Athena's Reading List 2013

[Athena]

Susan R. Lisman and Karla Dougherty - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for Dummies
Genre: Science-fiction
Format: Paperback
Pages: 215 pages
Synopsis (GoodReads): You've been repeatedly poked, prodded, tested and scanned, yet, despite how awful you feel, your doctor, like many of your friends, co-workers, and family members have begun dropping subtle (and some not-so-subtle) hints that they think it's "all in your head." Maybe you're one of the lucky few CFS sufferers who've received an accurate diagnosis but nothing your health care provider does seems to help. Well, you're not alone. According to recent estimates, of the approximately 800,000 Americans with CFS, more than 90% have been misdiagnosed, dismissed, or are not receiving proper treatment.Don't despair, help has arrived. Written by a national expert who has successfully treated scores of CFS patients in her own practice, "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for Dummies" gives you the knowledge and tools you need to beat CFS and get back to living a normal life. In plain English Doctor Susan Lisman fills you in on: What CFS is, how you get it, and how it affects your body. <cutoff here>

I read this book because my boyfriend suffers from ME / CFS. The book taught me some things I didn't know yet, which I quite appreciated. I feel I can understand a bit better now what my boyfriend goes through. The book's language was easy to understand. Sometimes things only applied to people living in the US, I skimmed over those parts as they don't apply in Europe in the same way. Some things were also repeated several times throughout the book because you are supposed to be able to read each chapter on its own (and I think you can). This is good for repetition's sake because it helps people remember but I don't generally need it so much because my memory is usually pretty good (then again, with my education and brain I could hardly be called a dummy I suppose ). All in all I learned quite a bit.

One thing that confuses me, in several of the "For Dummies" books that I've read now, is that sometimes they use the word "he" and sometimes the word "she", for words like "child" or "friend". It confuses me, why in one paragraph call the child a she and in the other a he? Sometimes it switched in the same paragraph. I feel it would've been better if they'd stuck to one or the other, at least within the same text or chapter, or if there'd been a notice in the beginning saying "we will use only one of the two but we mean for both", or write (s)he or something. Several of the books have that had now, though I don't believe I've mentioned it before. It's just a bit confusing (I really do think the language would benefit from having a word that means either).

Rating: ***** (4/5, 9/10)

This book does make me worry a bit, it says that (presumably, in the US) 85% of marriages that deals with chronic illness fails. We aren't married (yet) but he has ME / CFS and I have my disability. How much chance do we have? But then again, we've both been defying many odds since we were born. What do you think?

[Janet]

I think at least 85% of statistics are utter rubbish!     If you two work together then I think you have as much chance of lasting the course as any other couple.  The thing to do in any relationship is to communicate with one another and to work at things when problems arise - which they do in every marriage/relationship. 

[Athena]

Thanks, Janet, your words make me feel better . Those are good tips.

[Alexi]

Wise words J.

 

Every couple is unique. Communication and a willingness to work through problems is the most important thing IMO.

[Little Pixie]

Some of the books I have purchased in 2013:

 

Maeve Binchy - Circle of Friends

Katie Fforde - Highland Fling

Laura Lippman - Tess Monaghan 7: The Last Place

Harry Turtledove - Opening of the World 1: Beyond the Gap

Nicholas Evans - The Horse Whisperer

Adrian Tchaikovsky - Some of the Shadows Of The Apt series

Charles Dickens - Several books

Stephen King - Several books

Garth Stein - The Art Of Racing In The Rain

Marcus Zusak - The Book Thief

Jay Asher - Thirteen Reasons Why

Some of Jean M. Auel - Earth's Children series

Various books, mainly by authors I already have one or multiple books of

 

Hi Athena.

 

I read the first Laura Lippman ` Tess` book a couple of years ago, and wasn`t sure about continuing with the series - have you read any of the others ? Oh, I also have The Book Thief ( a Xmas present ), various Dickens ( bought years ago with the intention of having a major Dickensian moment and left untouched ) and a Maeve Binchy book called Tara Road  ( not read any of hers, but enjoyed the TV film of the book with Olivia Williams, Andie MacDowell).  

[Athena]

I haven't read any other ones (I didn't know it was part of a series when I bought it, I happened to saw it for cheap in a charity shop and it sounded interesting to me). I do own two other books by Laura Lippman, one being By a Spider's Thread (according to GoodReads it's number 8 in the series, I wish they'd put that on or in the books ><) and To The Power of Three. I liked the sound of the synopsis of them, all three were found cheap (I do love a bargain heh).

 

Btw, I bought lots more books than what's in that post, but I didn't want to list them all (I'm quite embarrassed about my shopping behaviour, even if quite a few of them were found pretty cheaply). On GoodReads you can see which books I own, though I've set it so you'd need to be my friend on the site to be able to see it. I own over 1500 books (not including children's books, I own hmm.. at least a couple of hundred more of those. I'm not sure, I've never counted them, they're in boxes). I've bought quite a lot of books this year so far.. shopping is one of my stress relieves and I've been increasingly stressed (also, this is my first year with an ereader so I've been downloading many free ebooks too). Gladly though soon most of that should be over (the stress I mean). I'm too embarrassed to post a list, it would be fairly easy to make the list, I'd just be embarrassed to post it . A few months ago I bought some new book cases (instead of one older and slightly smaller book case), when they were just up there was some space left, now most of the space has been filled up, there aren't many empty spaces left! I do love organising my book cases.

 

I didn't know there was a film of a Maeve Binchy book, will have to look into that sometime!

 

I haven't read any Dickens yet either, for some reason they intimidate me (as with most literature). The plan is to start with maybe Oliver Twist in the next while. I've heard lots of good things about it and I know bits of the story (even if I couldn't tell you much about it right now, I hope to remember when I read it) because I saw a children's musical of it. This book is on my to-be-read-soon pile, although I should point out it's been on that pile for two months or something at least . One of these days I'll have the courage, at least once I'm finished with university. Many people who've never been to university have read and understood Charles Dickens' work, so I should be able to I think!

 

I'm quite far into George R. R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire 1: A Game of Thrones atm and I've also been reading bits of a book on the Kindle (which I'd rather not name in public, does that make sense? It's an information book about something that's important to me and my family). I'd love to read more of A Game of Thrones especially, since the story is quite tense, but somehow I end up doing other things instead. I'm not sure why this keeps happening. For now though what matters most is that I enjoy myself and am not too stressed nor too tired, so if browsing facebook or what not, helps me atm, then I'll do those things. I'm at page 682, only about 120ish pages left until the end. Not a lot, really. If I try, I could have that finished pretty soon. Hopefully in a few days, at latest.

[frankie]

x

That's true !

 xx 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)

 

 

^ 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!

 

I also noticed that you haven't yet read The Undomestic Goddess (but I did see the post where you said you have it on your TBR). That's the one Kinsella standalone I didn't enjoy. I liked the premise, but I didn't find it believable (eventhough I know what it's like to start off as a real know-nothing in a kitchen ). But I've heard many other people like the book just fine, so I think it's just me that had problems with the book. Hopefully you'll be able to enjoy the book!

 

 

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)

 

This sounds interesting, I might keep my eyes out for the book

 

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)

 

Great review, thanks! I'd put it on my wishlist but I'm already determined to buy whichever book I can find by John Boyne. Have you read The Boy in Striped Pyjamas? It's really great, very sad but well written. Quite a few people on here have read it. I also loved Boyne's Crippen (which is based on a true crime story), it was one of my most favorite reads a few years back. I think Boyne's a very gifted author

 

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)

 

This is such a great book.. And it's ageless, you can read it no matter how old you are, and you will always learn new things... I've only read it once but I think it definitely stands more reading.

 

I think at least 85% of statistics are utter rubbish!     If you two work together then I think you have as much chance of lasting the course as any other couple.  The thing to do in any relationship is to communicate with one another and to work at things when problems arise - which they do in every marriage/relationship. 

 

Agreed! It's normal for you to be concerned, but you two have been together for I don't know how long and you've managed it, and from what little I know you seem to make a really great couple

 

Btw, I bought lots more books than what's in that post, but I didn't want to list them all (I'm quite embarrassed about my shopping behaviour, even if quite a few of them were found pretty cheaply). On GoodReads you can see which books I own, though I've set it so you'd need to be my friend on the site to be able to see it. I own over 1500 books (not including children's books, I own hmm.. at least a couple of hundred more of those. I'm not sure, I've never counted them, they're in boxes). I've bought quite a lot of books this year so far.. shopping is one of my stress relieves and I've been increasingly stressed (also, this is my first year with an ereader so I've been downloading many free ebooks too). Gladly though soon most of that should be over (the stress I mean). I'm too embarrassed to post a list, it would be fairly easy to make the list, I'd just be embarrassed to post it . A few months ago I bought some new book cases (instead of one older and slightly smaller book case), when they were just up there was some space left, now most of the space has been filled up, there aren't many empty spaces left! I do love organising my book cases.

 

You shouldn't feel embarrassed about your purchases!   You are in good company over here, we all love books and we all collect them, some less and some more. I know people on here who own as many books as you do, so you aren't the only one with a huge TBR list. I'm sure people would be jealous rather than judgemental... And I think we've talked about this before, but book buying has been a stress relieving sort of therapy for me, too, and I'm betting some money on the fact that other people on here are the same. Not everyone, but you and I can't be the only ones!

 

[Athena]

I also noticed that you haven't yet read The Undomestic Goddess (but I did see the post where you said you have it on your TBR). That's the one Kinsella standalone I didn't enjoy. I liked the premise, but I didn't find it believable (eventhough I know what it's like to start off as a real know-nothing in a kitchen ). But I've heard many other people like the book just fine, so I think it's just me that had problems with the book. Hopefully you'll be able to enjoy the book!

x

Thanks, I didn't know you didn't like it that much. I hope to enjoy it, will let you know what I think. I love all of her books that I've read so far, I'll be sure to post a review / some thoughts on it when I've read it.

x

Great review, thanks! I'd put it on my wishlist but I'm already determined to buy whichever book I can find by John Boyne. Have you read The Boy in Striped Pyjamas? It's really great, very sad but well written. Quite a few people on here have read it. I also loved Boyne's Crippen (which is based on a true crime story), it was one of my most favorite reads a few years back. I think Boyne's a very gifted author

x

I haven't read those, however I'm putting them on the wishlist now! They sound quite good .

x

Agreed! It's normal for you to be concerned, but you two have been together for I don't know how long and you've managed it, and from what little I know you seem to make a really great couple

x

Thank you! We've been together for more than five years and have known each other for over nine years.

x

You shouldn't feel embarrassed about your purchases! You are in good company over here, we all love books and we all collect them, some less and some more. I know people on here who own as many books as you do, so you aren't the only one with a huge TBR list. I'm sure people would be jealous rather than judgemental... And I think we've talked about this before, but book buying has been a stress relieving sort of therapy for me, too, and I'm betting some money on the fact that other people on here are the same. Not everyone, but you and I can't be the only ones!

x

Thanks . I suppose I could edit the post on page one to include a list of all my books, would anyone like to see that? If I do it alphabetically it'll be harder to add on later but if I do it chronologically (the start of the list isn't chronologically) it'll be harder for people to find stuff. What do you think?

 

 

Not entirely related topic:

I used to have a blog (well, I still have it I presume, but I haven't posted much on it lately), I liked to blog but even though I posted links on facebook, at the time not many people actually looked. I'd get maybe 3 hits on a post. So I kind of felt like, why blog, I might as well write in a diary. However I might like to blog again as I do like to write (as I do here, which I love too), what do you think? Since books are important to me, some of my posts would be about books. However I'm not sure if that many people would be interested, especially since I could just post a facebook status update (which I'm not sure if they're read much either, really. Could be because some of my friends don't understand enough English?? Or I don't know..). Basically I don't know if it's worth trying again. I mean, I'd like to practise my writing in one way or another so if not a blog (obviously this'd be after I'm done with university) then maybe just on my computer in a document or in a diary. At the very least I plan to keep posting here, because I do love it here. I've also been watching book videos on YouTube and if I didn't have my condition and liked my own voice I might be tempted to do that too, especially a book shelf tour for example (however nearly all my books are double stacked so it'd take quite a while). I do love to talk or write about books (especially write). Again the problem (other than my condition, that's the biggest problem) is will anyone watch it, I don't know. Also, I don't like to feel pressured so if maybe some people were interested, I might feel pressured into something I don't feel like doing. Right now I can't really use any pressure, I'll have to see how things go when I'm finished with university.

 

I hope to be finishing A Game of Thrones soon so I can post a review / some thoughts and start reading another book. I may read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry soon, or another book from my maybe-to-be-read-soon pile. My boyfriend should be here in a few days (yay ) so I may not do a lot of reading just after he arrives (we tend to want to talk and catch up with each other's lives, before we go and do some seperate things).

 

It's weird, I read quite a lot during the read-a-thon, but after that my reading seemed to slow down quite a lot. I'm not really liking it! However in this stressful period, I need to do what I need to do to be less stressed so if I don't feel like reading much then I don't want to pressure myself. It's not that I don't want to read though, I do am enjoying the book. I'm not sure what it is (other than stress, I mean).

[julie]

Athena

 I hope you have a fun visit with your boyfriend . As for the reading, it's ok if you scale it back a bit if you are stressed right now .  Once the stressful part dies down ,then you can pick up some books and enjoy reading once again  .

[Athena]

Thanks julie .

[Little Pixie]

You shouldn't feel embarrassed about your purchases!   You are in good company over here, we all love books and we all collect them, some less and some more. I know people on here who own as many books as you do, so you aren't the only one with a huge TBR list. I'm sure people would be jealous rather than judgemental... And I think we've talked about this before, but book buying has been a stress relieving sort of therapy for me, too, and I'm betting some money on the fact that other people on here are the same. Not everyone, but you and I can't be the only ones!

 

 

Ditto. My books purchased this year exceed my books read - this is not unusual. I think I`d get stressy if I didn`t have books waiting for me.

[Devi]

You can add me to that list Frankie and Athena! I'm like a kid in a candy store when it comes to books...

Edited June 17, 2013 by Devi

[Athena]

George R. R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire 1: A Game of Thrones

Genre: Fantasy

Format: Paperback

Pages: 804 (excluding the family trees)

Synopsis (GoodReads): Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty. The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

 

My thoughts:

 

I saw season one of the TV series before I read this book (I haven't seen season two yet, because I want to read the book first). While I like the TV series, I believe the book is better! (as is usually the case for me, tbh)

 

This book was really good. I admit, it's taken some time for me to read, I read some other books in between (such as for the read-a-thon) but all the while it was quite interesting, particularly the second half of the book. The writing is quite good. The book is told from several points of view, each chapter is seen from a different character. I liked a lot of the characters, though there were a few I couldn't stand. In the case of some, this is maybe meant to be as they're not exactly nice people (which is why I don't like them, they're very evil). The plot twists were quite good. I enjoyed reading it all even though I knew what would happen through the TV series.

 

There isn't as much violence as nudity in the book as there is in the TV series, and I really appreciate this. I was able to read the book fine for the most part, without too much cringing (like I did with the TV series) (it might have helped slightly that I knew what was going to happen). It does make me a bit mad, in my opinion it wasn't neccessary to add the violence and nudity into it (the parts that weren't in the book I mean), to me it seems it's done for spectacle's sake, to get more viewers. Anyway..

 

I plan to read the next book before I watch the next season, I think that'd be better. However if my boyfriend really wants to see it or my reading is going very slow, we may watch season two first anyway. I've heard season three is a mixture of books three, four and five so that'll be more awkward, though the Blu-ray isn't out yet so it'll be a while until I can see it anyway (the regular TV channels here haven't even broadcast season two yet if I'm correct, HBO might have though but not RTL4 where I watched season one on). Normally I don't like starting a book series if it's not finished yet nor will be finished soon, but in this case I had already started watching the TV show so I figured I might as well read the book(s) too. This book had been on my shelf for more than four years, so quite a bit of time (though I have books that have been on the shelf longer than that).

 

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

[Karsa Orlong]

Great review Athena!
 
 

George R. R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire 1: A Game of Thrones
 
I saw season one of the TV series before I read this book (I haven't seen season two yet, because I want to read the book first). While I like the TV series, I believe the book is better! (as is usually the case for me, tbh)

 

I think the book is better, too. By it's nature, with so many sub-plots, the tv series has to jump about too much, meaning some of the nuances are completely lost, whereas the books can take their time to develop situations and characters (of course, imo, Martin's kind of taken his time a bit too much in the fourth and fifth books!).

 

 

There isn't as much violence as nudity in the book as there is in the TV series, and I really appreciate this. I was able to read the book fine for the most part, without too much cringing (like I did with the TV series) (it might have helped slightly that I knew what was going to happen). It does make me a bit mad, in my opinion it wasn't neccessary to add the violence and nudity into it (the parts that weren't in the book I mean), to me it seems it's done for spectacle's sake, to get more viewers. Anyway..

 

Agree with this wholeheartedly - the so-called 'sexposition' scenes in the tv series are awful. It's like the producers/writers are a bunch of teenagers giggling at what they can get away with It's all done to shock, of course, because it gets the series publicity. It even got a mention on the radio yesterday when people were complaining about the sex scenes in The White Queen (the BBC adaptation of the Phillipa Gregory novel which started here on Sunday).

You'll be pleased to know that the sex scenes have almost completely disappeared in season three of the tv show - there's just far too much other stuff for them to be getting on with.  It was such a relief 

 

 

I've heard season three is a mixture of books three, four and five so that'll be more awkward

 

I think that is more applicable to what they'll have to do with season four of the tv show. The vast majority of season three refers to A Storm of Swords, and mostly to the first half of it. They might've moved a few plotlines about, or elaborated on them, just to keep all the actors busy. But generally I'd recommend reading the books first anyway - you're going to spend more time with them than the tv show, so I reckon it's best to read them unspoiled


 

[Athena]

Great review Athena!

x

Thanks !

x 

I think the book is better, too. By it's nature, with so many sub-plots, the tv series has to jump about too much, meaning some of the nuances are completely lost, whereas the books can take their time to develop situations and characters (of course, imo, Martin's kind of taken his time a bit too much in the fourth and fifth books!).

x

I agree.

x

Agree with this wholeheartedly - the so-called 'sexposition' scenes in the tv series are awful. It's like the producers/writers are a bunch of teenagers giggling at what they can get away with It's all done to shock, of course, because it gets the series publicity. It even got a mention on the radio yesterday when people were complaining about the sex scenes in The White Queen (the BBC adaptation of the Phillipa Gregory novel which started here on Sunday).

 

You'll be pleased to know that the sex scenes have almost completely disappeared in season three of the tv show - there's just far too much other stuff for them to be getting on with.  It was such a relief 

x

This is excellent news!

x 

I think that is more applicable to what they'll have to do with season four of the tv show. The vast majority of season three refers to A Storm of Swords, and mostly to the first half of it. They might've moved a few plotlines about, or elaborated on them, just to keep all the actors busy. But generally I'd recommend reading the books first anyway - you're going to spend more time with them than the tv show, so I reckon it's best to read them unspoiled

x

That's all good to hear. And yes, it makes sense to read the books first. I plan on reading the second book not too long from now, I'm eager to see what will happen! First though I think I might read the July read, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

 

Thanks for your reply .

[Athena]

I've edited the third post in this thread to include a list of all my books. It's sorted at the beginning based upon how I entered them into the database, in February. After that it's based on date of purchase (with the exception of a few that I forgot to add before). I plan to add books there as I purchase them (and post here), though I don't know how long I'll keep it up XD. This morning I purchased three books on the Kindle by Jo Nesbo/.

 

Jo Nesbo/ - Harry Hole 3: The Redbreast

Jo Nesbo/ - Harry Hole 4: Nemesis

Jo Nesbo/; Don Bartlett - Harry Hole 5: The Devil's Star

 

I haven't done much reading lately, though I've been reading bits on my Kindle in Understanding Autism for Dummies by Stephen Shore and Linda G. Rastelli. So far it's interesting but I did skip some bits that I found not interesting. I plan to start The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce soon, but it depends on how much time I spend with my boyfriend, how stressed I am and what I feel like doing in my spare time (when I'm not working on university things).

 

I've been working on my presentation for university, the final one, in three weeks it'll all be over and I should hopefully be less stressed and feel better.

 

EDIT: A while ago I also downloaded some free ebooks from Project Gutenberg, I haven't sorted through them yet though but when I do (in a while) I might have some more (free) books to add to the database. I also plan on adding my children's and teenager books sometime (at least the ones that are easily accessible atm).

Edited June 24, 2013 by Athena

[Karsa Orlong]

 

Jo Nesbo/ - Harry Hole 3: The Redbreast

Jo Nesbo/ - Harry Hole 4: Nemesis

Jo Nesbo/; Don Bartlett - Harry Hole 5: The Devil's Star

 

Three good books there Athena!  The Redbreast is his best, I think, along with The Snowman.  Hope you enjoy them   

[Athena]

I'm glad to hear they're good! Thanks .

[Kidsmum]

I agree with Karsa The Redbreast is a very good read, i have the other ones as well but haven't got round to reading them yet.

 

I'm currently reading Harold Fry as well Athena so look forward to reading your thoughts on it 

[Little Pixie]

 I've been working on my presentation for university, the final one, in three weeks it'll all be over and I should hopefully be less stressed and feel better.

 

 Good Luck !

[pontalba]

I've really enjoyed the Jo Nesbo books as well. 

 

Good luck on our presentation Athena!

[dex]

I loved the Jo Nesbo books, Fed up of waiting for the first two.

[Athena]

I agree with Karsa The Redbreast is a very good read, i have the other ones as well but haven't got round to reading them yet.

 

I'm currently reading Harold Fry as well Athena so look forward to reading your thoughts on it 

x

So far I like it a lot! I'm about 100+ pages into the book, I look forward to hear your thoughts too . 

x

Good Luck !

x 

Thank you !

x 

I've really enjoyed the Jo Nesbo books as well. 

 

Good luck on our presentation Athena!

x

Thanks !

x 

I loved the Jo Nesbo books, Fed up of waiting for the first two.

x

Do you know why they've translated the later ones before the first two? It doesn't make much sense to me, I tried to find the first two but couldn't (at least not in the Amazon Kindle Store).

 

Lately I really like my Kindle for travelling, but I find that overall I love tree books the best. I tend to mainly read Kindle only books on the Kindle, information books (easy for highlighting) or short stories (or if the Kindle version is a lot cheaper than the tree book version, sometimes). I have yet to read a book on it that's more than 400 pages, I do have a few though so in due time..

[dex]

I think someone, said they were weaker books and also the fact that there is a flowing storyline from the third one onwards.

[Athena]

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)