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Athena's Reading List 2014


Athena

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Athena - i see you bought a couple of Elizabeth George's have you read any of her books before, i have What Became Before i Shot Her on my TBR pile so would be interested to hear what you thought about her. I also have the Per Petterson thoughmy copies in English of course  :smile:

x

I haven't read any of her books, my sister has a book by her which she liked (I'm not sure which one), I saw these two books in the charity shop and thought I'd give them a try. It makes sense that your copies are in English :).

x  

Great haul! You're so naughty. :giggle2:

x

Thanks :)! I know, it's terrible :blush2:. After the book fair I hope to not be buying too many books / spend too much money the rest of February. Hopefully the books from the book fair should keep my resolve going for a while, but we'll have to wait and see.

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David Niven - De 100 Regels voor een Gelukkig Leven (The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It)

 

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Genre: Information

Format: Paperback

Pages: 176

Synopsis (GoodReads):Experts have spent their careers investigating what makes people happy. While their methods are sound and their conclusions valuable, the results often remain hidden in obscure scholarly journals. At last, social scientist and psychologist David Niven, Ph. D., has cut through the scientific gobbledygook. After examining over a thousand of the most recent and important scholarly studies into the psychological traits of happy people and uncovering their most promising discoveries into th causes of happiness. Dr. Niven presents 100 easy-to-digest nuggets of advice: 'Enjoy what you have.' 'Believe in Yourself.' Grounded in science, his approach is fresh, useful, and inspiring.

 

My thoughts: I wanted to read something different so I chose to read some non-fiction instead of fiction, an information book about tips for a happy life. I recently bought this book and hoped it would give me some tips on how to be happier.

 

This book was quite interesting. The book discusses a tip, gives an example and a statement from research. It's simplistically written, which means it reads quite easily but I found it lacked depth. I would've liked to hear more about certain tips and how to apply them. The writing style was good though.

 

I definitely found some useful tips in this book. About setting realistic goals for instance, or friendship or interests. Tip 94 is reading books, which I loved :smile2:. Some tips were not so appropriate for me, since being with people costs me a lot of energy because of my autism, so those kinds of tips weren't always as applicable.

 

It was nice to read an information book again after what's been a while, and it was also nice to read some Dutch. I find with information books it matters less if it's translated. With fantasy books for example, I find that certain words just sound a bit silly in Dutch, but with information books this matters less. It was great to read some Dutch again (though I do still prefer English for most things).

 

Overall I quite enjoyed reading this book. I wish it had more depth and had been longer but it has quite a few useful tips for me.

 

Rating: **** (8/10)

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Good haul Athena! I'm very interested in Per Petterson, but not read any of his books yet.  I think the Ut Og Stjæle Hester is the Out Stealing Horses that I was most interested in. Hope you enjoy your new book! :smile:

Edit: I must put The Art of Racing in the Rain in my 'must read next' note,as so many people have adored it. I'm glad you enjoyed it too :smile:  

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Garth Stein - The Art of Racing in the Rain

 

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(my cover has a different quote on it)

 

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Format: Paperback

Pages: 321

Synopsis (Goodreads): A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.

 

My thoughts: This book has been recommended to me by several people here on BCF, I think I bought it upon Frankie's recommendation last year. After reading something historical I felt like reading something contemporary.

 

First off, this book is written from the point of view of Enzo, a dog. I thought this was a brilliant way to tell the story. On occasion I wondered if dogs would really think this way, it seemed a bit unrealistic, but most of the time it was excellent. I love Enzo.

 

It was interesting to read about the characters. I liked all of the main characters. I loved how the racing techniques were applied to the lives of the characters. This was very well done! There were quite a few great, unexpected plot twists that I didn't see coming. The writing style is great and I loved reading this book. My mojo wasn't always feeling like it beforehand but once I read more than a few pages the story pulled me in.

 

Overall I loved this book. Enzo in particular is a great character and I loved his POV. You've got to love Enzo!

 

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

I'm so glad that you like this book, because I love this book too (ironically I also found this book due to recommendations on BCF). I'm not particularly a fan of motor racing, but I liked how the racing analogies fitted perfectly with the story. I must re-read this soon. Great review :smile:

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Good haul Athena! I'm very interested in Per Petterson, but not read any of his books yet.  I think the Ut Og Stjæle Hester is the Out Stealing Horses that I was most interested in. Hope you enjoy your new book! :smile:

Edit: I must put The Art of Racing in the Rain in my 'must read next' note,as so many people have adored it. I'm glad you enjoyed it too :smile:

x

Thanks, yes it's called Out Stealing Horses in English (or "Paarden [horses] Stelen [to steal[/b]" in Dutch). Thanks :). I hope you enjoy The Art of Racing in the Rain as much as I did :).

x

I'm so glad that you like this book, because I love this book too (ironically I also found this book due to recommendations on BCF). I'm not particularly a fan of motor racing, but I liked how the racing analogies fitted perfectly with the story. I must re-read this soon. Great review :smile:

x

Thanks, I'm glad to hear you love the book too :)!

x

I have The Art of Racing in the Rain on my TBR, so glad you can add your voice to the recommendations on here that made me download it!

x

I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did :)!

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I never realised till now that seeing a suitcase full of books would have the same effect on me as seeing a briefcase full of money!

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Wow, great going! Keep up the good work. :)

x

Thanks :)

I never realised till now that seeing a suitcase full of books would have the same effect on me as seeing a briefcase full of money!

x

That's a nice comparison! I started to take a big suitcase with me because it makes the books so much easier to carry.

 

I'll be posting some reviews of the books I've been reading during the read-a-thon and also a list and pictures of my new books, in a few days.

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I never realised till now that seeing a suitcase full of books would have the same effect on me as seeing a briefcase full of money!

:D  :yes: (though the briefcase of money would help my book buying a bit  :giggle: )

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Minette Walters - A Dreadful Murder: The Mysterious Dead of Caroline Luard

 

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Genre: Detective, Biography

Format: Paperback

Pages: 125

Synopsis (GoodReads):A body is found in the woods . . .

Based on the true story of the shocking murder of Mrs Caroline Luard, which took place in Kent in August 1908.

Caroline Luard is shot dead in broad daylight in the grounds of a large country estate. With few clues available, her husband soon becomes the suspect . . . But is he guilty?

Bringing to life the people involved in this terrible crime, in A Dreadful Murder bestselling author Minette Walters uses modern detective skills to attempt to solve a 100-year-old crime.

 

My thoughts: It was another read-a-thon so I read the last of my Quickreads collection (I did buy one more though at the book fair).

 

This is a story based on true events. Some parts of the story are made up, how the murder might've happened. Other parts are based on evidence from that period and writings that were found. It was quite interesting to read a book based on true crime. The book is well written and easy language is used. The story tells of the police investigating the murder. I quite liked the characters, though I thought some people in the village seemed a bit stupid, because they believe a certain person was the murderer though the evidence spoke against it. quite enjoyed reading this book, though it is a shame we don't exactly know what happened to Caroline.

 

Rating: **** (8/10)

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