Athena's Reading List 2015

[poppyshake]

Great review Gaia. I enjoyed this book too, though I found some of it a bit creepy, such as Susie spying on her sister during some, erm, intimate moments.

I agree .. I hated those bits.

 

Glad you enjoyed the book Gaia, will you be watching the film? 

[Athena]

I agree .. I hated those bits.

 

Glad you enjoyed the book Gaia, will you be watching the film? 

Thanks Kay . If I have a chance to see the film on TV or to buy it cheap, I think I will . Have you seen it, is it good?

[poppyshake]

Thanks Kay . If I have a chance to see the film on TV or to buy it cheap, I think I will . Have you seen it, is it good?

I haven't .. Alan saw it this week as it was on TV and said he thought it was quite good but he hasn't read the book. Peter Jackson directed I believe. I hardly ever watch films .. don't know why .. can't sit still long enough I think

[Athena]

I haven't .. Alan saw it this week as it was on TV and said he thought it was quite good but he hasn't read the book. Peter Jackson directed I believe. I hardly ever watch films .. don't know why .. can't sit still long enough I think

I'm glad Alan liked it . Nothing wrong with not watching that many films! I find it much harder to concentrate on a film than on a book and a film costs me a lot more energy. I do find it nice to watch films now and then though (even if books > films in my opinion ) .

[poppyshake]

Yes .. books are for me too Far less demanding

[Anna Begins]

Uh oh!  We will have a lot to discuss

[muggle not]

As usual, good review. What are your next 3 books to read.

[Anna Begins]

What are your next 3 books to read.

Probably already read  

[Alexi]

I haven't .. Alan saw it this week as it was on TV and said he thought it was quite good but he hasn't read the book. Peter Jackson directed I believe. I hardly ever watch films .. don't know why .. can't sit still long enough I think

I am the same! Great review Gaia, interesting to see what you thought of it. You obviously enjoyed it more than Anna (and I) did, but it's interesting to see you still wanted more from it as well.

[Kylie]

What are your next 3 books to read.

 

Probably already read  

 

[Athena]

Uh oh!  We will have a lot to discuss

Yep!!

 

As usual, good review. What are your next 3 books to read.

Thanks ! Well I just finished the book on autism, Martine F. Delfos - Een Vreemde Wereld, this morning. My next few reads will be library loans, but I haven't decided yet which one I'm going to read next. I've got to catalogue my new books and sort my library loans (I'll be organising them in an order, since some are part of the same series or from the same author so I'm going to arrange it in the way I'll be reading them). I'm also not sure yet what kind of book I'll feel like reading next. All my remaining library loans are fiction, so it'll definitely be a story book. After finishing off all my library loans, and if I can resist the temptation to borrow a lot of new books, I hope to be reading some of my own books, such as An Unwelcome Quest by Scott Meyer (book three in the Magic 2.0 series), A Perfect Heritage by Penni Vincenzi (these two were pre-orders) and some other ones. There are so many books I want to read . I'll be posting a list of my new books and library loans once I've catalogued them all, so hopefully in one of the next few days.

 

Probably already read  

Haha !

 

I am the same! Great review Gaia, interesting to see what you thought of it. You obviously enjoyed it more than Anna (and I) did, but it's interesting to see you still wanted more from it as well.

Thanks .

[Anna Begins]

I didn't know Peter Jackson directed the movie The Lovely Bones!  Might have to watch that today!

And you know you want to read the Meyer book already! 

[Athena]

I didn't know Peter Jackson directed the movie The Lovely Bones!  Might have to watch that today!

And you know you want to read the Meyer book already! 

If you did watch the movie, I hope you enjoyed it .

 

Haha, I do but I am okay at waiting (disciplining myself) as long as I know when I'll be reading it. After I finish all my library loans, and if I can resist getting a lot more of them, I plan to take a break for a bit and read some of my own books, that I really want to read. There are just so many nice books!!

 

I'll be posting a review now, of the autism book. I'll be making a post with all my new books and my loans once I've catalogued everything, and I will post a review of my current book later as well (once I've finished it and written the review etc).

[Athena]

Martine F. Delfos - Een Vreemde Wereld: Over Autismespectrumstoornissen (ASS); Voor Ouders, Partners, Hulpverleners, Wetenschappers en de Mensen Zelf (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Information

Age-range: Adult

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 446

Date read: 16-02-2015 <-> 22-02-2015

ISBN: 9789088502187

Synopsis (Amazon.com, for the English translated version):A Strange World is an intriguing and comprehensive guide to autistic spectrum disorders presented from a new scientific perspective. Delfos's biopsychological model provides a strong theoretical analysis of the nature of autism and what problems it can cause. She offers practical advice on how to approach these problems from the various perspectives of autistic children, adolescents and adults, as well as parents and carers of autistic people. Balancing theory and practice, Delfos incorporates the findings of current research, and moves beyond. She addresses issues such as differences between men and women with autistic spectrum disorders, and the question of what is 'normal', illustrating her points with many real life examples. A Strange World is both an accessible resource for parents and an important textbook for students and professionals

 

My thoughts: I've been meaning to re-read this book for a while. I read it when I was a teenager, around the time I was diagnosed with autism. I couldn't find my parents' copy (though I didn't look thoroughly) but when I saw the book at the library I thought I'd borrow it and re-read it. The library copy is a newer edition than my parents' copy and I was curious to see if there might be some new research mentioned in the book, as well.

 

This book was quite interesting. It's divided up into two parts, "what is it" and "what do you do about it" (translated, the original book is Dutch.) which are subdivided into various chapters and there are subparts in each chapter. There's also an introduction and an epilogue. Throughout the book, examples and stories of 'real people' are used to illustrate certain points. I found these, just like the first time I read it, to be often recognisable in relation to myself.

 

The writing style is a bit technical and the book doesn't read as easily as for example a children's book with an easy writing style. I quite liked the writing style, but the technicality meant it took me a bit longer to read. It also took me longer to read, because I was reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, alongside it, and because I needed time to process the information (generally information books take me longer to read, depending on the level of depth in the book). The book has big pages and a small font, so it contains a lot of content for its 446 pages. There are also appendices with lists of for example internet addresses and books. There is a literature list at the very end, of all the literature used in the book.

 

The book is very well researched and mentions a lot of research by different people (mostly to do with the brain). I found it to be quite interesting. I did find the book focussed more on children with autism than on adults. Adults are mentioned in various chapters, but some of the chapters in the book were about the development of a child (with and without autism). Personally though I find child development to be interesting, but I did find it a bit of a shame there weren't more concrete tips for adults. I guess it really depends on the situation. The book gives more general guidelines. That might be quite useful though for other people, I'm just someone who needs it very concretely said, not abstract, if that makes sense. I need to know it precisely.

 

I did find a lot of the knowledge in the book to be very interesting. I recognised some things from the last time I read this book, but a lot of it I had also forgotten. I'm older now so I know more about myself, so I was able to place some of the information in the book into perspective to myself, which I was less able to do when I was a teenager I think. For example, my walking into things.. I thought that was my ADD but it turns out children with autism often do that too, because they have trouble knowing where they are in the world, both in space and in time (which AD(H)D people also have trouble with). I look at my watch or a clock a lot, because if I don't, I don't know what time it is. I'm very bad at estimating how much time has passed since the last time I looked, or in general to estimate what time it is. I really need to look often, to have a good feeling about that (nowadays also because I need to take my medication at set times).

 

I liked less that the book talked in several chapters about the differences between men and women and how autism kind of has an extreme male brain. Specifically, I wished the book had given some more attention to women with autism in particular. I also noticed in various chapters, that the book repeated a few things sometimes from earlier chapters. I guess this is useful for those people who might start to read the book in the middle or who take longer to read it so they might've forgotten a few things. I didn't mind it so much, but since I know a lot already, and I re-read the book before, and have a good longterm-memory, I sometimes felt like I was reading things a bit double, if that makes sense. It was just a few lines though in some chapters so it wasn't overly bothersome or anything, and it's good it's there for people who might want information on a specific subject and it's also good to repeat things because then they are remembered better. But it's just something I noticed so I wanted to mention it.

 

Overall then I quite enjoyed re-reading this book. It contains a lot of information about autism and how things work in the brain and for people with autism. I really enjoyed getting more understanding of why I think and feel and do certain things. I also really enjoyed the personal stories in the book, of real people. Usually this was a person with autism, sometimes it was for example the partner or a parent of a person with autism. I liked less that there were less concrete tips useful to me personally, though I do get that that's very dependent on the person (I mean, if it was easy, my therapist would've already told me more tips, right?). I also would've preferred to hear more about women with autism, though it is an area of research that's only been more upcoming the past few years and hence there isn't as much of it in this book. The language is somewhat technical but with my background I was more than able to understand it (and I also did back when I was an older teenager).

 

I would love to have my own copy of this book some time. I know my parents have an (older) copy somewhere, but I'd love to have my own copy on my shelf. The book explains very clearly a lot of things about autism, and it's one of my favourite books related to the subject (though for those interested I would of course recommend reading multiple good books on the subject). I would also love to re-read some other books about autism, that I read when I was an older teenager such as Gunilla Gerland - Een Echt Mens (A Real Person, in English. It's translated from Swedish). I think my parents have a copy of it, but I'm not sure where it is. I would love a copy of my own of that one also, to put on my shelf. Anyway, I'm glad I re-read this book as I feel I've got some more insight into who I am and how things work exactly.

 

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

[Athena]

Below follows a list of new books and library loans. First off, I went to visit the charity shop, because.. you never know!

 

Terre Des Hommes

Boudewijn Büch - De Kleine Blonde Dood (I remember we talked about this book in Dutch class in secondary school, but I've never read it I believe, so now I can! It's a not very long book about a couple whose six-year-old son dies I believe, and how they deal with their grief. If I remember it correctly)

Jill Mansell - Niet Storen!: In het Hotel van de Spontane Daisy is het Nooit Saai... (Staying at Daisy's)

Jill Mansell - Kiezen Of Delen: Nadia Wordt Gered Door een Knappe Vreemdeling. Nu Moet Zij... (Nadia Knows Best)

Jill Mansell - Kapers Op De Kust: Maxine Solliciteert bij een Beroemde Fotograaf, Maar er Zijn er Vele... (Sheer Mischief)

Jill Mansell - Tophit: Izzy Raakt in één Klap Alles Kwijt, Maar Ze Slaat Terug Met Een... (Kiss)

Jill Mansell - Schot In De Roos: Met Haar Vertek Naar Londen Hoopt Nancy Op Een... (The One You Really Want)

C.J. Carmichael and J.K. Johnson - Liefde Online / Wensen Voor Kerst (Star-Crossed Parents / Undercover Santa) (these were all in a box saying 3 for 1 € and since I wanted the Jill Mansell books, I had to pick one more for free. That's why I picked up this last book. The few books left in the box were either books I already had or books I had no interest in. This one sounded passable, it's nothing I would've bought on its own but who knows it might surprise me and be enjoyable.)

 

Library Sale

 

Femke van Trier-Klijnsma and Esther Noëlle van Trier - Ik Ben Haar Kind: De Pijn Bij Een Geslaagde Adoptie (this is a biography of a mother who gives up her daughter for abortion, and the two of them finding each other again. It sounded like an interesting read.)

Peter Contant - De TV-Oorlog: De Keerzijde van Tien jaar Commerciële Televisie in Nederland (a book about Dutch TV, I used to watch quite a bit of Dutch TV back in the older days, the book was published in 2000 and when I flicked through it it mentioned some of the programmes I used to watch. I don't know if it'll be good or interesting but it sounded nice.)

Nick Arnold - Waanzinnig om te Weten: Mega Mooie Mini Monsters (Microscopic Monsters)

Nick Arnold - Waanzinnig om te Weten: Kriebelende Kruipertjes (Ugly Bugs) (I loved this series when I was a child)

Mike Gayle - Dertig! (Turning Thirty) (I liked another book by the author and his books have been recommended to me by someone who likes some similar chick-lit type books as I do, so when I came across this one I bought it. It was on my old wishlist).

Anita Shreve - De Vondeling (Light on Snow) (I have other books by the author on my TBR)

Dick Holzhaus - Vuile Was (this sounded like it could be a nice read)

Julia Burgers-Drost - Met Open Armen Omibus: Vertrouw op de Liefde, Alleen Liefde Telt, De Strijd om het Geluk

Julia Burgers-Drost - De Oldhoff Trilogie 1-3: Het Einde een Begin, Lichtstraal in het Dal, Tussen Schemer en Dageraad (I have other books by the author on my TBR, and I think generally since these books are a bit older it's harder to find them so I bought them when I saw them)

 

I was getting to the end of the books of the sale and I felt a bit disappointed, having only picked up a couple of things. But then, at the end, there was a lot of fantasy and some science-fiction! There were a lot of Dutch translated books I already owned in English. I picked up quite a few books:

 

H. G. Wells - The War of the Worlds (Dutch) (this book was mentioned recently on BCF, so when I saw it I thought I'd buy it. I liked The Time Machine by the same author.)

Jack Vance - Myron 1: De Wilde Vaart (Ports of Call)

Jack Vance - Myron 2: De Lokkende Verte (Lurulu) (Jack Vance is highly recommended by one of the people on BCF and the books sounded good. Vance's books seem to be out of print sometimes and hard to find, so I thought I'd go for it).

Matthew Stover - Star Wars Novelizations: Star Wars: Episode III: De Wraak van de Sith: Het Boek van de Film (The Revenge of the Sith)

Matthew Stover - Star Wars: De Kloonoorlogen 1: Shatterpoint (Dutch) (Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Shatterpoint)

Sean Stewart - Star Wars: De Kloonoorlogen 7: Duistere Ontmoeting (Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Dark Rendezvous) (these books seem hard to find also, so even though they're in Dutch, I thought maybe it'll be nice. I do like the Star Wars films.)

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson - De Legenden van Duin 2: De Machine Oorlog (Legends of Dune 2: The Machine Crusade)

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson - De Legenden van Duin 3: De Slag Van Corrin (Legends of Dune 3: The Battle of Corrin) (I quite liked Dune, the original book, and I've been meaning to try some of the other ones in the series. So when I saw these two, I bought them.)

Kim Harrison - The Hollows 1: Heksen & Demonen (The Hollows 1: Dead Witch Walking)

Kim Harrison - The Hollows 3: Heksen & Duivelsgebroed (The Hollows 3: Every Which Way But Dead)

Kim Harrison - The Hollows 4: Heksen & Toverij (The Hollows 4: A Fistful of Charms)

Kim Harrison - The Hollows 5: Heksen & Elfen (The Hollows 5: For a Few Demons More) (I've heard good things about this series through some book blogs I follow, and when I saw four of the books I thought I'd buy them.)

Garth Nix - De Lappenheks (The Ragwitch) (this sounded nice)

Neil Gaiman - American Gods 2: De Bende van Anansi (Anansi Boys) (I don't know if this has anything to do with American Gods, GoodReads says so, but nowhere in the Dutch book is this said anywhere based upon a quick glance. But either way, I liked other books by the author so I thought I'd give it a go.)

G. P. Taylor - Schaduwmeester 1: Schaduwmeester (Shadowmancer) (I liked Wormwood by the same author)

Marion Bradley - Dochter van Troje (Firebrand) (I liked Mists of Avalon by the author)

David Gemmell - De Havikkoningin 1: Yzerhands Dochter (The Hawk Queen 1: Ironhand's Daughter) (I have part two of this series)

Margaret Weis - Drakenvald 1: Drakenvrouwe (The Dragonvarld Trilogy 1: Mistress of Dragons) (I have books two and three in this series and my sister read this book and recommended it to me)

Lynn Flewelling - De Boeken van de Tamir 2: Prins Van Strijd (Tamír Triad 2: Hidden Warrior)

Lynn Flewelling - De Boeken van de Tamir 3: Koninklijk Orakel (Tamír Triad 3: The Oracle's Queen) (I have book one of this series)

Robert Silverberg, Raymond E. Feist, Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin, Anne McCaffrey, Neil Gaiman, Tad Williams, Terry Brooks, Diana Gabaldon, Orson Scott Card and Elizabeth Haydon - Mythen (Het Rijk van de Ouderlingen: De Thuiskomst, Een Lied van Ijs en Vuur: De Eed van Trouw, Alvin Maker: S. S. Koningin van de Yazoo, De ReizigerL Lord John en de Succubus, Majipoor: Het Boek der Veranderingen, Anderland: De Gelukkigste Dode Jongen van de Hele Wereld, Pern: Voorbij Tussen, De Oorlog van de Grote Scheuring: De Boodschapper, Symfonie der Tijden: De Drempel Tussen Leven en Dood, American Gods: The Monarch of the Glen, Shannara: Ontembaar): Elf Nieuwe Werken Van De Meesters Der Moderne Fantasy (Legends II) (Homecoming, The Sworn Sword, The Yazoo Queen, Lord Joh and the Succubus, The Book of Changes, The Happiest Dead Boy in the World, Beyond Between, The Messenger, Threshold, The Monarch of the Glen, Indomitable) (I already have a couple of these stories, but not all of them. This was on my e-reader wishlist and when I saw a papercopy I wanted to go for it. I know all the authors except one, so even though I already have some of the stories in paperbook or on my e-reader (and one I read from the library), I look forward to reading them in paperform and of course also the ones I didn't have yet. For 0.85 cents, well, what's not to like!)

 

Here's a photo of the new books:

 

 

Since I was at the library, I decided to, before going to the sale, to quickly browse the library itself as free books is the cheapest to read them.

 

Library Loans

Francine Oomen - Hoe Overleef Ik... 12: Hoe Overleef Ik (Zonder) Dromen?

Francine Oomen - Hoe Overleef Ik... 13: Hoe Oeverleef Ik Mijn Vader? (En Hij Mij!) (I was pleased to find the last two books in this series, since I read most of the other books earlier I now get to find out how it all ends)

Geronimo Stilton - Het Zwaard in de Steen (La Spada Nella Roccia)

Thea Stilton - Het Leven op Topford 1: Liefde in de Schijnwerpers (L'Amore Va In Scena A Topford)

Thea Stilton - Het Leven op Topford 12: Het Spookhuis (Il Fantasma Di Castel Falco)

Thea Stilton - Thea Stilton 1: De Drakencode (Il Codice Del Drago)

Thea Stilton - Thea Stilton 6: Het Ijzingwekkende Geheim (Il Tesoro Di Ghiaccio)

Thea Stilton - Thea Stilton 11: Op Zoek naar de Blauwe Scarabee (Caccia Allo Scarabeo Blu) (I look forward to read these Stilton books for the read-a-thon. I just grabbed what was there and what interested me etc. I think the library has a lot of them but most are usually loaned out.)

Jacqueline Wilson - Lily Alone

Jacqueline Wilson - Candyfloss (they sounded nice and I had borrowed some other books by the author already)

 

Here's a photo of my current library loans (23-02-2015):

 

 

Kindle Pre-order Released

Susan Hatler - Better Date Than Never 9: Deja Date

 

My pre-order was finally released a few days ago, I look forward to reading this short story for the read-a-thon. I've also pre-ordered book 10 in the series which should be released in May.

 

I've also got a message from the BookDepository that Brandon Sanderson - The Stormlight Archive 2: Words of Radiance will be posted to me in a few days, so that's exciting too.

[Athena]

Brian Selznick - De Uitvinding van Hugo Cabret (The Invention of Hugo Cabret)

 

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age-range: Young-Adult

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 544

Date read: 22-02-2015 <-> 23-02-2015

ISBN: 9789022548066

Synopsis (GoodReads):An orphan and a thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy train station. He desperately believes a broken automation will make his dreams come true. But when his world collides with an eccentric girl and a bitter old man, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy.

 

My thoughts: I saw the film based on this book, Hugo a few years ago. Ever since I saw the film and found out it was based on a book, I've wanted to read the book. I had it on my wishlist for a while, but I could never find a paperback edition of the book. I don't like the flappy bits of hardcovers. Just when I had kind of decided I was tired of waiting for the paperback, that would probably never be released, the price of the hardcover book shot up in the places where I used to buy books and then it was out of stock. So I waited a bit longer. Then, since a few months ago, I have had to really work on not spending much money on books and such, and I became a member of the library. A week and a half ago (approximately) I happened to come across this book in the library! It is the Dutch translation of the English book (and it's hardback, no flappy bits in any library book!). So I borrowed it and was eager to read it.

 

This book had beautiful illustrations. The illustrations are actually part of the story, in the sense that some parts of the story are told solely through the illustrations. I thought this was quite well done and different from most books. Some books that have illustrations, well they illustrations can be very nice but here they were an integral part of the story, which I thought was nice and different. The book has 544 pages, but a lot of those pages are illustrations. The first 50ish parts are solely illustrations (other than a few pages of text in the beginning), so I flew through those.

 

Some pages are filled with text (just like in any non-illustrated book), other pages do contain text but the page isn't filled, there might only be a couple of lines of words on the page. The book therefore read relatively quickly (that's why I finished it so soon). The writing style is nice and the translation seems to work allright.

 

I loved the characters of this book and the whole 'magicalness' of the story. There isn't any magic in the story in terms of unreal elements, it is all based upon real things. The automation (which in the Dutch translation is called 'automaton') is something that used to exist back in the time when the story takes place (according to GoodReads it's in the 1930s but the book itself didn't mention this). What I meant is that the story feels magical, wonderful in a sense, because it is, in my opinion, a beautiful story.

 

The book has quite a few plot twists. Of course, since I saw the film I knew what all the big plot twists were, and as I read the book things came back to me (I didn't remember some things before I started to read the book). It's quite a suspenseful story in my opinion, and I would've wanted to finish it in one go but other commitments called. I really wanted to keep on reading the book.

 

Overall then I quite enjoyed reading this book, and I'm glad I was able to borrow it from the library so I could read it. I really enjoyed reading it. I don't generally read a lot of historical fiction, normally, as I find contemporary fiction and fantasy and science-fiction to be more interesting most of the time (I also own more of those genres), but it's nice to read something historical now and then. I thought this was a really beautiful and wonderful story, with beautiful illustrations in it that play a bigger role than illustrations do in most illustrated books.

 

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

[Kylie]

Oh my goodness...so many books! 

 

I hope you enjoy them all.

[woolf woolf]

Brian Selznick - De Uitvinding van Hugo Cabret (The Invention of Hugo Cabret)

This book had beautiful illustrations. The illustrations are actually part of the story, in the sense that some parts of the story are told solely through the illustrations. I thought this was quite well done and different from most books. Some books that have illustrations, well they illustrations can be very nice but here they were an integral part of the story, which I thought was nice and different. The book has 544 pages, but a lot of those pages are illustrations. The first 50ish parts are solely illustrations (other than a few pages of text in the beginning), so I flew through those.

 

I loved the characters of this book and the whole 'magicalness' of the story. There isn't any magic in the story in terms of unreal elements, it is all based upon real things. The automation (which in the Dutch translation is called 'automaton') is something that used to exist back in the time when the story takes place (according to GoodReads it's in the 1930s but the book itself didn't mention this). What I meant is that the story feels magical, wonderful in a sense, because it is, in my opinion, a beautiful story.

 

From what you write, the book seems intriguing and one of those classic/generic books we can usually find inside the stories. Especially if it has an hardcover. Did the book have some explanation to how the automation worked back then, how was it used in society?

[muggle not]

Nice review. It sounds like you really enjoyed the book. I was so impressed that I looked it up in our library. The library has 3 copies and 2 are available but they are all in the MP3 Audiobook. I don't like Audiobooks and also from your review it sounds like the illustrations are an important part of the book.

From our library:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life and his most precious secret are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

[Nollaig]

Oh my god, all those books! I assume you have access to a car? One advantage for me when I go book-buying is I physically can't carry very many, and I don't drive so unless I want to push them home in a wheelbarrow, I'm never going to come home with that many books

[Athena]

Oh my goodness...so many books! 

 

I hope you enjoy them all.

Thanks ! 

 

From what you write, the book seems intriguing and one of those classic/generic books we can usually find inside the stories. Especially if it has an hardcover. Did the book have some explanation to how the automation worked back then, how was it used in society?

Well the ones this automaton is based on, you had to wind them up (like an old clock) and supply them with a paper, pen and ink and they made drawings. Some of them could make three or four different drawings. The automaton consists of a lot of cogs and mechanical parts, I guess it is a bit like an old clock. The one in the book is based upon an automaton made by Maillardet, here is a Wikipedia link with a picture: link. The book actually mentions a URL where you can learn more about it, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to work for me, so maybe the site doesn't work anymore.

 

Nice review. It sounds like you really enjoyed the book. I was so impressed that I looked it up in our library. The library has 3 copies and 2 are available but they are all in the MP3 Audiobook. I don't like Audiobooks and also from your review it sounds like the illustrations are an important part of the book.

From our library:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

It's a shame your library only has the audiobook. The audiobook could still be really good, but of course you won't have the illustrations and how they play a part in the story. I don't like audiobooks, either, they would cost me way too much energy and I much, much prefer to read the words off a page rather than hear things. I would not be able to concentrate much with an audiobook. With a DVD it really helps that I can turn on the subtitles and read it, so when my attention wavers, as it tends to do, I can just read the subtitles to then work out what they are saying and to remind me what is happening.

 

Oh my god, all those books! I assume you have access to a car? One advantage for me when I go book-buying is I physically can't carry very many, and I don't drive so unless I want to push them home in a wheelbarrow, I'm never going to come home with that many books

Yes, my parents drove me to the city and back (they did some shopping of their own). That makes sense! I don't normally come back with that many (at least, I try not to). I can drive, but the past few years I've only driven short distances that are very familiar to me, and only in my parents' smallest car (an older Renault Twingo). I did briefly drive in my parents' biggest, more expensive car (the Tesla S), on an abandoned parking lot with my dad sitting next to me, but I'm way too worried something will happen to it, to drive much in it. The thing with the library books (and ex-library copies) is that they're quite heavy because of their thick covers / spines. It does however make it that the books are better protected and all that, and I'm glad there are no flappy bits with library books as that's one thing that annoys me with a hardcover book, is the flap. So the cover is thick but pretty, of a library book. But it makes them weigh so much more than just a small paperback.

[Kylie]

The Tesla S...isn't that a mega expensive car? I'd be worried driving it too.

 

Are you running out of bookshelf space yet?

[Athena]

The Tesla S...isn't that a mega expensive car? I'd be worried driving it too.

 

Are you running out of bookshelf space yet?

It is an expensive car. My parents wouldn't have been able to afford it if it hadn't been for the 'subsidy' and the laws of the government in the Netherlands. When they purchased it, there was a law (there still is now but it might change in the future) that the government paid part of any fully electrical car for a company or "ZZP'er" (an independent kind of freelance company?) and it had to do with certain tax rules too. The monthly costs are a lot lower than with a petrol car, saving on road taxes, car taxes and of course fuel (with electricity it costs them only a couple of eurocents per kilometre). Yeah, I wouldn't want to cause any damage to it! My dad would let me drive it again at a quiet place if I wanted to, I'm sure, but I've only just started to drive a bit again in the past few months. (Here is a link to my dad's blog, there are posts in Dutch and in English on there, you should be able to see a photo of the car at the top of the page in the banner .

 

Haha, well, if double stacking isn't allowed then yes! If it is allowed (a lot of my shelves are double stacked), then there are still some empty spaces .

[Anna Begins]

Shut the front door!  You didn't tell me you got to DRIVE the Tesla!! 

I KNEW it was red!!

Edited February 25, 2015 by Anna Begins

[Athena]

Shut the front door!  You didn't tell me you got to DRIVE the Tesla!! 

I KNEW it was red!!

Aaaaaaaah I'm sorry I never mentioned it! It was a while ago, I don't even remember when. It was fun to drive though! Yep, out of the available colours my parents liked the 'signature red' the best. I kind of agreed, the other colours were very dark, or white, or just not as nice. I wasn't a big fan of red cars initially (my favourite colour will likely always be blue), but I really like it since we got the car . It suits it.