Alexander the Great

I strongly recommend these: The historian by Elizabeth Kostova The collector by John Fowles The unbearable lightness of being by Milan Kundera Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides Blindness by José Saramago The Hours by Michael Cunningham

I absolutely adore The Book Depository. They have tons of books I can't find anywhere else, they're cheap compared to other online stores and the free shipping everywhere is such a plus if you live outside of the US or UK. Sometimes, it drives me crazy when I can't find a book anywhere at all - especially English books. So yeah, it takes a while to wait for my books since I have to transfer money to PayPal each time (too bad you can't pay with Maestro), but in general - I love the site, and it's my go-to online bookstore.

The Fault in our Stars, by John Green Started: 14 December 2012 Finished: 16 December 2012 This is my first John Green novel and I'm not sure how I feel about it. John Green writes a fluent story and creates interesting characters, but perhaps that is the problem: the characters are too interesting, too quirky. To use two words I hate: too hipster, too pretentious. Don't get me wrong - I love quirky weird people and I love to read them about, but these just weren't credible at all as teenagers. They reminded me a little of the characters in Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Phyics and Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. They use words and references and care about things not any teenager I've ever known or been uses or cares for. They're too smart, too cultured. In those novels I also thought that the characters, while interesting and intriguing, were just a tad bit over the top. They're what we like to imagine, but they're not real. And I mean - just - Augustus? Really? It also annoyed me a little how many times the writer would use his full name - Augustus Waters - all the time. There was only one Augustus. Also the fact that 'Augustus Waters', 'Augustus' and 'Gus' seemed to be used randomly, instead of sticking to referring to the character by one name only. That doesn't mean it was a bad novel. I liked it. I read it quickly because I did like the characters and felt attached to them. I cared for them and wanted to know what would happened to them. But for a book that seems to want to make you believe you're reading about people you know - well, I just can't imagine running into a Hazel, Isaac or Augustus at the supermarket. I do want to give some other John Green novels a shot, but I'm sceptical.

The Dark is Rising series, by Susan Cooper Started: 18 September 2012 Finished: 15 December 2012 Note: During the month of November and the first half of December, I didn't read anything because I was doing my teaching practice. I remember reading these books seven or eight years ago. They were in the school library then, and when I recently saw them during my training at the local public library, I was flooded by a wave of nostalgia. I remembered some of the characters and a little about the world this was set in. I remembered the book with fondness, and that I'd liked reading them. Of course, I was only about 13 years old when I first read them, so I was well aware that my opinion might change entirely. It happened before - Dance on my Grave by Aidan Chambers used to be my favourite book around age 15, and when I re-read it two or so years ago, I hardly got through it. I wasn't disappointed, though. The books were just as charming as I remembered them. They'd been more magical in my memory - I was really sucked into the story before, whereas now I never really got that feeling. But still, the characters were likeable but not perfect. They were credible kids/early teens. This series was written in the 60s and 70s of the previous century, and I found something quite refreshing about the way they'd really just play with the things they found, and decide to go on walks and take a picnic, and how they'd make an adventure out of discovering new houses they were staying at. It was a welcome change from the nowadays frequent whiny kids sulking about leaving behind their computers and gaming consoles. My favourites in the series are the first, Over Sea, Under Stone and the third, Greenwitch. They're followed by the second, The Dark is Rising. Then comes the fourth, The Grey King and finally the last one, Silver on the Tree. Especially the third and the fourth read very fluently - I finished both in two days each. The last one was a complete drag to get through, though, and it took me weeks to finish it. All in all, this is a series I would really recommend for younger kids who like fantasy. The main characters are between the ages of 8 and 12 throughout the series. The Book Boy, by Joanna Trollope Started: 8 December 2012 Finished: 8 December 2012 In only 94 pages, the author succeeds in creating very layered characters - not one character in this novel is simple or one-dimensional. This story about a woman who doesn't know how to read at age 38 finally going against her husband and standing up for herself is never cheesy or sentimental, which would have been an easy road to take. It is heart-warming though, and I do wish there were a more extensive version. The characters were really interesting, and I'd have loved to read more about their lives and developments.

I always think that it's a very unfair comparison, between books and movies. Both mediums are so very different that it's simply impossible to say one is better than the other. I can see how maybe you like one better than the other, but to say that a book is better than a movie, or vice versa? They're so different, and they work in such different ways. I also dislike the kind of crowd who don't give movies a chance, and only go see them so they can prove their own point, in their eyes. If you're honest with yourself and you know that you won't be giving the movie a fair chance, why bother going to see it? In the end, I also think you can't give a general answer to that question. It depends on the book and the movie. Sometimes I like the book better, sometimes I like the movie better. Sometimes movies do the books they're based on justice. Sometimes they don't really do the books justice, but they're good as movies on their own. Sometimes, the movie is just really bad - but in the end, it depends on each individual case.

Physical bookshops - this one has changed a lot for me over the years. In the town where I live, there's only one bookstore in the city centre - Standaard Boekhandel, of the chain. They have a VERY limited collection, only in Dutch, and are seriously overpriced. I still like to go there to look around, though, as it was the only bookstore I knew in my childhood. As I grew older and was allowed to take the train to a much bigger city, I discovered some other bookstores there. Fnac is an example, also a chain. While they have a much bigger collection than my local Standaard Boekhandel, and they do have Dutch, English, French and German works that I know of, they are also seriously overpriced. The books are displayed nicely, though, and it's always nice to walk around there. I also discovered De Slegte, a second-hand bookshop that sells all kinds of books and in various languages at generally rather cheap prices. Their collection is quite big, and it's always a surprise. You can go in and walk out empty-handed after an hour, feeling disappointed, but you might as well go in and walk out with a bag full of books after an hour. When I started studying in this city, I discovered some other places. Oxfam Bookshop is also a second-hand store. Their collection isn't as big as that of De Slegte, but so far I've found much more titles I like there. They're very cheap, and so close to my college campus. Then there's this small coffee shop in a side street that also sells second-hand books at very cheap prices. Their collection is extremely limited, since it's not their main source of income at all - I reckon they have 50 to 100 books tops - but I've always found something nice there so far. Their coffee is an okay price - but not worth it to go there for the coffee only - and their brownies are delicious! When studying in this city, I also discovered a yearly book fest where they have a big giant hall full of books at very cheap prices. I've managed to walk out of there with more books than I can conveniently carry in various bags, only spending about €25. Online bookshops - I've only started buying online a little while ago, so I'm hardly an expert. I started buying books online at Proxis and Azur, who have now merged to ProxisAzur. They're not any cheaper than stores, but naturally their collection is bigger than the average bookstore. I'd go there for books I couldn't find in my shops. Then bol.com gave the option to ship to Belgium, and while they are slightly under prices in bookstores, they're not that cheap really. They're also more of a last resort if I can't find a book anywhere. Later on, I discovered The Book Depository. I can't praise them enough. Lots of books, very very good prices, no shipping costs. Only downside for me personally is that I have to pay through paypal, which always makes the wait a few days longer and the loss of money more tangible. I browse on amazon, but I don't have a credit card - I'm a student so I can't get one, which makes buying from there considerably more difficult. Once, I accidentally bought books there and came to the conclusion there was no way for me to pay for them, but that was fixed - good customer service. Then I bought the books from George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice & Fire' series with the German amazon, using my parents' credit card. I only managed to get it done because of how cheap they were, but I know they wouldn't let me use their card very often.

Thank you so much for the wonderful suggestions! Some were already in the library, but the suggestions really helped to find some new titles!

Hi everyone, for my training, I work at the local library. Their English section doesn't have many books for teenagers, and since I'm studying to be an English teachers for kids from the ages of 12 to 16, it is my job to find recent works that focus on this target group. I'm scouring the internet for recent titles, and I'm finding a lot of books, of course - but I was wondering what you guys think. What young adult books would you suggest to a local library that hasn't got many? So far, I have these titles already Certain The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) Pretty Little Liars (Sara Shepard) The Vampire Diaries (L. J. Smith) Alex Rider (Anthony Horowitz) Holes (Louis Sachar) The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan) The Fault in Our Stars (John Green) Noughts & Crosses (Malorie Blackman) Bend It Like Beckham (Narinder Dami) Vampire Academy (Richelle Mead) Maybe (primarily because often translations are available) Divergent (Veronica Roth) The Book Thief (Martin Zusak) The Grey Hunter (John Flanagan) Out of Left Field (Barbara L. Clanton) The Darren Shan Saga (Darren Shan) I'm obviously not asking you guys to do my job, but I would appreciate the insight of regular readers

I personally don't really understand people who don't read books written in first person out of some kind of principle. You could be missing out on so many great books! I don't really care either way - the plot, the characters and the setting matter to me, not the POV. While writing a story from first person only can be very limiting, it can also make the story more interesting.

Sergey Lukyanenko's Night Watch series has a lot of plot, is written from the POV of a person 20+, and has 200+ pages. The titles are chronoligcally: Night Watch Day Watch Twilight Watch (sometimes Dusk Watch) Last Watch New Watch

Yeah, I know he's not finished But for that price I just had to buy it - they only came in a boxed set, which is why I have one, otherwise I'd just have bought the books separately.

I'm from Belgium.

I'm 21

Everlasting

Psychopath.

Ben Marcus

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.

No, it's a Russian fantasy series/movie. I've read Night Watch, Day Watch and Twilight Watch two years ago. I read them in a Dutch translation, but the last book of the series, Last Watch, was never translated. I bought the English version, but still haven't got to reading it. I remember that the story was very complex, and I'd really have to read them again to fully understand the last one. It's an intense series and you really have to concentrate. I really enjoyed it, though - it was a tremendous read, and as soon as I can find the time, I plan to re-read them and then read the last one. I've seen the movie Night Watch on TV - the adaptation of the book. I really didn't like it and I think I didn't even finish it.

I've liked fantasy for many years, but more the "soft" kind of fantasy like Harry Potter, LOTR, The Night Watch series, etc. I've recently bought the boxset of A Song of Ice and Fire - I saw them for a ridiculously low price at amazon.de and I couldn't find them anywhere in English. I really want to read them, but I'll want to read the entire series, so I'll have to wait until I'm graduated at the end of January to really start reading them!

I like reading crime/mystery/thrillers, but haven't read many series so far because in this genre, those series are usually very long and I like to read it in one go. So far, my favourite crime series, however, is the Monkeewrench series by P. J. Tracy. They're about a group of hackers uncovering crimes. I really enjoy the characters and the plot!

With books, I don't think I've ever done that. I usually want to read the entire story, and even if I wouldn't read the books that came after the first one, I'd always be so curious. I have to confess that I'm usually not really aware if a sequel was planned or not, but I don't think that matters to me. I know that Hannibal Rising was written under pressure of producers and that Thomas Harris didn't really want to do it, but it was a choice between doing it and having someone else write it. I still read the book, but admittedly did not really enjoy it. I'm more inclined to stop watching a TV series if it's really bad or stops interesting me, but that doesn't happen often either. I quit The 4400 in the middle of the second season, and I don't plan on watch the new season of Glee, for instance. It does happen more often that a channel will stop airing a TV show mid-season, or not air new seasons, and that can be a reason why I haven't seen new seasons of a show. At the moment, I can only think of L.J. Smith returning to the The Vampire Diaries series.

This is the kind of criticism I like. It's very simple, it's humourous, and people have to figure it out for themselves. Of course, I won't be getting one of these, though. I'm not going to pay for a notebook with a cover like that, I can get prettier ones for that price - but I realise that isn't the point.

I just finished Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I read most of it yesterday and today, and even though I enjoyed the story, my brain which is unaccustomed to this style in a foreign language, thanks me for the rest. I've already read a few pages in my next book. When the current book is getting a bit much but I really want to finish it, I'll sometimes read a few pages in my next book to kind of get me going again. Next on: Stieg Larsson's Mannen die vrouwen haten, which was translated to English as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I don't prefer any over the other. Bookshops. I usually go to cheaper bookstores or bookfests, and I love that feeling of accomplishment when I walk out with my arms/a bag full of books without having lost a lot of money. I love the feeling of walking through a bookshop as well - being surrounded by books of all shapes and sizes and randomly picking out books, sometimes being surprised. I do prefer them to be organised by author, though. Internet. What I like about internet is that it usually offers books that I can't find in any bookstores locally or in Ghent, and they often come at a very reasonable price. I also love receiving packages with the post. I love that thrill of waiting for a book, waiting for the mailman, getting that package, opening it, etc.