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Athena's Reading List 2017


Athena

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On 10/14/2017 at 7:54 PM, Alexander the Great said:

Reading your recent reads really is a throwback to my childhood days at the library! I think you can say Carry Slee was/is the Dutch equivalent for Dirk Bracke. I loved the R.L. Stine books as well. 

 

That sounds like an excellent description of what I know of Carry Slee and Dirk Bracke! I shall look for his books the next time I'm loaning books at the library. Nice to hear that you liked the R. L. Stine books too :).

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I'm back from my holidays :). During my holidays and just after I got back, I read the following books (and abandoned one of them). I have to say, it's hard writing reviews when it's been a little while since I read some of the books :doh:! So some of the reviews are a bit shorter than normal, because I can't always remember why I liked something less or more. 

 

Guinevere de la Mare, Maura Kelly, Ann Patchett, Gretchen Rubin - I'd Rather Be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers
I enjoyed reading this collection of four essays and bookish quotes and nice illustrations, but I was expecting a bit more from it. The book is relatively short, 96 pages, and it was expensive vs. how long it took me to read it and how short it was. While I did like most of the illustrations and some of the essays, I don't know, I was just expecting more.

 

Amanda Craig - The Other Side of You (abandoned on page 12 out of 101, ~12%)
I abandoned this book. I couldn't get into it at all.

 

A. S. King - Still Life With Tornado
The newest book by A. S. King, whom I really like (I waited for the paperback, which was released last August). This is a story about a teenage girl, art, and family life. She starts to meet past and future versions of herself. I enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't one of her best, there are others I liked more, but I did enjoy reading this book. I didn't understand the main character during a few bits of the story, but the book was a quick read and I haven't read a lot of books like this (with the time travel and the art element) so that was nice.

 

Angie McDonell, Alison Stokes - Gun Shy: The True Story of the Army Dog Scared of War
This is a true story of a reserve medic and an army dog. I liked reading it. Because dogs <3.

 

Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang - In Real Life
This is a graphic novel, I enjoyed reading it. I really liked the art style and colours. It has a nice message too.

 

Ichigo Takano - Orange 1 (1-3): Orange The Complete Collection 1
Ichigo Takano - Orange 2 (4-5) + Bonus Story: Orange The Complete Collection 2
This is a manga series. Naho, the main character, receives a letter from 10 years into the future, warning her to keep an eye on the new transfer student Kakeru, saying only she can save him. I enjoyed reading Orange, it was very good. The only thing I liked less was that the ending felt a bit quick and I didn't like the bonus story as much as the Orange novels. But Orange itself was very good, I really liked it.

 

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On 10/24/2017 at 6:33 PM, Little Pixie said:

I`d completely forgotten about Orange ; glad it was a goodie. :) I just looked it up, and therer`s a sort-of sequel ? :D

 

Oooh I didn't know about that, thanks :D. One for the wishlist :)!

 

On 10/26/2017 at 12:27 AM, Anna Begins said:

I always assumed A.S. King was a man :rolleyes: I'm glad it was good, I know you waited for it :)

 

No, she's a woman :). I don't know what the "A. S." stands for though. Thanks :).

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15 hours ago, Athena said:

 

Oooh I didn't know about that, thanks :D. One for the wishlist :)!

 

 

No, she's a woman :). I don't know what the "A. S." stands for though. Thanks :).

It's so refreshing to read a woman author in that genre. You always read such a variety of authors and genres :)

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13 hours ago, frankie said:

Hi Athena! I'm dying of curiosity: did you get any bookish pressies for your Birthday? Or any related pressies? I hope you had a lovely Birthday :smile2:

 

Thanks, I did :smile2:!

 

I've yet to celebrate my birthday with my extended family, that will happen next Sunday (5 November). But I did get presents from my parents, from Michael and one from my sister (she'll be giving me more presents next weekend) :). Michael gave me the Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie :D.  I also got some books from Michael and my parents, that I had bought for myself for them to give to me (including the newest Death in Paradise book that I'm currently reading). My sister has been going to the charity shop nearby her (on several occasions) and bought me some fantasy books there (after asking me if I wanted them) and she gave me one book already when she passed by here.

 

Here's the list so far:

 

From my boyfriend:

Ann Leckie - Imperial Radch 1: Ancillary Justice
Ann Leckie - Imperial Radch 2: Ancillary Sword
Ann Leckie - Imperial Radch 3: Ancillary Mercy
Robert Thorogood - Death in Paradise 3: Death Knocks Twice
Brandon Sanderson, Rik Hoskin, Julius Gopez, Ross A. Campbell, Marshall Dillon, Rich Young, Cassandra James, Jason Ullmeyer - White Sand 1: White Sand

 

Inge & Maarten:

Richard Denney - Ghost Talker Files 1: The Library of Souls
Andy Griffiths, Terry Denton - Treehouse 7: The 91-Storey Treehouse
Jeff Kinney - Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary 2: The Next Chapter: The Making of The Long Haul
N. K. Jemisin - The Broken Earth 1: The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin - The Broken Earth 2: The Obelisk Gate
N. K. Jemisin - The Broken Earth 3: The Stone Sky
Brandon Sanderson - Arcanum Unbounded
Claudie Arseneault - Isandor / City of Spires 1: City of Strife

Stephanie Bond - Coma Girl

 

My sister:

Juliet Marillier - De Saga van de Eilanden van het Licht 1: Drager van de wolvenvacht (Saga of the Light Isles 1: Wolfskin)

 

NewBooks_2017-10-25_BirthdayGifts_Spines1_025.jpg

 

NewBooks_2017-10-25_BirthdayGifts_Spines2_025.jpg

 

I got a few other presents too, including a new tablecloth (as you may be able to tell from the pictures) :).

 

EDIT: But it's true I haven't been posting about my acquired books for a while. I've been buying a lot of books and started to feel uncomfortable to post about them, being worried about what people would think of my ever-growing TBR and such.

 

Edited by Athena
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Never worry about what people thinking of your ever-growing TBR. I think most of us have that problem. Personally, I love to see what new books other people are getting!

 

It's so great that everybody gives you books! My family usually reckons I have enough books as it is, or they give me a gift card, which I don't like very much :( 

 

I also like that your sister asks if you want them first, before buying them :) 

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The table cloth looks really beautiful! I love the colors :smile2:

 

I knew you must have gotten books as presents and I wondered why you hadn't posted a list of them! Like Alexander said, you shouldn't worry about what people think of your TBR list. I'm sure most of us are just like you :D We all know just how exciting it is to get new books! Besides, you read a lot of books per year, which means that you're reading so and so many books off your TBR per year already! If anyone 'deserves' more books for the TBR on here it's you :D And we all like to see which books people have been acquiring! :smile2:

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20 hours ago, Alexander the Great said:

Never worry about what people thinking of your ever-growing TBR. I think most of us have that problem. Personally, I love to see what new books other people are getting!

 

It's so great that everybody gives you books! My family usually reckons I have enough books as it is, or they give me a gift card, which I don't like very much :( 

 

I also like that your sister asks if you want them first, before buying them :) 

 

Thanks, Alexander :D!

 

Sorry to hear your family thinks you have enough books as it is :(. Some in mine think so too (about my books). I personally rather have actual money than a giftcard, as a giftcard has limited use in only certain places.

 

I have so many books already, people have to ask me about it or I might end up with double copies (that's happened in the past). In the case of my boyfriend, he checked my GoodReads, but my sister doesn't even know GoodReads, I think, so she prefers to ask me about it instead :). And I don't mind knowing, so :).

 

18 hours ago, frankie said:

The table cloth looks really beautiful! I love the colors :smile2:

 

I knew you must have gotten books as presents and I wondered why you hadn't posted a list of them! Like Alexander said, you shouldn't worry about what people think of your TBR list. I'm sure most of us are just like you :D We all know just how exciting it is to get new books! Besides, you read a lot of books per year, which means that you're reading so and so many books off your TBR per year already! If anyone 'deserves' more books for the TBR on here it's you :D And we all like to see which books people have been acquiring! :smile2:

 

Thanks :smile2:.

 

Thanks, Frankie :D!

 

7 hours ago, Little Pixie said:

The books look great ! I especially like the look of the NK Jemisin books. And, what a pretty tablecloth. :D

 

To echo the comments, don't worry about your TBR. I think everyone else has their own to worry about, anyway. ;)

 

Thanks, Sarah :D!

 

I hope no one minds that I add a short review to this post..

 

I read Robert Thorogood - Death in Paradise 3: Death Knocks Twice and I really liked it :). There was something I liked less, but it was pretty minor and also it's spoilery so I won't post about it. I liked the book a lot though. I like the characters of the police team and I enjoyed the case and the plot twists and finding out more.

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7 hours ago, Little Pixie said:

Ooh, I'm glad that the third Death in Paradise book sounds so good. It'll be January before I get to it, cos I'll be concentrating on reading from Kindle Unlimited, but I shall look forward to a discussion. :)

 

That makes sense, that you want to concentrate on reading the Kindle Unlimited books :). I look forward to a discussion too :)!

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1 hour ago, Lau_Lou said:

Happy birthday for the other day! 

I hope you had a wonderful day :)

 

Thanks Lau Lou :). I had a great day! I'll be celebrating with most of my family next weekend, but on my actual birthday we had a little celebration with my mum :).

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I read Richard Denney - Ghost Talker Files 1: The Library of Souls. I follow Richard's YouTube channel (RichardMediaGeek), where he makes videos about books among other things (ie. movies). Anyway, so when his book came out (self-published) naturally I had to have it (it was a birthday gift). The Library of Souls (not to be confused with the Ransom Riggs book) is a middle-grade (children's) horror book about ghosts at a library. The main character Simon can see and talk with ghosts, and has to vanquish the ghosts at the library. The book has creepy pictures in it, which add to the atmosphere of the story. I also liked the parts where the author talked about the books in the library and described what it looked like. I quite liked this book. I read it on Halloween (yesterday), which seemed appropriate. The darkness outside added to the creepy-ness in the book.  Anyway, I quite liked the book. It has a couple of spelling mistakes, but just a few. I liked the characters, the plot twists and story, the writing style, the references, and the creepyness of the book. Overall I enjoyed it a lot (4.5 stars).

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October 2017 Summary

Books read: 15
Pages read: 3378

Genres:
Fantasy: 1
Science-fiction: 2
Contemporary Fiction: 8
Rom-com: 0
Historical Fiction: 0
Literature: 1
Detective / Mystery: 1
Thriller: 1
Horror: 2
Paranormal: 0
Biography: 2
Information: 1
'Disney': 0

Age Ranges:
Infants: 0 book(s)
Children: 2 book(s)
Young-Adult: 8 book(s)
Adult: 5 book(s)

TBR vs. R:
Re-reads: 1 book(s)
New Reads: 13 book(s)
Combination: 0 book(s)

Most impressive / Favourite(s) of the month:
Robert Thorogood - Death in Paradise 3: Death Knocks Twice
Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang - In Real Life
Ichigo Takano - Orange 1 (1-3): Orange The Complete Collection 1
Richard Denney - Ghost Talker Files 1: The Library of Souls

Pretty enjoyable:
Ichigo Takano - Orange 2 (4-5) + Bonus Story: Orange The Complete Collection 2
A. S. King - Still Life With Tornado
Angie McDonell, Alison Stokes - Gun Shy: The True Story of the Army Dog Scared of War
Carry Slee - Timboektoe 1: See You in Timboektoe
Carry Slee - Timboektoe 2: 100% Timboektoe
Carry Slee - Timboektoe 3: Timboektoe rules!
Carry Slee - Timboektoe 4: Timboektoe rocks!
Simon Brett - Dagboek van een Ettertje 1: Dagboek van een Ettertje (How to be a Little Sod 1: How to be a Little Sod)
Loes den Hollander - Schijnvertoon
R. L. Stine - Kippenvel: Het Spookt Bij De Buren (Goosebumps: The Ghost Next Door) (re-read)

Somewhat enjoyable:
Guinevere de la Mare, Maura Kelly, Ann Patchett, Gretchen Rubin - I'd Rather Be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers

Disappointments / Least favourites of the month:
None, unless you count the abandoned book (see below).

Abandoned book:
Amanda Craig - The Other Side of You (page 12 out of 101, ~12%)

Shortest books read this month:
Angie McDonell, Alison Stokes - Gun Shy: The True Story of the Army Dog Scared of War (92 pages)
Guinevere de la Mare, Maura Kelly, Ann Patchett, Gretchen Rubin - I'd Rather Be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers (96 pages)

Longest books read this month:
Ichigo Takano - Orange 1 (1-3): Orange The Complete Collection 1 (385 pages)
Ichigo Takano - Orange 2 (4-5) + Bonus Story: Orange The Complete Collection 2 (384 pages)
Robert Thorogood - Death in Paradise 3: Death Knocks Twice (377 pages)

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1 hour ago, Alexander the Great said:

That sounds like you had a great reading month, Athena :) What made you abandon The Other Side of You so quickly?

 

Thanks :).

 

I don't usually abandon books this quickly, but I was on my holiday and wanted to read relaxing books / easy to understand ones. The first two chapters of The Other Side of You totally confused me, so I decided to put it aside and read something that would be easier for me to understand. I might go back to The Other Side of You at a later time. It's part of the QuickReads series, and for my holiday I had just grabbed a couple of unread GoodReads books to take with me (as well as other books to take with me), without closely looking whether their synopses was what I felt in the mood for. I thought I'd get a couple of quick reads out of the way before delving into the novels I brought, but it turned out I felt more in the mood to read the novels I brought with me.

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I celebrated my birthday with my family this past weekend and got some more books!

 

My dad travelled to India and there he bought these books for me :D:

 

John Grisham - The Rooster Bar
Renuka Narayanan - Hindu Fables From the Vedas to Vivekananda
John Green - Turtles All The Way Down
Ken Follett - Kingsbridge 3: A Column of Fire
Dan Brown - Robert Langdon 5: Origin

 

NewBooks_2017-11-04_BirthdayGiftsMaarten_Spines_025_75.jpg

 

And my sister has been going to the charity shop in her town this past while, and bought me some books there :D:

 

Emily Rodda - Deltora 3 3: Kristaleiland (Deltora Quest 3 3: Isle of the Dead)
Di Toft - Wolfling 2: Het Circus van Schemerschaduw en Illusie (Wolven: The Twilight Circus)
Di Toft - Wolfling 3: De Aanval van de Woeste Wolf (Wolven 3: Bad Wolf Rising)
Robyn Miller, Rand Miller and David Wingrove - Myst: Het Boek Van Atrus (Myst)
Rafael Ábalos - Het Geheim Van De Gouden Azen (Poliedrum)
Eva Raaff - De Taragon Trilogie 1: Het Groene Vuur
Maggie Furey - De Kronieken van Aurian 1: De Magiers Van Nexus (Artefacts of Power 1: Aurian)
Maggie Furey - De Kronieken van Aurian 2: De Harp Der Winden (Artefacts of Power 2: Harp of Winds)
Maggie Furey - De Kronieken van Aurian 3: Het Vlammende Zwaard (Artefacts of Power 3: The Flaming Sword)
Maggie Furey - De Kronieken van Aurian 4: Dhiamara (Artefacts of Power 4: Dhiammara)

 

NewBooks_2017-11-05_BirthdayGiftsJeire_Spines_025_75.jpg

 

I also bought books at the library sale, the charity shop and the book fair. I've been buying a lot :blush: (got a lot of cataloguing to do). I'll have to try to not buy much the rest of the year!

 

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