Athena Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 I read C. G. Drews - A Thousand Perfect Notes. I have been reading the author's blog for I think about a year and a half now (Paperfury), I love her blog. This is her debut novel (though it's actually the 16th book she wrote, it's this book and another that she got a 2-book deal for; the second book will be released in 2019, both are standalone YA contemporaries. Most of the books she's written are fantasy I believe). A Thousand Perfect Notes is a YA contemporary about a boy named Beck. His mother abuses him and makes him play the piano, to live out her dreams. School makes him do a project together with a girl named August. This is a heavy hardhitting contemporary. I felt for Beck and the situation he's in. I teared up during certain scenes, a few other scenes made me feel angry. The book is also funny in places, I loved the snarky banter. I loved Beck and I loved August and I loved Joey. I think those three are my favourite characters (but I also liked the other characters, except the ones you weren't supposed to like). I loved the way the piano music is described (the author herself used to play the piano). I loved that there is German in the book, yet it takes place in Australia (the author is from Australia, though she got a book deal in the UK). I also loved the mentions of food throughout the book. The book is written in 3rd person from Beck's point of view, and I liked that, I thought it was well done (since often YA contemporary fiction novels are written in first person). Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. I guess I'm biased since I know the author and have been looking forward to reading her debut book since she announced it would be published (so a while now). I'm so excited I finally got to read it and that I loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 I read Anna Lyndsey - Girl in the Dark. This is a memoir of a woman who gets an illness, she gets extremely sensitive to light. Her skin burns when she's in the light, so she has to spend a lot of time in the dark. I thought it was a pretty good memoir. I felt for Anna (she writes under a pen name). Her life is pretty difficult, but I'm also glad for her that she has a supportive husband and family. My only downside with this memoir was that on occasion the descriptions were a bit too much, too metaphoric, for me, too flowery perhaps? Other than that I quite liked reading this memoir. The writing was good otherwise and I liked reading about Anna's life. The short chapters made it easier for me to focus on just a small part of the memoir. Overall I thought it was an interesting read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 I read Jen Wilde - The Brightsiders. This is a book about a teenage girl named Emmy King who's in a band with two friends. Emmy is struggling with being a celebrity, and one night her partying ends up with her in an accident and in the hospital. The book has LGBT+ elements (and the author herself is bisexual), and also some racial diversity. I read Queens of Geek, another book by the author, in 2017 and it was one of my favourite books of the year. That was partially due to the great autism representation. This book (The Brightsiders) doesn't have that element. It was a nice enjoyable read. I quite liked the writing style. There was one scene in the last quarter of the book that I wasn't so keen on, basically thinking to the main character, no, don't do that, that's not going to end well, but other than that I really enjoyed reading this book and I enjoyed the message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 I read No You Don't: Essays from an Unstrange Mind by Sparrow Rose Jones (now Maxfield Sparrow). It was an interesting collection of essays written by a person with autism. I recognised a lot of myself in certain parts of their story, which was quite nice, I always love that feeling when someone writes something and I think 'Yes! I have that too.'. I am fortunate that I've not gone through some of the things they went through. It was an interesting book to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 20, 2018 Author Share Posted June 20, 2018 I read Kelly Bruno - Sound. This is an #OwnVoices book about a teenage girl named Jessica, who has misophonia. Certain sounds are really hard for her to bear, they make her feel extremely angry. I think I found this book through GoodReads or a Dutch webshop, somehow. I hadn't heard anything about it but I bought it because the synopsis sounded interesting. Jessica, the protagonist, feels like she's going crazy, because even all the doctors her mum takes her to don't understand what she is going through. I didn't have a lot of (high) expectations for this book, it seems pretty unknown with not many reviews and such. But I actually really enjoyed the book and was pleasantly surprised. The novel is not that long, and some of the side characters were not very developed. I quite enjoyed reading this book though, and I really felt for Jessica (the main character). Gladly I don't have misophonia, but I felt I could relate to Jessica a bit because certain sounds / inputs can be difficult for me to bear too. I don't get really angry like Jessica, but I can relate to her hating certain sounds and wanting to run away from the situation. The book was nicely written, I felt like I understood Jessica. I also liked the family and friendship elements in the book. Overall I quite enjoyed reading this book. I didn't know anything about misophonia until I encountered this book, and it was interesting to learn more about what it's like to live with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 I read Michelle Vines - Asperger's on the Inside. This is an autism memoir written by a woman with Asperger's. It's written in short chapters, some of them detailing her growing up and her career (so, the past), others about specific subjects in the present, somewhat alternating between the two (ie. a chapter about her past, then 2 about specific subjects, then another one about her past etc). I thought the format worked well, it was a good way to keep me interested I thought. I liked the writing style and I also liked the author's humour and how she put some of that humour in the book. It was interesting learning more about Michelle and how we have some similarities but how we also differ in certain things. Overall I found it an interesting memoir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 28, 2018 Author Share Posted June 28, 2018 I read Jodi Picoult - Small Great Things and its prequel companion short story Shine. I had forgot about Shine actually, until I was already reading Small Great Things. So when I was around page ~150-ish, I put down Small Great Things and read Shine. I liked Shine, but I don't think it stands well on its own. If you don't plan on reading Small Great Things, I don't think just reading Shine, well you could, but you'd definitely get less out of the experience if that makes sense. It's most certainly not necessary to read Shine to enjoy Small Great Things though, as that book completely stands on its own. Shine just gives some back story to Ruth's childhood and what it was like. I enjoyed having that bit of extra story, so I liked it, but other people who just read Shine and not Small Great Things, were not so taken with it on GoodReads. I found Small Great Things really interesting. It made me think a lot. I had no idea about the prevalence of racism in the United States. The book is about Ruth, a labour and delivery nurse at a hospital in Connecticut. The synopsis of the back of my book says: "When a newborn baby dies after a routine hospital procedure, there is no doubt about who will be held responsible: the nurse who had been banned from looking after him by his father. What the nurse, her lawyer and the father of the child cannot know is how this death will irrevocably change all of their lives, in ways both expected and not. Small Great Things is about prejudice and power; it is about that which divides us and unites us. It is about opening your eyes." I've read most of Jodi Picoult's books and have really liked most of them. I personally thought it was a great read (though I can't speak about the African-American representation, because I'm not African-American nor do I live in the United States), and it opened my eyes to some of the things I was unaware of of going on in another country. Rather, I did know about some of the things going on, but I had no idea of the prevalence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 I read Angie Thomas - The Hate U Give. This was a really good read. I waited a while to read this, as there was quite a bit of hype around it and I was worried about being disappointed. I had wanted to read The Hate U Give and Small Great Things around the same time, because they have somewhat similar themes, I wanted to read them close together (I do have other books with similar themes though). This book is about Starr, a black girl who lives in a poor neighbourhood in The United States. She is witness to the police shooting her friend Khalil (who was unarmed). I thought this was a great read. I had a bit of trouble with some of the accents first and I had tried to start it several times but somehow never got into it. I started reading it on Thursday and I especially read a lot in it on Friday. I really got into it and I learned a lot. The characters were great and the book has such profound lessons. Overall definitely a good read and an important one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 1, 2018 Author Share Posted July 1, 2018 June 2018 Summary Books read: 22 Pages read: 4299 Genres: Fantasy: 1 Science-fiction: 1 Contemporary Fiction: 8 Rom-com: 0 Historical Fiction: 0 Literature: 1 Detective / Mystery: 0 Thriller: 1 Horror: 0 Paranormal: 0 Biography: 4 Information: 0 'Disney': 0 Age Ranges: Infants: 0 book(s) Children: 1 book(s) Young-Adult: 7 book(s) Adult: 7 book(s) TBR vs. R: Re-reads: 2 book(s) New Reads: 13 book(s) Combination: 0 book(s) Types of books: Novels: 8 Short Stories / Short Story Collections: 2 Novellas: 1 Omnibusses: 0 Information: 0 Biographies: 4 Picture Books: 0 Combination: 0 Most impressive / Favourite(s) of the month:Jodi Picoult - Small Great Things 1: Small Great ThingsAngie Thomas - The Hate U GiveC. G. Drews - A Thousand Perfect NotesIasmin Omar Ata - Mis(h)adraKelly Bruno - SoundJen Wilde - The BrightsidersMichelle Vines - Asperger's on the InsideJodi Picoult - Small Great Things 0.5: Shine Pretty enjoyable:Simone Arts and Tante Beun - Fashion Academy 1: Flamenco Meets Flowerpower (re-read)Boris O. Dittrich - BarstAnna Lyndsey - Girl in the DarkMariana Enríquez - Adela's HouseMaggie Thrash - Honor GirlRachael Lucas - My Box-Shaped HeartShirley Jackson - ParanoiaMarie Lu - SurvivingAlexia Arthurs - Bad BehaviourBrian Smith, J. L. Giles and Guru-eFX - Spider-Man: Homecoming Disappointments / Least favourites of the month:Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki - This One SummerAlison Bechdel - Fun Home Abandoned book: None! Shortest book(s) read this month:Mariana Enríquez - Adela's House (? pages)Shirley Jackson - Paranoia (? pages)Marie Lu - Surviving (? pages)Alexia Arthurs - Bad Behaviour (? pages)Brian Smith, J. L. Giles and Guru-eFX - Spider-Man: Homecoming (10 pages) Longest book(s) read this month:Jodi Picoult - Small Great Things 1: Small Great Things (511 pages)Angie Thomas - The Hate U Give (449 pages)Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki - This One Summer (319 pages) Other Notes: Stay tuned for my 6-month summary . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 (edited) January-June 2018 Summary & Reflection Books read: 147 Pages read: 32575 Read in January 2018: 21 books, 4316 pages Read in February 2018: 24 books, 4917 pages Read in March 2018: 21 books, 5441 pages Read in April 2018: 34 books, 6668 pages Read in May 2018: 25 books, 6934 pages Read in June 2018: 22 books, 4299 pages Favourite books I read in the first half of 2018:Judith Visser - ZondagskindBronja Prazdny - Vrouwen met autismeKatie Green - Lighter Than My ShadowC. G. Drews - A Thousand Perfect NotesJodi Picoult - Small Great Things 1: Small Great ThingsAngie Thomas - The Hate U GiveSeanan McGuire - Wayward Children 1: Every Heart a DoorwaySeanan McGuire - Wayward Children 2: Down Among the Sticks and BonesSeanan McGuire - Wayward Children 3: Beneath the Sugar SkyIasmin Omar Ata - Mis(h)adraHilary Reyl - Kids Like UsAlice Oseman - I Was Born For ThisCorinne Duyvis - On the Edge of GoneOlivia Rivers - In the Hope of MemoriesSam Killerman - A Guide to GenderJosh Sundquist - Love and F1rst SightAlice Oseman - Radio SilenceJen Wilde - The BrightsidersFrancesca Zappia - Eliza and her MonstersClaire Kann - Let's Talk About LoveSteven Rowley - Lily and the OctopusAnn M. Martin, Raina Telgemeier, Braden Lamb - The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels 1: Kristy's Great IdeaAnn M. Martin, Raina Telgemeier, Braden Lamb - The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels 2: The Truth About StaceyAnn M. Martin, Raina Telgemeier, Braden Lamb - The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels 3: Mary Anne Saves the DayAnn M. Martin, Raina Telgemeier, Braden Lamb - The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels 4: Claudia and Mean JanineAnn M. Martin, Gale Galligan, Braden Lamb - The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels 5: Dawn and the Impossible ThreeRaina Telgemeier, Stephanie Yue - Smile 1: Smile Least favourite books I read in the first half of 2018:Roderick Leeuwenhart - Pindakaas en Sushi 3 (abandoned on page 132 out of 254 pages, ~52%)A. S. King - Monica Never Shuts Up: A Collection of Short StoriesLuc Descamps (ill. Rik Willemen) - De Poortwereld 3: Het OfferElizabeth Bear - She Still Loves the DragonBrian Selznick and David Serlin - Baby Monkey, Private EyeJillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki - This One SummerAlison Bechdel - Fun Home Abandoned books in the first half of 2018:Roderick Leeuwenhart - Pindakaas en Sushi 3 (abandoned on page 132 out of 254 pages, ~52%) Shortest books read in the first half of 2018(=< 25 pages):Mariana Enríquez - Adela's House (? pages)Shirley Jackson - Paranoia (? pages)Marie Lu - Surviving (? pages)Alexia Arthurs - Bad Behaviour (? pages)Charles Payseur - The Sound Of (9 pages)Xia Jia - The Psychology Game (12 pages)S. B. Divya - Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse (15 pages)Brian Smith, J. L. Giles and Guru-eFX - Spider-Man: Homecoming (10 pages)Christel Land (ill. Shanaka Thisara) - The Superhero Brain (24 pages) Longest books read in the first half of 2018 (450+ pages):Marian Keyes - This Charming Man (885 pages)Robert Jordan - The Wheel of Time 2: The Great Hunt (re-read) (708 pages)Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - The Illuminae Files 3: Obsidio (618 pages)Tomi Adeyemi - Legacy of Orïsha 1: Children of Blood and Bone (533 pages)Keiko Tobe - With the Light 3: Volume 3 (re-read) (523 pages)Keiko Tobe - With the Light 4: Volume 4 (re-read) (518 pages)Jodi Picoult - Small Great Things 1: Small Great Things (511 pages)Katie Green - Lighter Than My Shadow (510 pages)Scott McCloud - The Sculptor (496 pages)Konami Kanata - The Complete Chi's Sweet Home 1 (1-3): Part 1 (479 pages)Konami Kanata - The Complete Chi'sSweet Home 4 (10-12): Part 4 (478 pages)Judith Visser - Zondagskind (478 pages) Konami Kanata - The Complete Chi's Sweet Home 2 (4-6): Part 2 (463 pages)Konami Kanata - The Complete Chi's Sweet Home 3 (7-9): Part 3 (461 pages)Corinne Duyvis - On the Edge of Gone (458 pages)Angie Thomas - The Hate U Give (449 pages) (because.. almost 450!) Some graphs: Overall I feel my reading has definitely changed a bit compared with some time ago. I've been feeling less in the mood for adult fantasy and science-fiction and more in the mood for YA contemporary and biographies/memoirs and graphic novels, graphic memoirs and manga. For now, I'm just going with where my reading mood takes me . Edited July 5, 2018 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 Ooh, great graphs and pie charts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 4, 2018 Author Share Posted July 4, 2018 On 7/2/2018 at 5:58 PM, Little Pixie said: Ooh, great graphs and pie charts. Thanks Sarah . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSchultz19 Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 On 6/28/2018 at 6:48 AM, Athena said: I read Jodi Picoult - Small Great Things and its prequel companion short story Shine. I had forgot about Shine actually, until I was already reading Small Great Things. So when I was around page ~150-ish, I put down Small Great Things and read Shine. I liked Shine, but I don't think it stands well on its own. If you don't plan on reading Small Great Things, I don't think just reading Shine, well you could, but you'd definitely get less out of the experience if that makes sense. It's most certainly not necessary to read Shine to enjoy Small Great Things though, as that book completely stands on its own. Shine just gives some back story to Ruth's childhood and what it was like. I enjoyed having that bit of extra story, so I liked it, but other people who just read Shine and not Small Great Things, were not so taken with it on GoodReads. I found Small Great Things really interesting. It made me think a lot. I had no idea about the prevalence of racism in the United States. The book is about Ruth, a labour and delivery nurse at a hospital in Connecticut. The synopsis of the back of my book says: "When a newborn baby dies after a routine hospital procedure, there is no doubt about who will be held responsible: the nurse who had been banned from looking after him by his father. What the nurse, her lawyer and the father of the child cannot know is how this death will irrevocably change all of their lives, in ways both expected and not. Small Great Things is about prejudice and power; it is about that which divides us and unites us. It is about opening your eyes." I've read most of Jodi Picoult's books and have really liked most of them. I personally thought it was a great read (though I can't speak about the African-American representation, because I'm not African-American nor do I live in the United States), and it opened my eyes to some of the things I was unaware of of going on in another country. Rather, I did know about some of the things going on, but I had no idea of the prevalence. As an American well aware of the racial issues in the country, I'm interested by this book. I read quite a bit of Picoult, but I've never heard of this one. Is it a newer release? Also, I love love love your charts and graphs because I am a nerd and they are beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 6, 2018 Author Share Posted July 6, 2018 7 hours ago, BSchultz19 said: As an American well aware of the racial issues in the country, I'm interested by this book. I read quite a bit of Picoult, but I've never heard of this one. Is it a newer release? Yes, it is her newest release, though it was released in 2016 . Her newest book should be out in hardcover in a couple of months. I hope you enjoy Small Great Things if you decide to read it . 7 hours ago, BSchultz19 said: Also, I love love love your charts and graphs because I am a nerd and they are beautiful. Thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 9, 2018 Author Share Posted July 9, 2018 I read E. J. Copperman and Jeff Cohen - An Asperger's Mystery 1: The Question of the Missing Head, together with Sarah (LittlePixie) . This is a mystery with Samuel Hoenig, who has Asperger's Syndrome. Samuel answers questions for a living, but then he gets the question of who stole a preserved head from the Garden State Cryonics Institute. It's a good mystery, I really enjoyed reading it . I also loved the autism representation in this book. There was two things that I remember, that worked for me differently than for Samuel (and I didn't agree with his generalising comment(s)), when he has dinner with his mother (about not liking food) and when he talks about stimming. The book is funny and I really liked the characters. Samuel, Ms. Washburn, Mother.. I think those would be my three favourites . I loved the humour in the book too. I liked how the chapters were relatively short and how they often ended on a cliffhanger. It made me want to keep reading the book! I guessed part of the mystery but definitely not all of it! I thought it was well done and I liked the plot twists. Overall I'm very glad Sarah recommended this book to me and that we read it together . There are three other books in the series, and I'll definitely be reading them (I already bought them ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 9, 2018 Author Share Posted July 9, 2018 Here are the books I've read during the July read-a-thon and some thoughts on them (see below for a picture). Akiko Higashimura - Princess Jellyfish 5: Volume 5 (Kuragehime 9 & 10) It was great to read the next installment(s) in the series. It did end on a bit of a cliffhanger, I look forward to reading the next volume next month . Keiko Tobe - With the Light 5: Volume 5 (re-read) I enjoyed re-reading this volume. Only 3 left now in the series. CLAMP - Chobits 2: Volume 2 It was nice to read this second volume. It's quite similar to the TV show so it was easy for me to follow the story. I liked it. It did end on a bit of a cliffhanger. Simone Arts and Tante Beun - Fashion Academy 2: Sport Meets Safari (re-read) It was fun re-reading this second book in the series. I look forward to reading book 3 next month, I haven't read books 3 and 4, so it'll be a new experience. Lucy Knisley - Relish This was a really nice memoir that involved Lucy growing up and her relationship with food. She grew up with parents who both really like good food and her mother worked in a restaurant for a while (as a chef). I also loved the colourful illustrations. I have 3 other memoirs by Lucy Knisley, I'm planning to read one each month for the read-a-thons. Marjolein Snoeij (ill. Mariëlle van de Beek) - Heksie: Heks in de klas This is a Dutch children's book I bought in the latest library sale I went to (it was in June). It's a cute story about a witch who has trouble reading spells, so she makes mistakes which the other witches don't like. I think it's part of a series. The story started off a bit confusing, I was glad I had read the back to tell me more of what was going on. I liked the story and illustrations. Jen Wang - The Prince and the Dressmaker This is a story that takes place in 18th century, France. It's about a prince who loves wearing dresses, and the girl he hires to be his dressmaker. I loved this book, I thought it was very good. I also liked the illustrations. Guy Delisle - Hostage (S'enfuir: Récit d'un Otage) This is a memoir, the author spoke to a man named Christophe who was a hostage for a while. He got kidnapped and had to spend a long time in a locked room. It wasn't an easy read, I really felt for Christophe. I found this a really interesting memoir. I quite liked the art style. David B. - Epileptic (L'Ascension du Haut Mal 1-6) This is a memoir about a French boy growing up, his brother has heavy epilepsy. I found this memoir a bit disappointing. I was tempted to abandon it several times. I did quite like the art style, but at points I found it difficult to follow the story. The parts when David talks about the history of his ancestors and relatives, I found them not as interesting to follow. I also didn't quite agree how the brother with epilepsy was treated by his family (but, I've not been in that situation, so of course this is just an outsider's perspective). I admit I even skimmed a couple of bits of the book, I found it hard to stay focussed on the story and it went back and forth a couple of times. I also found it hard to stay interested when the parents decided to try to help the brother (their son) by going to all these 'spiritual healers' and when it was explained how the various methods were supposed to work. Overall then this wasn't quite a book for me. I did find the illustrations interesting though. Isabel Greenberg - The Encyclopedia of Early Earth This is a story that takes place on early Earth. It also involves some more fantastical elements. There are also some stories-in-a-story. I liked this book, it was nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 2 hours ago, Athena said: I read E. J. Copperman and Jeff Cohen - An Asperger's Mystery 1: The Question of the Missing Head, together with Sarah (LittlePixie) . This is a mystery with Samuel Hoenig, who has Asperger's Syndrome. Samuel answers questions for a living, but then he gets the question of who stole a preserved head from the Garden State Cryonics Institute. It's a good mystery, I really enjoyed reading it . I also loved the autism representation in this book. There was two things that I remember, that worked for me differently than for Samuel (and I didn't agree with his generalising comment(s)), when he has dinner with his mother (about not liking food) and when he talks about stimming. The book is funny and I really liked the characters. Samuel, Ms. Washburn, Mother.. I think those would be my three favourites . I loved the humour in the book too. I liked how the chapters were relatively short and how they often ended on a cliffhanger. It made me want to keep reading the book! I guessed part of the mystery but definitely not all of it! I thought it was well done and I liked the plot twists. Overall I'm very glad Sarah recommended this book to me and that we read it together . There are three other books in the series, and I'll definitely be reading them (I already bought them ). Me too ! The author created such likeable characters, that I want to keep reading the series to find out how they get on ( I also ended up liking the Detective, as well as the main three ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 18 hours ago, Little Pixie said: Me too ! The author created such likeable characters, that I want to keep reading the series to find out how they get on ( I also ended up liking the Detective, as well as the main three ). I liked the Detective a lot too . Spoiler I hope the Detective makes an appearance in the other 3 books in the series! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Ditto ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 I read A. J. Steiger - When My Heart Joins the Thousand. Synopsis: "Alvie Fitz doesn’t fit in, and she doesn’t care. She’s spent years swallowing meds and bad advice from doctors and social workers. Adjust, adapt. Pretend to be normal. It sounds so easy. If she can make it to her eighteenth birthday without any major mishaps, she’ll be legally emancipated. Free. But if she fails, she’ll become a ward of the state and be sent back to the group home. All she wants is to be left alone to spend time with her friend, Chance, the one-winged hawk at the zoo where she works. She can bide her time with him until her emancipation. Humans are overrated anyway. Then she meets Stanley, a boy who might be even stranger than she is — a boy who walks with a cane, who turns up every day with a new injury, whose body seems as fragile as glass. Without even meaning to, she finds herself getting close to him. But Alvie remembers what happened to the last person she truly cared about. Her past stalks her with every step, and it has sharp teeth. But if she can find the strength to face the enemy inside her, maybe she’ll have a chance at happiness after all." I quite liked this book. I really liked Alvie and Stanley. I really liked the autism representation in this. I also liked that Alvie likes animals so much. The middle of the book was a bit slow, I struggled with that a bit. I liked the references to Watership Down, though I haven't read that book yet (I plan to read it some day though). There are some deeper themes throughout the book and I enjoyed the plot twists. Overall I quite liked this book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Great statistics! What caught my attention was that you read more books by female authors than male authors! I did the same one year and some commented on it, saying they read more male authors than female. I thought it was interesting! Going by your ratings, you've mostly enjoyed the books you've read, which is great going!! Happy reading for the rest of 2018! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 16 hours ago, frankie said: Great statistics! What caught my attention was that you read more books by female authors than male authors! I did the same one year and some commented on it, saying they read more male authors than female. I thought it was interesting! Going by your ratings, you've mostly enjoyed the books you've read, which is great going!! Happy reading for the rest of 2018! Thanks !! I think it's definitely interesting! In previous years I had a pretty even balance between male and female authors, but somehow this year I've read a lot more by female authors . I have! Thank you !! I wish you happy reading for the rest of 2018 too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 (edited) On 16/07/2018 at 7:27 AM, Athena said: Thanks !! I think it's definitely interesting! In previous years I had a pretty even balance between male and female authors, but somehow this year I've read a lot more by female authors . You probably know this already, but, just in case, it's well established that women tend to read predominantly female authors, and men read mainly male authors. However, it's more likely that a woman will reverse that than a man (i.e. fewer men read more female than women read more men - by a big margin too. Also, when men do, it's mainly because they are reading female non-fiction writers. It's a rare male that reads predominantly female fiction authors). Edited July 18, 2018 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 19, 2018 Author Share Posted July 19, 2018 13 hours ago, willoyd said: You probably know this already, but, just in case, it's well established that women tend to read predominantly female authors, and men read mainly male authors. However, it's more likely that a woman will reverse that than a man (i.e. fewer men read more female than women read more men - by a big margin too. Also, when men do, it's mainly because they are reading female non-fiction writers. It's a rare male that reads predominantly female fiction authors). I did know some of that yes, but I didn't know about the non-fiction part! Thanks for that ! I find this kind of information very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 On 16.7.2018 at 9:27 AM, Athena said: Thanks !! I think it's definitely interesting! In previous years I had a pretty even balance between male and female authors, but somehow this year I've read a lot more by female authors . That's really interesting about you having more of an even balance between male and female authors before, and now reading a lot more female authors this year. We'll see, at the end of the year, if the scales will get more balanced 21 hours ago, willoyd said: You probably know this already, but, just in case, it's well established that women tend to read predominantly female authors, and men read mainly male authors. However, it's more likely that a woman will reverse that than a man (i.e. fewer men read more female than women read more men - by a big margin too. Also, when men do, it's mainly because they are reading female non-fiction writers. It's a rare male that reads predominantly female fiction authors). I did not know this, that's very interesting! Although I guess it makes sense. I think when I talked about this some years ago with a few fellow members, they said they read more male authors (and they are female members). But that might be the exception to the rule. And like you said, it's more likely a female reads more male authors than a male author reads female authors. Fascinating stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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