tunn300 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) Have only just got round to reading your thread and have to say WOW!! What an organised list and charts!! Hope you have a great reading year in 2014. When reading your thread I just noticed you have read the most recent Nick Spalding book which tempted me in tesco earlier till I noticed it was book 3 of the series. Book 1 is currently on sale for 99p on kindle but had very mixed reviews. Many of the negatives say he is very poor at writing from the woman's perspective. Did you enjoy the first book? Edited January 5, 2014 by tunn300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) Happy New Year Gaia and Happy Reading in 2014! .. you've made a great start xxx Thanks, Kay ! x Have only just got round to reading your thread and have to say WOW!! What an organised list and charts!! Hope you have a great reading year in 2014. When reading your thread I just noticed you have read the most recent Nick Spalding book which tempted me in tesco earlier till I noticed it was book 3 of the series. Book 1 is currently on sale for 99p on kindle but had very mixed reviews. Many of the negatives say he is very poor at writing from the woman's perspective. Did you enjoy the first book? x Thanks ! I think you can easily read book 3 on its own, though I do understand wanting to start with the first book in the series. I thought the first book was less enjoyable than the third book, but mainly because there were more sexual references in it and I don't like it when there's too much of that. I don't remember noticing anything strange about the women's perspective really, but of course opinions differ. I liked the first book enough to buy the second and later on third books, I think I rated the first book 8 out of 10. The first book is mainly about the two main characters dating experiences, I found it wasn't as in depth as book three. But I liked it, though. Sorry if this reply comes to you after the sale . EDIT: I went into the charity shop a few days ago and bought: Amy Gray - Spygirl: True Adventures from My Life as a Private Eye Edited January 7, 2014 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Simon Kernick - Wrong Time, Wrong Place (QuickReads) Genre: Thriller Format: Paperback Pages: 92 Synopsis (GoodReads):Have you ever been in the wrong place at the wrong time? You are hiking in the Scottish highlands with three friends when you come across a girl. She is half-naked, has been badly beaten, and she can't speak English. She is clearly running away from someone. Do you stop to help her? My thoughts: Another read-a-thon, another QuickReads book (only one left now). This one was on top of the pile, so I picked it. This book was pretty scary. I don't like it when books are too scary and I'm not a big fan of thrillers anymore (particularly because of the scary aspect) but I did want to keep reading and find out what would happen. There were some surprising plot twists that I didn't see coming. It's only a short book, if it had been bigger I would've liked to see more of the characters. That said, the story works as it is, and really made me want to read more. There was a lot of action. Overall I quite enjoyed reading it, though upon a re-read you'd already know these plot twists and it might then be less interesting (but that's the case for more books I suppose). The book surprised me, it was pretty tense. Rating: **** (8/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Roald Dahl - George's Marvellous Medicine Genre: Children's Format: Paperback Pages: 104 Synopsis (GoodReads):George's grandma has some pretty odd views. In fact, she's not a very nice person at all. She thinks caterpillars and slugs are delicious and likes to crunch on beetles best of all. George can do nothing right in Grandma's eyes, so when it's time for her medicine he decides to give her a dose of his own special brew. My thoughts: Another read-a-thon, another Roald Dahl book. I picked this one because it sounded pretty interesting. This book was pretty good! I don't think I've read it before, so the story was new to me. I loved the story and the illustrations. In particular, I liked to hear about the things George put in the medicine. It reminds me of the things I've made when I was younger (I already loved chemistry then! My biggest accomplishment was to accidentally made laughing gas as I put a bunch of random things in a beaker while I was having a bath). So I loved the chemistry aspect of the story. The characters were interesting. What I liked less was the attitude against chicken that are involved in part of the story, they were sometimes called 'dumb chicken' which seems not so nice to me. Other than that though it was a very entertaining story and I really enjoyed reading it. Rating: ***** (9/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Ann M. Martin - The BabySitter's Club 8: Boy-crazy Stacey (re-read) Genre: Children's, YA, Chick-lit Format: Paperback Pages: 133 Synopsis (GoodReads):Spending two weeks at the New Jersey shore as mother's helpers, Mary Anne objects when Stacey neglects her babysitting duties after falling in love with Scott the lifeguard. My thoughts: Another read-a-thon, another English BSC book. This was the next one in series order that I have in English, so that's why I picked it. This book was pretty good, I loved this series as a child and I still do now. I don't know how it'd be for an adult who hadn't ever read this series before, for me part of the love is nostalgia too I think. Anyway, the book was pretty interesting. While this isn't one of my favourite stories I particularly enjoyed reading the bits about the children and the babysitting. I less liked the bits about the lifeguard (but I think it's always been this way). It took me a bit of time to get into the story, but once I did it was really good to read it again (in English). Rating: ***** (10/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 A. C. Baantjer - De Cock 69: De Cock en de Moord in de Hondsdagen Genre: Detective Format: Paperback Pages: 142 Synopsis (Goodreads, me):De Cock has to solve a murder on an animal rights activist in the middle of the summer. My thoughts: Another read-a-thon, another Baantjer book. This one is the last one I own which I hadn't read yet. The hondsdagen in the title refers to a period in summer where it can be very hot. It doesn't have anything to do with dogs ('hond' is a dog in Dutch), but instead with the Hondsster (a star in the sky), so the book explains. I liked the link with animals in this book. Well, I always like it when there's animals in a book. The book is well written. It was published in 2008, the use of language though might make you think it was written earlier. In particular, I personally had never heard of the 'hondsdagen', my mum had though. So it might be a more old-fashioned term, I don't know. It doesn't matter though, it's all explained in the book so this helped me. The book was tense, I wanted to know what would happen and who had murdered the animal rights activist and for what reason. It was very good. I really enjoyed reading this book. Rating: ***** (9/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Ilya - The Mammoth Book of Best New Manga Volume 3 Genre: Manga Format: Paperback Pages: 448 Synopsis (GoodReads):The essential collection for every reader intrigued by manga, this features the most exciting new work in 2007-2008 by the brightest young talents in the manga field—comic strip stories and characters influenced or inspired by Japanese anime and manga, and now being produced worldwide. This newest compilation of 25 self-contained manga in every genre imaginable, and a few more besides! Contributors include award-winning artists, as well a host of new talent, for a fully essential collection. My thoughts: Another read-a-thon, another manga book. This is the last one I owned that I hadn't read yet. * most stories in the book are coloured, but not all. Introduction This was allright, just a bit explaining how they picked the artists etc. Andi Watson and Woodrow Phoenix - Kitsune Tales This is a story about a fox spirit. It's to do with Japanese folkore. I'm not so familiar with that so I can't say how this story compares with other stories like this. I really enjoyed reading it though and thought the illustrations were pretty nice. Rating: ***** (9/10) Robert Rees - Unity Rising This is a science-fiction story. I thought it was quite nice and interesting and I enjoyed seeing the illustrations. Rating: ***** (9/10) Mitz - Pilot This story was very nice but unfortunately it doesn't end. I presume it's part of something larger yet to come and I'd certainly be interested to see how it continues. This story has a cool concept, which due to spoilers I won't mention. The illustrations were pretty nice. Rating: ***** (9/10) Paul Harrison-Davies - My Robot These illustrations were quite nice but unfortunately there wasn't much of an ending. The story doesn't really develop much. I enjoyed looking at the illustrations of the robot though. Rating: **** (8/10) Laura Howell - The Bizarre Adventures of Gilbert and Sullivan This story was a bit mental. It's about two friends and two relatives of one of the friends who play pranks on people. I thought it was a bit silly and over the top. I did like the plot development though. Rating: **** (7/10) David Slater - Cat's Paw This story is takes place after a war between robots and humans, people find a robot and restore it. It's very nice but I would've liked to know more about what happens after the ending and about the war between the robots and the humans. Rating: **** (8/10) Michael Kacar - Ramen Jiman This story is about a competition of who makes the best ramen noodles. I thought it was great and I loved the ending. Rating: ***** (9/10) Asia Alfasi - Beginnings This story confused me a bit. It's a story about a girl and her love for manga. I felt the plot didn't really develop. Rating: *** (5/10) Gillian Sein Ying Ha - Darumafish This story has a unique style of illustrations. It's a story about two people who find a fish on the beach. I thought the story was nice. Rating: **** (8/10) Gillian Sein Ying Ha - Tale fo the Una-don Eater This is a story about a creature eating a bowl of snakes. There wasn't much of a story. Rating: ** (4/10) Shari Chankhamma - Ed and Ecchi This is a dystopian story about a man and a cat. I quite liked it. The illustrations were nice. Rating: **** (8/10) Shari Chankhamma - Me and My Food This is a science-fiction story. There wasn't much of an ending. I liked the illustrations but would've liked more story. Rating: **** (7/10) Joanna Zhou - Carlos and Sakura There are several of her stories with these characters. Overall I quite liked them, but some more than others. There're all one page long. They're spread throughout the book but I'll rate them all here. Most of them I found funny. (Subjects in between brackets) Rating of the first one: **** (8/10) (technology) Rating of the second one: *** (6/10) (neighbours) Rating of the third one: **** (7/10) (bad squirrels) Rating of the fourth one: **** (7/10) (cooking) Rating of the fifth one: **** (8/10) (haircut) James Romberger and Marquerite Van Cook - Ground Zero: The Woger I didn't like the style of the illustrations of this story. I found it really hard to see what was going on. It's too chaotic for me. Rating: * (1/10) Eve Yap - July Tenth This story is about a husband and a wife. The illustrations are beautiful, but the story kind of stops before any conclusion is shown. It seems to stop in the middle of the conversation too, it seems to me like there should be more. I enjoyed reading it though. Rating: **** (8/10) Rainbow Buddy - Snowfall This is a boys love story (a story about two boys who love each other). I liked the illustations but unfortunately the story doesn't explain exactly what had happened. There isn't much plot development. Rating: **** (7/10) Niki Smith - Friction Between This is a girls love story (a story about two girls who love each other). I quite liked the first half, but the second half was a bit strange. There was a weird scene change I didn't quite understand. I liked the illustrations. Rating: **** (7/10) Yao Feila - Attack of the Peach Blossoms This is a dystopian story. The font was pretty small so I found it hard to read. I didn't like the style of the illustrations much. I thought the plot was quite interesting though. Rating: *** (6/10) Yu Yanshu - As a King The illustrations were quite nice but the story itself I found a bit confusing. It's about a person and a cat-person. I found it a bit weird. Rating: *** (6/10) Xia Da - A Dream in Garden These illustrations were beautiful. The text is like a poem and it confused me (I don't get on so well with poems). The story is about spring time. Rating: *** (6/10) Zhu Letao - In Manoa This is a story of a girl who talks about a café. The illustrations were great but there wasn't much of a plot. Rating: *** (6/10) James Romberger and Crosby Romberger - New York Stories The illustrations for this story were okish. The story was nice but there wasn't much plot development. There wasn't much of an einding either. Rating: *** (6/10) Phd - Hero Z I quite liked the ending but otherwise the story was a bit vague, I couldn't see exactly what was happening. I got the overall plot though. Rating: **** (8/10) Kit Wallis and Paul Fryer - Monster Mayhem This story is a science-fiction story. It's nice but a bit vague. Rating: **** (7/10) Sarah Burgess - Purikura This is a romance story, I thought it was very nice and sweet. Rating: **** (8/10) Sofia Falkenhem - White This story is a bit vague. The illustrations were okish. Rating: *** (6/10) Eli Basanta - In Dreams This story is about a boy who's dreaming. I wasn't quite sure of the plot. The illustrations were pretty ncie though. Rating: *** (6/10) Caspar Wijngaard - Last Shadows Cast This is an apocalyptic dystopian story. It was a bit vague but it had a very interesting twist at the end. Rating: **** (8/10) Chi-Tan (Chie Kutsuwada) - Moonlight This is a ghost story. I thought the illustrations were pretty nice. Rating: **** (8/10) Overall rating: **** (7/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (re-read) Genre: Children's, YA, fantasy Format: Paperback Pages: 636 Synopsis: (no synopsis since it's part of a series My thoughts: Another read-a-thon, another Harry Potter book. I wasn't overly thrilled to start this book, because when I read it (in Dutch) when I was a teenager I didn't get on well with it for some reason. I started it and abandoned it about half way through. I tried again a while later and finished it but didn't like it as much as the previous three books. That was different this time. Once I started reading, I liked it a lot! In this book there's less emphasis on the 'school stuff', lectures do get talked about but slightly less than in the previous books. I always love reading the school stuff so I missed this a bit. But otherwise the book is pretty tense and interesting. The tenseness had less to do with The Dark Lord and more with the tournament that is going on. It's a different kind of tension, and I think it makes for a good change. Perhaps my mood was better when I read it this time, or maybe the original English is just nicer than the translation, I don't know. I really quite liked this book and it makes me want to read the next one very soon! (but there are also other books I want to read so I'll probably wait until the next read-a-thon before starting the next one). Rating: ***** (10/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 The Goblet of Fire was my fave HP book ... I thought she took the story to a whole new level ... the graveyard scene just totally surpassed anything she had written earlier. It was darker and less jokey .. which in some ways made it a more serious read but I thought it was amazing. Great review Gaia x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Isn't it funny, Goblet of Fire is one of my least favourites of the books. I thought it was too long and waffly, and I sort of felt that there was lots of unnecessary and irrelevant details - I know the fans love this sort of stuff, but I'm not sure it resulted in the best book that could have been. Up until this book, I thought they'd got progressively better, so was a little bit disappointed in this one. I do still like it, and still listen to it along with the rest, but for me the series peaked at Prisoner of Azkaban and then dwindled after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I've read most of the Roald Dahl books to my children & i can't think of one i haven't enjoyed. What i remember best about George's Marvellous Medicine is how he describes George's Grandma as having a mouth like a dogs bottom Wrong Time, Wrong Place sounds like a good read, have you read Relentless by Simon Kernick, Athena, as i have had a copy of it for quite awhile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Wow, you were busy in the read-a-thon Athena! Next time I think I might try a HP reading in the next months read-a-thon . I only started reading the HP series a couple of years, but I loved the first three, then lost interest in most of the following books . Watching the films recently, and i realised that the books were more complicated with different levels of plot, compared to the films. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I've read at least one book by Kernick, and liked it. All good reviews, Athena. I have the set of Harry Potter books, but have only read the last. Not fair to judge by that, I know. Someday, I'll read the whole series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 I had to remove some emoticons. The Goblet of Fire was my fave HP book ... I thought she took the story to a whole new level ... the graveyard scene just totally surpassed anything she had written earlier. It was darker and less jokey .. which in some ways made it a more serious read but I thought it was amazing. Great review Gaia xx I loved the graveyard scene! I thought it was excellent. Thanks ! x Isn't it funny, Goblet of Fire is one of my least favourites of the books. I thought it was too long and waffly, and I sort of felt that there was lots of unnecessary and irrelevant details - I know the fans love this sort of stuff, but I'm not sure it resulted in the best book that could have been. Up until this book, I thought they'd got progressively better, so was a little bit disappointed in this one. I do still like it, and still listen to it along with the rest, but for me the series peaked at Prisoner of Azkaban and then dwindled after that.x Awww I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it so much. I didn't like it much when I read it the first time around, so I guess I can kind of see where you're coming from. x I've read most of the Roald Dahl books to my children & i can't think of one i haven't enjoyed. What i remember best about George's Marvellous Medicine is how he describes George's Grandma as having a mouth like a dogs bottom Wrong Time, Wrong Place sounds like a good read, have you read Relentless by Simon Kernick, Athena, as i have had a copy of it for quite awhile x I haven't read anything by Simon Kernick before, sorry . I hope you like Relentless though . x Wow, you were busy in the read-a-thon Athena! Next time I think I might try a HP reading in the next months read-a-thon . I only started reading the HP series a couple of years, but I loved the first three, then lost interest in most of the following books . Watching the films recently, and i realised that the books were more complicated with different levels of plot, compared to the films. x Thanks ! I find Harry Potter, upon re-reading, reads quite fast and it's easy to understand. So it works for me to read it during the read-a-thon. x I've read at least one book by Kernick, and liked it. All good reviews, Athena. I have the set of Harry Potter books, but have only read the last. Not fair to judge by that, I know. Someday, I'll read the whole series. x That's good to hear, that you liked the book(s) by Kernick. Thanks . I hope you'll read and enjoy the whole series some day, at the very least to try out the first one and see how it goes. I find I do have to be in a certain mood for it but I quite enjoy reading the books. I hope you enjoy them, and if not I suppose you could give the set away to charity or someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 Today marks my one year anniversary here at BCF. In that time I've made a lot of new friends , read a lot of interesting posts, made 3570 posts (when I'm writing this) and overall had a really good time being here on the forum. I just want to thank you all who've been so welcoming and kind to me. I love being on this forum reading and chattering on about books and other things. I'm so very glad I found this forum, I feel like I belong here, with all our TBRs, book reviews, book buying etc. So here's to you all for being such great kind friends and so wonderful to 'talk' with. I love the way the forum is set up, our individual threads, I love the forum software, the emoticons, I love everything about this place . So thank you all for making my first year here brilliant and hopefully it's the first of many yet to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Happy 1st Birthday at BCF Athena . Today marks my one year anniversary here at BCF. In that time I've made a lot of new friends , read a lot of interesting posts, made 3570 posts (when I'm writing this) and overall had a really good time being here on the forum. I just want to thank you all who've been so welcoming and kind to me. I love being on this forum reading and chattering on about books and other things. I'm so very glad I found this forum, I feel like I belong here, with all our TBRs, book reviews, book buying etc. So here's to you all for being such great kind friends and so wonderful to 'talk' with. I love the way the forum is set up, our individual threads, I love the forum software, the emoticons, I love everything about this place . So thank you all for making my first year here brilliant and hopefully it's the first of many yet to come. And I agree with . This is a great forum to be a member of! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Happy anniversary Athena! P.s. I got your christmas card today thank you so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Happy Anniversary Athena ! Or should I call you Gaia now ? I do enjoy reading what you have to say. Sarah x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Athena Happy One Year Anniversary ! I'm glad you are enjoying it so much and making lots of friends. It is nice to have other Book People to talk to, isn't it ? Many more happy years on here for you ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 3570 posts in a year! ... wow!! Happy 1st Anniversary Gaia ... You are totally right this is just the best place with the best people ever Glad you've had such a good year here .. here's to many more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Today marks my one year anniversary here at BCF. In that time I've made a lot of new friends , read a lot of interesting posts, made 3570 posts (when I'm writing this) and overall had a really good time being here on the forum. I just want to thank you all who've been so welcoming and kind to me. I love being on this forum reading and chattering on about books and other things. I'm so very glad I found this forum, I feel like I belong here, with all our TBRs, book reviews, book buying etc. So here's to you all for being such great kind friends and so wonderful to 'talk' with. I love the way the forum is set up, our individual threads, I love the forum software, the emoticons, I love everything about this place . So thank you all for making my first year here brilliant and hopefully it's the first of many yet to come. Thass a lotta posts, Gaia! Happy anniversary, and All That Jazz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 (note: I had to remove some emoticons) x Happy 1st Birthday at BCF Athena . And I agree with. This is a great forum to be a member of! x Thanks ! x Happy anniversary Athena! P.s. I got your christmas card today thank you so much. x Thanks . Woohoo!! I haven't got yours yet I'm afraid but I'll let you know when I've received it. x Happy Anniversary Athena ! Or should I call you Gaia now ? I do enjoy reading what you have to say. Sarah x x Thanks! You can call me either Gaia or Athena.. whichever you prefer . x Athena Happy One Year Anniversary ! I'm glad you are enjoying it so much and making lots of friends. It is nice to have other Book People to talk to, isn't it ? Many more happy years on here for you ! x It's great to have other book people to talk with! Thanks . x 3570 posts in a year! ... wow!! Happy 1st Anniversary Gaia ... You are totally right this is just the best place with the best people ever Glad you've had such a good year here here's to many more x Thank you ! x Thass a lotta posts, Gaia! Happy anniversary, and All That Jazz!x I tend to become chatty when books are involved , but only with people I feel very comfortable with (it's easier online, too, for me). Thank you ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 I read Walt Disney - Donald Duck Mega Pocket Winter a few days ago (I bought it in December). I haven't read a Donald Duck book in ages but since it's a book I feel it should be counted as a book read. I enjoyed reading it, it was great to see the characters again after so long. I rate the book overall 8/10 (or ****), there are several stories in it but I don't know if I remember my initial thoughts to the stories now that it's been a few days since I read them, so I won't be rating them individually (but the next time I read a book like this I will be making a review). I have a lot more of these Donald Duck books upstairs in the attic so when I move to the bakery I'll be unpacking them and giving them a place. I've read most of them. I'll also add them to the book database at some point, since they are books. I also have a lot of Donald Duck magazines. I'll be saving those, I'll be giving to charity or throwing away some old teenage girls magazines, I don't think they'd be that nice for me to read again (also, I do need to get rid of some things). We'll have to wait and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Well, I'm glad you are chatty with us, Gaia. I enjoy reading your posts and stats. I think you are quite remarkable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Your book lists are amazing, Athena! We have quite a lot of books in common, so I look forward to reading your thoughts on them. I noticed that you've read 9 books already. At this rate, you'll be reading 360+ books this year!! I think you will easily beat your goal. Happy reading! And happy anniversary!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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