Athena's Reading List 2021

[Athena]

Thread opened! I wish you all happy reading in 2021 .

[Lau_Lou]

Happy reading! 

hope you enjoy some wonderful books this year. 

[Hayley]

Happy reading! 

[Madeleine]

Happy reading everyone!

[Athena]

On 01/01/2021 at 10:52 PM, Lau_Lou said:

Happy reading! 

hope you enjoy some wonderful books this year. 

 

Thank you!! I hope you enjoy some wonderful books this year too .

 

14 hours ago, Hayley said:

Happy reading! 

 

Thanks Hayley .

 

13 hours ago, Madeleine said:

Happy reading everyone!

 

Happy reading to you too, Madeleine !

 

[Chrissy]

Happy reading in 2021. 

[Madeleine]

Thank you!

[Athena]

21 hours ago, Chrissy said:

Happy reading in 2021. 

 

Happy reading in 2021 for you too, Chrissy !

[Brian.]

I hope you have a great 2021 Gaia.

[Athena]

Thank you Brian !

[Athena]

Oh geez... apparently I didn't post about any book that I read in 2021 at all ??! Oops.

I will go and edit the lists in the first page of this topic and then write a list here.

[Athena]

January

 

1. Clare Mackintosh - QuickReads: The Donor
2. Geronimo Stilton - Geronimo Stilton 3: De Piraten van de Zilveren Kattenklauw (Il Galeone Dei Gatti Pirati) (re-read)
3. Sankakuhead - Himouto! Umaru-chan 8: Volume 8
4. Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre - Cakes in Space (re-read)
5. Laura Ellen Anderson - Amelia Fang 1: Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball (re-read)
6. Julian Clary (ill. David Roberts) - The Bolds 1: The Bolds (re-read)
7. Gary Northfield - Julius Zebra 1: Rumble with the Romans! (re-read)
8. Dav Pilkey (col. Jose Garibaldi) - Dog Man 1: Dog Man
9. Liz Pichon - Tom Gates 3: Everything's Amazing (Sort of)
10. E. J. Copperman - Haunted Guesthouse Mystery 9: The Hostess with the Ghostess
11. Brandon Sanderson - Elantris (re-read)
12. Giles Sparrow - De Elementen: Koolstof (Carbon)
13. Carry Slee - Lijsters: Verdiet met Mayonaise
14. Sue Townsend - The Woman Who Went to Bed For a Year
15. Paula Hawkins - The Girl on the Train
16. Diane Chamberlain - The Dream Daughter
17. Titia Hoogendoorn and Nienke Schuitemaker - Waarom je niet zomaar moet stemmen waar je ouders op stemmen

 

Worst book(s) I read this month:

Sue Townsend - The Woman Who Went to Bed For a Year

 

Best book(s) I read this month:

Diane Chamberlain - The Dream Daughter

 

 

[Athena]

February

 

18. Malorie Blackman - Boys Don't Cry
19. Candice Iloh - Every Body Looking
20. Jenny Colgan - West End Girls
21. E. K. Johnston - Exit, Persued by a Bear
22. E. J. Copperman - Haunted Guesthouse Mystery 10: Bones Behind the Wheel
23. Loes den Hollander - Droombeeld
24. Eoin Colfer - The Fowl Twins 1: The Fowl Twins
25. Evert Hartman - Morgen ben ik beter (re-read)
26. Ken Follett - Kingsbridge 1: The Pillars of the Earth (re-read)

 

Worst book(s) I read this month:

Jenny Colgan - West End Girls

Eoin Colfer - The Fowl Twins 1: The Fowl Twins

Loes den Hollander - Droombeeld (sad about this as I have loved some of the other books by the author)

 

Best book(s) I read this month:

Ken Follett - Kingsbridge 1: The Pillars of the Earth (re-read) (well, it was a re-read so I knew I probably would like it..).

Malorie Blackman - Boys Don't Cry

[Athena]

March

 

27. Evelien Tersteeg - Onzichtbaar Onvermogen
28. Sankakuhead - Himouto! Umaru-chan 9: Volume 9
29. Jeff Cohen - An Asperger's Mystery: The Question of the Befuddled Judge
30. Talia Hibbert - The Brown Sisters 1: Get a Life, Chloe Brown
31. Melissa Kremer - Mijn kwaadbloed
32. Mel Wallis de Vries - Vals
33. Aubrey Gordon - What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat
34. Dana Simpson - Phoebe and her Unicorn 2: Unicorn on a Roll
35. Sophie Green (ill. K. J. Mountford) - Potkin & Stubbs 1: Potkin & Stubbs
36. Various Authors - Hungry Hearts
37. Various Authors - Disability Visibility
38. Ken Follett - Kingsbridge 2: World Without End (re-read)

 

Worst book(s) I read this month:

Mel Wallis de Vries - Vals

 

Best book(s) I read this month:

Melissa Kremer - Mijn kwaadbloed

Various Authors - Hungry Hearts

Evelien Tersteeg - Onzichtbaar Onvermogen

Aubrey Gordon - What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat

Various Authors - Disability Visibility

Talia Hibbert - The Brown Sisters 1: Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Ken Follett - Kingsbridge 2: World Without End (re-read)

 

A lot of great books this month! And yes March is not over here for me yet, but I think it is unlikely I will finish my current read today (if I do, I will edit or make a new post).

[muggle not]

I like how you list the worst and best books that you have read in each month. That is neat!!

[Athena]

On 25/04/2021 at 3:28 PM, muggle not said:

I like how you list the worst and best books that you have read in each month. That is neat!!

 

Thank you Muggle Not!

 

I shall post the April one shortly.

[Athena]

April

 

39. Cornelia Funke - Inkheart 1: Inkheart (Tintenherz)
40. Alwin Ritstier - Gek van mezelf
41. Willem Ritstier - Wills kracht
42. Willem Ritstier - Opstaan... en doorgaan
43. Sankakuhead - Himouto! Umaru-chan 10: Volume 10
44. Claire Belton - Ik ben Pusheen de poes (I am Pusheen the Cat)
45. Liz Pichon - Tom Gates 4: Genius Ideas (Mostly) (re-read)
46. Thea Stilton - Thea Sisters 1: De drakencode (Il codice del drago) (re-read)
47. Christine Kliphuis (ill. Helen van Vliet) - De Ziekenboeg: Het Oor van Leonoor (re-read)
48. Christine Kliphuis (ill. Helen van Vliet) - De Ziekenboeg: De Kop van Jop (re-read)
49. Christine Kliphuis (ill. Helen van Vliet) - De Ziekenboeg Extra: De Epilepsie van Annemarie (re-read)
50. Christine Kliphuis (ill. Helen van Vliet) - De Ziekenboeg Extra 5: De ADHD van André (re-read)
51. Øyvind Torseter - Het Gat (Hullet)
52. Stefan Verweg - Hoe open ik een boek
53. Peter De Lange & Various Authors - Strand!
54. E. J. Copperman - Mysterious Detective 1: Written Off
55. Ichigo Takano - Orange 1 (1-3): Orange The Complete Collection 1 (re-read)
56. Ichigo Takano - Orange 2 (4-5) + Bonus Story: Orange The Complete  Collection 2 (re-read)
57. Ichigo Takano - Orange 6: Orange: Future (re-read)
58. Lucas Rocha - Where We Go From Here (Você Tem a Vida Inteira)
59. Maarten van der Meer - Wie noemt zijn kind nou Chardonnay?
60. Robin Hobb - The Farseer Trilogy 1: Assassin's Apprentice
61. Gillian Cross - The Demon Headmaster 1: The Demon Headmaster (re-read)
62. Cathy Rentzenbrink - Dear Reader
63. Kelly Jensen & Others - Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World
64. Kelly Jensen & Others - (Don't) Call Me Crazy
65. Kelly Jensen & Others - Body Talk
66. Cynthia Leitich Smith - Hearts Unbroken
67. Sophie Jansen - Volg Me
68. Guus Bauer - Vogeljongen
69. Juno Dawson - What's the T?
70. -- Book by a relative

 

Least favourite book(s) I read this month:

Guus Bauer - Vogeljongen

 

Best book(s) I read this month:

Robin Hobb - The Farseer Trilogy 1: Assassin's Apprentice

Alwin Ritstier - Gek van mezelf

Cynthia Leitich Smith - Hearts Unbroken

E. J. Copperman - Mysterious Detective 1: Written Off

Kelly Jensen & Others - (Don't) Call Me Crazy

Ichigo Takano - Orange series re-read

 

[lunababymoonchild]

This is a genuine request for information (cos I'm still new here) : did you read all that in the month of April? And, how did you do that? 

[muggle not]

1 hour ago, lunababymoonchild said:

This is a genuine request for information (cos I'm still new here) : did you read all that in the month of April? And, how did you do that? 

I will let Athena answer your post, however, Athena is an amazing person.

[Athena]

On 23/05/2021 at 2:07 PM, lunababymoonchild said:

This is a genuine request for information (cos I'm still new here) : did you read all that in the month of April? And, how did you do that? 

 

Hi Luna! No problem . I get asked this question from time to time, and I think the answer consists of several things. Yes, I did read all of that in April. Oh, I should perhaps tell you first up that I am autistic and have ADD. It's more or less common knowledge for our older members but since you are newer, there you go .

 

Firstly, I've always been able to read faster than, say, my classmates at school. In the past couple of years I learnt this may have to do with two things, subvocalisation and aphantasia.

Most people do/use subvocalisation when they read, they silently say the words in their head. I don't do this, and I don't like it when I have to do it (for example, as someone whose first language is not English, when books in English use dialect I have to sometimes subvocalise the words, or I might not know what they mean).

I also learnt that aphantasia is when someone is unable to form images in their mind. I am able to form images but I have partial faceblindness or prosoprognosia (I recognise people mostly by their hair, I have known this for a long time), when I read a book I can't visualise people's faces and so I don't. They look like blobs to me. When faces are described, some things don't mean much to me, because I can't visualise it. I never realised it could affect my reading speed, until I met someone online who told me she has aphantasia and because she can't form images she reads faster than most people.

I think because of these two factors, I read faster than most people.

 

Secondly, it also depends on the types of books I read. I tend to read some manga, graphic novels or graphic memoirs and illustrated children's books, during most months. I can read those a lot quicker than say a book with just lots of text. I also read some books with just text during a month, but if I read solely books with just text, I would not read as many (and I really like to vary my reading). I don't like reading old classics most of the time and when I do I read them more slowly (not that that's the reason why I don't read them much, I'm just not as much into them, I'm not as much into reading historical things, some exceptions exist though).

Thirdly, I have processing input issues. With my autism and my ADD, it means that I don't have lots of energy, and dealing with input signals usually costs energy. Sound in particular is harder for me to process. Because of that, where some people might watch lots of TV in their spare time, I cannot watch it as much. Concentrating is hard too (ADD), I'm glad if I can watch one episode of something per day. Films are longer and tend to have more sound effects (more sounds going on at once), and they are even harder for me to watch (hence why my list of things I want to watch, is way longer than how much I am actually able to watch) (also subtitles really help for when my concentration wanders again). Instead of watching a lot of TV or movies, I usually read instead. (I can't play as many video games as I'd like either). I do have other hobbies as well, I like adult colouring for example, but again due to my processing issues and lack of energy, I usually tend to read as reading costs less energy than most other things (and depending on the book they cost more or less energy / processing power to read). Though if I am exhausted I can't even read. That happens too unfortunately, and that's hard. When I am so tired I can't do anything, then I can only stare at the wall or lie on bed and rest.

 

Then for the month of April I decided to try something different. My partner wanted to do some more reading himself, so for most evenings in April, we went to bed early and read in bed (he read a manga volume and I read some in whatever book I was reading). So I got way more reading done in April because of that. In May we're back to being downstairs on the couch by the TV, where he plays a video game or watches something and I read (he wears headphones).

 

We don't have TV channels btw, we watch Netflix and Amazon Prime and YouTube and DVDs/Blu-rays. In case anyone is confused, because having TV channels is a normal thing to have (we haven't had them since before 2013 and now that I've moved we could have them, but it costs extra money and we haven't missed them so). My partner/boyfriend is from the UK btw, I'm Dutch and we live together in the Netherlands (he doesn't speak mcuh Dutch, so he wouldn't be able to watch most Dutch TV stuff anyway).

 

I hope that sort of answers your question. If anything was unclear or if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask .

 

On 23/05/2021 at 3:22 PM, muggle not said:

I will let Athena answer your post, however, Athena is an amazing person.

 

Aww, thank you Muggle Not!! You are amazing too!

[lunababymoonchild]

39 minutes ago, Athena said:

 

Hi Luna! No problem . I get asked this question from time to time, and I think the answer consists of several things. Yes, I did read all of that in April. Oh, I should perhaps tell you first up that I am autistic and have ADD. It's more or less common knowledge for our older members but since you are newer, there you go .

 

Firstly, I've always been able to read faster than, say, my classmates at school. In the past couple of years I learnt this may have to do with two things, subvocalisation and aphantasia.

Most people do/use subvocalisation when they read, they silently say the words in their head. I don't do this, and I don't like it when I have to do it (for example, as someone whose first language is not English, when books in English use dialect I have to sometimes subvocalise the words, or I might not know what they mean).

I also learnt that aphantasia is when someone is unable to form images in their mind. I am able to form images but I have partial faceblindness or prosoprognosia (I recognise people mostly by their hair, I have known this for a long time), when I read a book I can't visualise people's faces and so I don't. They look like blobs to me. When faces are described, some things don't mean much to me, because I can't visualise it. I never realised it could affect my reading speed, until I met someone online who told me she has aphantasia and because she can't form images she reads faster than most people.

I think because of these two factors, I read faster than most people.

 

Secondly, it also depends on the types of books I read. I tend to read some manga, graphic novels or graphic memoirs and illustrated children's books, during most months. I can read those a lot quicker than say a book with just lots of text. I also read some books with just text during a month, but if I read solely books with just text, I would not read as many (and I really like to vary my reading). I don't like reading old classics most of the time and when I do I read them more slowly (not that that's the reason why I don't read them much, I'm just not as much into them, I'm not as much into reading historical things, some exceptions exist though).

Thirdly, I have processing input issues. With my autism and my ADD, it means that I don't have lots of energy, and dealing with input signals usually costs energy. Sound in particular is harder for me to process. Because of that, where some people might watch lots of TV in their spare time, I cannot watch it as much. Concentrating is hard too (ADD), I'm glad if I can watch one episode of something per day. Films are longer and tend to have more sound effects (more sounds going on at once), and they are even harder for me to watch (hence why my list of things I want to watch, is way longer than how much I am actually able to watch) (also subtitles really help for when my concentration wanders again). Instead of watching a lot of TV or movies, I usually read instead. (I can't play as many video games as I'd like either). I do have other hobbies as well, I like adult colouring for example, but again due to my processing issues and lack of energy, I usually tend to read as reading costs less energy than most other things (and depending on the book they cost more or less energy / processing power to read). Though if I am exhausted I can't even read. That happens too unfortunately, and that's hard. When I am so tired I can't do anything, then I can only stare at the wall or lie on bed and rest.

 

Then for the month of April I decided to try something different. My partner wanted to do some more reading himself, so for most evenings in April, we went to bed early and read in bed (he read a manga volume and I read some in whatever book I was reading). So I got way more reading done in April because of that. In May we're back to being downstairs on the couch by the TV, where he plays a video game or watches something and I read (he wears headphones).

 

We don't have TV channels btw, we watch Netflix and Amazon Prime and YouTube and DVDs/Blu-rays. In case anyone is confused, because having TV channels is a normal thing to have (we haven't had them since before 2013 and now that I've moved we could have them, but it costs extra money and we haven't missed them so). My partner/boyfriend is from the UK btw, I'm Dutch and we live together in the Netherlands (he doesn't speak mcuh Dutch, so he wouldn't be able to watch most Dutch TV stuff anyway).

 

I hope that sort of answers your question. If anything was unclear or if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask .

 

Thank you so very much for your full reply, it does indeed answer my question.  I'm always interested in how people manage to read so much more than I do because it's something that I aspire to. Last year I read more than I have ever (only 61 books in the whole year! ) and you are right, less TV watching and more reading would benefit me a great deal. I am my father's carer (he has Alzheimer's) so the TV has to be on most of the time because that's what he enjoys but I do get to leave the room for a while and my brother amuses him for the evening. 

 

I've never heard of subvocalisation before and realise that I do do that and as for aphantasia, wow! I do get very involved with the material I'm reading (which is why I don't read in waiting rooms when waiting for an appointment), to the extent it took me a long time to realise that the phone was ringing last week when I was reading Pickwick Papers - I answered it eventually and the other person wasn't bothered. I have heard of faceblindness before but not been in contact with anybody who has it. I grew up in a family of mentally and physically disabled people so I am familiar with autism and ADD somewhat more than the average (none of my family were ever diagnosed with anything so it's anybody's guess and I got used to things that I later realised as an adult that not everybody was used to) and my mother was very strict about noise, she said that a pen falling onto a carpeted floor sounded like a bomb going off to her - she said it was because her musician's ear (she was a music teacher) was so well trained but you never know.

 

I'm so touched and grateful that you were willing to share that with me, that means a lot. Thank you.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2021 by lunababymoonchild

[Hayley]

On 23/05/2021 at 2:22 PM, muggle not said:

Athena is an amazing person.

I would like to second this 

 

13 hours ago, Athena said:

for most evenings in April, we went to bed early and read in bed

I think that is my favourite way to read. I like knowing that I can just get really comfortable and read until I need to sleep. I won't have to stop reading because I need to do something. I'm glad you got to enjoy a lot of reading that way!

 

What did you think of Dear Reader?

 

 

[Athena]

On 26/05/2021 at 11:08 AM, lunababymoonchild said:

Thank you so very much for your full reply, it does indeed answer my question.  I'm always interested in how people manage to read so much more than I do because it's something that I aspire to. Last year I read more than I have ever (only 61 books in the whole year! ) and you are right, less TV watching and more reading would benefit me a great deal. I am my father's carer (he has Alzheimer's) so the TV has to be on most of the time because that's what he enjoys but I do get to leave the room for a while and my brother amuses him for the evening. 

 

I've never heard of subvocalisation before and realise that I do do that and as for aphantasia, wow! I do get very involved with the material I'm reading (which is why I don't read in waiting rooms when waiting for an appointment), to the extent it took me a long time to realise that the phone was ringing last week when I was reading Pickwick Papers - I answered it eventually and the other person wasn't bothered. I have heard of faceblindness before but not been in contact with anybody who has it. I grew up in a family of mentally and physically disabled people so I am familiar with autism and ADD somewhat more than the average (none of my family were ever diagnosed with anything so it's anybody's guess and I got used to things that I later realised as an adult that not everybody was used to) and my mother was very strict about noise, she said that a pen falling onto a carpeted floor sounded like a bomb going off to her - she said it was because her musician's ear (she was a music teacher) was so well trained but you never know.

 

I'm so touched and grateful that you were willing to share that with me, that means a lot. Thank you.

 

You're welcome, thank you so much for the nice reply . It is nice to hear/read about your family and how you experience things! I don't read in a waiting room either, I'd be worried about missing my appointment, plus I need the time to mentally prepare myself anyway.

 

On 26/05/2021 at 11:52 PM, Hayley said:

I would like to second this 

 

Aww thank you!

 

On 26/05/2021 at 11:52 PM, Hayley said:

I think that is my favourite way to read. I like knowing that I can just get really comfortable and read until I need to sleep. I won't have to stop reading because I need to do something. I'm glad you got to enjoy a lot of reading that way!

 

Thank you, me too. We don't do it anymore (my partner's back to not reading much anymore) but it was fun.

 

On 26/05/2021 at 11:52 PM, Hayley said:

What did you think of Dear Reader?

 

I liked reading the parts about her family and the parts about her being a bookseller and later on working for QuickReads (which I've read a number of). I was less interested in some of the books she talked about, I didn't recognise many of them, and most were not the kind of books that I normally read. It probably doesn't help that I'm not British, as I've heard from several people I know who are British, they really liked the book and recognised more of the books.

[Hayley]

10 hours ago, Athena said:

and later on working for QuickReads (which I've read a number of)

I don't think I've heard of QuickReads, I'll have to look it up!

 

10 hours ago, Athena said:

I was less interested in some of the books she talked about, I didn't recognise many of them, and most were not the kind of books that I normally read.

I didn't know that Dear Reader talked about specific books either. I thought it was just generally about the experience of reading. It does seem like it would make it less relatable for readers not based in the UK. I have Dear Reader on my shelf so now I'm wondering whether I'll have read any of the books mentioned!

[Athena]

11 hours ago, Hayley said:

I don't think I've heard of QuickReads, I'll have to look it up!

 

From what I know, as a non-Brit Dutch person living in the Netherlands, it is/was something started in the 2000's somewhere to help non-readers get into reading. Every year they asked several authors to write a novella / short story, which would be published and available to buy in certain English book shops for £1 during a limited period (February/March or May/June? Some thing like that). I have quite a lot of them collected throughout the years, though they are not always easy to find from the Netherlands (I only managed to order 1 or 2 of this year's so far). In the past when I travelled to the UK I have got lucky before finding them in shops. I also ordered some from Amazon UK back in the day before they changed their shipping prices to NL, now we have Amazon NL since just over a year but they can't always find them for me. The recent few years QuickReads have had some financial trouble, they shut down for a while but then opened again. Well, I'm sure the internet will tell you more, but this is just on top off my head .

 

11 hours ago, Hayley said:

I didn't know that Dear Reader talked about specific books either. I thought it was just generally about the experience of reading. It does seem like it would make it less relatable for readers not based in the UK. I have Dear Reader on my shelf so now I'm wondering whether I'll have read any of the books mentioned!

 

I'd like to know what you think of it when you've read it .