Kiss River. The book introduces a new character, but we also see some of the old characters. I have to admit in the beginning that I was reading this book, I was enjoying it but I was thinking it wasn't as good as Keeper Of The Light (book 1). I enjoyed the second half of the story more than the first half, I felt it took a bit of time before we got to know certain things about the characters. Some great plot twists happened in the second half, that I really liked and didn't see coming. I did guess one plot twist, but then - but I can't tell you because of spoilers. Anyway, the second half of the book definitely increased my enjoyment of it and increased its rating if I were to still give one (that said, GoodReads 4 stars; my rating would be 9 / 10 if I was pressed and had to come up with it right this second). I still prefer book 1 (Keeper Of The Light), but I enjoyed book 2 (Kiss River) as well.

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when did you last read a CRH book? I haven't seen her mentioned recently. :)

 

The last time I read a CRH book was near the end of December 2016, it was When You Were Older by CRH (review linked) :). Before that, it was February 2016, when I read When I Found You (review linked).

 

I really enjoy the way you structure your reviews, Gaia. You give The how and why of your thought processes. That's neat. :D

Thanks Kate :D.

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The last time I read a CRH book was near the end of December 2016, it was When You Were Older by CRH (review linked) :). Before that, it was February 2016, when I read When I Found You (review linked).

 

 

Thanks Kate :D.

Ah, after reading your review Irealize that I previously read that book. Agree that it was a nice read but far from one of her better books.

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Ah, after reading your review Irealize that I previously read that book. Agree that it was a nice read but far from one of her better books.

Nice to know we agree :).

 

I read Sofie van Gelder - Het Meisje In Mijn Hoofd, a book written by a Belgian author. I was going through some books and suddenly found myself wanting to read this. It's about a girl in high school who is being bullied, and her mental health issues. It seemed nice to compare this book to a Dutch book I recently read (Victoria Farkas - Dik In Mijn Hoofd). I thought that one was better than this one. Of course, this one has less pages and a much bigger font so it might be a bit harder to compare, I felt the other book went into more depth. What I liked about this book was the portrayal of the voice in the girl's head. I thought this book did that well. I also liked the portrayal of the psychiatric place the girl goes to - the other book didn't portray that as much. I thought the friendships were portrayed better in the other book, they seemed more realistic somehow and were more indepth than the ones in this book. They are both different books though and I'm glad I read both, I enjoyed both.

 

Anyway, back to the book. It was also interesting seeing the names in this book, since it's written by someone who lives in Belgium, the names are more Belgian / Flemish compared with the Dutch names I see in books written by Dutch authors. I realise this might not mean much to someone who reads only English but maybe some names are more prevalent in ie. England vs. US or vs. Australia or something like that? I personally find it hard to distinguish between American and English and Australian names, to me a lot of them are similar (ie. I feel both countries have people named certain names, James, Peter, Stephen to name some common names. One might have originated in one country but then spread to another), but maybe when you live in one of the countries you have a better feel for these things.

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Curious, have you read Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson?

No, not yet. I do own it and wanted to wait until the last book in the trilogy (Calamity) was out in paperback. That's the case now since January (and so I own the whole trilogy), but I haven't yet felt in the mood for it yet. I did recently read The Alloy of Law, and I don't want to read too many books by the same author in one go (unless maybe if it's a duology or trilogy), because then I might get author burnout, tired of the same writing style and such. I do plan on reading the trilogy some time :). How are you liking Steelheart so far?

 

I have :) I liked it, but liked the second one less and didn't read the third!

I would recommend you other books by Brandon Sanderson, but you don't like fantasy.

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I have :) I liked it, but liked the second one less and didn't read the third!

I really like Steelheart. All of the characters were interesting and I came to really like Megan.

 

I was devastated when Megan was killed and really felt sorry for David. How was I to know that she would come back to life. :)

 

 

 

No, not yet. I do own it and wanted to wait until the last book in the trilogy (Calamity) was out in paperback. That's the case now since January (and so I own the whole trilogy), but I haven't yet felt in the mood for it yet. I did recently read The Alloy of Law, and I don't want to read too many books by the same author in one go (unless maybe if it's a duology or trilogy), because then I might get author burnout, tired of the same writing style and such. I do plan on reading the trilogy some time :). How are you liking Steelheart so far?

 

 

I would recommend you other books by Brandon Sanderson, but you don't like fantasy.

 

Don't read the spoiler that I posted for Anna. :)

 

I am pretty sure you will like Steelheart. I finished it and immediately downloaded the 2nd book in the Trilogy. :)

Edited by muggle not
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I am pretty sure you will like Steelheart. I finished it and immediately downloaded the 2nd book in the Trilogy. :)

Thanks, I think I will too, I've liked lots of other books by Brandon Sanderson. I hope you enjoy the 2nd book as well :).

 

I read Cassandra Clare - The Mortal Instruments 2: City of Ashes. It took me two days to read the first half of this book, and one day to read the second half. I quite enjoyed reading this book. There were some unexpected plot twists and I quite like most of the characters. The ending had a bit of a cliffhanger, that was less nice but on the other hand, I can see that this is a good place to end the book, and I was like :o. I'm looking forward to read book 3 in the series. I think that'll be in about a month or so, as I'm planning to go to the library next week and loan some books from there. So far I'm really enjoying this series. If I read one every month I should be finished with all the Shadowhunters books I own, before the end of the year.

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Thanks, I think I will too, I've liked lots of other books by Brandon Sanderson. I hope you enjoy the 2nd book as well :).

 

I read Cassandra Clare - The Mortal Instruments 2: City of Ashes. It took me two days to read the first half of this book, and one day to read the second half. I quite enjoyed reading this book. There were some unexpected plot twists and I quite like most of the characters. The ending had a bit of a cliffhanger, that was less nice but on the other hand, I can see that this is a good place to end the book, and I was like :o. I'm looking forward to read book 3 in the series. I think that'll be in about a month or so, as I'm planning to go to the library next week and loan some books from there. So far I'm really enjoying this series. If I read one every month I should be finished with all the Shadowhunters books I own, before the end of the year.

 

Ooh , glad that Book 2 is good. I`m just finishing off Jim Butcher`s Skin Game, and I want to finish off Mortal Instruments 1 this month. :)

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Dawn Study (Chronicles of Ixia 9; Study 6; Soulfinder 3) was just published and in preparation for reading the three Soulfinders books, I've decided to re-read the earlier books in the Chronicles of Ixia series, starting with Maria V. Snyder - Chronicles of Ixia 1: Study 1: Poison Study. I read this book I think about 8 years ago. I've read Chronicles of Ixia 1 - 6, so the first 3 Study books (Poison Study, Magic Study, Fire Study) and the Glass books (Storm Glass, Sea Glass, Spy Glass). On the 12th I read about 25 pages in Poison Study. On the 13th I read from page 25 to page 85. I read the rest of the book on the 14th (yesterday). The book has 409 pages, so I read over 300 pages yesterday. The book was just so good, I didn't want to stop reading! It reads pretty fast too. The chapters are a nice length, not too long but more on the shorter side. I loved re-reading this story. I really liked the characters. I could remember some of the twists, but there were a lot of details I'd forgot since 8 years ago and it was great to re-find these during re-reading. This is a YA fantasy book, published in 2005, before YA fantasy was really popular (in fact, I wasn't aware that it was YA fantasy at the time).

 

Then I re-read Maria V. Snyder - Chronicles of Ixia 1: Study 1: Poison Study Chapter One Valek's POV from the author's website (click Books, but don't read the blurbs / synopses of the later books in the series or things may be spoiled). This is chapter one of Poison Study written from Valek's point of view. It's only a few pages long. I had read this chapter before some time ago, and it was nice to re-read it.

 

Lastly I read Maria V. Snyder - Chronicles of Ixia 1.5: Study 1.5: Assassin Study, also available for free from the author's website. I love that the early short stories are available for free to read on her website. Other authors might have charged you money for it. The novella Shattered Glass does cost money, it's longer, and I bought it (to be read after Night Study according to the author's website). Anyway, I don't think I'd read Assassin Study before, it was an enjoyable read. It takes place after Poison Study.

 

I've been tempted to continue on with the series but I don't want to get author burnout and I'm going to the library in a little while so I want to not be in the middle of a book then. My next read will have to be something short - but I've not yet been in the mood to read. Poison Study's story and characters are still in my head. Maybe tomorrow :).

 

(Due to technical difficulties of my own fault I was unable to access the forum the past couple of days. I missed you all :friends0:).

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Dawn Study (Chronicles of Ixia 9; Study 6; Soulfinder 3) was just published and in preparation for reading the three Soulfinders books, I've decided to re-read the earlier books in the Chronicles of Ixia series, starting with Maria V. Snyder - Chronicles of Ixia 1: Study 1: Poison Study. I read this book I think about 8 years ago. I've read Chronicles of Ixia 1 - 6, so the first 3 Study books (Poison Study, Magic Study, Fire Study) and the Glass books (Storm Glass, Sea Glass, Spy Glass). On the 12th I read about 25 pages in Poison Study. On the 13th I read from page 25 to page 85. I read the rest of the book on the 14th (yesterday). The book has 409 pages, so I read over 300 pages yesterday. The book was just so good, I didn't want to stop reading! It reads pretty fast too. The chapters are a nice length, not too long but more on the shorter side. I loved re-reading this story. I really liked the characters. I could remember some of the twists, but there were a lot of details I'd forgot since 8 years ago and it was great to re-find these during re-reading. This is a YA fantasy book, published in 2005, before YA fantasy was really popular (in fact, I wasn't aware that it was YA fantasy at the time).

 

Then I re-read Maria V. Snyder - Chronicles of Ixia 1: Study 1: Poison Study Chapter One Valek's POV from the author's website (click Books, but don't read the blurbs / synopses of the later books in the series or things may be spoiled). This is chapter one of Poison Study written from Valek's point of view. It's only a few pages long. I had read this chapter before some time ago, and it was nice to re-read it.

 

Lastly I read Maria V. Snyder - Chronicles of Ixia 1.5: Study 1.5: Assassin Study, also available for free from the author's website. I love that the early short stories are available for free to read on her website. Other authors might have charged you money for it. The novella Shattered Glass does cost money, it's longer, and I bought it (to be read after Night Study according to the author's website). Anyway, I don't think I'd read Assassin Study before, it was an enjoyable read. It takes place after Poison Study.

 

I've been tempted to continue on with the series but I don't want to get author burnout and I'm going to the library in a little while so I want to not be in the middle of a book then. My next read will have to be something short - but I've not yet been in the mood to read. Poison Study's story and characters are still in my head. Maybe tomorrow :).

 

(Due to technical difficulties of my own fault I was unable to access the forum the past couple of days. I missed you all :friends0:).

 

Glad you`re back and it`s all fixed.  :friends3:

 

That`s so nice when authors have freebies of their work ; it makes me go off and spend money on their books to say `thank you`. Er, provided I like their work. ;)

 

Have fun at the library !  :D  BTW, it`s halfway through Feb and I haven`t bought a single book. Go me.  :giggle2:

 

EDIT - Just looked at What`s up in Feb and I see that Boris has been poorly - hope he`s hale and healthy soon. :)

Edited by Little Pixie
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Glad you`re back and it`s all fixed.  :friends3:

Thanks :friends3:!

 

That`s so nice when authors have freebies of their work ; it makes me go off and spend money on their books to say `thank you`. Er, provided I like their work. ;)

I agree :).

 

Have fun at the library ! :D BTW, it`s halfway through Feb and I haven`t bought a single book. Go me. :giggle2:

Thanks :D. Wow, well done!!

 

EDIT - Just looked at What`s up in Feb and I see that Boris has been poorly - hope he`s hale and healthy soon. :)

Thanks, he should be feeling better in a few days :). I hope so.

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I read Brian Selznick - De Wonderlingen (The Marvels). I liked this book, but not as much as the author's previous two books I've read (which are De Uitvinding van Hugo Cabret (The Invention of Hugo Cabret) and Het Wonder Kabinet (Wonderstruck)). The first part of the book is solely told through illustrations (more than the first half of the book), then there was a lot of text, and then a few illustrations again and a bit of text (mostly the author's acknowledgements and such). In the other two books I felt the use of illustrations (pagewide) and text was more mixed and I preferred this. The book is about two storylines, one that starts in 1766 and one in 1990. The first storyline is about a boy whose ship sunk, he becomes the head of a famous family full of actors. The second storyline is about Joseph, he runs away from his boarding school and ends up in the house of his strange uncle.

 

The illustrations were beautiful and I enjoyed looking at them. I liked the story but didn't feel connected to it in the beginning (both in the beginning of the first and in the beginning of the second storyline). The last part of the book though managed to surprise me, the story took some turns I wasn't expecting. Overall I'm glad I read the book. It was a good read, even if it, for me, didn't quite live up to how much I liked the previous two works of the author.

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