Athena
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Wow.. 2021!
2020 was.. a different year. As I'm writing this, on 28 December 2020, a lot of countries in the world are still dealing with Covid-19, which was first seen in the last quarter of 2020 (I'm being vague because I don't want to be wrong as I am not 100% sure of the date). I think most if not all of us on this forum, or at least all of the regular members, are still strugging with this and the effects of many aspects of life.
I really hope that in 2021, with vaccines and common sense, we'll be safe and will be able to go out again and see people and go to shops etc.
Personally, I bought a house in December 2019 and signed the final contract in February 2020. We spent some months doing DIY and house repairs etc (while still living with my parents at their place). My partner and I moved in August 2020.
Welcome to my 2021 reading log!
I didn't really update my 2020 log after a while.. I was busy with moving and I didn't feel like writing down thoughts on so many books that I'd read (and I don't get that many comments in here so I'm sure that a lot of books I read, are probably not that interesting to some people here. Which is fair, I read a lot of different things).
I don't know how things will go, going forwards into 2021. I guess we will see.
Links to my previous logs:Athena's Reading List 2013
Athena's Reading List 2014
Athena's Reading List 2015
Athena's Reading List 2016
Athena's Reading List 2017Links to posts within this thread:
Previous Statistics:
Books read Jun - Dec 2012: 43
Books read in 2013: 143
Books read in 2014: 254
Books read in 2015: 502
Books read in 2016: 425
Books read in 2017: 236Books read in 2018: 262
Books read in 2019: 213
Books read in 2020: 302
Pages read in Jun - Dec 2012: ~25000
Pages read in 2013: ~37000
Pages read in 2014: 62932
Pages read in 2015: 112787
Pages read in 2016: 95007
Pages read in 2017: 52853Pages read in 2018: 60308
Pages read in 2019: 51572
Pages read in 2020: 78487
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On 21/12/2020 at 4:04 PM, Hayley said:
I’ve always wanted a proper writing desk!
Your desk looks amazing!
Belated Merry Christmas everyone! And a happy New Year!
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On 19/12/2020 at 11:00 AM, Brian. said:
I glad I'm not the only one with a 4 digit TBR. I'm in good company with you and Gaia, and I suspect there are more of us throughout the BCF community.
On 19/12/2020 at 5:41 PM, Madeleine said:Another 4 digit, multiple TBR holder here!
I'm glad it's not just me and Willoyd, both of you, welcome to the club!
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mathematics
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On 19/12/2020 at 11:42 AM, Booknutt said:
Just taking "The Evening and the Morning" back to the Library today Athena. Enough to say I enjoyed this Huge read! I'm sure you will too.
Thank you Booknutt! That is good to know
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On 16/12/2020 at 11:30 PM, willoyd said:
Public libraries round here are only open for 'click and collect'. The library network has its catalogue on line, and one can go on and order books from that (I'm surethat's pretty much the same everywhere!). The library itself is currently only open to staff (our local library is part of the bigger network, but is run as a community library, and I'm one of the largely volunteer staff), who process orders and put them out on a table in the entrance for collection. We're operating with just two of us in the library at a time to ensure staff distancing.. Returned books are quarantined for 72 hours before being handled. So the library is still operating, but all socially distanced, cleaned etc. I'm also a member of the Leeds Library, a subscription library, and that is open, but with some pretty strict limitations.
It's interesting to hear how public libraries in your area function now! Ours was shut from March to June I believe, open from June to November but with restrictions (you can order up to 5 books, there was also a mystery bag thing, in which you choose a genre and the library staff picks out 5 books of that genre) and now it is closed again (lockdown 5 weeks ends on 19th of January, though it may be extended). But even when they were open with restrictions, I decided I'd rather not take the risk. I have people nearby me who fall in risk categories. I was thinking about going, but then the library had to shut again because our government announced lockdown. Hopefully in 2021, once some people have been vaccinated, things will get better. Thanks for your reply!
On 16/12/2020 at 11:30 PM, willoyd said:Having said all that, I've got loads (into 4 figures!) of books on my shelves to read, so am not exactly short!
Same!
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On 16/12/2020 at 8:46 PM, Chrissy said:
If it is longer than a day I will be rushing to The Netherlands to check you are OK!
Awww thank you Chrissy
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I'm currently reading Cerebral Palsy: A Story (Finding the Calm After the Storm) by Ilana Estelle. It's a memoir written by a woman with cerebral palsy. I started it yesterday evening, I'm not that far into it yet (page 14) but so far I'm liking it
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4 hours ago, karen.d said:
I finished 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' yesterday and loved it!
I'm so glad you loved it!!
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Today I finished Fablehaven 5: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull and My (Not So) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella. I really enjoyed both reads. Not sure what I feel in the mood to read next, I might take a break from reading for a day.
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On 12/12/2020 at 1:26 AM, willoyd said:
Are Dutch libraries still closed then? We've been open, for online reservations and then click and collect, since the beginning of July. As has the Leeds subscription library. Even over lockdown, I had some 20-odd books out to keep me going!
They were closed for some months, then opened for a while, and now they are closed again (as cases are going up again since a few months). But even while they were open, I didn't think it would be worth the risk. I would have liked to go, but it is not a necessary life-and-death kind of thing (lunlike for example, getting my medication from the pharmacy machine) so I thought it better to not go and wait until 2021 when hopefully things will be safer as people get vaccinated etc. I do have books of my own to read, but for certain Dutch books/authors and genres, I would use the library. I did go to the supermarket nearby a little while ago (it has been rebuilt and I had not been there in at least several months), and found that some of the customers were not wearing masks and not social distancing. I felt really unsafe there, I was wearing a mask but I did not like those unmasked people getting so close to me and giving me no space to distance myself from them. It seems to really depend on the area and the people, in some areas it is gladly better. But while cases are still high, I don't want to risk it and would rather go hopefully some time in the second half of 2021 when hopefully a lot of people have been vaccinated. I have books of my own to read, so, while I do miss reading certain series, authors, etc, I am glad I still have lots of options as to what to read.
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I love the idea of adding Monday the 4th!! Let's do that, since you three like the idea as well (though if anyone after this voices objections, I don't mean to exclude them.).
I will edit the list above, thank you for the idea Hayley!
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I know it's a bit early but.. well I felt in the mood. I will post the preliminary schedule for BCF monthly read-a-thons in 2021.
The following are set up as:
2021
[Month]: [Friday Date] [Saturday Date] [Sunday Date]
January: 01 02 03 04*
February: 05 06 07
March: 05 06 07
April: 02 03 04
May: 07 08 09
June: 04 05 06
July: 02 03 04
August: 06 07 08
September: 03 04 05
October: 01 02 03
November: 05 06 07
December: 03 04 05Note:
* -> starts on New Year's Day.. not sure about that as I tend to be exhausted then (from lack of sleep due to it being too noisy to sleep). Might move it depending on what those of you who want to participate, think. Feel free to comment down below with any related thoughts.EDIT: As per discussion we have added Monday the 4th of January to the January read-a-thon.
If this is not easy to read for you, please let me know and I'll see if I can write it down in a way that is more easy for you to understand.
I look forward to do more reading in 2021
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On 08/12/2020 at 9:38 PM, Hayley said:
You are definitely allowed to get away with this one! I'd say it's more of a 'not applicable' than a fail. Fingers crossed for lots of library visits in 2021
Thank you Hayley! I hope so
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On 08/12/2020 at 9:38 PM, Hayley said:This is one positive of not being able to go out much this year!
True
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21 hours ago, Marie H said:Yes, not going to the library has meant I have worked reducing Mount TBR this year too.
Well done to you too
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On 07/12/2020 at 11:48 AM, karen.d said:
I'm actually really enjoying it this time around. I must have been in the wrong mood to read this book. Overall this weekend, I managed to read 227 pages of this book.
Oh yay, I'm glad you are enjoying it much more this time around! Yes, it can really make me dislike a book if I'm in the wrong mood to read it.
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17 hours ago, Marie H said:
Finished Ben Aaronovitch’s Tales from the Folly, short stories from theRivers of London series. They were quite good stories, especially the one from the Herefordshire Foxglove Summer characters.
I'm glad the short stories were good!
16 hours ago, Brian. said:I finished Fleishman is in Trouble this morning. Having finished it I thought it was ok but nothing more than that. Some of the writing was good and I did laugh out loud at one point but I hated every single character, and this undermined what the author was trying to achieve in my opinion.
This afternoon I will probably read some of The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and also start something a bit lighter before bed.
Shame about the Fleishman book
. I hope The Power of Now will be a better read.
Yesterday I felt too tired to read for most of the day, but later on in the day I managed to read Happy Howlidays! (book 2 in Dog Diaries series) by Steven Bulter and James Patterson (ill. by Richard Watson). I then started Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh, I went to bed when I got too sleepy to read.
I hope you all had a good read-a-thon and a fun time this past weekend! I had fun
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I will put up the schedule for next year's read-a-thons in a while. I have it already made, but I didn't want to post it too early in December.
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17 hours ago, Brian. said:
The Guest List by Lucy Foley (4/5)
A large group of people collect on an island off the coast of Ireland to celebrate a wedding. The groom, and less so the bride, are celebrities so everything has been planned down to the smallest detail and it has to go right. As the celebrations progress we find out about the tensions and nuroses under the surface. As things come to a boil someone ends up dead. The killer is obviously on the island, but who is it and why did they strike?
I enjoyed this book a lot even if the plot is a bit fare fetched. Each chapter focuses on a different character and jumps backwards and forwards in time to slowly reveal what is going on. This works really well because even though there are quite a few people at the wedding it only focuses on the important characters. This is a book I bought on a whim and I'm glad I did.
I've heard good things about this book, glad you liked it!
17 hours ago, Brian. said:A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (3/5)
The second book in the Game of Thrones A Song of Ice and Fire series. I really enjoyed this first book and for about 250 pages I was worried that this was going to be a disappointment. It felt quite plodding and I just couldn't get into it for some reason. I initially thought that perhaps then sheer size of it was putting me off (900 pages) but in hindsight I think it was just the set up to bigger events that I found a bit slow. At the end of the book I felt satisfied with what I had read but I have to admit that I don't think I would feel that was if I hadn't watched the TV series. The reason for this is the sheer amount of characters. I just don't think my brain would be able to keep track of who is who without the previous mental image I have of some of them from the TV show. All in all a good book and I look forward to reading #3 in the coming months.
I preferred book 3 (A Storm of Swords) over book 2. I hope you enjoy book 3 more
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Thank you both!!
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19 hours ago, Marie H said:
Plenty of reading/listening time yesterday, and I managed 4 hours. Hopefully the same today as well.
Nice
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18 hours ago, Brian. said:It's ok so far. There is a lot of internal monologue and not a huge amount of plot progression but I do keep wanting to read on which is a good sign.
I hope it gets better
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I didn't read much yesterday during the day, as I could not concentrate on reading while I heard talking on the background. I did read for about an hour and a half in bed in the evening.
Saturday:
Andy Griffiths and Terry Danton - Treehouse 3: The 39-Storey Treehouse (re-read)
Tim Collins - Diary of Dorkius Maximus 1: Diary of Dorkius Maximus (re-read)
They both have a lot of illustrations in them, and they were both re-read so they read fast.
Athena's Reading List 2021
in Past Book Logs
Posted · Edited by Athena
Books read in January 2021
1. Clare Mackintosh - QuickReads: The Donor
2. Geronimo Stilton - Geronimo Stilton 3: De Piraten van de Zilveren Kattenklauw (Il Galeone Dei Gatti Pirati) (re-read)
3. Sankakuhead - Himouto! Umaru-chan 8: Volume 8
4. Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre - Cakes in Space (re-read)
5. Laura Ellen Anderson - Amelia Fang 1: Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball (re-read)
6. Julian Clary (ill. David Roberts) - The Bolds 1: The Bolds (re-read)
7. Gary Northfield - Julius Zebra 1: Rumble with the Romans! (re-read)
8. Dav Pilkey (col. Jose Garibaldi) - Dog Man 1: Dog Man
9. Liz Pichon - Tom Gates 3: Everything's Amazing (Sort of)
10. E. J. Copperman - Haunted Guesthouse Mystery 9: The Hostess with the Ghostess
11. Brandon Sanderson - Elantris (re-read)
12. Giles Sparrow - De Elementen: Koolstof (Carbon)
13. Carry Slee - Lijsters: Verdiet met Mayonaise
14. Sue Townsend - The Woman Who Went to Bed For a Year
15. Paula Hawkins - The Girl on the Train
16. Diane Chamberlain - The Dream Daughter
17. Titia Hoogendoorn and Nienke Schuitemaker - Waarom je niet zomaar moet stemmen waar je ouders op stemmen
Last Updated: 31-03-2021