Athena's Reading List 2013

[vodkafan]

Wow you are a reading machine Athena   . I noticed you gave The Crimson Petal And The White top marks so that's 2 good reviews I have read on it..

[Athena]

Thanks, vodkafan .

 

I've read Roald Dahl - The Witches. This was a re-read for me, I've read the book in Dutch when I was a child. Now I read it in English. Like Matilda, I really like this book. It's such a great, innovative story. The illustrations by Quentin Blake are beautiful. While I read the book, I kept having images from the film pop up in my head now and then, I've seen the film last a few years ago whereas I hadn't read the book since I was a child.

 

Rating: 5/5 (*****)

Edited May 23, 2013 by Athena

[bobblybear]

I re-read The Witches recently as well and loved it. The illustrations do add a lot to the story; they are quite a unique style.

[Kidsmum]

  I kept having images from the film pop up in my head now and then, I've seen the film last a few years ago whereas I hadn't read the book since I was a child.

 

That's why i always prefer to read the book before i see the movie because you can't help but see the actors from the movie in your head while your reading. I've only seen clips of Lenardo DiCaprio in The Beach but while i was reading the book it was him that came into my head when i was imaginig the main character i found it really annoying 

[Athena]

Yeah that is annoying ! I try to usually read the book first, however sometimes it happens that I see the movie (or TV series) first.

 

I finished reading Luc Swinnen - Stress is geen probleem. This is a book written by a Belgian author.

 

I found the book spent too much time explaining how things worked and too little on how to combat stress. Nearly everything mentioned in the book I've read before in other books by other (American?) authors. It did have a unique voice though and I enjoyed that. The writing was easy to understand, it was written in very layman's terms (which is good for the people who need that, I don't though XD). All in all it was enjoyable but not as good as I'd hoped it would be.

 

Rating: *** (3/5, 6/10)

 

Meanwhile, I'm reading George R. R. Martin - A Song of Fire and Ice 1: A Game of Thrones, which so far started off very similar to the TV series but with a lot more nice detail. On the Kindle I'm reading Charles H. Elliott & Laura L. Smith - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder for Dummies, which is quite good so far.

 

EDIT: Apparently I've read 42 books so far this year, I would say in the whole of the year I should be able to read 80+ books (depending on how much time I spend reading etc). That's pretty nice I think . Some books seem to take longer than others, it also depends on what other things I'm doing (or need doing) in my spare time.

Edited May 27, 2013 by Athena

[Devi]

Can I have some of your mojo Athena? I'll trade you books for some!!!

 

[Athena]

 

If it was possible, I would share !

[frankie]

Can I have some of your mojo Athena? I'll trade you books for some!!!

 

 

I was just about to say that wow Athena, you've been keeping really busy I counted the books you've read this year so far and got 42 titles! Hehe, what a coincidence, it's the 'meaning of life', 42

 

 

Sophie Kinsella - Twenties Girl

 

This was an excellent book. I love Sophie Kinsella's books and this one was just as good as the other ones I've read (there's only one left to read now I think (other than her new book which I don't have yet, planning to buy it in a bit), and the books she wrote as Madeleine Wickham). This story is a bit different in that it involves a paranormal element in the form of a ghost. It's not scary or anything, but I found the story as a whole (also due to what happens in the plot) less believable than some of her other books. The story is pretty good though, at the beginning I thought the main character (Lara) was a bit annoying (basically because she wants something that is obvious isn't going to happen), but that faded quickly. I wanted to read on and found out what happened in the story. The book was quite funny (as are most of Sophie Kinsella's books, really).

 

Rating: ***** (5/5)

 

I'm so happy you enjoyed this! I think this is Kinsella's best stand alone novel by far There were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments in the novel. Which of the Kinsella novels have you not read yet?

 

[Alexi]

my favourite of hers is Can You Keep a Secret? Which I very much enjoyed, but I did read it about five years ago now. I didn't enjoy the fantasy element of Twenties Girl so much.

 

I shall definitely look out for your Game of Thrones review! It's on my TBR, but I keep putting it off due to the size... I haven't seen the tv show yet though.

[frankie]

my favourite of hers is Can You Keep a Secret? Which I very much enjoyed, but I did read it about five years ago now. I didn't enjoy the fantasy element of Twenties Girl so much.

 

 

Can You Keep a Secret is good, yes, I think it was the first standalone novel by Kinsella that I read I also re-read it, so that's saying something, too!

 

Personally I didn't take the

ghost part

in the novel as fantasy, because there are so many fantasy novels out there that are a lot more out there, so to me this was just a regular chicklit novel with a bit of a twist But of course, to each their own

[Athena]

I was just about to say that wow Athena, you've been keeping really busy I counted the books you've read this year so far and got 42 titles! Hehe, what a coincidence, it's the 'meaning of life', 42

x

That's true !

 x

I'm so happy you enjoyed this! I think this is Kinsella's best stand alone novel by far There were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments in the novel. Which of the Kinsella novels have you not read yet?

x 

my favourite of hers is Can You Keep a Secret? Which I very much enjoyed, but I did read it about five years ago now. I didn't enjoy the fantasy element of Twenties Girl so much.

 

I shall definitely look out for your Game of Thrones review! It's on my TBR, but I keep putting it off due to the size... I haven't seen the tv show yet though.

x

So far I've read:

 

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan

Shopaholic Ties the Knot

Shopaholic & Sister

Shopaholic and Baby

Mini-Shopaholic

Can You Keep a Secret?

Remember Me?

Twenties Girl

 

TBR:

I've Got Your Number

 

Wishlist:

Wedding Night (waiting for paperback release)

 

It'd be tough to pick just one! I really love all of them. I actually just happened to come across a few of her books on a book fair and decided to give them a go (I'd heard a few things about them), am so glad I did! She's one of my favourite chick-lit authors.

 

If I had to pick just one, hmm.. let me think about it XD. (I should really update my favourites shelf on GoodReads, it doesn't really reflect all of my favourites).

 

I've finished reading a book (OCD for dummies, see read-a-thon thread) earlier today, I'll update my thread and the list at the beginning of the thread, when the read-a-thon is over (or such).

[chesilbeach]

^ You haven't mentioned one of my favourites of Sophie Kinsella's - The Undomestic Goddess. I prefer her standalone novels to the Shopaholic series, although I haven't read either of her last two books yet, but I'll get round to them at some point!

Edited May 31, 2013 by chesilbeach

[Athena]

Sorry ! It's on my TBR (it wasn't in the database argh ><!).

 

I also own all of Madeleine Wickham's novels, which is Sophie Kinsella writing under a different name. I've heard people like these less, I look forward to try them out for myself once I've finished all the ones that are written by Sophie Kinsella (in name).

[Athena]

Charles H. Elliott & Laura L. Smith - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder for Dummies

Genre: Information

Format: Kindle

Pages: ~325? (hard to say on Kindle)

Synopsis (GoodReads): Obsessive Compulsive Disorder For Dummies deconstructs this tricky cognitive disorder and offers information on therapies, medications, lifestyle adjustments, and everything else a person suffering from this disorder needs to know after diagnosis. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder For Dummies also includes information that’s relevant to the friends, family, and loved ones of those suffering from the disorder -- such as how to identify symptoms and how to support the sufferer mentally and physically.

 

My thoughts:

 

This was pretty good, I learned a lot! The tips of how to combat it made sense to me. I did find it a little bit worrying that most people never get rid of it completely.

 

Rating: ***** (5/5, 9/10)

[Athena]

Maureen Lee - A Dream Come True (QuickReads)

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Format: Paperback

Pages: 128

Synopsis (GoodReads): Until that fateful day in Brighton, Maggie had thought she would never be happy again ...Maggie's once happy marriage has turned sour, leaving her tied to a husband who no longer seems to love her. So she continues to work, keeps in touch with her friends and tries not to think about the lack of love in her life. But all that changes when Maggie meets someone who transforms how she feels about herself and turns her entire world upside down.

 

My thoughts:

 

This book is part of the QuickReads initiative. They're short, sweet reads meant to get people interested in reading. I don't know much about this author or her other novels. I bought the book because it sounded interesting and because it wasn't very expensive. The story is nicely written. It's short but it provided quite a bit of detail. The plot twists were unexpected and pretty good. Sometimes the book fast forwarded in time, to reveal a plot twist. I didn't expect this and found it a bit of a shame to miss out on certain time periods.

 

Rating: **** (4/5, 8/10)

Edited June 3, 2013 by Athena

[Athena]

Roald Dahl - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Genre: Children's

Format: Paperback

Pages: 190

Synopsis (GoodReads): For the first time in a decade, Willy Wonka, the reclusive and eccentric chocolate maker, is opening his doors to the public--well, five members of the public to be exact. The lucky five who find a Golden Ticket in their Wonka chocolate bars will receive a private tour of the factory, given by Mr. Wonka himself. For young Charlie Bucket, this a dream come true. And, when he finds a dollar bill in the street, he can't help but buy two Wonka's Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delights--even though his impoverished family could certainly use the extra dollar for food. But as Charlie unwraps the second chocolate bar, he sees the glimmer of gold just under the wrapper! The very next day, Charlie, along with his unworthy fellow winners Mike Teavee, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Augustus Gloop, steps through the factory gates to discover whether or not the rumors surrounding the Chocolate Factory and its mysterious owner are true. What they find is that the gossip can't compare to the extraordinary truth, and for Charlie, life will never be the same again. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, another unforgettable masterpiece from the legendary Roald Dahl, never fails to delight, thrill, and utterly captivate.

 

My thoughts:

 

I read this book in Dutch when I was a child (I own an old Dutch library copy that's falling apart a bit) and recently bought it in English. I love this story and it was great to re-read it (in English this time). I loved every moment of it. It's such a great story and I really do love Roald Dahl's writing style. It may be a children's book but it was still very enjoyable for an adult, in my opinion. I've seen two films of this book as well, one of them was a long time ago and so I don't remember much of it, the other maybe one or two years ago?, both were pretty good too.

 

Rating: ***** (5/5, 10/10)

[Athena]

H. P. Lovecraft - The Call of Cthulhu

Genre: Literature, Horror

Format: Paperback

Pages: 34

Synopsis (GoodReads): One of the feature stories of the Cthulhu Mythos, H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” is a harrowing tale of the weakness of the human mind when confronted by powers and intelligences from beyond our world.

 

My thoughts:

 

I bought this book because I kept seeing references to Cthulhu. I thought it'd be good to read this book, to see more of where the references came from. The story was interesting but the writing style didn't seem to flow very well. It wasn't an easy read. I'm glad I read it but I wasn't overly impressed by it.

 

Rating: **** (4/5, 7/10)

[Athena]

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 1: Een Strop voor Bobby

Genre: Literature, Horror

Format: Paperback

Pages: 137

 

My thoughts:

 

This is the first book in the Dutch Baantjer series. The books are about a detective / police investigator named De C-o-c-k (without '-', I don't want to set off any filters that may be in place) (as the book says in Dutch, with 'ceeooceekaa'). I realise this is very weird maybe, however keep in mind that in Dutch this word doesn't have any meaning ('kok' does and means chef).

 

Well, awkwardnesses out of the way, this first book doesn't actually involve the famous detective, apart from one scene. Instead, this book is about a different detective, Versteegh, who has to try and solve a case. The case itself isn't mentioned on the back of the book so I don't want to spoil it (not that I think anyone here will read the book, I haven't seen any Dutchies around lately).

 

Anyway, the book has several good plot twists, that I didn't always see coming. It was a shame the C-o-c-k himself wasn't involved more, I kept expecting him to walk in and solve the case, or something. That didn't happen. However, I thought Versteegh was a good character of his own, as were the other characters in the story. The story is well written.

 

I had to get used to the Dutch, as I hadn't read any Dutch books in quite some time (not counting cookbooks, newspapers, etc.). However, the story was quite interesting so this didn't bother me that much. I'll still prefer English, unless the original book is Dutch (as in this case), in which case I'll read the Dutch of course.

 

In short, this book was pretty good and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes detectives and who can read Dutch.

 

Rating: ***** (5/5, 9/10)

[Athena]

Natsumi Ando - Wild @ Heart Volume 1-3

Genre: Manga (chick-lit, romance, YA)

Format: Paperback

Pages: 544

Synopsis (GoodReads): Chino wants what every teen girl wants: to fall in love! But when it finally happens, it’s not exactly what she expected. Her father, a great explorer, brings home his latest find: Hyo, a boy who was raised in the jungle. Hyo is completely uncivilized, but he’s also supercute—and completely wild at heart. Can Chino really be falling for wild child Hyo?

 

My thoughts:

 

I picked this up for cheap on a book fair. I hadn't heard anything about the story or the author, but it sounded like a nice manga (and it is!)

 

This was sweet and cute. The book consists of three volumes (originally published seperately over the span of I presume some time), the story is one continuous story. There are several things happening in the story, I don't want to spoil it though. I liked the characters, though I wish some of them had more depth, others were nicely written and drawn. The illustrations were quite good. Hyo was quite cute in his own way (because he wasn't raised by people). All in all, I'd recommend it if you're looking for a sweet and cute manga that's easy to read.

 

Rating: **** (4/5, 8/10)

[Athena]

John Boyne - The Dare (QuickReads)

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Format: Paperback

Pages: 102

Synopsis (GoodReads): At the start of his school holidays, Danny Delaney is looking forward to a trouble-free summer. But when his mother returns home one afternoon, flanked by two policemen, he knows that something terrible has happened. Mrs Delaney has accidentally hit a small boy with her car. The boy is in a coma at the local hospital and nobody knows if he will ever wake up. Consumed by guilt, Danny's mother closes herself off, while Danny and his father are left to pick up the pieces of their fractured family. Told in John Boyne's unique style from the point of view of a twelve-year-old boy, The Dare is a brilliantly compelling story about how one moment can change a family forever.

 

My thoughts:

 

Again, I don't know much about this author, I picked it up because the synopsis sounded interesting.

 

This story was quite nice and easy to read. I thought the premise was quite interesting and enjoyed reading about Danny and how he felt and what happened.

 

One downside though was that I would've liked more detail about the mother. The book was mainly about Danny and what happens with him, what effect his mother has on him. The book doesn't go into detail about what the mother must be feeling, just how she acts towards her family.

 

It took me a while before I remember reading the age of the protagonist, I felt this could've been made clearer earlier in the story. Yes, it's in GoodReads' synopsis but not on the back of the book. It may have been mentioned near the beginning but during reading I couldn't remember this (so maybe it wasn't). It's not a big deal, it just bothered me a little. By the writing style and thoughts in the book I found it hard to determine, but then again I don't know a lot about children.

 

All in all this story was quite good and interesting.

 

Rating: **** (4/5, 7/10)

[Athena]

Talli Roland - Miracle at the Broken Museum

 

Genre: Chick-lit

Format: Kindle

Pages: ~52 pages (64 if you include the excerpt from another book of the author)

Synopsis (GoodReads): Does every relationship deserve a second chance?

 

When chief romantic Rose Delaney scores her dream job at London's quirkiest new attraction, The Museum of Broken Hearts, she thinks she's got it made. Sure, it's a little depressing dealing with relics of failed relationships each day, but Rose is determined not to let it break her 'love conquers all' spirit. After discovering the museum's handsome curator is nursing a broken heart of his own, Rose steps in to fix it. Can Rose heal the rift, or will this happy ending go awry?

 

My thoughts:

 

I hadn't read anything by this author before (though I own several more of her books on the Kindle).

 

This was quite a cute story. I enjoyed many things about the main character Rose, but in particular I liked reading about her job and what it involved. I thought she was a little bit dense at times. The book is a short, easy read. I liked it a lot.

 

Rating: **** (4/5, 8/10)

[Athena]

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince

 

Genre: Literature, Children's

Format: Paperback

Pages: 109 pages

Synopsis (back of the book): The Little Prince is a classic tale of equal appeal to children and adults. On one level it is the story of an airman's discovery in the desert of a small boy from another planet - the Little Prince of the title - and his stories of intergalactic travel, while on the other hand it is a thought-provoking allegory of the human condition. First published in 1943, the year before the author's dead in action, this new translation contains Saint-Exupéry's delightful illustrations.

 

My thoughts:

 

This book was nicely written. It was much easier to read than H. P. Lovecraft - The Call of Cthulhu. The illustrations in it (drawn by the author of the book) were not only beautiful but some of them also served a purpose in the story. I quite liked this element. The story was funny and interesting, and also quite different from most other things I've read.

 

Rating: **** (4/5, 8/10)

[Athena]

Cathy Glass - My Dad's a Policeman (QuickReads)

 

Genre: Biography, Contemporary Fiction

Format: Paperback

Pages: 98 pages

Synopsis (GoodReads): Fast-paced and compelling, this short story from Cathy Glass follows the experiences of a Ryan, a small and lonely 12-year-old boy who struggles to fit in. In an attempt to make friends, and discourage the school bullies from picking on him, Ryan tells his peers that his dad is a policeman. When the police actually turn up on Ryan's doorstep, to take him away from his alcoholic mother and put him in care, his life crumbles. (cut off because I feel the rest are spoilers, this is as far the back of the book tells it).

 

My thoughts:

 

This book is based on a true story.

 

This was a great story, it was quite interesting to read about Ryan and his family. The plot twists were unexpected. It's a short read but provided some detail.

 

Rating: **** (4/5, 8/10)

[Athena]

Iain M. Banks - Culture 4: The State of the Art

 

Genre: Science-fiction

Format: Paperback

Pages: 215 pages

Synopsis (GoodReads): The first ever collection of Iain Banks' short fiction, this volume includes the acclaimed novella, The State of the Art. This is a striking addition to the growing body of Culture lore, and adds definition and scale to the previous works by using the Earth of 1977 as contrast.

 

The other stories in the collection range from science fiction to horror, dark-coated fantasy to morality tale. All bear the indefinable stamp of Iain Banks' staggering talent.

 

My thoughts:

 

This book contains seven short stories and a novella. I'll write down a few thoughts on each of them, along with a rating and give you a final rating at the end:

 

Road of Skulls (8 pages)

This was allright. It's about two people who're on a cart on the Road of Skulls. It was a bit short and I felt not a lot happened.

Rating: **/***

 

A Gift from the Culture (19 pages)

This was very good. It's about a man who's in debt to some other people. I wished it'd gone on for longer, I would've liked to know what happened after it ended. It's fast-paced and contained more action than the previous short story (Road of Skulls).

Rating: ****

 

Odd Attachment (8 pages)

This was quite interesting. It's kind of an alien love story. I liked it but would've liked more detail about the protagonist and other things (that I won't spoil here).

Rating: ***

 

Descendant (15 pages)

This was quite interesting, I enjoyed it a lot. It's about a man and a suit who have to walk a long journey. There were unexpected plot twists that I didn't see coming.

Rating: ****

 

Cleaning Up (19 pages)

This was another good one. I can't really tell you what it's about or it'd spoil it I think. I would've liked more detail (as usually in short stories). There were abbreviations used that weren't explained, maybe it's meant to be liked that but it bothered me a little bit. The plot twists were quite good.

Rating: ****

 

Piece (11 pages)

This was a bit confusing. I think I got the meaning of it in the end, but the writing was a bit confusing.

Rating: ***

 

The State of the Art (107 pages)

This was very good! The protagonist is Diziet Sma, who is also in Use of Weapons. She is on a ship that's observing the Earth and spends some time there. The story was very tense, I kept wanting to read more to find out what would happen. It was philosophical too, it provided things to think about. I really liked this novella.

Rating: *****

 

Scratch (11 pages)

This was a collection of random scraps of I think news paper articles and commercials. I skimmed through it because I couldn't find any plot or logic in it. I think it's meant to show something about humanity's mentality but I feel the author could've made his point better by actually writing a story with a plot rather than putting up random scraps of what seems to me gibberish.

Rating: *

 

The total rating of the book:

 

Rating: **** (4/5, 8/10)

 

As a sidenote, I've now read 53 books so far this year. That's quite good for when the year isn't half way yet (currently it's the beginning of June, the 6th month)! I haven't before recorded how many books I've read (only started it half way through 2012), so it should be interesting to see what my total is at the end of the year. It'll depend on what I'm doing and if I read more short or longer books.

[Athena]

Nicholas Sparks - The Notebook 2: The Wedding

Genre: Contemporary Fiction (Romance)

Format: Paperback

Pages: 258 (excluding the preview of another one of his novels)

Synopsis (GoodReads): After thirty years of marriage, Wilson Lewis, son-in-law of Allie and Noah Calhoun (of The Notebook), is forced to admit that the romance has gone out of his marriage. Desperate to win back his wife, Jane's, heart, he must figure out how to make her fall in love with him... again. Despite the shining example of Allie and Noah's marriage, Wilson is himself a man unable to easily express his emotions. A successful estate attorney, he has provided well for his family, but now, with his daughter's upcoming wedding, he is forced to face the fact that he and Jane have grown apart and he wonders if she even loves him anymore. Wilson is sure of one thing--his love for his wife has only deepened and intensified over the years. Now, with the memories of his in-laws' magnificent fifty-year love affair as his guide, Wilson struggles to find his way back into the heart of the woman he adores.

 

This book was very good! I loved The Notebook and this one is pretty good too (I loved all the Nicholas Sparks books I've read so far, though I like The Notebook and this one, the best). Reading The Notebook isn't necessary to understand the story, however you will spoil The Notebook if you read this one before you read The Notebook. If you have read The Notebook, you'll get more out of this book and understand some of the references and characters better.

 

This book was told from the perspective of Wilson, who is married to Jane. Jane is Allie and Noah's daughter. The story is intertwined with flashbacks of the past of Wilson and Jane's life, how they met, their first date, and so on. It's a really great and sweet story and I wanted to keep on reading. The ending surprised me for the most part. All in all, I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes to read this type of book.