Athena Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) Note: I had to remove some emoticons. Only two books to go for you ! Whee ! Thanks ! I'll be happy if I've read 40 by the end of June You read longer books on average than I do I think, though . As long as you're enjoying what you're reading, the exact number doesn't matter so much. I haven't read this many books for a long time. Well done Gaia I'm so behind on reading this year but there's no point in worrying about it. I'm enjoying it again now and that's the main thing. Anyway, I might have a stellar last half of the year Thanks Kay! I hope you have a great second half of 2014 . I found this book rather disappointing, mostly for the reason you mentioned above. I scored it more harshly than you, though! I see you have been extremely busy reading and buying up all of the books in the Netherlands. Good work! Sometimes I think I should be harsher with my scores, but enjoyment is a big factor for me. I enjoyed reading the book so it gets a good score. Thanks ! I'm kind of addicted to buying books , it's terrible and I will work on it but there are other more pressing (health) issues I want to deal with first. (P.S. I'm planning on buying more books soon..) That's great, Gaia.....you will make it easily! Thanks Kate ! Edited June 12, 2014 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Congratulations on your amount of books read! That's amazing. I like that you give so many books such high ratings as it shows how much you enjoyed them. It's good when your reading thread reflects such consistently positive reading experiences - I'm going through a similar phase of this myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Congratulations on your amount of books read! That's amazing. I like that you give so many books such high ratings as it shows how much you enjoyed them. It's good when your reading thread reflects such consistently positive reading experiences - I'm going through a similar phase of this myself. Thanks Laura . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Peter F. Hamilton - Commonwealth Saga 1: Pandora's StarGenre: Science-fictionAge-range: AdultFormat: HardcoverPages: 882Synopsis (GoodReads):It is AD 2380 and humanity has colonized over 600 planets, all interlinked by wormholes. With Earth as its centre, the Intersolar Commonwealth has grown into a society where rejuvenation allows its citizens to live for centuries. When a star vanishes, the Commonwealth is anxious to investigate.My thoughts: It has been a while since I read a book by Peter F. Hamilton. I've been meaning to read this book, and this series, for quite some time but because this book is such a big hardcover I had put it off until now.This book was quite amazing. Not as amazing as the Night's Dawn trilogy, but still pretty good. The story was pretty tense, particularly the second half of the book. There is a lot of world building and scientific terms, I quite enjoyed most of this. A lot of detail has gone into the book, on occasion I felt a bit too much. I wanted to get on with the story while I felt the detail I was reading about didn't much add to the story. On many other occasions though I loved reading about these details and was enjoying the story, I can't quite explain it exactly.The characters were very interesting, though on occasion I had some trouble remembering who was who. Luckily because of the way the book is written it came back to me as I read the part about the specific character, their actions and thoughts reminded me again of who they were. There is a list of major characters in the front.I couldn't read this book for too long at a time sometimes, because of how epic and complicated it is (and also because my copy is quite heavy). I particularly enjoyed the second half of the book, with some very interesting things happening that I can't write here due to spoilers.I really enjoyed reading this book and am a little mad at myself for putting off reading more Peter F. Hamilton's books. I should try and read them more often! I have quite a few others on my TBR. I plan on reading Judas Unchained, the second book in the duology, soon though with perhaps one or a few books in between.It's such an epic story and I quite liked the world the author has imagined. There are several story lines in the book going on with multiple characters. In the beginning you don't get yet why things are relevant but that is revealed later on (I hope that's not a spoiler).Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. It's epic space opera and it had been a while since I read anything like that. Hamilton remains (so far) my favourite science-fiction writer, this book was very enjoyable.Rating: ***** (10/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 (edited) The lovely Devi has sent me Susan Hill - The Woman in Black and Dodie Smith - I Capture the Castle :exc:, thank you so much Devi . At the charity shop I bought some Dutch books: René Appel - De Derde Persoon René Appel - Loverboy Robin Cook - Invasie (Invasion) I will also be ordering some books online at some point as there are a few that I must have . Edited June 13, 2014 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 I've updated the statistics of my book collection on page two of this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Hi Athena Just hopping in to say my gosh, you are on a roll with your reading ! What a huge list you have completed already ! You have well exceeded your expectations for the year . I found it interesting that you have read an exact even number of male/female authors. I'd bet that I read more male authors on average, although I'm not sure . I don't keep as good of records as you . Great job and keep up the good work ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 14, 2014 Author Share Posted June 14, 2014 Thanks Julie ! I find that interesting too, it's quite surprising but a good balance I think. Thanks for your post . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 14, 2014 Author Share Posted June 14, 2014 Richard Wiseman - Quirkology: Onalledaags Onderzoek naar Ons Dagelijks Leven (note: not my picture) Genre: Information Age-range: Adult Format: Paperback Pages: 278 Synopsis (GoodReads):An award-winning psychologist exposes the truth behind life's little oddities and absurdities in this quirky and practical guide to life. For over twenty years, psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman has examined the quirky science of everyday life. In Quirkology, he navigates the backwaters of human behavior, discovering the tell-tale signs that give away a liar, the secret science behind speed-dating and personal ads, and what a person's sense of humor reveals about the innermost workings of their mind-- all along paying tribute to others who have carried out similarly weird and wonderful work. Wiseman's research has involved secretly observing people as they go about their daily business, conducting unusual experiments in art exhibitions and music concerts, and even staging fake séances in allegedly haunted buildings. With thousands of research subjects from all over the world, including enamored couples, unwitting pedestrians, and guileless dinner guests, Wiseman presents a fun, clever, and unexpected picture of the human mind. My thoughts: I felt like reading something lighter, easier to read and less complicated (than Pandora's Star). I thought I'd read a Dutch information book, I felt like reading this one. I bought it at the last book fair. This book was pretty good. A lot of the research was surprising to me, though of a few I had read before and so their results were known to me. It was really interesting to read about all these different researches, both by the author as well as by other people. The author describes everything in clear language (in the Dutch translated version at least). I liked the writing style. The book was interesting. It's divided up in to six subjects (six chapters), with each describing various researches to do with the subject. Overall I enjoyed reading this book. Rating: **** (8/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Great books from Devi I hope you enjoy them Gaia .. I liked them both and I Capture the Castle is an all time fave. The film is well worth seeing too if you can catch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 I'm glad to hear/read that Kay, thanks . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Great reviews! I know what you mean about Pandora's Star, when you say that sometimes there is too much detail and you want the story to move on. I preferred the first half, to the second half, and I struggled with Ozzie and Orion's search for the Silfen. That story line just seemed to drag on. Aside from that, it was very addictive to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 I struggled with that too! Thanks . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 I'd bet that I read more male authors on average, although I'm not sure . I don't keep as good of records as you . Great job and keep up the good work ! I counted up a few months ago, and I believe my ratio was about 2/3rds male, and 1/3rd female authors. I think the male count goes up more than that in other years though. Gaia, I really like the sound of Quirkology. Great reviews, all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 That's pretty interesting . Thanks Kate . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Glad you liked Pandora's Star. I'll be interested to hear what you think of Judas Unchained when you've finished it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 Thanks, I'll be sure to of course post a review . So far it's good but I've read just under 100 pages so there's still a lot to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I counted up a few months ago, and I believe my ratio was about 2/3rds male, and 1/3rd female authors. I think the male count goes up more than that in other years though. Gaia, I really like the sound of Quirkology. Great reviews, all! Mine`s about 20% male this year, though I think that`s `cos I do like a cosy mystery and most of those seem to be written by the ladies.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Mine`s about 20% male this year, though I think that`s `cos I do like a cosy mystery and most of those seem to be written by the ladies.. I go though stages, I do love some of the so-called cozies, myself. But I do tend more toward the noir and sort of adventure/detective stuff. And that's mostly males. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Both of that makes sense . Some genres have more books written by one gender of authors. Most of my science-fiction and fantasy books have male authors and most of my chick-lit books have female authors. Edited June 16, 2014 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Congrats on all the reading! Are you aiming for 200 by the end of the year? Pandora's Star is great, glad you enjoyed it too, I hope you like the Judas Unchained just as much Are you feeling any better at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 17, 2014 Author Share Posted June 17, 2014 I hope I reach 200 by the end of the year but I don't want to pressure myself too much. I would love it if I can though . Thanks , so far I'm enjoying it a lot. As more often though with long complicated epic books I'm not progressing as quickly as when I read something easier and shorter, but I'm enjoying it so it doesn't matter too much if it takes a bit longer. I'm feeling allright, at the moment a bit stressed because of doctor's appointments and other things, in a while though it should hopefully all be over. Then after that, we'll be getting my boyfriend's things and he'll officially move in here. So that's exciting . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 17, 2014 Author Share Posted June 17, 2014 Here are my new books: Nagaru Tanigawa and Noizi Ito - The Disappearance Of Nagato Yuki-Chan Vol. 5 (I really enjoyed books 1-4) Alan Weisman - The World Without Us (for the Reading Circle) Maria V. Snyder - Avry of Kazan 3: Taste of Darkness (I look forward to read this trilogy) Sinéad Moriarty - Emma Huntington 4: Mad About You (I loved books 1-3 so am eager to read book four) Diane Chamberlain - Summer's Child (an older book republished, I didn't have this one yet) Diane Chamberlain - Kiss River 1: Keeper of the Light (to replace my bigger copy, it was only £1.06 / €1.40ish) . S. Lewis - The Chronicles Of Narnia 1-7 (I read most of these as a child at the library, I look forward to read them again) Raymond E. Feist - Chaoswar Saga 3: Magician's End (the final one) Mark Lawrence - The Broken Empire 3: Emperor Of Thorns (I look forward to read this trilogy, good recommendations from here) Ken Follett - The Pillars Of The Earth 1: The Pillars Of The Earth (good recommendations from here, plus I already had book two) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 (edited) Here are my new books: Nagaru Tanigawa and Noizi Ito - The Disappearance Of Nagato Yuki-Chan Vol. 5 (I really enjoyed books 1-4) Alan Weisman - The World Without Us (for the Reading Circle) Maria V. Snyder - Avry of Kazan 3: Taste of Darkness (I look forward to read this trilogy) Sinéad Moriarty - Emma Huntington 4: Mad About You (I loved books 1-3 so am eager to read book four) Diane Chamberlain - Summer's Child (an older book republished, I didn't have this one yet) Diane Chamberlain - Kiss River 1: Keeper of the Light (to replace my bigger copy, it was only £1.06 / €1.40ish) . S. Lewis - The Chronicles Of Narnia 1-7 (I read most of these as a child at the library, I look forward to read them again) Raymond E. Feist - Chaoswar Saga 3: Magician's End (the final one) Mark Lawrence - The Broken Empire 3: Emperor Of Thorns (I look forward to read this trilogy, good recommendations from here) Ken Follett - The Pillars Of The Earth 1: The Pillars Of The Earth (good recommendations from here, plus I already had book two) Woohoo- new books! And oh oh oh!!!! Read Pillars of the Earth first Edited June 17, 2014 by Anna Begins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Great reviews Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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