Kidsmum Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Hurray, we`ve got our own club now ! Mine could be auto-immune, though I think it`s more likely to be hayfever related ( `cos those anti-histamines really dry out your mouth and eyes ). I sit up in bed chewing gum whilst reading at night, `cos I am also full of gum snobbery and cannot do it publicly ( though I feel like a 1930`s gumshoe ). My neighbour also suffers with it because of the medication she takes for her diabetes so i guess the anti histamines must have the same side effects. It's funny i totally took my saliva for granted till i lost it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 I think it was one of my first King's as well. I loved the movie as well with Sissy Spacek but my eldest daughter went to see the remake & she said it was awful. I have the old one with Sissy Spacek on DVD but I haven't watched it yet. It's a shame the new one is no good. That's a shame that you didn't like the Rabinowitz book Athena, it sounds so good & i love the cover as well. Congrats on your new books Do you have any space left to put them in Most shelves are double rowed, a few are single rowed. I have some space for some genres but not much for others. I will be getting more book shelves in a little while which will help, but.. I keep buying more books (there are just so many interesting ones). Hurray, we`ve got our own club now ! Woohoo! My dry mouth is caused by my medication, it's one of the side effects. It bothers me more at night than during the day, it seems to be worse when I'm lying down and during the day I can more easily drink some water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Athena wrote: "........(there are just so many interesting ones)." That is the main problem!! /giggle/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 Jodi Picoult - The Pact Genre: Contemporary Fiction Age-range: Adult Format: Paperback Pages: 490 Synopsis (GoodReads):For eighteen years the Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other, sharing everything from Chinese food to chicken pox to carpool duty. Parents and children alike are best friends - so it's no surprise that in high school Chris and Emily's friendship blossoms into something more. They've been soul mates since they were born. When the midnight calls come in from the hospital, no one is prepared for the appalling truth: Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head as part of an apparent suicide pact. The gun holds a single unspent bullet that Chris tells police he intended for himself, but a local detective has doubts. And the Hartes and Golds, in a single terrifying moment, must face every parent's worst fear: do we ever really know our children at all? My thoughts: I felt like reading something by a favourite author. Frankie recommended I read this book, she really enjoyed this one. I really liked this book. It pulled me in immediately and held my attention all the way through. I read it in two days. The characters were very interesting and great to read about. There were quite a few plot twists I didn't see coming. I really like Jodi Picoult's writing style, this book is very well written. I like how there are a variety of viewpoints in the book. The book alternates between chapters in the 'now' and chapters 'then', with the 'then' chapters detailing events that happened before the 'now'. Both types of chapters were equally interesting to read. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. It's certainly thought-provoking. It deals with difficult subjects and really gets into the characters' heads. If you like Jodi Picoult's writing, I hearthily recommend this one. Rating: ***** (10/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 First commenting on your book hauls from different book fairs etc. (Oh and thank you for posting pics, I love seeing pics of people's book hauls )Natasha Solomons - Mr Rosenblum's List: Or Friendly Guidance for the Aspiring EnglishmanI hope you enjoy this book! I liked it very much. I think you and I can relate to it in a different way because we are both 'foreigners' =) (Or aliens, if you prefer ) Diane Setterfield - The Thirteenth TaleThis is a great novel, and there is also talk about books, to some extent. I can't wait to see how you like it =) Jen Campbell - Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops I'm so glad you enjoyed the book Aren't some people just plain crazy? But there were also some great people, too. Ones who would straighten out any hooligans entering the shop. Nobody messes with book shops (Well, some do. ) Stephen King - Carrie Great review! I remember when I read the book the first time when I was a kid, I jumped over the 'news clips' and stuff because I found them boring ( I don't know what I was thinking back then) and because they messed with the flow of the story in my opinion. Having read the book a few times after that, at a more mature age, I read the WHOLE book, and I actually enjoyed all the different news clips and stuff. Just like you =) Jodi Picoult - The Pact I'm so happy you liked this one so much! It sucked you right into the story, didn't it. I also liked it how the story was told from different people's points of view, it really added to the story. Picoult has talent for sure. Is that the cover on your copy? Mine's different. I like yours, visually, but I don't like it how spoilery it is: it says right there in the front that he lives What if you don't want to know that much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 First commenting on your book hauls from different book fairs etc. (Oh and thank you for posting pics, I love seeing pics of people's book hauls ) Thanks ! Natasha Solomons - Mr Rosenblum's List: Or Friendly Guidance for the Aspiring Englishman I hope you enjoy this book! I liked it very much. I think you and I can relate to it in a different way because we are both 'foreigners' =) (Or aliens, if you prefer ) I hope I enjoy it too, but if you did then I think I will . Diane Setterfield - The Thirteenth Tale This is a great novel, and there is also talk about books, to some extent. I can't wait to see how you like it =) That's great, thanks for telling me . Great review! I remember when I read the book the first time when I was a kid, I jumped over the 'news clips' and stuff because I found them boring ( I don't know what I was thinking back then) and because they messed with the flow of the story in my opinion. Having read the book a few times after that, at a more mature age, I read the WHOLE book, and I actually enjoyed all the different news clips and stuff. Just like you =) I can imagine you might've found them boring when you were a kid, I'm glad you could enjoy the whole book later on though . I'm so happy you liked this one so much! It sucked you right into the story, didn't it. I also liked it how the story was told from different people's points of view, it really added to the story. Picoult has talent for sure. I fully agree, she's very talented. Is that the cover on your copy? Mine's different. I like yours, visually, but I don't like it how spoilery it is: it says right there in the front that he lives What if you don't want to know that much! Yep, that's my cover. All of my Jodi Picoult books have that style of cover, except for the newer ones (Lone Wolf and The Storyteller (and Between the Lines but that was cowritten with her daughter). I agree, I guess it is a bit spoilery but the synopsis on the back mentions it too and it happens early on in the book so I wasn't too bothered, only intruiged . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 Richard Templar - De Basisregels voor een Gelukkig Leven (The Rules of Life: A Personal Code for Living a Better, Happier, More Successful Life) Genre: Information Age-range: Adult Format: Paperback Pages: 237 Synopsis (GoodReads):Think about the world’s happiest, most contented, most fulfilled people... How’d they get that way? Is it their genes? No. Money? Absolutely not. It’s about the small choices they make, every day. Things you can do. Things you can change. It’s about what they know and you can learn: The Rules of Life. Here they are: 100 personal, practical rules for dreaming, planning, living, loving, and overcoming even life’s toughest adversities... For knowing what matters... learning from experience...using your intuition... changing what you can...de-stressing... staying younger... getting stronger. Read ’em. Learn ’em. Live ’em. You’ll feel better. You’ll live better. You’ll be a better friend, partner, parent, child, human being. You’ll do it: one small, simple step at a time. One step a day, every day. Starting today. My thoughts: I felt like reading an information book after finishing the amazing story of The Pact by Jodi Picoult. I recently bought this book and decided to give it a go. This book details one hundred rules to be more happy. Half of the rules apply to yourself, the other half is divided by your partner, friends and family, society/community and the world. Some of the rules seemed quite useful to me, others I'd heard of before or am already doing them. There were a few that didn't seem that useful to me, because of my autism for example so things work slightly different for me, or for example some were related to one's children which I don't have. Overall I enjoyed reading this book and it's something I'd want to go back to at a later time, to read it again and see what the rules were. They're not meant to be implemented all at once. Rating: **** (8/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I have the old one with Sissy Spacek on DVD but I haven't watched it yet. It's a shame the new one is no good. Most shelves are double rowed, a few are single rowed. I have some space for some genres but not much for others. I will be getting more book shelves in a little while which will help, but.. I keep buying more books (there are just so many interesting ones). Woohoo! My dry mouth is caused by my medication, it's one of the side effects. It bothers me more at night than during the day, it seems to be worse when I'm lying down and during the day I can more easily drink some water. The Sissy Spacek one is really good Agreed there are so many interesting books out there it's hard to resist More bookshelves is what i need but unfortunately we don't have any space left for them Yep night time is definitely the worst but i do find that the saliva gel helps, maybe your doctor would prescribe you some Athena. The dry mouth affects what i can eat as well, meat for instance takes me forever to chew & can stick in my throat so i don't really eat it much & it can be a bit of a pain when we eat out as i have to check the menu first to see what i can eat rather than just choosing what i'd like to eat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 Yep night time is definitely the worst but i do find that the saliva gel helps, maybe your doctor would prescribe you some Athena. The dry mouth affects what i can eat as well, meat for instance takes me forever to chew & can stick in my throat so i don't really eat it much & it can be a bit of a pain when we eat out as i have to check the menu first to see what i can eat rather than just choosing what i'd like to eat Thanks! I'll have to look into that . I'm sorry to read you can't eat meat or other things as much, that must be a bit of a pain . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Roald Dahl - Boy: Tales of ChildhoodGenre: BiographyAge-range: Children'sFormat: PaperbackPages: 176Synopsis (GoodReads):In Boy, Roald Dahl recounts his days as a child growing up in England. From his years as a prankster at boarding school to his envious position as a chocolate tester for Cadbury's, Roald Dahl's boyhood was as full of excitement and the unexpected as are his world-famous, best-selling books. Packed with anecdotes -- some funny, some painful, all interesting -- this is a book that's sure to please.My thoughts: I've read most of the fiction books Roald Dahl wrote, out of those I own. Boy and Solo are/were the last two books left in the boxset.Boy describes Roald Dahl's childhood. I thought it was very interesting, though I found some bits more interesting than others. There were some painful bits in it too, teachers hitting children and doctors not using any anaesthetic, terrible!! The text has illustrations in it as well as photographs, I thought both were nice additions and brought more life to the story. The story didn't read as easily as his other children's works from the boxset I have, but it was good to read what things were like in those times in the UK and Norway.Rating: **** (8/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Ann M. Martin - The BabySitter's Club 14: Hello, Mallory (re-read)Genre: Chick-litAge-range: Children's, Young-AdultFormat: PaperbackPages: 127Synopsis: (no synopsis since it's part of a series)My thoughts: This was the next book in the BabySitter's Club series to read, for the read-a-thon.It took me a bit of time to get into this book, I was having a bit of mojo trouble and a headache. A few hours later though I read some more and remembered why I love this series so much. This story is told from Mallory's point of view. I think she's a very interesting character, she likes to read and write and she has many siblings. We also meet Jessi for the first time. I thought it was all very well written, it reads easily.Rating: ***** (10/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Jen Campbell - More Weird Things Customers Say in BookshopsGenre: BiographyAge-range: AdultFormat: PaperbackPages: 121Synopsis (GoodReads):Customer (holding up a book): What’s this? The Secret Garden? Well, it’s not so secret now, is it, since they bloody well wrote a book about it!Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops was a Sunday Times bestseller, and could be found displayed on bookshop counters up and down the country. The response to the book from booksellers all over the world has been one of heartfelt agreement: it would appear that customers are saying bizarre things all over the place - from asking for books with photographs of Jesus in them, to hunting for the best horse owner’s manual that has a detailed chapter on unicorns.Customer: I had such a crush on Captain Hook when I was younger. Do you think this means I have unresolved issues?More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops has yet more tales from the antiquarian bookshop where Jen Campbell works, and includes a selection of ‘Weird Things...’ sent in from other booksellers across the world. The book is illustrated by the BAFTA winning Brothers McLeod.My thoughts: I loved the first book, Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops and was eager to read the second one.This was very funny, just like the first one. The illustrations were again really nice too. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one too. I laughed out loud several times, and told a few of them to my boyfriend who liked those I told him too. It's unbelievable really what some people say or do (like the people who wanted to play cricket inside the shop).In the section of 'other bookshops' there were a few quotes from Waterstone's, Amsterdam. I didn't know there was one in Amsterdam! (or anywhere in the Netherlands). This required further investigation . I plan to travel there once I feel better, it'd be great to see it. I love being in book shops with lots of English titles. It's so great to see all the books together and find something nice. Not far from Waterstone's there's also the American Book Center, which I haven't been to in ages, but I would love to go there again too. So in a while we'll be making a trip . (Amsterdam is about two hours away by train from here, and it has some nice sights too which we could see again).Rating: ***** (10/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Daniel Pennac - The Rights of the ReaderGenre: Biography, InformationAge-range: AdultFormat: PaperbackPages: 174Synopsis (GoodReads):Central to this book, is the belief that readers have rights, to read what, how, where and when they want, and if they choose, the right not to read.My thoughts: This seemed like a short book to read during the read-a-thon.This book was very interesting. There are several sections, one on children and reading, one on teachers, one on teenagers and reading, and one on the rights of the reader (ten rights). The book is nicely written and I loved the illustrations (they're by Quentin Blake, in my edition). It's definitely food for thought, for example about the education system. The book was originally written in 1992 in French so of course it doesn't perhaps completely apply to the Dutch education system (which nowadays may well be different from when I was at school), but it was good to read about.Overall I enjoyed reading this book. It was more on education and children/teenagers and less about perhaps the joy of reading for adults than I was expecting, so in that sense it didn't quite meet my expectations but for what it was I enjoyed it.Rating: ***** (9/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Peter de Wit - Sigmund: Pillen, Praten en PatiëntenGenre: Comic, Contemporary FictionAge-range: AdultFormat: HardbackPages: 144Synopsis (me): One page comic strips about Sigmund the psychiatrist in relation to medication, conversation and his patients.My thoughts: This was the last of the three of the Sigmund books that I have (and the last one that was unread). I really liked Sigmund: Weet Wel Raad met Vakantie (9/10) and less liked but still liked Sigmund: Relatietherapeut (7/10).This book was very funny. I really liked some of the comics and most of them were quite funny. A lot of research has gone into real psychiatric problems. The author knows what he's talking about. The illustrations were good. Overall I really liked this book and thought it was quite funny.Rating: ***** (9/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Mika Kawamura - Panic x Panic 1Genre: Manga, FantasyAge-range: Young-Adult, AdultFormat: PaperbackPages: 193Synopsis (GoodReads):Mitsuki and Kakeru are childhood friends—and rivals! When Mitsuki is attacked by a demon, she and Kakeru discover that they have magical powers. An ancient scroll decrees that they must work together to save the world from a demon invasion. And so begins a demon-filled adventure.My thoughts: I bought these books on the book fair not too long ago. I wanted to read some manga and this sounded interesting. Plus, it's a duology so I'd be able to read both for the read-a-thon and have the story finish.This was an interesting book. The story is based on Japanese folkore, relating to demons. There is also a story line going on about the two main characters, who are friends and rivals. I enjoyed both storylines equally and liked how they were interwoven with one another. I liked the illustrations, they were very pretty. I liked the little tidbits about the author interspersed throughout the book.Overall I enjoyed reading this book and immediately went on to read part two.Rating: **** (8/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Mika Kawamura - Panic x Panic 2Genre: Manga, FantasyAge-range: Young-Adult, AdultFormat: PaperbackPages: 195Synopsis: (no synopsis because it's part two of a duology)My thoughts: After reading part one of this duology I felt like reading part two. It's really meant as one story and I was eager to see what would happen next.This book was just as good and enjoyable as the first one. They should really be reviewed together, but since they're two seperate books I reviewed them as such. Book two brings some unexpected plot twists but also some plot twists that I was expecting. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, I didn't mind it and just enjoyed the book.Rating: **** (8/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Simon de Waal and A. C. Baantjer - De Waal & Baantjer 4: Een Schot in de RoosGenre: DetectiveAge-range: AdultFormat: PaperbackPages: 186Synopsis (me): A mobile phone is found in a trash can, still working. The person whom it belongs to is missing. But then an unidentifiable body is found..My thoughts: Another read-a-thon took place, so I decided to read the next book in the De Waal & Baantjer series.Like the other two I've read in this series, this book is very well written. It's a very tense story, I constantly wanted to keep on reading (which is one of the reasons why I didn't take many breaks from the story). I liked the characters. A lot of plot twists were unexpected. One I was expecting and seemed a bit obvious to me, but compared with all the other unexpected plot twists I didn't mind this much. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and if I can find the ones I'm missing from this series in a shop somewhere I'll probably buy them, since they're quite good.Rating: ***** (9/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Anna Enquist - De IjsdragersGenre: LiteratureAge-range: AdultFormat: HardbackPages: 91Synopsis (me): A story about a husband and wife whose daughter has ran away from home. They both hide in their interests, he in his work (reorganising the hospital), she in her gardening.My thoughts: Back in secondary school I read a book by this author (for Dutch class) and quite enjoyed it. Based upon that memory I bought this little book.This book was a bit of a disappointment for me. I didn't like it as much as I had hoped. One thing that annoyed me was that there were no quotation marks. Often there was a "- " at the beginning of the spoken line, but it made me guess more than it should have about who said what and whether something was said or just thought by the character, this distinction wasn't always clear in my opinion. I did think the story was interesting and I liked the main characters. I didn't totally understand some of the things going on with the hospital (the work of Nico, the male main character), some of the terms were unfamiliar to me. The book was published in 2002 and as far as I know specifically written to be released as the book week gift of that year. I found it strange that the currency was gulden, not euro's. As far as I remember, the Netherlands has had the euro since 2000(ish?). I didn't see anything else in the book though that made me think of a certain earlier era it was written in, and it doesn't matter much in the end. The writing style in this book was okay but not brilliant. I really liked the unexpected ending though some of the other plot twists were less unexpected to me.Rating: *** (5/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Lynda Waterhouse - Tina Topper 65: Vriendschap in Gevaar (Fall Out)Genre: Chick-litAge-range: Young-AdultFormat: PaperbackPages: 126Synopsis (GoodReads):Stella and Lotte were best friends forever... until one summer something happened that changed everything. Now Stella can't bear the sight of Lotte, and yet she misses her. But once you've fallen out with your best friend, things can never be the same again, can they?My thoughts: It was another read-a-thon so I read another unread Tina Topper which I bought in the charity shop a while ago.This story takes place before mobiles and the like, the characters phone each other with house phones. It's nostalgic to me from when I was in secondary school. This book is translated from English but the names of the classes were changed to correspond with the Dutch education system. There are several things going on in the book. It's not just what it says in the synopsis, but a few other things are going on too. You don't find out the exact reason the friends have fallen out until a bit later in the book. One thing that bothered me, was that it wasn't always clear to me what was a flashback and what wasn't. I felt more could've been done to distinguish the two or to introduce a scene change in some way. I liked the characters and multiple plot elements and thought the book was well written. Overall the book was an enjoyable read to me.Rating: **** (8/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 I have now read 98 books so far this year (26488 pages). While it will take me a while to get through Pandora's Star I hope that by the end of June I'll have read 100 books at least, that would be nice I think . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Only two books to go for you ! Whee ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I'll be happy if I've read 40 by the end of June Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Daniel Pennac - The Rights of the Reader Overall I enjoyed reading this book. It was more on education and children/teenagers and less about perhaps the joy of reading for adults than I was expecting, so in that sense it didn't quite meet my expectations but for what it was I enjoyed it. Rating: ***** (9/10) 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 That's great, Gaia.....you will make it easily! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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