Athena's Reading List 2014

[Athena]

Does this link work for you? This is the Kindle book of The Library of Unrequited Love on Amazon.com, that I found.

[dtrpath27]

It does, thank you!  I was able to find it on Amazon, but even if I search by author name in the Kindle store, it comes up with no results.  Who knows!  Now I'm really determined to read this book.

Edited April 13, 2014 by dtrpath27

[Athena]

You're welcome, I hope you enjoy the book !

[Athena]

Nathan Filer - The Shock of the Fall

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 314

Synopsis (back of the book):`I'll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name’s Simon. I think you’re going to like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he’ll be dead. And he was never the same after that.`

 

My thoughts: I bought this book based upon the recommendations of several people here on BCF.

 

This book deals with the subject of mental illness. The main character, Matthew, is telling the story, is mentally ill. We see the story from his viewpoint, when he writes it down. He has lost his brother Simon when he was young (names all changed upon his writing). He tells the story, and we get to read how he thinks and what it's like being mentally ill like he is. I thought it was very interesting and very well done. In the beginning the book seemed a bit chaotic at times, until I realised that this was intended and really how it works for Matthew.

 

Grief is another theme that's in this book. I quite enjoyed how it was dealt with. Matthew and his parents all grieve in their own way for Simon.

 

The story mainly takes place in Bristol, which is nice because I went there for my holiday so I recognised the reference to the bridge.

 

I liked the characters of this book. It was great to be inside Matthew's head and read about how he experiences his life. It was also great to read about the other characters. I thought it was quite interesting to read how things go in a mental care institution as well (I'm not sure exactly how it's called).

 

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it.

 

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

[Timstar]

Looks like you liked The Daylight War a lot more than I did, I thought it was far too long and slow.

[Athena]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it so much . It's good that there's different opinions though on books.

[Athena]

Holly Smale - Geek Girl 2: Model Misfit

 

 

Genre: Chick-lit

Age-range: Young-Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 389

Synopsis: (no synopsis because it's part of a series)

 

My thoughts: I really liked the first book in this series and was eager to read the second one. I felt like reading something lighter and easier to read.

 

This book was just as good as the previous one. The story continues and a lot of characters from the previous book are in this one as well. I quite liked all of the characters. There are new characters too, whom I really liked as well. There are a few flashbacks in the story that clear things up as Harriet thinks of these memories (things that happened between book one and two). The writing is really good and easy to follow. I love the way Harriet thinks. She knows a lot of 'random' facts, for example related to animals.

 

The book largely takes place in Tokyo and I really enjoyed reading about this city and the adventures Harriet has there. I'm interested in Japan so it was nice to read what the experience was like for Harriet. Harriet has multiple problems throughout the book, related to modelling, family, friends and love. I quite liked that not all the focus was on modelling (which is very interesting to read about in my opinion, even with me having no interest in becoming one myself).

 

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. I like the characters, writing style and story. There were some nice plot twists and the story is quite funny in places.

 

Rating: ***** (10/10)

[Timstar]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it so much . It's good that there's different opinions though on books.

 

Yeah it is... shame some are wrong though   

[Athena]

Yeah it is... shame some are wrong though   

x

[Signor Finzione]

Great reviews Gaia, especially Harry Potter and The Daylight War (I'm really looking forward to getting back into Peter V Brett now!). You seem to have got through quite a lot of bigger books lately in addition to the shorter ones - good going!

 

Yeah it is... shame some are wrong though   

 

Oh, you're awful!

[Athena]

Great reviews Gaia, especially Harry Potter and The Daylight War (I'm really looking forward to getting back into Peter V Brett now!). You seem to have got through quite a lot of bigger books lately in addition to the shorter ones - good going!

x

Thanks Laura ! Yes, I've been trying to read smaller and bigger books , thanks!

[Little Pixie]

Congrats on all your books read !

[Athena]

Congrats on all your books read !

x

Thanks ! I just saw in your thread you've read a lot too, well done! I've now read 60 books and 17020 pages.

 

On another note, the book fair is about three weeks away and I'm getting that book buying itch.. so I'm really looking forward to it (even if it'll really tire me). I also might go to the charity shop soon. The read-a-thon is two weeks away so that'll be fun too.

Edited April 18, 2014 by Athena

[Kidsmum]

 On another note, the book fair is about three weeks away and I'm getting that book buying itch.. so I'm really looking forward to it (even if it'll really tire me). I also might go to the charity shop soon. The read-a-thon is two weeks away so that'll be fun too.

 

That darned book buying itch it's so hard to resist 

[Signor Finzione]

On another note, the book fair is about three weeks away and I'm getting that book buying itch.. so I'm really looking forward to it (even if it'll really tire me). I also might go to the charity shop soon. The read-a-thon is two weeks away so that'll be fun too.

 

Oh, I love it when you go to book fairs - can't wait to see all the pictures of your lovely new books! Are you taking a suitcase this time?

[Athena]

That darned book buying itch it's so hard to resist 

x

I agree! So I bought some books (see below) 

x 

Oh, I love it when you go to book fairs - can't wait to see all the pictures of your lovely new books! Are you taking a suitcase this time?

x

Yes ! I'm very excited about it and in fact have dreamed about too .

 

I bought some books and I finished reading two books, so below follows a list of what I've bought and two reviews.

 

From the charity shop:

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 56: De Cock En De Blijde Bacchus

V. C. Andrews - Landry 1: Ruby (Dutch)

V. C. Andrews - Mijn Lieve Audrina

Lynda Waterhouse - Tina Topper 65: Vriendschap in Gevaar

Amelie Fried - De Libelle Bibliotheek 6: Rosanna's Dochter (Rosannas Tochter)

Robin Cook - Intern (Dutch) (The Year of the Intern)

 

I was quite happy to have found a Baantjer book and also about the Virginia Andrews ones. I've read them before from the library when I was a teenager but it should be nice to re-read them. I've read some Robin Cook books before but not this one I think.

 

I didn't plan to go in any more book shops but my mum needed a present for my granddad (her father-in-law, my dad was away on another errand), but when I got there I couldn't help myself.

 

From a book shop for one euro each, the shop had a basket outside with all books that were one euro:

Mira Feticu - De Ziekte van Kortjakje

Diana Wieler - Op Drift (Drive)

Rita Verschuur - De Driehoeksdans

The cover from Op Drift makes me think I've read it before at the library and enjoyed it. The others sounded interesting and for one euro I couldn't help myself.

 

From the same book shop:

Neil Gaiman - The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Dorothy Koomson - The Flavours of Love

Robert Galbraith - Cormoran Strike 1: The Cuckoo's Calling

Ken Follett - Century Trilogy 2: Winter Of The World

Ken Follett - The Pillars of the Earth 2: World Without End

 

I also bought two beautiful book marks, both of which involve books, the second one has a cat on it as well.

 

I forgot to make a photo of my new books and have now put them away, sorry .

[Athena]

George R. R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire 3: A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 579 (639 with appendix)

Synopsis: (no synopsis because it's part of a series)

 

My thoughts: I felt like reading the next part in this epic fantasy series.

 

Wow. This book has a lot of plot twists, most of which I didn't see coming. This book (book three in general) is highly recommended by many people, and I have to say I agree with them. This second half in particular (part two) was awesome. I liked all of the plot twists except one.

 

In the beginning I had a bit of trouble remembering what happened in the previous book (A Storm of Swords 1: Steel and Snow, but it came back to me as I was reading.

 

The book is very suspenseful and I wanted to keep on reading and reading. I loved the characters. I started to like certain characters more as opposed to the previous books. The book seemed to have more action than book two (A Clash of Kings).

 

I loved the descriptions in the book. All of the chapters were interesting to me, and I'm really eager to read the last two books in the series (I own book five in two books). Apparently book four is about certain characters and book five about others, so I want to read both! I plan to do so not too long from now.

 

I don't know if I managed to get across how much I enjoyed this book, but I really did. It was awesome. I hearthily recommend reading it if you've read the books in this series that came before this one and you enjoyed them.

 

Rating: ***** (10/10)

[Athena]

Nicholas Sparks - Message in a Bottle

 

 

Genre: Chick-lit (Romance)

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 347 (excluding a sample from another book)

Synopsis (back of the book):My Darling Catherine,

Where are you? And why, I wonder as I sit alone in a darkened house, have we been forced apart?

 

When journalist Theresa Osborne finds this desperate message washed up on a Cape Cop beach, it raises questions that intrigue her. Who is the author, a man called Garrett - and who is Catherine? And what is it that has torn them apart?

 

Theresa, wary of romance since her husband shattered her trust, finds herself unaccountably drawn to these people and their secrets, and embarks on a search that brings her to an unexpected confrontation...

 

My thoughts: I wanted to read something different after George R. R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire 3: A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold so I picked something romancy that's about a few characters instead of a whole lot of them.

 

I had some trouble getting into this book. The story of the characters of the A Song of Ice and Fire series was still fresh in my head and I really wanted to find out what's going to happen to them (however, not all the books have been written yet so..). I've decided I'm going to read book four in that series after this one .

 

Anyway, I had seen the film that was based on this book before I read the book. I saw it a while ago and liked it and upon that bought the book. I have read several other Nicholas Sparks books and have a few more on the TBR.

 

While I knew the story and remembered things about it, it was really good to read the book. I really liked the characters. The book has some unexpected plot twists, and while I knew they were coming they still hit me somewhat, particularly the last part of the book.

 

I could feel for Theresa as certain things in her life happened in my life in a way too, so I could identify with some of her thoughts and feelings. This gave the story an extra dimension that I think it wouldn't have had if I hadn't experienced these things in my life.

 

The book contains both sad and happy parts (in the story) and it hit me on an emotional level. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book, it's a very powerful story.

 

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

[Signor Finzione]

Great reviews Gaia! I'm so glad you're still enjoying A Song of Ice and Fire. (So much so that you can't get the characters out of your head! )  I think the one you've just read was my favourite of the whole series.

 

Great new books too! I look forward to seeing what you think of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I almost bought this at Christmas but didn't.

 

I can't believe you forgot to take photos! You'll have to take extra ones of the books from the book fair to make up for it.

[Karsa Orlong]

Great reviews Gaia! I'm so glad you're still enjoying A Song of Ice and Fire. (So much so that you can't get the characters out of your head! )  I think the one you've just read was my favourite of the whole series.

 

Ditto!    There's so much happens in that book - I think there's some major incident or other in practically every chapter in the second half of it - and the final page . . . one of my favourite jaw-on-floor endings  

[Timstar]

A Storm of Swords is simply brilliant! Glad you loved it too!

[Alexi]

Great reviews must move Game of Thrones up the pile...

[Athena]

Note: some emoticons removed.

 

Great reviews Gaia! I'm so glad you're still enjoying A Song of Ice and Fire. (So much so that you can't get the characters out of your head! )  I think the one you've just read was my favourite of the whole series.

 

Great new books too! I look forward to seeing what you think of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I almost bought this at Christmas but didn't.

 

I can't believe you forgot to take photos! You'll have to take extra ones of the books from the book fair to make up for it.

x

Thanks, Laura ! I've now started book four and am enjoying it so far. I know, it's really silly of me to forget it.. I'll be sure to take photos of my books from the book fair .

x 

Ditto!   There's so much happens in that book - I think there's some major incident or other in practically every chapter in the second half of it - and the final page . . . one of my favourite jaw-on-floor endings

x

I fully agree ! 

x 

A Storm of Swords is simply brilliant! Glad you loved it too!

x

Thanks . 

x 

Great reviews must move Game of Thrones up the pile...

x

Thanks, Alexi . I hope you enjoy it when you read it.

[Athena]

Barefoot Doctor - Beste Barefoot Doctor: Wijsheid en Gezondheid voor Iedere Dag

 

 

Genre: Information

Age-range: Adult

Format: Hardback

Pages: 390

Synopsis (me):A collection of columns written by the Barefoot Doctor about a variety of health related subjects.

 

My thoughts: I thought I'd read an information book, this one seemed appealing.

 

This book wasn't exactly what I thought it was. A lot of the information in it is based on taoism. I didn't know anything about taoism, nor that the book would talk about it. The one thing that didn't appeal to me, were the 'exercises' described in the book. The author tells things like, rub with your hands in circles 36 times over this area. To me it didn't seem to make much sense, it didn't appeal to me and the amount of times (36, 81, 9) seemed a bit random.

 

There was a lot of good information in the book, otherwise. I enjoyed reading about the various subjects and the core ideas seemed often good. It was really just the exercises and the thoughts behind it that I had a problem with. The book has rather a lot of these exercises though, as 'solutions' to certain problems. Maybe they work, I don't know. It just doesn't seem for me.

 

Rating: *** (5/10)

[vodkafan]

Hi Athena, haven't read the book and also know nothing of Taoism....but I am thinking that with the general run of people who's brains are wired normally, repetitious movements- like  controlled breathing does- might serve to switch the brain off thinking about immediate surroundings and into a different mental state. Maybe. Just guessing. Or the whole thing might be a load of mumbo jumbo you just saw straight through!  Some things we do must often seem illogical to an autistic person. Thanks for the review.