Athena's Reading List 2014

[Signor Finzione]

Couldn't keep GRRM's name off it, though, could they?  

 

That comment of his makes me laugh, though, since his name also seems to be on the front of about 50% of that 'sea of zircons'.

[Athena]

That's a very pretty cover!

[Timstar]

Couldn't keep GRRM's name off it, though, could they?  

 

It is getting a bit ridiculous now!

[Athena]

I agree, it seems to be getting too much..

[Athena]

Sonja Kimpen - Sterker dan Stress: Weet wat je Wilt en Haal Meer uit je Leven

 

 

Genre: Information

Age-range: Adult

Format: Hardback

Pages: 354

Synopsis (me):It's a book on how to be stronger than stress, how to know what you want and get more out of your life.

 

My thoughts: I bought this book at a library sale, because it sounded like it might be useful for me. I recently read another book, about worrying, from this library sale and was in the mood for another information book.

 

This book was really interesting. A lot of subjects are discussed, such as goals in life, energy, the mind, positive thinking, time management, emotional stress, what stress does to the body. The book contains a lot of information and a lot of ideas of things to do to make you less stressed. I've already done some of them and found them to be quite useful. The writing style is very engaging and encouraging. The book blew me away, really. I didn't expect it to be so well written and contain so many tips and ideas. I'll certainly be referring to it more often, it contains many useful concepts.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, as well as using some of the ideas in my life. For example, the book says that if your goals in life are not matching with what you're doing in your life, this can create stress. The author advises to look at your goals in life by making a 'wishing tree' and a 'year tree'. This got me thinking about my goals in life, what do I want and what do I find important (based upon 'normen en waarden', which I suppose is translated as 'core values'?). I didn't want to write in the book so my tree isn't in a tree shape but just a document, but still. The book uses an easy to read language to discuss important things. Sometimes the knowledge seemed a bit specified to women with children, but I guess a lot of families have children and I didn't mind it so much. That's really the only flaw I can find with the book.

 

Overall I'm really glad I read this book. It blew me away and has even made me think if I shouldn't lower the scores for some other books I've read about stress, that's how good it was. I've done some of the things the book recommends you do, and I've found it useful already. I couldn't recommend this more (if you can read Dutch/Flemish. It's written by a Belgian author.).

 

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

[Timstar]

Great review, glad you found it useful You'll just have to remember to come back to it when you need it most.

[Athena]

Thanks . Yeah, I'm sure I will!

[Janet]

I've just read that 'Rosie Project' review and then looked at the reviewer.  She's reviewed 3 books, all with only 1 star!  Maybe some of those of you who've read it should counter it with your own reviews?    I still haven't bought it but I definitely intend to. 

[dtrpath27]

I've just read that 'Rosie Project' review and then looked at the reviewer.  She's reviewed 3 books, all with only 1 star!  Maybe some of those of you who've read it should counter it with your own reviews?    I still haven't bought it but I definitely intend to. 

I read all of her reviews as well. :/  They were a bit tiresome and quite transparent all stacked up like that.  I doubt that much but the heaviest and dreariest of classical literature would pass muster with her.  I wonder why she bothers with contemporary novels at all?

 

At any rate, I signed up for an account so I can post a review later today when I have more time.

[vodkafan]

 It's great when you really connect with a book  like this and  it even helps you.  Good find!

 

 

Sonja Kimpen - Sterker dan Stress: Weet wat je Wilt en Haal Meer uit je Leven



Genre: Information
Age-range: Adult
Format: Hardback
Pages: 354
Synopsis (me):It's a book on how to be stronger than stress, how to know what you want and get more out of your life.

 

[pontalba]

I read all of her reviews as well. :/  They were a bit tiresome and quite transparent all stacked up like that.  I doubt that much but the heaviest and dreariest of classical literature would pass muster with her.  I wonder why she bothers with contemporary novels at all?

 

At any rate, I signed up for an account so I can post a review later today when I have more time.

 

Ok, I can't find the reference.  Account, where???

[Kidsmum]

Sounds like the Stronger Than Stress book was a great find Athena 

[dtrpath27]

 

Ok, I can't find the reference.  Account, where???

 

Right, sorry!  Here are the related posts.  :/

 

Thanks for the ISBN, I've written it down for future reference!   But holy hecks, when I googled the ISBN, and saw the Bookdepo link and then went and checked it, I saw that the book was given only 1/5 stars. And then someone had written a review on it. And it was not a very flattering review! "Anyone who knows someone with Asperger's Syndrome will recognise the impossibility of the story". I thought the whole review was quite harsh!    Of course people are entitled to their opinions ...
 

 

 

I've just read that 'Rosie Project' review and then looked at the reviewer.  She's reviewed 3 books, all with only 1 star!  Maybe some of those of you who've read it should counter it with your own reviews?     I still haven't bought it but I definitely intend to. 

 

 

I read all of her reviews as well. :/  They were a bit tiresome and quite transparent all stacked up like that.  I doubt that much but the heaviest and dreariest of classical literature would pass muster with her.  I wonder why she bothers with contemporary novels at all?

 

At any rate, I signed up for an account so I can post a review later today when I have more time.

 

[frankie]

x

That's not nice at all. Everyone is different and while the character is perhaps not the most common view of someone with Asperger's, I certainly think he could exist. Not all people with autism are the same. Yes, they share some common problems but they're all different people with different personalities.

Exactly! Knowing one person with autism doesn't make a person knowledgeable on how all autistic people are like and how they function. And like you said, you have to take into one's personality as well as to which extent their autism affects them.

 

Thanks for telling me about the movies. I wouldn't want to watch a movie with too much violence and abuse. I am sensitive . You haven't put me off, I'll still enjoy reading about them if not watching some of them.

I'm glad I didn't put you off the list!

 

 

I've just read that 'Rosie Project' review and then looked at the reviewer.  She's reviewed 3 books, all with only 1 star!  Maybe some of those of you who've read it should counter it with your own reviews?    I still haven't bought it but I definitely intend to.

That's a good idea... I only 'disliked' her review on the page, but one ought to do more... Oh, the lazyness is overtaking...

 

 

 

I read all of her reviews as well. :/  They were a bit tiresome and quite transparent all stacked up like that.  I doubt that much but the heaviest and dreariest of classical literature would pass muster with her.  I wonder why she bothers with contemporary novels at all?

 

At any rate, I signed up for an account so I can post a review later today when I have more time.

Great!

 

Edit: I've just been to read all her reviews on BD, and boy does she hate the books she's read and reviewed on there

Edited April 5, 2014 by frankie

[pontalba]

 

Right, sorry!  Here are the related posts.  :/

 

 

Thanks!  I must have an account there, will post my review! 

 

 

Edit: I've just been to read all her reviews on BD, and boy does she hate the books she's read and reviewed on there

 

They are all like that?? Wow. 

Edited April 5, 2014 by pontalba

[dtrpath27]

Edit: I've just been to read all her reviews on BD, and boy does she hate the books she's read and reviewed on there

 

 

 

They are all like that?? Wow. 

 

Yes...   They are all well-written and the fact that she doesn't like it is neither here nor there, but the universality of her contempt is astounding.

Edited April 6, 2014 by dtrpath27

[pontalba]

Yes...   They are all well-written and the fact that she doesn't like it is neither here nor there, but the universality of her contempt is astounding.

 

 

I copied and pasted my review (from here) over there.  Just for the balance, if nothing else.  I hated seeing that nastiness just sitting out there all by itself.

Edited April 6, 2014 by pontalba

[julie]

Athena

 Sounds like you have read a giant pile of books already this year ! Good job, keep up the good work . You may beat your all time record at this rate .

[Athena]

It's great when you really connect with a book like this and it even helps you. Good find!

x

I agree !

x

Sounds like the Stronger Than Stress book was a great find Athena

x

It was .

x 

Exactly! Knowing one person with autism doesn't make a person knowledgeable on how all autistic people are like and how they function. And like you said, you have to take into one's personality as well as to which extent their autism affects them.

x

That's very true, Frankie.

x

Athena

Sounds like you have read a giant pile of books already this year ! Good job, keep up the good work . You may beat your all time record at this rate .

x

Thanks, I hope so .

 

@ the woman with her reviews

I always find it pretty weird that people would only go and post bad reviews. How annoying.

[Athena]

Mike Gayle - Men at Work (QuickReads)

 

 

Genre: Chick-lit

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 87

Synopsis (GoodReads):Ian Greening loves his job.He loves it so much he won't even take a promotion. He'd rather muck around with his workmates.

The other love of his life is girlfriend Emma. They've been together for years. The problems start when Emma loses her job and gets a new one in Ian's office. Ian doesn't like it at all. No more mucking about. No more flirting with the girls in admin. Ian wants her out. The question is, how? Can he do it without losing her or will it all end in tears?

 

My thoughts: It was another read-a-thon, so I picked another QuickReads book. I hadn't read anything by Mike Gayle before, though I have four books by him on my TBR.

 

This was a nice story. It was a little bit predictable in places, but I loved the writing. I liked the characters, though I thought Ian and Emma should've been more honest with each other (but then there wouldn't have been as much of a story). There were quite a few funny moments in the story, this was really nice. It's also nice to read a chick-lit type book from a man's point of view (Ian) (and written by a male author), instead of the more usual female point of view.

 

Overall I quite enjoyed reading this book. I look forward to read some full length novels by Mike Gayle. I really liked the writing style of this book. The characters were good and the story was funny in places.

 

Rating: **** (8/10)

[Athena]

Roald Dahl - The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

 

 

Genre: Fantasy?

Age-range: Children's

Format: Paperback

Pages: 73

Synopsis (GoodReads):In this classic story of the Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company, we accompany Billy, who is lucky enough to join in the many remarkable and entertaining adventures of the Company's animals: the giraffe with an incredible stretching neck, the pelican with a magical beak and the dancing monkey.

 

My thoughts: It was another read-a-thon, so I read another Roald Dahl book. I don't remember reading this one ever before, when I was a child.

 

This is a great story. It has beautiful illustrations by Quentin Blake, I find these always really make the story even better. The characters are great and I loved the writing. There are some poems / songs in the book which were a joy to read too. The story contains some magical elements (see synopsis).

 

Overall I really enjoyed reading this story. It's a shame the library didn't have this one when I was a child, I'm sure I would've loved it. This is a great children's story, with wonderful writing and awesome characters.

 

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

[Athena]

Ann M. Martin - The BabySitter's Club 12: Claudia and the New Girl (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Chick-lit

Age-range: Children's, Young-Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 135

Synopsis (me):The story involves Claudia who meets a new girl who's very much into art. They become friends and concentrate on their art. The rest of the BabySitter's Club doesn't like this as Claudia even skips meetings. What will happen?

 

My thoughts: The next in line English BSC book I own was number 12, so I read it for the April read-a-thon.

 

This is another great BabySitter's Club book. I didn't remember as much from this book beforehand, but while reading it things came back to me. I found it really enjoyable to read it again, it's a great story with great characters. I love the writing, too. After finishing all the English ones I own, I might have to go back and read all the Dutch ones, since there are quite a few missing English ones while I have 1-66 in Dutch.

 

Overall it was quite enjoyable to read this book again. I quite liked the friendship theme of the book.

 

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

[Athena]

A. C. Baantjer and Simon de Waal - De Waal en Baantjer 2: Een Lijk in de Kast

 

 

Genre: Detective

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 158

Synopsis (me):The detective and his assistant meet a woman who's found two dead bodies in her new rental apartment.

 

My thoughts: I hadn't read a book by Simon de Waal before, though he has written scripts for various TV shows (I might have seen some of them). I really like the Baantjer books so I thought I'd give this new series a go (for the read-a-thon).

 

This book was really good. Despite the fact that it's number two in the series (I haven't found number one yet), I was easily able to read it as standalone because things are briefly explained. I liked this.

 

The main character (the head detective so to speak), is a widower, his wife has died. What makes this series more interesting, is that she is still there in spirit. He has conversations with her and she helps him with the case. I thought this was a very interesting twist that sets the series apart from other series. I loved the characters, they're all pretty well written.

 

What I also loved about the book, is that there are a lot of Baantjer references in it. The main character has worked together with the author Appie Baantjer, there are two of the same characters as in the Baantjer series and there were even references to a location where the TV show was filmed (this was very fourth wall breaking stuff, I loved it).

 

The writing is amazing and the story is tense throughout. I wanted to keep on reading to find out the truth behind the case.

 

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and I'm glad I gave this series a go. I have some more books in this series lined up to read, hopefully they'll all be good!

 

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

[Athena]

Karin Slaughter - Onbegrepen (Martin Misunderstood)

 

 

Genre: Literature, Thriller

Age-range: Adult

Format: Hardback

Pages: 95

Synopsis (GoodReads):Crime fiction obsessive Martin Reed is the proverbial butt of everyone's jokes. Working as a glorified accountant at Southern Toilet Supply and still living with his cantankerous mother, he has become resigned to the world in which he lives - the school bullies now pick on him in the workplace, women still spurn him and his arch enemy is now his supervisor.

 

But then he arrives at work one morning to find the police on site. A co-worker has been brutally murdered and her body abandoned in a ditch. And the overwhelming evidence points to Martin - especially when he can't or won't admit that he has an alibi.

 

When a second victim is found in the company bathroom, things really conspire against Martin. The one bright star on his otherwise bleak horizon is the beautiful and sympathetic Detective Anther Albada, but even she's beginning to have her doubts about his innocence. Could Martin be guilty? Or is he just misunderstood?

 

My thoughts: I bought this book at the charity shop. Because it's short, I thought I'd include it in the read-a-thon. I hadn't read anything by Karin Slaughter before I started to read this book.

 

This story was pretty good. The characters were interesting. I felt sorry for Martin, being bullied and not having any friends. The story has some interesting plot twists, that I didn't see coming. I thought the ending was good and surprising. I wish the crime books would've played a little bit of a bigger role in the story. The writing is very good (the translated writing at least, the original is perhaps even better).

 

One thing that was a little bit confusing for me, is that te police officer is a Dutch immigrant. The story takes place in the United States. I'm reading it in Dutch. Maybe you can imagine this was a little bit complicated for me, when this fact is talked about. Once I got my head wrapped around it though, it was fine.

 

Overall I quite enjoyed reading this book. The writing is good, the story is interesting and so are its characters.

 

Rating: **** (8/10)

[Athena]

J. E. Bright - Tina Topper 79: Háár Vriendje... en ik (Your Best Friend's Boyfriend)

 

 

Genre: Chick-lit

Age-range: Young-Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 125

Synopsis (GoodReads):This follow-your-own-destiny romance series lets the reader choose her fate. Will her decisions lead to terminal embarrassment...or a delicious first kiss?

 

You share an instant connection with Mike, the star of your school's rival soccer team. Too bad he's dating your best friend, Sally. When Mike starts flirting with you, do you flirt back? Should you confess your feelings to Sally, or keep the whole thing a secret? Maybe there's a way to make Sally lose interest.... What if he dumps her for you and it turns out he's not what you expected? You could end up sad and single, and without a best friend's shoulder to cry on. Or maybe if you choose carefully, things will work out right, and you'll find your happily ever after. (note: this synopsis is for the English version. For the Dutch version, the characters are called Onno and Merel).

 

My thoughts: I bought this book at the charity shop. I have quite a few earlier Tina Toppers and enjoyed reading them when I was a young teenager.

 

This is a pick-your-own-story book. This means at the end of a piece, you make a decision and then go to the appropriate page to find out what happens (then you make another decision, etc.)

 

At first I did what I felt was appropriate for the character, this led me to a great ending (my favourite). Then I went back and read the other story lines (this took a lot of going back and forth!). Some I really enjoyed, others not so much. Some end well, some don't. There are some good plot twists but also a lot of more predictable endings.

 

I hadn't read a pick-your-own-story book in a long time so it was rather nice. It's not one of the best Tina Toppers certainly (though I'd have to find and re-read some of mine to see how I like them as an adult), but I enjoyed reading it.

 

Rating: **** (7/10)