Athena's Reading List 2015

[Little Pixie]

Excellent reviews, Gaia.  I like Agatha's books too.

 

And me. I really enjoyed her autobiography too, especially how she became an archeologist because of her second husband. 

[Chrissy]

Don't stop posting your reviews! I may comment little, but I always enjoy reading your views. Also I have really enjoyed the terrific covers. 

[Athena]

Some emoticons were put back in the zoo..

 

You won't sound like a snob at all, Athena. We all have different lives and different circumstances, and we all read different types of books. I think everyone understands that. So of course you should tell us about your milestone (I think I already know what it is, because I was checking the first page of your blog just a few hours ago to see how many books you had read so far this year). Please don't feel as though you have to make excuses for how much you read. We're all here because we like to be around others who share our love of reading!

 

You just keep doing what you've been doing.  You can post as many reviews as you want because this is a log of YOUR reading experiences.

Thank you for your kind reply, Kylie ! You are right, it's indeed 200 . 

 

It's fine. You can read the books you want or feel more disposed to, when you want to. You can stop reading them in the middle, you can read the same one multiple times. Reading books is actually a stimulating activity, and I see no shame in it nor in writing about them.

Thanks, Sousa ! 

 

Please don't stop listing and reviewing!  I love reading about the different types of books everyone here reads.  Everyone has their own reading niche and should enjoy it fully, not worrying about anything.  We are all book nerds here, and you should just enjoy yourself, and report. 

I know I don't post on everyone's threads, and sometimes I don't get to read them, it's just beyond me sometimes.  But I love knowing that they are all here, just mucking along and being there.  Sort of a comfort zone.

 

Thank you, Kate ! I love that comfort zone too !

 

A bit ditto from me.

Thanks, Sarah ! 

 

Don't stop posting your reviews! I may comment little, but I always enjoy reading your views. Also I have really enjoyed the terrific covers.

Thank you, Chrissy ! I really like the covers too, it's one of the things that makes me pick up these kinds of books at the library.

 

I'm not expecting anyone to read all my reviews or to always comment on them, I was just worried people might think I'm snobby and spammy by reading a lot of books and posting a lot of reviews. I'm not in any way upset with any of you, I was worried the amount of reviews, and / or me talking about my milestone of having read 200 books, would upset anyone else on the forum . I'm so glad with all your friendly replies . I will keep on doing what I've been doing then, because I do like doing so .

[Kylie]

I will keep on doing what I've been doing then, because I do like doing so .

 

Yay! And congratulations on your massive milestone. At this rate you'll easily finish the year with 400! (Although I hope you don't put pressure on yourself to do it.)

 

I've been meaning to ask you...did you have trouble scanning your BSC books (especially the English-language ones) into Book Collector? I got out all of my BSC books a while ago (they're kept in a box) and started unloading them so I could scan them. I piled them all up and started scanning, but the BC software wouldn't recognise the barcodes for some reason. I can't remember now which error message I was getting, but it happened with nearly every single book, which means that I now have to enter them all manually. It's going to take forever! Luckily I enjoy 'playing' with the BC software, but still...it would have been nice if I didn't have to manually enter around 200 books! 

[Little Pixie]

Congrats on 200, that`s brilliant ! Well done ! 

[BSchultz19]

I very much enjoy reading your reviews! Please keep posting them. I like that you read different types of books, including childrens books. The only reviews I tend to not read are the ones where the book is in a different language  

 

200 books is an amazing accomplishment. Don't feel like you can't share that!

[Athena]

Yay! And congratulations on your massive milestone. At this rate you'll easily finish the year with 400! (Although I hope you don't put pressure on yourself to do it.)

 

I've been meaning to ask you...did you have trouble scanning your BSC books (especially the English-language ones) into Book Collector? I got out all of my BSC books a while ago (they're kept in a box) and started unloading them so I could scan them. I piled them all up and started scanning, but the BC software wouldn't recognise the barcodes for some reason. I can't remember now which error message I was getting, but it happened with nearly every single book, which means that I now have to enter them all manually. It's going to take forever! Luckily I enjoy 'playing' with the BC software, but still...it would have been nice if I didn't have to manually enter around 200 books! 

Thanks, Kylie !

 

I had some trouble with the English ones. The Dutch ones were allright for the most part. But with some of the English ones, it came up with completely different books a few times, or it sometimes wouldn't recognise the barcode. I fully agree that is a lot of books to enter manually! I guess the quickest thing you can do is to take a pile of books and type out the ISBNs in BC, then let it do a search for them. But it would take a while .

 

Congrats on 200, that`s brilliant ! Well done ! 

Thanks, Sarah !

 

I very much enjoy reading your reviews! Please keep posting them. I like that you read different types of books, including childrens books. The only reviews I tend to not read are the ones where the book is in a different language  

 

200 books is an amazing accomplishment. Don't feel like you can't share that!

Thanks, BSchultz ! I'm glad to hear / read you like my reviews . That makes a lot of sense, as you wouldn't be able to read a Dutch or Flemish book .

[Athena]

My sister gifted me a few books and I went to the library and got a lot of loans as well as a few ex-library books that they were selling. I'll post the list after the weekend. It's the read-a-thon now and if I catalogue all the books it will take me an afternoon or such so it'd be better for me to spend that time reading instead (since it's the read-a-thon). But I did make two photos so here they are. The left pile (photo 1) and top row (photo 2) are books I now own. The 4 Baantjer books are a gift from my sister, who bought them when her library had a sale and she knows I like them so she bought them for me . The 7 other books are books I bought today at the library. The other two piles and rows are books I borrowed from the library today (some nostalgic children's reads and a few others that seemed interesting). I will post a list of the titles after the weekend somewhere .

 

 

[Little Pixie]

Ooh, lovely books !

 

That was nice of your sister. 

[Kylie]

I had some trouble with the English ones. The Dutch ones were allright for the most part. But with some of the English ones, it came up with completely different books a few times, or it sometimes wouldn't recognise the barcode.

 

Ah, OK, so it's not just me! It's a strange thing to happen, isn't it? Oh well. I'll get them all catalogued eventually!

 

I hope you enjoy all of those lovely new books!

[Athena]

Ooh, lovely books !

 

That was nice of your sister. 

Thanks . I agree !

 

Ah, OK, so it's not just me! It's a strange thing to happen, isn't it? Oh well. I'll get them all catalogued eventually!

 

I hope you enjoy all of those lovely new books!

It is strange! Good luck, I hope it won't be too much of a hassle cataloguing them.

 

Thanks, me too !

[Athena]

Here follows the list of books I recently got, that I referred to in an earlier post.

 

My sister bought these four Baantjer books at the library sale at her local library. She knows I like these books and she gave them to me . They are:

 

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 14: De Cock En De Naakte Juffer

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 58: De Cock En De Dood Van De Helende Meesters

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 64: De Cock En De Dood Van Een Kunstenaar

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 70: De Cock En De Dood In Gebed

 

I was at the library and after loaning some books, I had a bit of time leftover until my parents were ready to drive back (they were at the market), so I browsed the ex-library books for sale. I bought these:

 

Geronimo Stilton - Geronimo Stilton 11: De Glimlach Van Lisa - (Il Sorriso Di Monna Topisa)

Paul van Loon - Sam Schoffel Meester-speurder: Schildpad Ontvoerd

Bies van Ede - De Behekste Bibliotheek

Ton van Reen - Het Griezelkasteel

R. L. Stine - Kippenvel Junior 6: De Gootsteengriezel (Goosebumps 30: It Came From Beneath the Sink)

Manon Sikkel - Izzy Love 3: Hoe Lang Zijn Geheimen Houdbaar? Door IzzyLove

Jan Terlouw - Oosterschelde: Windkracht 10

 

Most of these are books I've read when I was a child, or they are by authors I really like.

 

I also got a lot of new library loans:

 

Geronimo Stilton - Geronimo Stilton 57: Samoerai op Ninjajacht (Il Segreto Dei Tre Samurai)

Joe Carrot - Joe Carrot 4: Het Duistere Huis (La Casa Delle Ombre)

Geronimo Stilton - De Kronieken van Fantasia 5: Het Versteende Eiland (L'isola Pietrificata)

Prunella Bat - Milly & Sugar 3: Eens een Heks Altijd een Heks (C'è Chi Nasce Strega)

Prunella Bat - Milly & Sugar 4: De Zilveren Dame (La Dame d'Argento)

Prunella Bat - Milly & Sugar 5: Het Huis van de Zeemeerminnen (La Casa Delle Sirene)

Chris Mould - Vreselijk Vreemde Verhalen 6: De Schatbewaarders (Something Wickedly Weird 6: The Treasure Keepers)

Chris Riddell - Louize 3: Louize op Zee (Ottoline 3: Ottoline at Sea)

Hilde E. Gerard and Eric Bouwens - Heinrich Ooooh 1: Heinrich Ooooh & de Zaak van de Zwarte Zeven

Judy Blume - The Pain and the Great One 3: Cool Zone

Jeanne Willis - SuperCat 1: SuperCat vs the Chip Thief

Francesca Simon - Horrid Henry's Picture Books 6: Horrid Henry's Dreadful Deeds

David Williams - Awful Auntie

David Williams - Gangsta Granny

Luc Descamps - De Donkere Getallen 2: Gevangen in de Tijd

Luc Descamps - De Donkere Getallen 4: Katharentreden

Luc Descamps - De Donkere Getallen 5: Piratennest

Luc Descamps - De Donkere Getallen 6: Ridder voor Altijd

Luc Descamps - De Donkere Getallen 7: Reis naar de Toekomst

Myrthe van der Meer - PAAZ 1: PAAZ

John Flanagan - Ranger's Apprentice 4: Oakleaf Bearers

John Flanagan - Ranger's Apprentice 5: The Sorcerer in the North

John Flanagan - Broederband 2: De Indringers (Brotherband 2: The Invaders)

John Flanagan - Broederband 3: De Jagers (Brotherband 3: The Hunters)

John Flanagan - Broederband 4: De Slaven van Socorro (Brotherband 4: Slaves of Socorro

 

I downloaded a free Kindle Ebook:

 

Ashlyn Forge - Self-Editing On A Penny: A Comprehensive Guide

 

And two books should arrive in the post soon, that I posted about last week (the Jodi Picoult book and the Jenny Colgan book).

 

I will now post some reviews.

[Athena]

Ann M. Martin - The BabySitters Club 34: Mary-Anne and Too Many Boys (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Chick-lit

Age-range: Children

Format: Paperback

Pages: 129

Date read: 05-06-2015

ISBN: 9780590551342

Synopsis: (no synopsis because the book is part of a series).

 

My thoughts:

 

It was the June read-a-thon and this was the next BSC book to (re-)read. This book refers to some of the events that happened in book 8 of this series. Basically two babysitters go on a holiday with a family and they take care of the children. That happened in book 8, and in this book they go again.

 

It took me a little bit of time to get into the story, becuase I was thinking about the two books I was in the middle of reading. I had put them aside for the read-a-thon, but they were still a little bit in my head. I got more into the story later on though.

 

This was an enjoyable (re-)read. I've read the book before, but then the Dutch translation (I own both a Dutch version of the book as well as the English one). It has never been one of my most favourite BSC books, but I did really enjoy the story.

 

Overall I quite enjoyed re-reading this story. It took me a bit of time to get into it, but it's my own fault for starting two books just before the read-a-thon (one a long science-fiction book, the other an information book.). I liked the characters though it's a shame we don't hear much from certain other BSC members. It makes sense though, and it was great to hear a lot about the Pike children. I look forward to (re-)read more BSC books.

 

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

[Athena]

Ann M. Martin - De BabySitters Club 35: Petra en het Spook van Steendam (Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook) (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Chick-lit

Age-range: Children

Format: Paperback

Pages: 124

Date read: 05-06-2015

ISBN: 9789024347056

Synopsis: (no synopsis because the book is part of a series).

 

My thoughts:

 

After reading book 34 in English for this June 2015 read-a-thon, I went on to read book 35. I don't own the English version so I read my Dutch copy.

 

This was an enjoyable re-read. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. (Somehow this keeps happening with my BSC books, when will I learn .) I liked the characters and the story had a nice element of suspense in it.

 

There isn't a whole lot I can say (without going into spoiler territory) that I haven't already said in other reviews of earlier books. I look forward to (re-)read more of this series. My next read will be the third Super Special, which I've never read before. It will be my first English BSC book that I hadn't read before.

 

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

[Athena]

Ann M. Martin - The Babysitters Club Super Special 3: Baby-Sitters' Winter Vacation

 

 

Genre: Chick-lit

Age-range: Children

Format: Kindle

Pages: ~240

Date read: 05-06-2015

ISBN: N/A

Synopsis: (no synopsis because the book is part of a series).

 

My thoughts:

 

I had never read this third Super Special before, so I was eager to read it for the read-a-thon, after reading books 34 and 35 of the normal series.

 

Each chapter is written from the viewpoint of one of the members of the BSC. They all have at least two chapters, but some have more chapters than others. There are a few illustrations in the book, and gladly the 'writing' in the book (which is at the start of most chapters) is a lot more readable on my Kindle than in the Kindle versions of the first two Super Specials.

 

It was brilliant to read this book for the first time. There was no nostalgic factor of a re-read, but of course I do know the characters. In fact, book 34 of the normal series referred to an event from this book. I really enjoyed reading this story.

 

I look forward to read the other Super Specials, I own them all on Kindle. I also look forward to read past book 66 in the normal series. I have book 67 in English in paperback, and some after that I own on my Kindle. I really, thoroughly, enjoyed reading this book for the first time.

 

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

[Athena]

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 48: De Cock en Tranen aan de Leie

 

 

Genre: Detective

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 138

Date read: 05-06-2015

ISBN: 9789026113420

Synopsis (me): Someone who plays a role in the justice system in the Netherlands has gone missing. (Since our system works differently than the system in various English-speaking countries, I am unsure how to translate his profession.)

 

My thoughts:

 

I've previously enjoyed other Baantjer books. Since it was the read-a-thon, it was time for another Baantjer. Out of the ones I own, this one was next (until my sister gave me a few as a gift, yay!).

 

This was an enjoyable, suspenseful story. I did guess a few bits of the mystery case at some point. Aside from Amsterdam, the story also takes place in Gent, in Belgium, for a part. It was nice to read the descriptions of this city. I liked the characters of the story.

 

Overall then I quite enjoyed this Baantjer book. I read it "in one sitting" as I believe people call it.

 

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

[Athena]

Disney - Donald Duck Dubbel Pocket 6 (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Disney

Age-range: Children

Format: Paperback

Pages: 510

Date read: 06-06-2015

ISBN: 9789054284505

Synopsis (me): Comic stories of Donald Duck and his friends.

 

My thoughts:

 

It was the raed-a-thon, and this was the next Donald Duck Dubbel Pocket to re-read.

 

I will briefly describe each story below.

 

Dagobert Duck: Toveren met de Tijd

This was a nice story about Oom Dagobert, Magicka, Donald Duck, the nephews and magic. I thought it was very enjoyable, and it was one of the stories of this book that I recalled the most of.

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

 

Mickey Mouse en de Goudkoorts

This was a nice story about Mickey Mouse and a tribe of indigenous people of America (in Dutch: 'indianen') and gold. It was enjoyable.

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

 

Superdonald: Koning van het Circus

This was a very enjoyable story about Superdonald and a circus. I really liked it.

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

 

Donald Duck en de Ongelukkige Modeshow

This is a story about Donald Duck and a fashion show. It was quite enjoyable to read.

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

 

Boris Boef: De Schat van Hoeloeloa

This story is about Boris Boef and a treasure. I really enjoyed it.

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

 

Donald Duck: Een Barbaarse Schone

This story takes place about 2000 years ago and features barbarians, Romans and some of the familiar characters. I really enjoyed it.

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

 

Donald Duck en de Noodlottige Lotto

This was a short story about Donald Duck and a lottery. It was enjoyable.

Rating: (****) (8/10)

 

Donald Duck: Kunst en Passie

This story takes place in 1900. It features Donald, Katrien and Guus as differently named characters. Donald Duckbrandt is a painter and he wants to win the heart of Katrien Snobbeduck. But Guus Goudhaan likes her too. I really liked this story, it was very enjoyable to read.

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

 

Oom Dagobert en de Grote Albertus

This was a nice story about Oom Dagobert who wants to buy 'De Grote Albertus'. an old book containing a formula to turn lead into gold. The story also involves an evil vampire. I enjoyed reading this story. It was suspenseful. The colours of the illustrations were atmospheric.

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

 

Donald Duck en de Onuitstaanbare Flip Fop

This was a niec story about Donald Duck en Flip Fop, who is an old classmate of Donald. It was a nice story, I enjoyed it. Flip was such an annoying character, but that's what the title sort of says so it makes sense.

Rating: (****) (8/10)

 

Mickey Mouse: Klein Zijn is Niet Fijn

This was a nice story about Mickey Mouse and little people. It was quite enjoyable.

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

 

Superdonald and Spectrus op het Rechte Pad

This was an enjoyable story about Superdonald and a criminal hypnotiser who wants to better his life. It was suspenseful and enjoyable.

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

 

Donald Duck: Een Ijselijk Avontuur

This story is about Donald and Gijs who go to find a treasure in Siberia.

Rating: (****) (8/10)

 

I really enjoyed re-reading this book, there were some really enjoyable stories in it.

 

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

[Athena]

Susan Hatler - Better Date Than Never 10: Date and Dash

 

 

Genre: Chick-lit

Age-range: Adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: 105

Date read: 06-06-2015

ISBN: N/A

Synopsis (me): A romantic story about Mary Ann.

 

My thoughts:

 

I've previously enjoyed the first 9 books in this series, and once I could pre-order book 10, I did. It was released a few weeks ago and I saved it for the read-a-thon (which is now).

 

The story continues, this time the main character is Mary Ann, Ginger's sister. We also get to hear about the other female characters (previous main charaters of the other books), but unfortunately not as much as I'd like, and only some of them are mentioned. Each book in this series has one of the females as a main character, and more characters are introduced as the story moves along throughout the books. The books are chick-lit reads, adn there is always an element of romance. This means some things are a little bit predictable after reading 9 other books in this series.

 

The book was enjoyable to read though anyway. I knew what I could expect beforehand, and I like reading this series of books. The synopsis on GoodReads is very spoilery in my opinion, I was glad I didn't read it beforehand (I don't normally read the ones on GoodReads anyway). That way there were more surprises in the story for me.

 

I really enjoyed reading this story. I liked the characters and the story was pretty interesting. Overall then I really enjoyed this story and I look forward to the author's future work (in this genre). The author has a new book coming out in a little while, which starts a new series but features one of the side characters of this book. I'll have to look it up.

 

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

[Athena]

Geronimo Stilton - Geronimo Stilton 57: Samoerai op Ninjajacht (Il Segreto Dei Tre Samurai)

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 128

Date read: 06-06-2015

ISBN: 9789085922087

Synopsis (me): Geronimo travels to Japan to find a secret document.

 

My thoughts:

 

I saw this book at the library today and since I like the Stilton books, I borrowed this one (and two others). I read it now for the read-a-thon, after I finished off my own read-a-thon reads that I definitely wanted to read.

 

This book partly takes place in Japan. The book contains some bits of information about Japan. It also contains a lot of nice illustrations.

 

I quite liked this story, more than most of the other books I've read of this series. The story was somewhat suspenseful and I really liked the setting and the plot twists.

 

Overall then I enjoyed reading this book a lot. I liked the characters, plot twists, the setting of Japan and the illustrations were quite pretty.

 

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

[Athena]

Joe Carrot - Joe Carrot 4: Het Duistere Huis (La Casa Delle Ombre)

 

 

Genre: Detective

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 224

Date read: 06-06-2015

ISBN: 9789085921332

Synopsis (me): Strange things are going on in Knijnopolis. A mysterious author is being blackmailed. Gladly, Joe Carrot should be able to help.

 

My thoughts:

 

There weren't that many Stilton books at the library today, under the 'S', so I had a look under the 'C' of Carrot. This book series is made by the same team of people as the Stilton books, in the same style. I have previously read and enjoyed books 2 and 3 in this series. This book 4 is almost twice as long as books 2 and 3 were. That seems promising! So far I've enjoyed the longer Stilton books generally more than the shorter ones (which are usually also enjoyable).

 

This was an enjoyable story. Because it was longer than books 2 and 3 (I don't know about book 1, as I haven't seen it available at the library yet, so I'm not sure how many pages that has), it had a bit more depth and detail than those earlier books, and I enjoyed that.

 

The mystery itself wasn't hard to solve for me as an adult. I found the story to be quite enjoyable. I guessed a few of the plot twists but that didn't matter so much to me. I liked the characters and the illustrations were pretty. It was nice to learn a bit more about Joe Carrot and his past.

 

Overall then I quite enjoyed this book, more than I enjoyed books 2 and 3. I hope to find books 1 and 5 in this series (and any other ones if they exist) at the library some time.

 

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

[Athena]

Geronimo Stilton - De Kronieken van Fantasia 5: Het Versteende Eiland (L'isola Pietrificata)

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 381 (351 + 30 comic pages in the middle)

Date read: 07-06-2015

ISBN: 9789085921998

Synopsis: (no synopsis because the book is part of a series).

 

My thoughts:

 

I saw this book at the library yesterday, along with the two Stilton books I read yesterday. I left this one for last, because it's the longest. I've not read any books in this series before, I have read books involving Fantasia though. I hope I'll be able to follow it allright and that it does have some sort of conclusion.

 

The book is similar in style as Ridders van Fantasia 2: Het Kristallen Zwaard which I read just over a week ago (also a library loan). I think this series was first, at least in chronological terms of the Fantasia world. The font of this book is brown coloured and the illustrations use this same colour. In the middle of the book are 30 full colour pages which show a summary of the books so far in the series, in comic form. The book consists of four parts, with chapters within these four parts.

 

This book was very suspenseful. I liked the plot twists. I wish the story had gone on beyond the ending, because it didn't quite have a totally satisfying conclusion, and I really want to find out what happens next! These Stilton books are very popular and usually loaned out. There have been many of them released and the library has a lot of them, but so far there's usually been a few on the shelf, out of the many books that the library owns.

 

I liked the characters in this story. I also liked the world of Fantasia. I was able to follow the story in this book quite well.

 

Overall then I quite enjoyed reading this book. It was suspenseful and I liked the characters, writing style and plot twists. I just wish the book had gone on beyond where it ended. In the middle it could've hurried up a bit and then we could've had more of what happens beyond the ending. But then again, maybe once I've read book 6 it will make more sense. Since the books are usually loaned out though I'm not sure how soon I'll see the book available at the library. I'm definitely interested in reading the other books in this series.

 

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

[Athena]

Prunella Bat - Milla & Sugar 3: Eens een Heks Altijd een Heks (C'è Chi Nasce Strega)

 

(note: the background colour of the cover in this image is a bit off compared to what my library loan really looks like. It's a shade of pink and not this bright pink / purply colour).

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 145

Date read: 07-06-2015

ISBN: 9789054616023

Synopsis (me): A girl with black and purple hair is walking around Old Town and is doing magic where everyone can see it. And Dragomir wants to get his hands on her necklace, but why?

 

My thoughts:

 

I recently read books 1, 6 and 9 in this series. The library now had books 3, 4 and 5 available, so I borrowed them and started to read them for the read-a-thon. Book 3 was first.

 

This was an enjoyable story. Events from books 1 (which I've read) and book 2 (which I haven't read) are briefly referred to. The book can easily be read on its own though I think.

 

I liked the characters and the illustrations were pretty. The world is interesting and I liked the role books played in this story. There are some scenes that take place in a library. I quite liked those illustrations (because I love books and reading, and I also like seeing illustrations of books and libraries).

 

Overall then I quite enjoyed reading this book and I'll be reading book 4 next.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Prunella Bat - Milla & Sugar 4: De Zilveren Dame (Ka Dama d'Argento)

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 145

Date read: 07-06-2015

ISBN: 9789054610083

Synopsis (me): A fashion show of Sugar's mother is being organised. It has to be perfect, because the queen of the elves is visiting. But someone is plotting something evil...

 

My thoughts:

 

I've previously read and enjoyed books 1, 6 and 9 in this series. When I was at the library yesterday I found books 3, 4 and 5. After I finished book 3, I went on to read book 4 (this book).

 

This was a nice story with a new villain. I liked it. It was nice to learn about the elves in this world. I also learned the word 'elf' comes from the Latin word 'albus' which means white. I liked the characters and the plot twists (even if some were predictable).

 

Overall then I enjoyed reading this book. I've got book 5 left to read, since I borrowed books 3, 4 and 5 from the library (they didn't have the other ones, but I was pretty happy with these three). I will be reading book 5 next.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Prunella Bat - Milla & Sugar 5: Het Huis van de Zeemeerminnen (La Casa Delle Sirene)

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 145

Date read: 08-06-2015

ISBN: 9789054615187

Synopsis (me): Milla and Sugar go on a holiday and agree to help a mermaid, whose silver comb has been stolen by two evil people.

 

My thoughts:

 

I borrowed books 3, 4 and 5 in this series from the library. I've previously read and enjoyed books 1, 6 and 9. Yesterday I read books 3 and 4, so today I read book 5.

 

In this story Milla and Sugar go on holiday. The book introduces a new type of magical beings, the mermaids. It was interesting to learn about them. I liked the characters and the story was quite nice.

 

Overall then I liked reading thi sbook, and I'll definitely go back to this section of the library to see if I can find the other books in this series that I haven't read yet.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Susie Burrell - Raak Die Laatste 5 Kilo Kwijt: Snel, Verantwoord en Zonder Moeite (Losing that Last 5 Kg)

 

 

Genre: Information

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 200

Date read: 03-06-2015 <-> 08-06-2015

ISBN: 9789045202020

Synopsis (GoodReads): Learn how to get breakfast right, snack for success, eat out without piling on the pounds, what to do when you’ve overdone it, and how to drink alcohol and still lose weight. Nutritionist Susie Burrell shows that achieving a good lifestyle, food, and exercise balance can make losing those pesky extra 10 pounds a breeze in a few weeks. Packed with user–friendly hints and tips, Susie will teach you how to eliminate the extra calories without resorting to extreme diets, medications, or shakes. In her simple approach she focuses not just on what you eat, but the psychology behind why you may be eating it in the first place. With advice on exercise, psychological well–being, and nutrition, this pocket-sized guide is the weight-loss guide for anyone who wants to lose those extra pounds the sensible way. So, to move forward, clear your diary and get ready to commit to a good few weeks of healthy eating and exercise to make a serious dent into those extra 10 pounds.

 

My thoughts:

 

I bought this book at the book fair. I liked the colours that the cover used and the synopsis on the back sounded interesting to me. I decided to read it, because I wanted to read a short information book just before the read-a-thon. I also felt like reading something in Dutch after reading quite a few English books, This book is written by an Australian author so this Dutch edition of the book is a translation.

 

At the same time that I started to read this book, I also started Peter F. Hamilton - The Void Trilogy 2: The Temporal Void. I really wanted to read that book, ever since I read the first book in that seires. I don't usually read two books at once, but I really wanted to read The Temporal Void even though I knew I couldn't finish it before the read-a-thon.

 

I meant to just flick through this book about losing weight (the one that I'm reviewing here), but I liked a lot what I saw, so I decided to start reading both books. I put them both aside for the read-a-thon weekend last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Today, Monday, after reading book 5 in the Milla & Sugar series, which I wanted to read today since I read books 3 and 4 with the read-a-thon on Sunday, I then continued on with this weight loss book and finished it (I was just over half way when I continued to read it on Monday).

 

This book is divided up into several parts, some longer than others. In these parts there are subpartsa and within the subparts there are chapters. Most chapters are only a couple of pages long, sometimes one page long, but usually two or sometimes more pages. The chapters all have a quote underneath the chapter title, I think from the author from her practice, she is a nutricionist and she helps people lose weight and live healthier.

 

The book has a nice writing style. I thought it read nicely and the text flowed well. The book contains a lot of good tips. Of course, I'd heard some of them before, from other books or from other sources. I didn't agree with what the author wrote on a couple of occasions (for example, she says something, but I'd heard different from other sources. I don't remember exactly what it was though now). A few tips and sections were not so useful to me personally. For example, I don't often go out to restaurants, so I don't need to lessen the behaviour.

 

Overall then I quite liked reading this book. It contains some good times and it has given me some extra motivation to take better care of my weight (which I already did but extra motivation can't hurt ).

 

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