Athena's Reading List 2015

[Athena]

Good loophole.   

Thanks . 

 

I love it when the covers all match.  It's somehow disrupting to see an unmatched set on the shelves.....

And those are quite nice.

I fully agree! Thanks .

 

No Way!  Don't feel embarrassed (you shouldn't be), or worry about any accusation of arrogance (you are NOT).

Thanks, Kate . That means a lot to me.

 

Your reviews, are as always excellent.  In fact, I believe they are becoming even more nuanced as you go along. 

Well done!  I like the sound of The Lost Daughter very much.

 

Thanks, that means a lot to me ! I really liked The Lost Daughter, I'm glad you like the sound of it .

 

It plays up the Amish part more:

http://www.amazon.com/Plain-Truth-Novel-Jodi-Picoult-ebook/dp/B000FC0STQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1443205670&sr=1-1&keywords=plain+truth

 

That's a nice cover too !

 

I read The Lost Daughter a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I don't know why I haven't read more Diane Chamberlain books (or Jodi Picoult), as whenever I finish one, I really feel like reading another one!

 

I love the cover of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe!!

It's nice to hear you really enjoyed The Lost Daughter too . I hope you'll try another Diane Chamberlain or a Jodi Picoult book some time, I find hem usually quite enjoyable .

 

Me too, it is a really pretty cover I think !

[Athena]

I was in the charity shop and bought two books:

 

Louis Sachar - Holes 1: Holes

Christopher Vogler - The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers

 

They were only €0,50 each .

[Athena]

Anna Enquist - Het Geheim (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Literature

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 203

Date read: 24-09-2015 <-> 26-09-2015

ISBN: 9789029514972

Synopsis (GoodReads): Three storylines run through The Secret, like themes in a symphony, sometimes merging, sometimes overlapping, and sometimes going in different directions: this is the story of Wanda Wierickhe, the story of her past and the story of Bouw, the man she left.

 

 

Concert pianist Wanda Wiericke sees music as a way of escaping reality. It is her answer to questions about her place in the world. When forced to choose, she leaves her husband for it. But when her mother literally spits up "the secret" on her deathbed, Wanda is no longer able to withdraw into her music. A rheumatic disorder prevents her from playing: she does not touch a piano again until she has come to terms with her past.

 

 

Enquist offers no easy solutions. The book's climax does not come with the revelation of the secret, but in the process of coming to terms with it.

 

My thoughts:

 

I read this book for secondary school, for my Dutch literary list. At the time I read a library copy and I quite liked the book (I didn't like all of the books I read for school). Ever since I've wanted to re-read it. A while ago I saw this book at the charity shop and bought it. After I read quite a few English books, I was in the mood for a Dutch book. My eyes fell upon this book (it was the first Dutch book I saw ).

 

The book consists of three parts. The chapters are pretty short and the book itself is shorter than I thought it would be (in my mind there were more pages in it than 203). The book doesn't read so easily, but that could be because I'm now used to English and not literary Dutch?

 

I liked the book less than how I remembered it. The ending was a bit too open, I would've liked for the book to have gone on beyond the ending. I thought the characters were interesting. The story takes place in the 'now' and also has flashback chapters. I liked how music played a large role in the story. I remembered parts of the story (such as the secret the title refers to) so this made the book a bit less suspenseful for me. On the other hand, nostalgia can be nice too and I thought back of my days at secondary school.

 

Overall I enjoyed re-reading this book, just not quite as much as I remember liking it (though, maybe I remember it fondly because I was surprised to like it).

 

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

[Athena]

I'm unfortunately abandoning Terry Pratchett - Discworld 23: Carpe Jugulum. I wanted to make a post about it here, to say why I did this. I really loved the 25 books I've read by Pratchett, but this one I just wasn't enjoying. I was about 40% in. I kept hoping it would get better, but it didn't (at least, not at 40%). Igor's accent was very hard for me to read. I have to pronounce it loud out in my head, which completely takes me out of the story, but even then I still don't understand it some of the time. I wasn't interested in the story. There were some humourous bits and I liked those, but there weren't that many of them, and some references I didn't understand. There were quite a few English words in the book I don't know the meaning of and this made it harder to understand what was going on in the story. I was confused by it all and especially in the beginning the story went back and forth a lot. I never felt I really fully understood what was going on. I feel quite bad about it, as not only do I hardly ever abandon books, but the first 22 Discworld novels were great, as were the Johnny Maxwell books I read. I just wasn't enjoying this one, and I decided in the end, after persisting with the book and it didn't get better, to put it down and instead read something I would enjoy more.

 

I have now abandoned 6 books this year so far, much more than in previous years .

 

I'm currently reading Peter F. Hamilton - Manhattan in Reverse, a short story collection. I'm still on the first story but that one is nice so far.

[frankie]

I was in the charity shop and bought two books:

 

Louis Sachar - Holes 1: Holes

 

I really hope you enjoy Holes! And what a bargain, too!!

[Little Pixie]

I have now abandoned 6 books this year so far, much more than in previous years .

 

That`s a shame. I`ve only recently taken to abandoning books, rather than struggling on. 

[Athena]

I really hope you enjoy Holes! And what a bargain, too!!

 

Thanks ! I saw it and remembered some people from here had read it. I agree, it was quite a bargain .

 

That`s a shame. I`ve only recently taken to abandoning books, rather than struggling on. 

Yes, maybe it's a bit the same for me here. I hardly ever abandoned books earlier in my life. If you're not enjoying a book though, I now think it's better to abandon the book rather than trying to read it and feel worse in the end. Maybe it has something to do with my birthday coming up? I'll be 30 in less than a month .

[Athena]

I couldn't help myself and bought another three novellas for my Kindle :

 

Brandon Sanderson - Perfect State

Brandon Sanderson - Cosmere: Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

Brandon Sanderson - Cosmere: Sixth of the Dusk

[Little Pixie]

I couldn't help myself and bought another three novellas for my Kindle :

 

Brandon Sanderson - Perfect State

Brandon Sanderson - Cosmere: Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

Brandon Sanderson - Cosmere: Sixth of the Dusk

 

Only 3 ? And they`re mini-books ? Barely noticeable. 

 

Have you got anything planned for your Milestone Birthday ? 

[Signor Finzione]

I couldn't help myself and bought another three novellas for my Kindle :

 

Brandon Sanderson - Perfect State

Brandon Sanderson - Cosmere: Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

Brandon Sanderson - Cosmere: Sixth of the Dusk

 

Have you heard about the new Alcatraz book coming out next year?

[Athena]

Sorry for not getting back to anyone sooner, I was on holidays in the UK for 9 days.

 

Only 3 ? And they`re mini-books ? Barely noticeable. 

 

Have you got anything planned for your Milestone Birthday ? 

Haha .

 

Yes, I plan to have a nice dinner and a nice lunch with my family. I've invited the usual family members for the day but I haven't heard back from all of them yet. It's tricky sometimes because some of them know other people whose birthday is around the same date as mine. I'm planning to bake a cake and I'm looking forward to my birthday. Somehow I've come to grips with becoming 30 while I was on holiday, not sure how that happened! I ordered myself some books for my parents to give to me. 

 

Have you heard about the new Alcatraz book coming out next year?

I am totally excited for this !! I will wait until the paperback release (I'll probably pre-order it once I can ), but if the library has it available for loan before then I will loan the book first as I'm really desperate to find out how the series ends! The first book referred to a scene in the last book, and I can't wait to find out what happens in the story.

 

Coming up next, I've got 12 book reviews to post, a list of newly bought books, and a summary of Q1Q2Q3 the first three quarters of the year.

[Athena]

Peter F. Hamilton - Manhattan in Reverse

 

 

Genre: Science-fiction

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 260

Date read: 27-09-2015 <-> 29-09-2015

ISBN: 9780330522205

Synopsis (back of the book): In 1998 Peter F. Hamilton, the master of space opera and top-ten bestselling author, published his first collection of short stories in A Second Chance at Eden. Thirteen years later he returns with a new collection including 'Manhattan in Reverse' an original and exclusive story featuring his popular detective Paula Myo from his bestselling Commonwealth series.

 

From 'Watching Trees Grow' and a murder mystery set in an alternative Oxford in the 1800s to 'The Forever Kitten' and the questions of eternal youth and the sacrifice required to persue this, these stories deal with intricate themes, sociological issues and take an intriguing look at what it is that makes us human.

 

My thoughts:

 

Peter F. Hamilton is one of my favourite science-fiction authors. I'd been meaning to read this short story collection for a while. I read his other short story collection A Second Chance at Eden and I liked it. Below follow some thoughts on each of the stories.

 

Watching Trees Grow

This is a murder mystery story that takes place in an alternative Oxford in the 1800s. It's written in first person. The world is set in the 1800s but the story does have some science-fiction elements. The story consists of seven parts / chapters. I quite liked this story. It was an interesting murder mystery. I liked the writing style and the detectiving. The story contains some interesting thoughts on technology.

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

 

Footvote

This short story is about a family (divorced mother and father), it is science-fiction. Someone has opened a wormhole to a planet for people in the UK to travel to. The UK isn't doing too well. The story is told from both the mother's and the father's perspective (first person). This was a nice story but I would've liked to gone on beyond the ending. I feel it ended too soon. It was interesting to read though and a few parts made me laugh.

Rating: (****) (7/10)

 

If at First... (re-read)

I read this story before, on my Kindle (it's free on Kindle). I will repeat some of my thoughts on it here, as I read it a second time. It's a nice story but I wish it was longer. It's nicely written though the first few pages interested me less than the second half of the story. I liked the plot twists (even though I knew what was going to happen).

Rating: (***) (6/10)

 

The Forever Kitten

This was a nice story with a nice twist. It wasn't brilliant though. I can't say what it's about as it's so short so that would be spoiling it.

Rating: (***) (6/10)

 

Blessed by an Angel

This story takes place in the Commonwealth universe. It won't make much sense if you haven't read the Commonwealth Saga and the Void trilogy. This is a nice story that gives a bit of extra background to a character in the Commonwealth universe. At first though, I was confused by what was going on.

Rating: (****) (7/10)

 

The Demon Trap

This story takes place in the Commonwealth universe and features a character from that universe. It takes place before the Void trilogy books I think, but after the Commonwealth Saga. This was also a bit of a mystery story. I quite liked reading it. It was interesting and has a few connections to events in the Commonwealth Saga and the Void trilogy. This was a well written story, I really enjoyed it. I wanted to keep on reading to find out what would happen and what had happened.

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

 

Manhattan in Reverse

This story features a character from the Commonwealth universe (the same one as the previous story did). I really like this character. The story takes place after the events in the Commonwealth Saga. This was a nice story. I didn't like it as much as The Demon Trap, but it was still very enjoyable. I liked the ending.

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

 

Overall the stories were of varying quality in my opinion, but most were quite enjoyable to read. My favourite ones were The Demon Trap and Watching Trees Grow, followed by Manhattan in Reverse.

 

Overall Rating: (****) (7/10)

[Athena]

Shawn Inmon - Second Chance Love 5: Second Chance Wedding

 

 

Genre: Rom-com

Age-range: Adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: 88

Date read: 30-09-2015

ISBN: N/A

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

 

My thoughts:

 

EDIT: I just realised, apparently I never read book 4! No wonder things didn't always make sense to me . We must rectify that soon .

 

I read the first four books in this series last December. I held off buying the fifth book for a while, after waiting for its release, but now that I was going on a holiday and I'd be bringing my Kindle and one paperbook (I can't take many paperbooks with me), I thought I deserved a littel treat and so I bought this book. I'd been wondering since I read the first four books, what would happen next.

 

The book starts off in 1973, then goes back to 2014 (where we left off in book 4).

 

It took me a bit of time to get into this story. I had to think and remember more details of what had happened. I wouldn't recommend reading this novella on its own. The story took a different twist than I was expecting. I didn't like it as much as I remembered liking the previous books. It was still enjoyable though. I liked the ending and the later plot twists. I felt for the characters.

 

The author says he isn't done yet with this cast of characters. I look forward to any future works.

 

Rating: (****) (7/10)

[Athena]

Susan Hatler - Treatured Dreams 2: An Unexpected Kiss

 

 

Genre: Rom-com

Age-range: Adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: 25

Date read: 30-09-2015

ISBN: N/A

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

 

My thoughts:

 

I liked the first book in this series, which I read in 2013, and the other Susan Hatler books I've read (Better Date Than Never 1-10). I bought the book to read on my holiday.

 

This short story continues Holly's story, though I feel it can also be read on its own (though it's nicer to read both, of course). There are more stories on the way. I liked reading this story. It was cute and I liked the writing style. I liked the bit about the eagles in particular. Overall I enjoyed reading this story. I look forward to the rest of the stories.

 

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

[Athena]

Brandon Sanderson - Firstborn

 

(no cover as I read this story on the Tor.com website)

 

Genre:

Age-range: Adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: ~56

Date read: 30-09-2015

ISBN: N/A, Tor.com Website

Synopsis (Goodreads): Of the son of a High Duke of the interstellar Empire, much glory is expected.- And expected.- And still expected, despite endless proof that young Dennison Crestmar has no talent whatsoever for war. But the life Dennison is forced to live will have its surprising lessons to impart.

 

My thoughts:

 

This story can be read for free on the Tor.com Website. Brandon Sanderson is one of my favourite fantasy authors, so once I found out about this free story I jumped at the chance to read it.

 

This was a nice science-fiction story. A few terms are unexplained. I liked reading this story. The story was different than some other works I've read by the author, as this one was science-fiction and not fantasy. I quite enjoyed reading it. It was suspenseful. I liked the ending.

 

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

[Athena]

Susan Hatler - Kissed by the Bay 1: Every Little Kiss

 

 

Genre: Rom-com

Age-range: Adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: 171

Date read: 01-10-2015

ISBN: N/A

Synopsis (GoodReads): When Wendy Watts left Blue Moon Bay, she vowed never to return to the small coastal town where her parents had abandoned her and her brother. Now she’s a successful Realtor, and a workaholic who stays away from complicated emotions—until her grandmother dies, leaving Wendy the Inn at Blue Moon Bay and mandating that if Wendy sells it, she must put it on the market herself “in person.”

 

As soon as Wendy arrives in Blue Moon Bay, bad memories, the inn’s poor condition, and her brother’s pleas to keep the inn overwhelm her. Then she meets a sexy laid-back stranger on the beach, and Wendy does something she never does . . . she opens up and confides her problems to him. Since Max Huntington’s only in town for one night, Wendy spontaneously kisses him, hoping to be distracted from her troubles for just one evening.

 

But when Wendy begins the painstaking process of fixing up the inn in order to sell it, Max tells her he’s staying on longer. He’s enchanted by the charming inn and even more with the kisses they shared on the beach. He wants to help her with the repairs, and she reluctantly accepts his offer.

 

Although she’s determined to remain detached from the allure of her inn, Blue Moon Bay and Max, every repair, every stroll on the beach, and every moment spent with Max, draws her in and reminds her of the local legend she’d believed as a child: that being kissed by the bay under a blue moon will lead to love that lasts forever.

 

My thoughts:

 

I've read and liked many of Susan Hatler's books. I'd been looking forward to this one for a while. It was released in early September I believe, and I promised myself I could buy it for my holiday.

 

This book features Wendy, a character we met in I believe the last Better Date Than Never book. The story is written in first person. I really enjoyed reading this book. I like the writing style. The story was interesting. It had more depth than I was expecting. I guessed one plot twist, but another was completely unexpected, for me. Overall I really liked reading this book. I look forward to future books in the series.

 

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

[Athena]

R. J. Palacio - Wonder 1.6: Pluto

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Kindle

Pages: 79

Date read: 01-10-2015

ISBN: N/A

Synopsis (GoodReads): Almost 2 million people have read the New York Times bestseller Wonder and fallen in love with Auggie Pullman. Last year readers were given a special look at another side of his story with The Julian Chapter, and now they'll get a peek at Auggie's life before Beecher Prep, with an exclusive new short story told entirely from the point of view of Christopher, Auggie's oldest friend.

 

Christopher was Auggie's best friend from the time they were babies until his family moved away; he was there through all of Auggie's surgeries and heartbreaks, through bad times and good—like Star Wars marathons and dreams of traveling to Pluto together. Alternating between childhood flashbacks and the present day, an especially bad day for Christopher, Pluto is the story of two boys grown apart learning that good friendships are worth a little extra effort.

 

My thoughts:

 

I read Wonder 1: Wonder and Wonder 1.5: The Julian Chapter last year in October. I really liked the story of Auggie Pullman. So when I saw these two novellas (this one and the next one, Shingeling) were out, I bought them for my holiday.

 

The story is told in first person, from Christopher's point of view. It alternates between flashback chatpers and chapters in 'nowadays'. I couldn't fully identify with the main character. I did however enjoy the story, I liked the writing style and the characters. The story was touching and emotional. It had some nice twists and messages. Overall I enjoyed reading this story and I would recommend it to anyone who liked Wonder 1: Wonder (which should be read first). I will be reading the third novella, Shingeling, next.

 

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

[Athena]

R. J. Palacio - Wonder 1.7: Shingeling

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Kindle

Pages: 125

Date read: 01-10-2015

ISBN: N/A

Synopsis (Goodreads): Wonder told the story of August Pullman: an ordinary kid with an extraordinary face, whose first year at school changed the lives and the perspectives of everyone around him.

 

Shingaling looks at that year through the eyes of Auggie's classmate, Charlotte: smart, kind, and desperate for acceptance from the popular crowd. Thought-provoking, surprising, poignant and heartwarming, this is a must-read for the thousands of readers who loved Wonder.

 

My thoughts:

 

I bought this novella, and the novella Pluto (the second Wonder novella) to read on my Kindle during my holiday. After finishing Pluto I read this novella.

 

The story is told in first person from Charlotte's point of view. The book has a few illustrations (of Venn diagrams).

 

I liked this story. It was nice to read both Charlotte's story, as well as the intersections with Auggie from Wonder. It is the same for the other novellas. It's not just the story of Auggie retold in bits by different characters, each of these characters have their own stories too. Overall I'm glad I read these two novellas, they were quite enjoyable to read.

 

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

[Athena]

Holly Smale - Geek Girl 2.5: Geek Drama

 

 

Genre: Rom-com

Age-range: Young-adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: 128

Date read: 02-10-2015

ISBN: N/A

Synopsis (GoodReads): “My name is Harriet Manners, and I am a geek.”

A brand new World Book Day story from the no. 1 bestselling and award-winning GEEK GIRL series!

 

Harriet Manners knows that the hottest observed place on earth is Furnace Creek in Death Valley.

 

She knows that dolphins shed the top layer of their skin every two hours.

 

And she knows just how badly auditions can go, especially when you’re a model.

 

But she has no idea how to get herself out of the extreme embarrassment of the school play or what to do when arch-nemesis Alexa decides it’s the perfect opportunity to humiliate her…

 

Can GEEK GIRL survive the bright lights of the stage?

 

A hilarious World Book Day GEEK GIRL novella by award-winning, bestselling author Holly Smale.

 

My thoughts:

 

I recently read book 4 in this series. I had read books 1-3 earlier. I like the series, so I wanted to read this book as well. I bought it for my Kindle to read on my holiday (I couldn't find a paperbook copy).

 

This was a nice enjoyable novella. As usual, I liked the facts in the book, that Harriet mentions or thinks about. It was nice to read this book, because the events in it are referenced in later books of the series (which I already read but now the references make more sense). The story is funny at times. I like Harriet a lot, she's an interesting character. The ending was good. There was a bit less focus on modelling in the book, most of the focus was on the play, but I didn't mind this. I did like the modelling bit that was in the novella, though. I look forward to future books in the series.

 

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

[Athena]

Brandon Sanderson - Perfect State

 

 

Genre: Science-fiction, Fantasy

Age-range: Adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: 87

Date read: 02-10-2015

ISBN: N/A

Synopsis (GoodReads): God-Emperor Kairominas is lord of all he surveys. He has defeated all foes, has united the entire world beneath his rule, and has mastered the arcane arts. He spends his time sparring with his nemesis, who keeps trying to invade Kai's world.

 

Except for today. Today, Kai has to go on a date.

 

Forces have conspired to require him to meet with his equal—a woman from another world who has achieved just as much as he has. What happens when the most important man in the world is forced to have dinner with the most important woman in the world?

 

My thoughts:

 

Brandon Sanderson is one of my favourite fantasy authors. I bought three of his short stories for my Kindle to read on my holiday. Ever since I read the Mistborn trilogy I've really wanted to read all the books by this author. Out of the Sanderson novellas on my Kiindle, I decided to read Perfect State, as the other two stories both take place in the Cosmere universe (though knowledge of anything is not needed), and I thought it'd be nicer to read the standalone story first.

 

This was an interesting story. One element of it is a bit reminiscent of something in the Matrix films. This story is science-fiction but it contains some fantasy elements. I thought the world of the story was really interesting and creative. It's a shame it's not a full novel! The story had some twists I wasn't expecting, one near the end in particular was very good. I liked the ending. The writing style was nice and the characters were interesting. Overall I really enjoyed reading this story.

 

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

[Athena]

Brandon Sanderson - Cosmere: Sixth of the Dusk

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: 90

Date read: 02-10-2015 <-> 03-10-2015

ISBN: N/A

Synopsis (GoodReads): Sixth of the Dusk, set in a never-before-seen world, showcases a society on the brink of technological change. On the deadly island of Patji, where birds grant people magical talents and predators can sense the thoughts of their prey, a solitary trapper discovers that the island is not the only thing out to kill him. When he begins to see his own corpse at every turn, does this spell danger for his entire culture?

 

My thoughts:

 

I bought three Sanderson novellas for myself to read on my Kindle on my holiday. I really like Brandon Sanderson's books. After reading Perfect State, I read this book.

 

This story was interesting, though I didn't like it as much as many other works by Brandon Sanderson. I thought the birds and other creatures were nice creative ideas. I liked the plot twists. The story was quite suspenseful.

 

Overall I liked this story, it was enjoyable. Ot was different than most of Sanderson's other fantasy works. I didn't like it as much though I can't put into words why this is. I did enjoy the story though, if not as much as those other books. I'll be reading the last novella on my Kindle (Cosmere: Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell).

 

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

[Athena]

Brandon Sanderson - Cosmere: Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: 89

Date read: 03-10-2015

ISBN: N/A

Synopsis (GoodReads): When the familiar and seemingly safe turns lethal, therein danger lies. Amid a forest where the shades of the dead linger all around, every homesteader knows to follow the Simple Rules: "Don't kindle flame, don't shed the blood of another, don't run at night. These things draw shades." Silence Montane has broken all three rules on more than one occasion. And to protect her family from a murderous gang with high bounties on their heads, Silence will break every rule again, at the risk of becoming a shade herself.

 

My thoughts:

 

This was the last novella I bought that I had left to read (Brandon Sanderson did write more novellas, but I don't own some yet, and others I own in paperbook. I will buy all eventually though!), on my holiday.

 

This was an interesting and quite suspenseful story. I liked it a lot. The plot twists were good and I liked the characters. The world of the story was interesting and I liked the ending.

 

Overall I quite enjoyed reading this story. I look forward to read more of Brandon Sanderson's books. I've now read all 10 Kindle books I specifically bought for my holiday. And I'm only halfway through it , at the time I'm writing this.

 

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

[Athena]

Ken Follett - The Pillars of the Earth 1: The Pillars of the Earth

 

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 1078

Date read: 03-10-2015 <-> 11-10-2015

ISBN: 9780330450867

Synopsis (back of the book): Set in the turbulent times of twelfth-century England when civil war, famine, religious strife and battles over royal succession tore lives and families apart, The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of the building of a magnificent cathedral.

 

Against this richly imagined backdrop, filled with intrigue and treachery, Ken Follett draws the reader irresistibly into a wonderful epic of family drama, violent conflict and unswerving ambition. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, the dreams, labours and loves of his characters come vividly to life. The Pillars of the Earth is, without a doubt, a masterpiece - and has proved to be one of the most popular books of our time.

 

My thoughts:

 

A lot of people on BCF have read this book and as far as I can remember, they all liked it. I allowed myself one paperbook to take with me on holiday, next to my Kindle. I thought about this methodically. I used my kitchen weighing scales to weigh some paperbacks I was considering. I calculated the weight per page (ratio) and page per weight (ratio). In the end I narrowed and narrowed my selection. First I allowed myself 5 paperbooks, then 3, then 2, and then 1. I picked this book, because I've heard such high praise for it, and because it had a great weight-to-page ratio (as in, good for the suitcase, not great as in the number is huge, because it should be small). With its 1000+ pages it should keep me busy for a while. It did weigh more absolutely compared to most other paperbacks I was considering. I read the first few pages of the book, the prologue, before I left, and the story seemed interesting.

 

The book consists of six parts, with each an illustration of how far the church is built. I liked these illustrations. The story takes place over a large time-span, and the parts show the years that part takes place in. Each part consists of chapters, which consist of shorter pieces denoted with (i), (ii), ... I wish there was a table of contents at the beginning, listing where each part begins and the years it spans.

 

The story has some flashbacks, particularly in the beginning. I really liked the writing style. I like the description of for example buildings. I don't quite like how some of the women were treated in the book in a few parts.

 

One of the main characters is wholly unlikable. William is such a mean evil character and I didn't like Waleran either. I really wanted to see something bad happen to William and Waleran. The story drags a bit in places and at times I'm didn't like so much political manoevering.

 

I skimmed the sex scenes, because I don't like reading them. I feel the details of such things are private and between the two people involved. Some bits were quite horrid to read (you'll understand why if you have read the book). That's how I feel about it, not only in books but also in films or in real life conversations.

 

The last part of the book was really good. I didn't want to put it down. In fact I stayed up late to finish it, and I hardly ever do that.

 

I really enjoyed reading this story. I love the attention to detail on many things (minus the sex bits) and the author has done his research well. I really liked Aliena and Jack, and Philip quite a bit too. And Ellen. And Tom sometimes. This was a great, epic story. I quite enjoyed reading it. I look forward to read the sequel, World Without End. I really liked the writing style and some of the plot twists. The last part of the book was very suspenseful, to the last page.

 

Now that I've finished the book, I keep thinking about it. It was an epic story and I quite enjoyed reading it. It's not perfect, some bits during the story annoyed me then, but now that I've finished it I feel very positive about the story. I can more easily forget the nasty bits and just enjoy the awesomeness of the rest of the story.

 

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

[Athena]

I bought these books while on holiday in the UK, in charity shops and a second hand book shop (situated in old horse stables!). I also bought some lovely bookmarks. I was glad we were able to bring everything back with us on the plane.

 

Dr. Seuss - Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Terry Deary and Neil Tonge - Horrible Histories: The Terrible Tudors

Terry Deary - Horrible Histories: Even More Terrible Tudors

Terry Deary - Horrible Histories: The Slimy Stuarts

Terry Deary - Horrible Histories: The Gorgeous Georgians

Terry Deary - Horrible Histories: The Vile Victorians

Stephen Fry - The Liar

Lindsey Kelk - I Heart 2: I Heart Hollywood

Melissa Hill - Not What You Think

Jenny Colgan - Little Beach Street Bakery 2: Summer At Little Beach Street Bakery

Jojo Moyes - The Horse Dancer

Stephenie Meyer - The Host 1: The Host

Frank Herbert - Dune Chronicles 3: Children of Dune

Frank Herbert - Dune Chronicles 4: God Emperor Of Dune

Maria Semple - Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Jessica Adams, Chris Manby and Fiona Walker; and other various authors - Girls' Night Out / Boys' Night In

 

I was given this book by Michael's mother after I expressed interest in reading it:

 

Bernhard Schlink - The Reader (Der Vorleser)

 

I bought these books at the charity shop:

 

David Baldacci - Nachtwerk (Office Hours)

Ellen Tijsinger - Magisch Kruid

Sheila O'Flanagan - De Uitnodiging (Bad Behaviour)

Lauren Weisberger - Chanel Chic (Chasing Harry Winston)

Floortje Peneder - Gevoelens, Gedachten en Stukjes uit: Het Dagboek Van Floortje Peneder

Anna Blaman - Verhalen

Harry Mulisch - De Pupil

Harry Mulisch - De Diamant: Een Voorbeeldige Geschiedenis

Harry Mulisch - De Aanslag

Harry Mulisch - De Ontdekking Van De Hemel

John Irving - Weduwe Voor Een Jaar (A Widow for One Year)

 

This Kindle pre-order was released:

 

Susan Hatler - Treasured Dreams 3: An Unexpected Love

 

And some photos of the paperbooks:

 

 

[Athena]

Summary and Reflection of my Reading in January-September 2015 (Q1-Q3)

 

Wow, we're three quarters through the year already! It's gone by fast. Just now in September, I'm thinking I don't really want to try strongly to achieve my goals. I want to read books when I feel like reading them, not because I said at the beginning of the year that I would try to read them. I will look at the goals below, since I've only just decided this about the goals, but next year I think I will not have so many goals at all.

 

A Reflection on my Goals

 

Here are the goals I set myself, along with some commentary:

 

- I plan to read at least the books I preordered that will be released in 2015 (new paperback releases), except those that are part of a series where I haven't yet read the book(s) before it (because I'll want to read those first). There should be about 5-10 of them. // So far I have received all pre-orders except 1 and I haven't read any more of them since June, 7 pre-orders are part of series which I need to start first.

- I plan to read more Jodi Picoult books, at least one // I read 6 books by Jodi Picoult (one more since Q2 started), so that's going well!

- I plan to read more Diane Chamberlain books, at least one // I read 3 books by Diane Chamberlain, so this is going well.

- I plan to read more Catherine Ryan Hyde books, at least one // I've read one Catherine Ryan Hyde book, in Q2, I plan to read at least another one this year. I didn't read any in Q1 or Q3.

- I plan to read at least one Terry Pratchett book // I tried to read one book by him, but I abandoned it as I couldn't get through it.

- I plan to read The Age of the Five trilogy by Trudi Canavan // I haven't read this trilogy yet.

- I plan to start and hopefully finish the Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time graphic novel series by Robert Jordan, Chuck Dixon and Chase Conley // I read about half of these, but haven't got back to read the other half. I find it really uncomfortable to read a book on the computer.

- I plan to read at least one Brandon Sanderson book // I have read 11 books by Brandon Sanderson so far. Still good though!

- I plan to read at least two Sophie Kinsella / Madeleine Wickham books // I have read 1 book by her, in Q1. Could be doing better.

- I plan to read at least one Sinéad Moriarty book // I haven't yet read any this year.

- I plan to read at least one Penny Vincenzi book // I have read one book by this author this year, in Q2.

- I plan to read the Void trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton // I have read all 3 books in this trilogy so goal completed.

- I plan to start reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon // I haven't yet read this yet.

- I plan to read at least one book by Karen Miller / Karen E. Mills // I haven't yet read any this year.

- I plan to read at least one book by Maria V. Snyder // I haven't yet read any this year.

- I plan to read at least one book by John Green // I haven't yet read any this year.

- I plan to read Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell // I haven't yet read this yet.

- I plan to read at least one book by A. S. King // I haven't yet read any this year.

- I plan to read The Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare // I haven't read this trilogy yet.

- I plan to read The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare // I'm going to read these once I finish The Infernal Devices, see above.

- I plan to read at least one book by Anne McCaffrey // I haven't yet read any this year.

- I plan to read at least one book by Ken Follett // I didn't read any books by this author in Q1-Q3 though a little bird told me it's happening in Q4...

- I want to re-read David B. Coe's Chronicles of Lontobyn trilogy // I re-read the first book in the trilogy.

- I want to re-read James Clemens' The Banned and the Banished series // I haven't yet re-read this this year.

- I want to re-read at least one book by Thea Beckman // I haven't yet read any this year.

- I want to read at least one horror book, perhaps in October // I have read 17 books with a horror theme, so that's great.

- I want to read at least one wintery and / or Christmassy themed book in November or December // I've read 17 Christmas and Wintery themed books so far. So that's great!

- I want to start The No 1. Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith // I haven't started this yet.

- I plan to read at least one book by Haruki Murakami // I have read one book by Haruki Murakami, a free short story.

- I want to read at least 12 books by Ann M. Martin // I have read 18 books so far, this goal is completed!

- I want to read at least 12 books by A. C. Baantjer and / or Simon de Waal // I have read 9 so far, so this is on schedule!

- I want to keep reading short books for the read-a-thon from multiple genres and for multiple age ranges (ie. the BSC books and the books by Baantjer) // This is definitely going well! I participated in 10 read-a-thons in these 9 months (but I skipped the October one).

- I want to read more books by Geronimo Stilton, Thea Stilton and other books written by the same team of authors // I've read 67 books so far, so this is going very well!

- I want to read more books by Francine Oomen, specifically the Hoe Overleef Ik... series // I've read 14 books by the author so far and I have finished off this series, so this is completed!

- I want to read more books on ADD and / or autism or related things // I've read 11 books so far, though only 1 since June. I think I've done pretty well for this goal though.

- I want to start and finish some series of which I own all the books // I have read 281 books that are part of series (and 83 standalone books, 4 a combination), though some of those were library loans. I started some series and finished some series (in so far as that the books have been released). So this goal is going nicely.

- I want to try some new authors (some of which I've mentioned above) // I have tried some new authors, but I've mainly been concentrating on books by authors I've read something of before (291 books by familiar authors vs. 72 books by unfamiliar authors, 5 books were a combination of that.)

- I want to read some of my Kindle Singles // I have read one Kindle Single, in Q2. I read some more Kindle books at the end of September and the beginning of October but I'm not entirely sure what constitues as a Kindle Single. I should probably just remove this goal.

- I want to read some spring / Valentine's themed books // I have read 5 books with this theme, so not too bad.

- I want to read some summery and holiday themed books // I have read 25 books with this theme, so that's quite good.

- I want to read books by John Flanagan // I have read 15 books by this author, so that's going brilliantly. I really want to read the last book in the Ranger's Apprentice series though, and book 5 in the Brotherband series, but I haven't found them at the library yet.

 

I also had some other goals that are related to books, I will look at those now.

 

- I want to spend less money (on books and other things)

I need to spend less money on books (and other things). I plan to buy less books and order less of them online. A few ex-library books now and then aren't too costly, but online it can cost a little bit more. I also plan to buy less at book fairs. I haven't yet decided to which ones I'll go, I might want to go to at least one (but, like last time, only buy those books that are quite cheap or that I really want or that are hard to find elsewhere for a good price).

I have spent a lot less money on books and other entertainment things, compared with last year (comparing of course two similar time frames). I went to one book fair in May but skipped bookfair in September. I did buy some books online and from the library and from the charity shop. I plan to go to the bookfair in November. I ordered some books online, but I bought most of them from the library or at the Terre des Hommes (charity shop). I bought 336 physical books, 11 ebooks and I downloaded 24 free ebooks (and 6 ebooks off the author's websites). Overall I'd say I didn't do better in Q3 than in Q1 and Q2, though the fact it I had a bit more money leftover in Q3 so I was able to spend more on books.

 

- I want to visit the library often

This is tied in with my goal on spending less money on books. I'm hoping that by going to the library often and borrowing some books, I'll be less tempted to buy books (particularly more expensive ones).

I visited the library quite often in the first half of this year. I read 153 books that I owned, 210 library books (+ 6 returned without reading them) and 6 books I read from an author's website (free short stories). So I'm getting great use out of my library card.

 

- Book Collector

I want to scan all my ISBNs of my books and make sure what's in the database matches my edition (in the beginning I took the information from GoodReads which isn't always the edition I had). I want to add all the User Defined values that I want in there (maybe add some more, too). Ideally I also want to complete information as much as possible about where and when I purchased the book and for how much, however this is only possible for the more recent books as I don't remember things from earlier on and unless it was online, I can't look it up (but the online ones I can look up).

I've finished ISBN scanning all my books (excluding the ones in the attic), and I have sorted out the ISBNs in Book Collector, so that's good progress. It'll be more work sorting through everything and adding all the information I want to add.

 

- Wishlist

I want to type out my wishlist in an organised fashion, and also go through it and remove some books I might not be interested in anymore. I might also want to divide it up into books I really must have and books I'd like to read but perhaps not necessarily own.

I have my wishlist in a text file, but I haven't sorted through it yet. Somehow I'm not that interested in doing so, lately.

 

Statistics of January-June 2015 (for more details see post #3 in this thread)

 

Days: 273 (01-01 <-> 30-09)

Total books read this year: 368

Amount of pages read (averaged): 88720 (went up by about the same amount, though slightly less than in Q1 and Q2)

Average amount of pages per book: 243 (this stayed the same)

Days per book: 0.73 days/book

Book(s) per day: 1.4 book(s)/day

Pages per day: 325 (this slowed down a little bit)

 

Amount of books bought: 336 physical, 11 ebook(s)

Amount of books received as gifts or trades: 13

Amount of ebooks free: 24 + 6 from author's website

Amount of books pre-ordered and paid for in 2014 but received in 2015: 12

Amount of books borrowed from library: 210 read, 6 returned unread

 

Reads TBR / R (new books vs. re-reads): (326) (~89%) vs. (42) (~11%) (this ratio stayed the same)

Male / Female authors: (140) (~38%) vs. (133) (~36%) (excluding (98) (~26%) unknowns or both genres if multiple authors) (I read a bit more male authors than female authors in Q3, in comparison to the first half of the year)

Nationalities (from most to least): US (116)(~32%), UK (73) (~20%), Italy (76) (~21%), Netherlands (50) (~14%), Belgium (20) (~5%), Australia (22) (~6%), Germany (7) (~2%), Japan (2) (~<1%), Unknown (2) (~<1%) (some minor changes here, most notably I read more books from the US)

Books from new authors vs. familiar authors: 72 (~20%) new vs. 291 (~79%) (5 (~1%) a combination) (slightly more familiar authors)

Standalones vs. series books: 83 (~23%) vs. 281 (~76%), combination 5 (~1%) (slightly more series books)

Genres (most to least) (note: some books have multiple genres): Contemporary Fiction (119) (~29%), Fantasy (82) (~20%), Science-fiction (36) (~9%), Information (33) (~8%), Detective (31) (~8%), Rom-com (29) (~7%) , Literature (22) (~5%), Historical Fiction (22) (~5%), Horror (12) (3%), 'Disney' (9) (~2%), Biography (8) (~2%), Paranormal (6) (~1%), Thriller (5) (~1%)

(more fantasy, less contemporary fiction, more science-fiction, less literature, more detective, less information, less horror, less thrillers)

Type: Textbooks (including books with a few small illustrations, ie. at chapter headings) (~116)(~45%), Illustrated (172)(~45%), Comics (11)(~3%), Manga (1)(~<1%), Graphic Novels (18)(5%) (more graphic novels, less manga)

Format: Paperback (104)(~28%), Hardback (no flappy bits) (228) (~62%), Hardcover (2) (<1%), Kindle (10)(3%), Ebooks on website (6)(2%), Computer Websites (18) (5%) (more paperbacks, less hardbacks, more Kindle, more computer websites)

Ageranges: Children's (195)(~53%), Young-Adult (70)(~19%), Adult (107)(~29%) (more adult books and less children's books)

Fiction vs. Nonfiction: Fiction (326) (~89%) vs. Non-fiction (34) (~9%), Combination (8) (~2%) (slightly more fiction)

Languages: English (150) (~41%), Dutch (197)(~54%), Flemish (21) (6%) (more English, more Dutch, less Flemish)

Original language vs. translated book: Original (229) (~60%) vs. Translated (148) (~40%) (this stayed very similar)

Publication Years: 1980-1989 (10) (~3%), 1990-1999 (31) (~8%), 2000-2009 (91) (~25%), 2010-2015 (216) (~59%), Unknown (20) (~5%)

(more from 1980-1989, less from 1990-1999, less from 2000-2009, more unknowns)

Original publication years: Pre-1930 (1) (~<1%), 1930-1939 (1) (~<1%), 1940-1949 (4) (~1%), 1950-1959 (1) (~<1%), 1960-1969 (0) (0%), 1970-1979 (3) (~1%), 1980-1989 (18) (~5%), 1990-1999 (35) (~10%), 2000-2009 (134) (~36%), 2010-2015 (144) (~39%), Unknown (28) (~8%)

(more older books and more unknowns, less newer books)

Ratings: 1 (0) (0%), 2 (0) (0%), 3 (2) (~<1%), 4 (3) (~1%), 5 (3) (~1%), 6 (12) (~3%), 7 (24) (~7%), 8 (114) (~31%), 9 (125) (~33%), 10 (85) (~23%)

[more 7, 8 and less 10]

Average rating: 8.6 (went down slightly if you look at more decimals)

Male protagonist(s) vs. female protagonist(s): Male (143) (~39%), Female (133) (~36%), Both (62) (~16%), N/A (no main characters) (31) (~8%)

(more books with both genders, less books with either male or female characters)

Page numbers x per book: x < 300 pages (262) (~71%), 300 < x 500 pages (80) (~21%), x > 500 pages (26) (~7%)

(more longer books, less medium length books)

Page numbers x per book: x < 100 pages (43) (~12%), 100 < x 199 (137) (~37%), 200 < x 299 pages (82) (~22%), 300 < x 399 pages (47) (~13%), 400 < x 499 pages (33) (~9%), 500 < x 599 pages (15) (~4%), 600 < x 699 pages (4) (~1%), 700 < x 799 pages (7) (~2%), 800 < x 899 pages (0) (~0%), 900 < x 999 pages (0) (~0%), x > 1000 pages (0) (~0%) (more really short books and more quite long books)

Reading per month: January (30) (~8%), February (37) (~10%), March (32) (~9%), April (53) (~15%), May (48) (~13%), June (47) (~13%), July (34) (~9%), August (54) (~15%), September (33) (~9%)

 

Overview

 

I have read 368 books in Jan-Sep of this year. I've read the most in April and August, followed by May and June. I read fewer books in January, February, March, July and September. I read 99 books in Q1 (Jan-Mar), 148 books in Q2 (Apr-Jun) and 120 books in Q3 (Jul-Sep). So overall I could say that so far in Q2 I've read the most books, followed by Q3 and then Q1.

 

I never thought I'd read this many books, but I'm happy I did!

 

(previous statistics: Jun-Dec 2012: 43 books, 2013: 143 books, 2014: 254 books).

 

I read ~88720 pages in January-September 2015 (in comparison, I read ~18000 in Jun-Dec 2012, ~37000 pages in 2013 and ~62932 pages in 2014).

 

So I've read more pages in Jan-Sep 2015 than in the whole of 2014. The average page count per book was 243, which is higher than in Q1-Q2. I read more longer books. I decided in August to read more longer books that I really wanted to read, and the data shows that's true. I took 0.74 days on average to finish a book, and I read about 1.4 books per day. I read 26 books with more than 500 pages, with is more than double the amount I read in the first half of the year. I still read some shorter books and I also read some medium books though the number of medium books read didn't increase as dramatically as the other two (short and long).

 

Genres

 

I still read from a variety of genres, but compared to the first half of the year I read relatively more fantasy and fewer contemporary fiction, more science-fiction and detectives and less of a few genres. I also read quite a few books with a summer, autumn or winter theme.

 

New reads and re-reads

 

My ratio of new books vs. re-reads hardly changed at all. I guess this is because most of my re-reads are favourite children's books I read during read-a-thons, and apparently this ratio hasn't changed.

 

Gender of authors

 

I read more male and less female authors in Q3 than in the first half of the year (on average). I wonder if it's related to the increase in fantasy books I've read . At the moment the balance between male and female is not 50 - 50 anymore (with 'both' also taking up some percentage), but I read slightly more books by male authors.

 

Gender of main characters

 

I read more books with a female protagonist and more books that feature both genders as main characters, in the last three months compared to earlier in the year.

 

Nationalities of authors

 

I read from a variety of countries, though of some much more than of others. It's interesting that the percentage of US authors has increased in the last three months, and the percentage of countries such as Belgium has decreased (I haven't read many more books from those countries). The percentages of UK, NL and IT authors changed only slightly.

 

Familiar or new authors

 

I read slightly more familiar authors in Q3 than in the first half of the year (comparatively, percentage-wise). I have been trying to focus on reading more books by some of my favourite authors, so this makes sense.

 

Series and Standalones

 

I read a little bit more series books in Q3, compared with Q1-Q2. I have noticed that I seem to read less standalone books. This is also due to the fact, I think, that nowadays there are more series compared with standalones. And since I mostly read relatively recently published books, well, there you have it .

 

Type of books

 

Interestingly, I read less illustrated books and more textbooks in Q3. I also read some graphic novels (which I didn't read any of in Q1-Q2).

 

Format

 

I read relatively seen more paperbacks and less hardbacks (no flappy bit) in Q3. I read less library books and more of my own books, though I still read more library books than my own books. I read some graphic novels on the computer, though I found this to be very uncomfortable.

 

Age-ranges

 

I read slightly less children's books and slightly more adult books in Q3 (compared with Q1-Q2). The percentage of young-adult books stayed the same.

 

Languages

 

I read slightly less Flemish books, and slightly more Dutch and English books. Not quite so interesting, the difference is rather minor. The ratio of original vs. translated books didn't change much.

 

Publication Years

 

There were some changes in publication years, most notably I read more books older books in Q3, and some newer books, and less older-but-not-old books.

 

Ratings

 

Overall I can say that it seems I read more books in Q3 that I liked less. I wouldn't say rubbish books as most of them still got an okay to good rating, but I seem to have enjoyed the books less than in the first half of the year. Compared to Q1 and Q2, where I read great books in Q1 and lesser great books in Q2, it looks like this trend is continuing even more downwards. Help! Also of note, I abandoned 6 books, 5 of which in Q3.

 

Conclusive Comments

 

Overall then it seems my reading keeps changing. I find this quite interesting. My reading seems to have got a bit less diverse in some ways, and I read more lesser good books too. Money wise I could do better but it's certainly better than last year. That said, I can't take away the fact that I didn't go overbudget but instead used some money that was gifted to me. I didn't work much more on Book Collector nor on the wishlist. All in all I feel good that I've managed to complete some goals and have read a number of good books, but diversity wise it could be better. That said, since I decided to 'throw the goals out of the window', aside from the money one as that's needed, I think I might just read what I feel like .

 

Some graphs for good measure: