Athena

Is there an explanation for you hating it or is it a principle thing?

x I just remembered, I have some of these books (in Dutch), in a box. I quite liked them when I read them (I think I was a teenager or in my early twenties).

Welcome here !

Awwww so cute! I hope she feels better soon . Our dog Pamuk has the same injury, she is doing quite a bit better though than since it happened (I think it was a few weeks ago?).

Good job, Janet ! I really should read more classics, however the past while I've been feeling increasingly stressed and don't think I could handle doing any kind of book challenge (next to my university work). I'm just reading what I feel like reading. I might challenge myself in the future, though, maybe. Glad to hear you liked Northanger Abbey! Which book will you read next?

XD, nice! I look forward to see what you've got. My TBR is quite large too . Hopefully you get to enjoy your books at least, whether you read them or just enjoy having them (hopefully both!). Do you buy a lot of books? I guess you've been collecting them throughout the years?

Welcome here ! I also buy more than I can read, many of us here do so. So I think you'll fit right in! Maybe this is a silly question, but what is 'romantasy'? Is it a fantasy book with romance elements? Sorry if it's obvious but I haven't heard of the term before. Since you say your books look good on your shelves, does that mean you read mainly tree books? (not ebooks) How many books do you have in total? Just curious . We have various threads you might like to read, if you have any questions feel free to ask. Do you read mainly books in German or in English? Not that it matters, the story remains the same. I look forward to see more posts from you, ie. I love fantasy myself (never been quite sure what the 'urban' stands for to be honest, this post makes me sound really silly doesn't it ) so I look forward to see what you'll read and what you think of it. Top Gear is a great show imo, unfortunately our Dutch channel (I'm from the Netherlands) that normally shows them, it takes a while after they've been broadcast in the UK, before they show up here. Most Dutch people can receive the BBC but where I live I can't, so we have to do it with the later, shorter versions of the show on the Dutch channel (I'm really glad they do show them, though!). I love the show though, especially the challenges and fun segments between the presentors.

x Those are great things to hear/read !

x I have this book on my shelf, glad to hear you like it! I'm not entirely sure what it's about (other than what the back of the book says), but maybe that's a good thing, I might be more surprised by the plot that way.

I finished reading Rachel Joyce - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and am now reading Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. On my Kindle I'm reading a For Dummies book.

Rachel Joyce - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Genre: Contemporary Fiction Format: Paperback Pages: 356 Synopsis (GoodReads): Recently retired, sweet, emotionally numb Harold Fry is jolted out of his passivity by a letter from Queenie Hennessy, an old friend, who he hasn't heard from in twenty years. She has written to say she is in hospice and wanted to say goodbye. Leaving his tense, bitter wife Maureen to her chores, Harold intends a quick walk to the corner mailbox to post his reply but instead, inspired by a chance encounter, he becomes convinced he must deliver his message in person to Queenie--who is 600 miles away--because as long as he keeps walking, Harold believes that Queenie will not die. So without hiking boots, rain gear, map or cell phone, one of the most endearing characters in current fiction begins his unlikely pilgrimage across the English countryside. Along the way, strangers stir up memories--flashbacks, often painful, from when his marriage was filled with promise and then not, of his inadequacy as a father, and of his shortcomings as a husband. Ironically, his wife Maureen, shocked by her husband's sudden absence, begins to long for his presence. Is it possible for Harold and Maureen to bridge the distance between them? And will Queenie be alive to see Harold arrive at her door? My thoughts: This book is the BCF July Read, which is why I decided to read it at this point. I bought it last year when it was recommended to me and I saw it for cheap. This was a great book. I loved the descriptions of the British countryside and the overall writing. There were several unexpected plot twists. I liked the characters and find it amazing how Harold journeys, without the proper gear or phone. The minor characters were interesting too, though I liked some more than others (but that's usually the case I think?). I look forward to be discussing this book soon with everyone who's read it, in the BCF July Reading thread (since it's nearly July I presume it will be up in a few days). Without spoiling, I quite liked this book. However, I didn't give it 5 stars because I didn't think it was brilliant. I really liked the writing style but there was something about the book that makes it 4/5 or 8/10 rather than a higher score (I'm not sure what though). 4/5 is still really good, though. I should probably have written this review yesterday when I finished the book, I always find it easier to write the review sooner rather than later (I had more details of what I wanted to write in my review, yesterday, but my memory seems a bit less today). Rating: **** (4/5, 8/10)

I quite liked Flowers for Algernon, I hope you like it too. I also hope you like all the other books . I've read books by Kim Stanley Robinson, the Mars series, when I was a teenager and liked it. I've bought the books (in English) this year and hope I'll like reading them again (tbh I don't remember a lot from it).

Beautiful edition! Sorry to hear you didn't really like the book, though.

I'm glad to hear you like the film! I may go to the cinema to see it (it should still be on for a while, it's only been released ~ a week ago here) or at the very least buy the Blu-ray when it's out.

I hope you like the book! The Wheel of Time series is one of my favourite fantasy series, I do understand though that they're not everyone's cup of tea (so to speak).

I may have to read an Agatha Christie book sometime! Great review!

Nice!! At least you won't get bored anytime soon. Personally I'd hate to have a TBR of 0.. one wouldn't have anything to read!

x Excellent!

Welcome here ! I'm Athena and I live in the Netherlands. So we're kind of next-door neighbours I suppose! I also read mainly English even though I'm Dutch. Nice to meet you! Feel free to create a reading blog thread in the reading lists / blogs subforum or maybe post a photo of your dog in the Pets thread in General Chat (I always love to see other people's dogs). Anyway, I hope you have fun here!

Those trees are beautiful! I'm glad you're having fun .

I've heard good things about the Jim Butcher books, I hope you like them!

That's great to hear! I hope to see it too sometime. I'm hoping to go to the cinema once or several times once I'm done with university. There are a few films that I think might be nice to watch.

That's great to hear !

I saw Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. I liked it but not as much as the previous two films. At times I felt it was too over the top and too stereotypical (ie. vs. the French). It was still good entertainment though, I did enjoy watching it. I just felt it could've been better.

Good luck with your eye appointment! Two days ago my boyfriend and I visisted the Robocup 2013. It's an event, held over a few days, where teams from around the world have competitions to see whose robots are the best, in various categories. I like the Midsize League the best, they are the soccer playing robots that are the most famous. The team from Eindhoven (the Netherlands), Tech United, are generally very good, they became World Champion last year and the several years before that they kept coming second. I don't know what it was before then. Anyway, I'm hoping they do really well this year. So far they have been doing well. We watched a competition, as well as other robots from other categories too. My dad is very involved in this, it's a part of his job (although not a big part consider the whole year). He helps and supports the team (he's professor at the university in Eindhoven, the TU/e) and he talks with the press. It was great to go to the event and take a look at everything, I love the soccer playing robots the most (it is the aim that they can beat human players in 2050), it's just fun to see them play. I'm quite tired now from all of it, even though we went on the quietest day. It's at times like this, where I can't just go do something fun that I want to do, that I really feel the downside of my sensory issues. I'm low on energy, which means I'm also low on patience and processing ability (so talking with people or any other input, is pretty difficult). I was hoping I'd feel better today than yesterday, but so far I feel still tired. Hopefully it'll be a bit better later on, but I'm not sure as generally in the morning I feel the best. Yesterday afternoon I felt better than yesterday morning though, so there is hope. Hopefully I'll feel better in a few days, at the very least after my presentation is all done in less than two weeks.