It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
February 4, 2013 33 Comments
“It’s Monday! What are you reading?” is a weekly event hosted by Sheila at Bookjourney to share with others what we’ve read the past week and planning to read next.
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Have you signed up yet?
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The week
A quiet week, in which I bought one book and read 4 books plus part of a book I decided not to finish. On Sunday, in between going out shopping in a for us new town, I read a whole book, Untold Story, for a reading relay race that I’m involved in at a group at Shelfari. We’re reading in teams of 5 and pass the baton on once we finish our book. So I was under pressure!
At the same time, I was taking part in a mini-Bloggiesta, to work on my book- and blog-related chores. I did a lot on Friday and Saturday, but not much on Sunday, given that I had to read a whole book that day.
My husband has been suffering with a tooth abscess, which made his face swell up to caricature proportions. It’s a bit better now, but he needs a operation on Tuesday – not something to look forward to!
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Books I finished in the last week: 4 and a DNF
Vanity Fare by Megan Caldwell. A fun chick-lit about a woman who is left to fend for herself after her husband leaves and, as it turns out, loses his job soon afterwards. 4 stars
Peaches for Monsieur le Curé by Joanne Harris. Contemporary fiction in which Vianne Rocher returns to Lansquenet, the town where Chocolat took place. 4 stars
I and You [Review in Dutch] by Niccolò Ammaniti. Contemporary fiction made into a movie recently. A teenage boy who finds it hard to connect with other people finds a way to hide for a week, but then his unpopular half-sister shows up. 4.5 stars
The Untold Story by Monica Ali. Chick-lit about Princess Diana, who didn’t die, but started a new life in the USA. 4 stars
The Mad Scientist’s Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke. A robot who is almost undistinguisable form a human becomes the tutor of a girl, who later falls in love with him. Read 120 pages, did not finish.
Books I’m reading and planning to read
Reviews
Game [Dutch] by Anders de la Motte. A young man is drawn into a smartphone game that forces him to undertake criminal activities. But he fights back. 3.5 stars.
Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer. Thriller about a young man with Asperger’s syndrome who finds something iffy about a corpse in his dissection class. 5 stars
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. A children’s classic about a little prince from a different planet who lands on earth and tells about his travels. 3 stars
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Other news
See what I read in January: January Overview.
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That’s it!
What are you reading this week?
Not bad at all
Hope your husband’s ok, best wishes for Tuesday.
Thanks Charlie.
A reading relay? That sounds interesting.
I hope your husband’s surgery goes well.
Thanks, Suzanne. Yes, the reading relay – 9 teams of 5, we have to read books with a certain “tag” (Shelfari’s tags). Mine was chick lit. I was second in line in my team. When all 5 in a team are finished the team has finished the heat. The two teams to end last will drop out and the rest continues to the next round. It’s fun!
aww ok, will give that a try
You’ve been busy, Judith! Hope your husband is feeling better soon.
Thanks, Fran!
Hope your husband is feeling well too!
Poor man!
Thanks, Isi. The swelling is almost gone but he looked really ridiculous (I would not have left the house like that).
That’s a shame about The Mad Scientist’s Daughter – I thought it sounded like it had some potential.
Here’s what I’m reading this week.
Bob, I thought so too. I know someone else really loved the book, so it’s just a matter of reading taste.
Wow, what a week. Can I ask you something? Is it fun to read with the pressure of the relay? You read so much more than I do that it might be enjoyable. I was scared off challenges after just one year once I realized I was working vs pleasure. But this is me, the gal who reads 2 books a month + an audio.
Wishing you another quiet week!
Mari, I wouldn’t want to do it too often, but it was fine for one book, to read under pressure. Remember I did a book-a-day project once, reading a book a day for a week? It felt a bit like that – I HAD to finish asap. Luckily the book was good and I had the time for it, so it was fine. It’s only one book per hear. The next one is probably in two weeks time, so it’s not too much.
A great reading week for you – I love those!
The Untold Story looks wonderful…you had me at “Princess Diana didn’t die.” I’m also drooling over Vanity Fare.
Enjoy!
Here’s MY MONDAY MEMES POST
I was hoping you’d like The Mad Scientist’s Daughter and say wonderful things! It’s on my ‘maybe’ list at the moment. I’ve only seen a few reviews and they were positive.
Leslie, I’ve seen only positive reviews, but it wasn’t for me. I think you might like it better than me, but I’m not sure.
On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 4:19 PM, Leeswammes' Blog
I’ve had a few DNF’s this year…Life is too short to read a bad book!!
Whatcha readin’ this week @ the Brunette Librarian and Don’t forget to enter to win Philippa Gregory’s “Changeling”
Indeed, Brunette. If a book really doesn’t grab me, I won’t read it beyond 100 pages or so.
shame you didn’t finish ‘the man scientist’s daughter’, it got even weirder towards the end though. I found it a bit weird that a robot would be, er, physically capable of ‘love’. quite odd!
Yes, that is rather odd, Sarah. Good to hear that you finished it. I just found it a bit boring, to be honest! I know, that’s odd, but it just wasn’t for me, I guess.
A Land More Kind Than Home looks interesting. Have a great week.
Thanks, Ciska. And you too!
I am sorry to hear about your husband, Judith, Beterschap!
I see you also read th new Joanne Harris, it was good, wasn’t it. I quite liked it.
have a good week (despite the operation)
kind regards,
I enjoyed the Joanne Harris, Bettina, although I still prefer Chocolat. Thanks for the good wishes.
Woah, I’m impressed with your weekly reading accomplishments! “A Land More Kinda Than Home” sounds excellent, scoping that one out on Amazon now (as if I don’t already have a giant stack of books to read ;D ). Best wishes for your hub’s surgery!
Thanks, Forgottenbeast. A Land More Kind Than Home is supposed to be really good – I’ve seen several favorable reviews of it. Hope you’ll enjoy it too!
Sounds like you had a great reading week. My husband had oral surgery today. I hope yours does well tomorrow.
It went fine, thanks Yvonne. Hope your husband is OK again.
On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 12:29 AM, Leeswammes' Blog
I do hope your husband’s surgery goes well.
Thanks, Mystica. It wasn’t too bad, he’s fine now.
On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 4:23 AM, Leeswammes' Blog
Peaches for Monsieur le Curé is on my TBR pile. I’ll be looking forward to your review
Lucy, sorry, my review was posted today but on my Dutch blog, in erm… Dutch! You could try it with a translation program (e.g., translate.google.com). http://boekblogger.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/boekrecensie-de-zoetheid-van-perziken-door-joanne-harris/