tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15111259652744737692024-03-19T08:30:21.417+01:00Embracing My BooksEmbracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.comBlogger341125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-84050542951883094752023-04-13T22:11:00.001+02:002023-04-13T22:12:20.316+02:00On holiday <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm22AB-kO-MlccVL14q6ghYrBDEAGFFo_y4OIoR9BvYgB5qCooIesaCNtvqiob8htd0PaMIAzOB0v_AV0aQXsiGekkr8H5VzS8xX8ZBbweFdQpiDmgF9eQcCRzvb1q1oiAiXp04AwI2IYY2DQxb2kE-k9_G_zNo8re2W5dGK7HxeL05ubeV1Be-nzy/s4000/20230413_164924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm22AB-kO-MlccVL14q6ghYrBDEAGFFo_y4OIoR9BvYgB5qCooIesaCNtvqiob8htd0PaMIAzOB0v_AV0aQXsiGekkr8H5VzS8xX8ZBbweFdQpiDmgF9eQcCRzvb1q1oiAiXp04AwI2IYY2DQxb2kE-k9_G_zNo8re2W5dGK7HxeL05ubeV1Be-nzy/s320/20230413_164924.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-35684002482827114162018-07-21T15:25:00.001+02:002020-09-03T15:02:03.001+02:00BookhaulHi everyone<br />
<br />
Just a quick post to share my newest additions.<br />
<br />
As gifts from my parents, my brother and my husband:<br />
Emma Newman – Planetfall<br />
Max Brooks – World War Z<br />
José Saramago – Death at Intervals<br />
The Poetry of Emily Dickinson<br />
Shirley Jackson – The Sundial<br />
Ted Chiang – Stories of Your Life and Others<br />
Chris Wooding – Retribution Falls<br />
Richard Yates – Young Hearts Crying<br />
Robin Hobb – Ship of Magic<br />
Robin Hobb – The Mad Ship<br />
<br />
<a href="https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fbe%2F&name=de%20winkel%20van%20ons%20allemaal" target="_blank">From Bol.com:</a><br />
<a href="https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fbe%2F&name=de%20winkel%20van%20ons%20allemaal" target="_blank">Robin Hobb – Assassin’s Apprentice</a><br />
<a href="https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fbe%2F&name=de%20winkel%20van%20ons%20allemaal">Robin Hobb – Royal Assassin</a><br />
<a href="https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fbe%2F&name=de%20winkel%20van%20ons%20allemaal" target="_blank">Robin Hobb – Assassin’s Quest</a><br />
<a href="https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fbe%2F&name=de%20winkel%20van%20ons%20allemaal" target="_blank">J. V. Jones – A Fortress of Grey Ice</a><br />
<a href="https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fbe%2F&name=de%20winkel%20van%20ons%20allemaal" target="_blank">Stephen King – Carrie</a><br />
<a href="https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fbe%2F&name=de%20winkel%20van%20ons%20allemaal" target="_blank">Bradley P. Beaulieu – With Blood Upon the Sand</a><br />
<a href="https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fbe%2F&name=de%20winkel%20van%20ons%20allemaal" target="_blank">Marie Brennan – The Tropic of Serpents</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=helenahyndrikx" target="_blank">From Book Depository:</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=helenahyndrikx" target="_blank">Alfred Bester – The Demolished Man</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=helenahyndrikx" target="_blank">Joanna Russ – The Female Man</a><br />
<br />
From Fnac:<br />
Christopher Priest – The Prestige<br />
<br />
Happy reading!<br />
Helena<br />
<br />
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<br />Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-80231705544599936172017-01-04T18:44:00.000+01:002017-01-07T16:26:01.262+01:00My Favorite Books of 2016<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last year, I got asked
about <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/my-favorite-books-of-2015.html" target="_blank">my favorite books of 2015</a> so I wanted to come up with a list of my most
loved books in 2016 too.<br />
I made it easier on myself by adding star ratings to my reviews and that’s why
I made two lists for you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here are my all 5-star
books I read in 2016.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/terry-pratchett-shepherds-crown.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: The Shepherd’s Crown</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/terry-pratchett-snuff.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: Snuff</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/terry-pratchett-i-shall-wear-midnight.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: I Shall Wear Midnight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/miles-cameron-red-knight.html" target="_blank">Miles Cameron: The Red Knight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/michel-faber-book-of-strange-new-things.html" target="_blank">Michel Faber: The Book of Strange New Things</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/richard-yates-easter-parade.html" target="_blank">Richard Yates: The Easter Parade</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/richard-yates-disturbing-peace.html" target="_blank">Richard Yates: Disturbing the Peace</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/becky-chambers-long-way-to-small-angry.html" target="_blank">Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/charles-dickens-dombey-and-son.html" target="_blank">Charles Dickens: Dombey and Son</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/rachel-joyce-love-song-of-miss-queenie.html" target="_blank">Rachel Joyce: The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/amos-oz-between-friends.html" target="_blank">Amos Oz: Between Friends</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/daniel-keyes-flowers-for-algernon.html" target="_blank">Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/emma-donoghue-room.html" target="_blank">Emma Donoghue: Room</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/jim-butcher-white-night.html" target="_blank">Jim Butcher: White Night</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/jim-butcher-small-favour.html" target="_blank">Jim Butcher: Small Favour</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/stephen-king-long-walk.html" target="_blank">Stephen King: The Long Walk</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/stephen-king-stand.html" target="_blank">Stephen King: The Stand</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/stephen-king-shining.html" target="_blank">Stephen King: The Shining</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/joe-haldeman-forever-war.html" target="_blank">Joe Haldeman: The Forever War</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/john-wyndham-day-of-triffids.html" target="_blank">John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-chamber-of.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-prisoner.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-goblet-of.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-order-of.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Order of thePhoenix</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-half-blood.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-deathly.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</a></li>
</ul>
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And here is my top 10 of
2016 (without the rereads) in alphabetical order.</div>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/miles-cameron-red-knight.html" target="_blank">Miles Cameron: The Red Knight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/becky-chambers-long-way-to-small-angry.html" target="_blank">Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/charles-dickens-dombey-and-son.html" target="_blank">Charles Dickens: Dombey and Son</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/emma-donoghue-room.html" target="_blank">Emma Donoghue: Room</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/michel-faber-book-of-strange-new-things.html" target="_blank">Michel Faber: The Book of Strange New Things</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/stephen-king-stand.html" target="_blank">Stephen King: The Stand</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/amos-oz-between-friends.html" target="_blank">Amos Oz: Between Friends</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/terry-pratchett-i-shall-wear-midnight.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: I Shall Wear Midnight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/richard-yates-easter-parade.html" target="_blank">Richard Yates: The Easter Parade</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/richard-yates-disturbing-peace.html" target="_blank">Richard Yates: Disturbing the Peace</a></li>
</ul>
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What were your
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-89159063937205670012017-01-02T16:42:00.000+01:002017-01-02T16:45:29.025+01:00Wrap Up: 2016<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Happy New Year! <br />
I hope 2017 will bring you as much or even more reading pleasure as 2016 did.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Here is the list (with
links to the reviews) of all the books I read in 2016.<br />
I had a lot of fun taking the pictures at the end of this post and it was the
perfect time to give my shelves a good, thorough clean too. Great way to end
the year! Rearranging books and then spending a lovely evening with friends.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the end, I read a
total of 50.433 pages in 126 books last year. <br />
That’s exactly 400 pages per book and 138 pages per day.<br />
I think I can safely say I surpassed my own expectations and I crushed <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/wrap-up-2015.html" target="_blank">my 2015 Wrap Up</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s some
information about the series I read in 2016.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>I started reading:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Peter%20Grant" target="_blank">Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant series</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Traitor%20Son%20Cycle" target="_blank">Miles Cameron’s Traitor Son Cycle</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Wayfarers" target="_blank">Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Passage" target="_blank">Justin Cronin’s The Passage</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Chronicles%20of%20Isambard%20Smith" target="_blank">Toby Frost’s The Chronicles of Isambard Smith</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Dune%20Chronicles" target="_blank">Frank Herbert’s Dune Chronicles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Godspeaker%20Trilogy" target="_blank">Karen Miller’s Godspeaker Trilogy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Vampire%20Chronicles" target="_blank">Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Southern%20Reach" target="_blank">Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach</a></li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>I continued reading: <o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Dresden%20Files" target="_blank">Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Wheel%20of%20Time" target="_blank">Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Long%20Earth" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett’s and Stephen Baxter’s The Long Earth</a></li>
</ul>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b><u>I finished: <o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Foundation%20Series" target="_blank">Isaac Asimov’s Foundation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Imperial%20Radch%20Trilogy" target="_blank">Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Discworld" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett’s Discworld</a></li>
</ul>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b><u>I started and finished: <o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20First%20Law" target="_blank">Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Bel%20Dame%20Apocrypha" target="_blank">Kameron Hurley’s Bel Dame Apocrypha</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Harry%20Potter" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter</a></li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<b><u>I’m still waiting on the next
one to come out:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Kingkiller%20Chronicle" target="_blank">Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicles</a></li>
</ul>
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<br />
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<b><u>I won’t continue reading:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Jon%20Shannow" target="_blank">David Gemmell’s Jon Shannow</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Broken%20Empire" target="_blank">Mark Lawrence’s The Broken Empire</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/A%20Song%20of%20Ice%20and%20Fire" target="_blank">George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Greywalker" target="_blank">Kat Richardson’s Greywalker</a></li>
</ul>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Here are the books I
read in 2016 in the order I read them. If you click on the title of the book
you will automatically open the review.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/david-mitchell-cloud-atlas.html" target="_blank">David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/stephen-king-salems-lot.html" target="_blank">Stephen King: Salem’s Lot</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/john-wyndham-day-of-triffids.html" target="_blank">John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/robert-jordan-fires-of-heaven.html" target="_blank">Robert Jordan: The Fires of Heaven</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/herman-de-coninck-de-gedichten.html" target="_blank">Herman de Coninck: De Gedichten</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/01/william-makepeace-thackeray-vanity-fair.html" target="_blank">William Makepeace Thackeray: Vanity Fair</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/terry-pratchett-unseen-academicals.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: Unseen Academicals</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/john-wyndham-chrysalids.html" target="_blank">John Wyndham: The Chrysalids</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/jim-butcher-death-masks.html" target="_blank">Jim Butcher: Death Masks</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/kameron-hurely-gods-war.html" target="_blank">Kameron Hurley: God’s War</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/allie-brosh-hyperbole-and-half.html" target="_blank">Allie Brosh: Hyperbole and a Half</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/emma-donoghue-room.html" target="_blank">Emma Donoghue: Room</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-chamber-of.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/evelyn-waugh-decline-and-fall.html" target="_blank">Evelyn Waugh: Decline and Fall</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/02/seth-dickinson-traitor-baru-cormorant.html" target="_blank">Seth Dickinson: The Traitor Baru Cormorant</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-prisoner.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/arthur-miller-crucible.html" target="_blank">Arthur Miller: The Crucible</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/michel-faber-book-of-strange-new-things.html" target="_blank">Michel Faber: The Book of Strange New Things</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/philip-k-dick-do-androids-dream-of.html" target="_blank">Philip K. Dick: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/wilkie-collins-woman-in-white.html" target="_blank">Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/e-m-forster-howards-end.html" target="_blank">E. M. Forster: Howards End</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/neil-gaiman-how-marquis-got-his-coat.html" target="_blank">Neil Gaiman: How the Marquis Got His Coat Back</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/isaac-asimov-foundation-and-empire.html" target="_blank">Isaac Asimov: Foundation and Empire</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/03/robert-jordan-lord-of-chaos.html" target="_blank">Robert Jordan: Lord of Chaos</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/jim-butcher-blood-rites.html" target="_blank">Jim Butcher: Blood Rites</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/stefan-hertmans-oorlog-en-terpentijn.html" target="_blank">Stefan Hertmans: Oorlog en Terpentijn</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/jules-verne-from-earth-to-moon-around.html" target="_blank">Jules Verne: From the Earth to the Moon & Around the Moon</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/shirley-jackson-haunting-of-hill-house.html" target="_blank">Shirley Jackson: The Haunting of Hill House</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/ernest-hemingway-old-man-and-sea.html" target="_blank">Ernest Hemingway: The Old Man and the Sea</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/richard-yates-disturbing-peace.html" target="_blank">Richard Yates: Disturbing the Peace</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/stephen-king-shining.html" target="_blank">Stephen King: The Shining</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/isaac-asimov-second-foundation.html" target="_blank">Isaac Asimov: Second Foundation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/joe-abercrombie-blade-itself.html" target="_blank">Joe Abercrombie: The Blade Itself</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/terry-pratchett-i-shall-wear-midnight.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: I Shall Wear Midnight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/hella-s-haasse-maanlicht.html" target="_blank">Hella S. Haasse: Maanlicht</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/04/chris-beckett-dark-eden.html" target="_blank">Chris Beckett: Dark Eden</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/isaac-asimov-foundations-edge.html" target="_blank">Isaac Asimov: Foundation’s Edge</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/amos-oz-between-friends.html" target="_blank">Amos Oz: Between Friends</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-goblet-of.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/ann-leckie-ancillary-mercy.html" target="_blank">Ann Leckie: Ancillary Mercy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/joseph-conrad-secret-agent.html" target="_blank">Joseph Conrad: The Secret Agent</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/robert-jordan-crown-of-swords.html" target="_blank">Robert Jordan: A Crown of Swords</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/neil-gaiman-trigger-warning.html" target="_blank">Neil Gaiman: Trigger Warning</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/stephen-king-long-walk.html" target="_blank">Stephen King: The Long Walk</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/john-wyndham-chocky_26.html" target="_blank">John Wyndham: Chocky</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/05/miles-cameron-red-knight.html" target="_blank">Miles Cameron: The Red Knight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/jules-verne-journey-to-centre-of-earth.html" target="_blank">Jules Verne: Journey to the Centre of the Earth</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-order-of.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/ira-levin-rosemarys-baby.html" target="_blank">Ira Levin: Rosemary’s Baby</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/isaac-asimov-foundation-and-earth.html" target="_blank">Isaac Asimov: Foundation and Earth</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/jim-butcher-dead-beat.html" target="_blank">Jim Butcher: Dead Beat</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/ben-aaronovitch-rivers-of-london.html" target="_blank">Ben Aaronovitch: Rivers of London</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/joe-abercrombie-before-they-are-hanged.html" target="_blank">Joe Abercrombie: Before They are Hanged</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/terry-pratchett-snuff.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: Snuff</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/george-eliot-silas-marner.html" target="_blank">George Eliot: Silas Marner</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/06/kat-richardson-greywalker.html" target="_blank">Kat Richardson: Greywalker</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/07/robert-jordan-path-of-daggers.html" target="_blank">Robert Jordan: The Path of Daggers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/07/joe-abercrombie-last-argument-of-kings.html" target="_blank">Joe Abercrombie: Last Argument of Kings</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/07/charles-dickens-david-copperfield.html" target="_blank">Charles Dickens: David Copperfield</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/07/william-shakespeare-richard-iii.html" target="_blank">William Shakespeare: Richard III</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/ben-aaronovitch-moon-over-soho.html" target="_blank">Ben Aaronovitch: Moon over Soho</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/terry-pratchett-raising-steam.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: Raising Steam</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/terry-pratchett-mrs-bradshaws-handbook.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: Mrs. Bradshaw’s Handbook</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-half-blood.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/jim-butcher-proven-guilty.html" target="_blank">Jim Butcher: Proven Guilty</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/joe-haldeman-forever-war.html" target="_blank">Joe Haldeman: The Forever War</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/stephen-king-stand.html" target="_blank">Stephen King: The Stand</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/joseph-conrad-lord-jim.html" target="_blank">Joseph Conrad: Lord Jim</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/08/becky-chambers-long-way-to-small-angry.html" target="_blank">Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/ben-aaronovitch-whispers-under-ground.html" target="_blank">Ben Aaronovitch: Whispers Under Ground</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/mark-lawrence-prince-of-thorns.html" target="_blank">Mark Lawrence: Prince of Thorns</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/robert-jordan-winters-heart.html" target="_blank">Robert Jordan: Winter’s Heart</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/rachel-joyce-love-song-of-miss-queenie.html" target="_blank">Rachel Joyce: The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-and-deathly.html" target="_blank">J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/frank-herbert-dune.html" target="_blank">Frank Herbert: Dune</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/jane-austen-lady-susan.html" target="_blank">Jane Austen: Lady Susan</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/h-g-wells-sea-raiders.html" target="_blank">H. G. Wells: The Sea Raiders</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/daniel-keyes-flowers-for-algernon.html" target="_blank">Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/emily-st-john-mandel-station-eleven.html" target="_blank">Emily St. John Mandel: Station Eleven</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/david-gemmell-wolf-in-shadow.html" target="_blank">David Gemmell: Wolf in Shadow</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/richard-yates-easter-parade.html" target="_blank">Richard Yates: The Easter Parade</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/jules-verne-twenty-thousand-leagues.html" target="_blank">Jules Verne: Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/margaret-atwood-stone-matress.html" target="_blank">Margaret Atwood: Stone Matress</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/09/kameron-hurley-infidel.html" target="_blank">Kameron Hurley: Infidel</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/david-gemmell-last-guardian.html" target="_blank">David Gemmell: The Last Guardian</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/andy-riley-great-lies-to-tell-small-kids.html" target="_blank">Andy Riley: Great Lies to Tell Small Kids</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/karen-miller-empress.html" target="_blank">Karen Miller: Empress</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/ayn-rand-fountainhead.html" target="_blank">Ayn Rand: The Fountainhead</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/kameron-hurley-rapture.html" target="_blank">Kameron Hurley: Rapture</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/george-eliot-lifted-veil.html" target="_blank">George Eliot: The Lifted Veil</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/ken-liu-clockwork-soldier.html" target="_blank">Ken Liu: The Clockwork Soldier</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/andy-riley-diy-dentistry-and-other.html" target="_blank">Andy Riley: D.I.Y. Dentistry and Other Alarming Inventions</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/justin-cronin-passage.html" target="_blank">Justin Cronin: The Passage</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/ira-levin-sliver.html" target="_blank">Ira Levin: Sliver</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/jeff-vandermeer-annihilation.html" target="_blank">Jeff VanderMeer: Annihilation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/terry-pratchett-shepherds-crown.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: The Shepherd's Crown</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/john-steinbeck-cannery-row.html" target="_blank">John Steinbeck: Cannery Row</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/jim-butcher-white-night.html" target="_blank">Jim Butcher: White Night</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/robert-jordan-crossroads-of-twilight.html" target="_blank">Robert Jordan: Crossroads of Twilight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/aliette-de-bodard-three-cups-of-grief.html" target="_blank">Aliette de Bodard: Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/e-m-forster-where-angels-fear-to-tread.html" target="_blank">E. M. Forster: Where Angels Fear to Tread</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/dawn-french-tiny-bit-marvellous.html" target="_blank">Dawn French: A Tiny Bit Marvellous</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/terry-pratchett-stephen-baxter-long.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter: The Long Utopia</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/william-shakespeare-antony-and-cleopatra.html" target="_blank">William Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/aldous-huxley-doors-of-perception-and.html" target="_blank">Aldous Huxley: The Doors of Perception <i>and</i> Heaven and Hell</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/toby-frost-space-captain-smith.html" target="_blank">Toby Frost: Space Captain Smith</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/william-peter-blatty-exorcist.html" target="_blank">William Peter Blatty: The Exorcist</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/thomas-de-quincey-confessions-of.html" target="_blank">Thomas de Quincey: Confessions of an English Opium Eater</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/anne-rice-vampire-lestat.html" target="_blank">Anne Rice: The Vampire Lestat</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/virginia-woolf-orlando.html" target="_blank">Virginia Woolf: Orlando</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/charles-dickens-to-be-read-at-dusk.html" target="_blank">Charles Dickens: To Be Read at Dusk</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/charles-dickens-dombey-and-son.html" target="_blank">Charles Dickens: Dombey and Son</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/toby-frost-god-emperor-of-didcot.html" target="_blank">Toby Frost: God Emperor of Didcot</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/andy-riley-book-of-bunny-suicides.html" target="_blank">Andy Riley: The Book of Bunny Suicides</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/karen-miller-riven-kingdom.html" target="_blank">Karen Miller: The Riven Kingdom</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/the-poetry-of-pablo-neruda.html" target="_blank">The Poetry of Pablo Neruda</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/matthew-kressel-meeker-and-all-seeing.html" target="_blank">Matthew Kressel: The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/justin-cronin-twelve.html" target="_blank">Justin Cronin: The Twelve</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/jim-butcher-small-favour.html" target="_blank">Jim Butcher: Small Favour</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/terry-pratchett-dodger.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: Dodger</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/terry-pratchett-dodgers-guide-to-london.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: Dodger’s Guide to London</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/sebastian-faulks-week-in-december.html" target="_blank">Sebastian Faulks: A Week in December</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/arthur-c-clarke-fall-of-moondust.html" target="_blank">Arthur C. Clarke: A Fall of Moondust</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/neil-gaiman-fragile-things.html" target="_blank">Neil Gaiman: Fragile Things</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/randall-munroe-xkcd-volume-0.html" target="_blank">Randall Munroe: XKCD volume 0</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Happy reading in 2017!<br />
Helena<o:p></o:p><br />
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-7359835157460862132017-01-01T09:36:00.000+01:002017-01-01T09:36:48.068+01:00Wrap Up: December 2016<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Time for another Wrap Up!<br />
December has gone by so incredibly fast I can’t believe it. And January will be
even worse with both my husband’s and my birthday. <br />
Enough with the chatter, here are the books I read last month.</div>
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I read a total of 3921 pages. That’s 381 pages per book or
160 pages per day. <br />
But I did cheat a bit there. The poetry book was read over the last 6 months.</div>
</div>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/toby-frost-god-emperor-of-didcot.html" target="_blank">Toby Frost: God Emperor of Didcot</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/andy-riley-book-of-bunny-suicides.html" target="_blank">Andy Riley: The Book of Bunny Suicides</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/karen-miller-riven-kingdom.html" target="_blank">Karen Miller: The Riven Kingdom</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/the-poetry-of-pablo-neruda.html" target="_blank">The Poetry of Pablo Neruda</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/matthew-kressel-meeker-and-all-seeing.html" target="_blank">Matthew Kressel: The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/justin-cronin-twelve.html" target="_blank">Justin Cronin: The Twelve</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/jim-butcher-small-favour.html" target="_blank">Jim Butcher: Small Favour</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/terry-pratchett-dodger.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: Dodger</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/terry-pratchett-dodgers-guide-to-london.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett: Dodger’s Guide to London</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/sebastian-faulks-week-in-december.html" target="_blank">Sebastian Faulks: A Week in December</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/arthur-c-clarke-fall-of-moondust.html" target="_blank">Arthur C. Clarke: A Fall of Moondust</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/neil-gaiman-fragile-things.html" target="_blank">Neil Gaiman: Fragile Things</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/randall-munroe-xkcd-volume-0.html" target="_blank">Randall Munroe: XKCD volume 0</a></li>
</ul>
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How was your reading last month? Anything you’d like to
recommend?</div>
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm27K1F0z2YkYfjV1g0w28m-bZZKPPCNxrj8rd0-0dzUxJK7UOfRroAAXTei1ScxQPfJ45kopaiHCGRtCRc3NqnKmN6_WsPTn_fNAaJxq5kaE-AdU-kW2f23BO1gL83QspXVbmrkaPcSw/s1600/Wrap+Up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm27K1F0z2YkYfjV1g0w28m-bZZKPPCNxrj8rd0-0dzUxJK7UOfRroAAXTei1ScxQPfJ45kopaiHCGRtCRc3NqnKmN6_WsPTn_fNAaJxq5kaE-AdU-kW2f23BO1gL83QspXVbmrkaPcSw/s320/Wrap+Up.JPG" width="228" /></a></div>
Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-52319901183501354542016-12-31T12:52:00.000+01:002018-01-10T15:25:20.857+01:00Randall Munroe: XKCD volume 0<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
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<br /></div>
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A couple of years ago my husband (then boyfriend) became of
big fan of Randall Munroe’s webcomic XKCD so I gave him the book for his next birthday.
It has 120 pages but the only reason I know that is because of Goodreads as the
pages skip numbers.</div>
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<br /></div>
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My husband is an engineer so he understands all the
sciencejokes and references. I don’t.<br />
The ones I do understand are very clever, sweet and funny. <br />
However, I would recommend this only if you are interested in science and
engineering in particular because the comics are targeted towards those of you who
are.<br />
I can only rate this as I read and understood this.</div>
<br />
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-74249626072704022652016-12-30T17:26:00.002+01:002019-07-10T15:51:15.379+02:00Neil Gaiman: Fragile Things<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">Hi everyone</span></div>
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<span lang="NL"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="NL">The last novel I read in 2016 is <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Neil%20Gaiman" target="_blank">Neil Gaiman</a>’s
short stories collection Fragile Things. <br />
I got it as a gift from my husband and it has 433 pages.<br /><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Neil%20Gaiman" target="_blank">You can find all my Neil Gaiman reviews here.</a></span></div>
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<span lang="NL"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="NL">I enjoyed this collection but I can’t say I
loved it.</span></div>
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<span lang="NL"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">Some of the stories are different and
interesting enough and <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Neil%20Gaiman" target="_blank">Gaiman</a> does write imaginative stories but there were a
few I just didn’t get or I couldn’t understand what’s so special about them. <br />
The writing is lovely and I enjoy his style but I had a hard time reading more
then a few stories a day. That wasn’t a problem because life was very busy but
it’s not something I’m used to; I tend to read an hour or two hours at a time
in the evening.<br />
Some stories felt like <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Neil%20Gaiman" target="_blank">Gaiman</a> was trying too hard to make them different by
adding sexual elements, gratuitous violence or gore and those stories felt a
bit wrong to me. He just added and added those elements and they made the
stories less about the plot and more about those aspects. </span></div>
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<span lang="NL"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">All in all I had a mixed experience. I liked
quite a few of the stories but I was disappointed one way or another with the
majority of them.</span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="NL">Happy reading!<br />
Helena</span><br />
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-63306941947426324032016-12-22T21:03:00.001+01:002019-07-10T15:51:28.305+02:00Arthur C. Clarke: A Fall of Moondust<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
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This is my review for my first <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Arthur%20C.%20Clarke" target="_blank">Arthur C. Clarke</a>, A Fall of
Moondust.<br />
My copy has 224 pages and I got it at De Slegte.</div>
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“Time is running out for the passengers and crew of the
tourist cruiser Selene, incarcerated in a sea of choking lunar dust. On the
surface, her rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the
mercilessly unpredictable conditions of a totally alien environment.”</div>
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This was a really enjoyable and fast book to read.</div>
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The story is obviously very dated at this point in time, but
it doesn’t really take away from the enjoyment and thrill you’ll get out of it.
<br />
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Arthur%20C.%20Clarke" target="_blank">Clarke’s</a> writing style is wonderfully engaging and it really sucks you in. The
technical explanations made by a few of the characters went over my head but
there weren’t too many of those and as far as I did grasp them, they did seem
to be logical and plausible. <br />
I liked the characterization a lot; they all felt true to their words and
actions; the characters felt right. The worldbuilding is amazing and I could
really imagine myself being there. And the general atmosphere is very
claustrophobic and urgent. I liked the switches from the cool, calculating
scientists to the more emotional people trapped in the Selene. The story moves
rapidly forward and it never gets slowed down by long explanations or
touchy/feely type scenes. </div>
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There was one thing I disliked though. <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Arthur%20C.%20Clarke" target="_blank">Clarke</a> has a tendency
to end at least two (or so) paragraphs in every chapter with a sort of prediction
of what bad things are yet to happen. It felt very childlike and it aggravated
me every time. There’s really no need to do that, we all know a lot can go
wrong and will go wrong before the end of the novel.</div>
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-51636487883788945752016-12-20T17:20:00.001+01:002019-07-10T15:51:44.298+02:00Sebastian Faulks: A Week in December<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
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This is my review for <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Sebastian%20Faulks" target="_blank">Sebastian Faulks</a>’ A Week in December.<br />
My copy has 392 pages and I got it as a gift from friends.</div>
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“London, the week before Christmas, 2007. Seven wintry days
to track the lives of seven characters: a hedge fund manager trying to bring
off the biggest trade of his career; a professional footballer recently arrived
from Poland; a young lawyer with little work and too much time to speculate; a
student who has been led astray by Islamist theory; a hack book-reviewer; a
schoolboy hooked on skunk and reality TV; and a Tube driver whose Circle Line
train joins these and countless other lives together in a daily loop.”</div>
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As the title suggests, this book is about a week in the life
of a few lightly connected people. Normally, I’m not a big fan of those kinds
of narratives and that has proven to be the case this time too.</div>
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The only thing I liked about the story was the tale, woven
throughout, of their loneliness. Every character was lonely in a different way.
And I enjoyed that a lot (though that is weird to say). It can be very
emotional and touching to read how people deal with feeling isolated and alone.</div>
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But the book was incredibly boring, long-winded and the
characters read like wooden puppets so I can’t say I thought the book worth the
time. </div>
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<b>2 STARS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Happy reading.<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-89841368658371318142016-12-18T16:09:00.003+01:002019-07-10T15:51:55.092+02:00Terry Pratchett: Dodger’s Guide to London<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi again<o:p></o:p></div>
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This review is about
the companion novel to <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Terry%20Pratchett" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett’s</a> <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/terry-pratchett-dodger.html" target="_blank">Dodger</a>.<br />
I got the book as a gift from my mum and dad and it has 135 pages.<br />
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Terry%20Pratchett" target="_blank">You can find all my Terry Pratchett reviews here.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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“ROLL UP! ROLL UP!
READ ALL ABOUT IT!<br />
Ladies and Gents, Sir Jack Dodger brings you a most excellent Guide to London!<br />
Did you know . . . ?<br />
If a Victorian couldn’t afford a sweep, they might drop a goose down their
chimney to clean it!<br />
A posh lady’s unmentionables could weigh up to 40lbs!<br />
Parliament had to be suspended during the Great Stink of 1858!<br />
From the wretches of the rookeries to the posh nobs at Buckingham Palace,
Dodger will show you every dirty inch of London.<br />
Warning: Includes ’orrible murders, naughty ladies and plenty of geezers!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a nice
companion novel to Dodger but I would only recommend it to fans of <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Terry%20Pratchett" target="_blank">Pratchett’s work </a>and people interested in fictionalized Victorian London. <br />
It’s sweet, interesting and humorous but it is something you’ll only read once
or twice because there’s no real story. It’s a book filled with little tidbits
and facts about London at that time. <br />
Still, I am glad I read it if only because it is <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Terry%20Pratchett" target="_blank">Pratchett</a> and I love him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>3 STARS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena<o:p></o:p></div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-39236108780942964412016-12-17T20:19:00.000+01:002019-07-10T15:52:04.684+02:00Terry Pratchett: Dodger<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">Hi everyone</span></div>
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<span lang="NL"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="NL">This is my review for <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Terry%20Pratchett" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett</a>’s
Dodger. Dodger is not part of the <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Discworld" target="_blank">Discworld</a> <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Discworld" target="_blank">series</a> and though there is <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/12/terry-pratchett-dodgers-guide-to-london.html" target="_blank">a companion novel</a> it is a standalone story. <br />
My copy has 403 pages and<a href="https://partnerprogramma.bol.com/click/click?p=1&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fnl%2Fs%2Falgemeen%2Fzoekresultaten%2FNtt%2FTerry%252BPratchett%2FN%2F0%2FNty%2F1%2Fsearch%2Ftrue%2FsearchType%2Fqck%2FdefaultSearchContext%2Fmedia_all%2Fsc%2Fmedia_all%2Findex.html&name=terry" target="_blank"> I got it from Bol</a>.<br /><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Terry%20Pratchett" target="_blank">You can read all my Terry Pratchett reviews here. </a></span></div>
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<span lang="NL">“Dodger is a tosher – a sewer scavenger living
in the squalor of Dickensian London.<br />
Everyone who is nobody knows Dodger. Anyone who is anybody doesn’t.<br />
But when he rescues a young girl from a beating, suddenly everybody wants to
know him.<br />
And Dodger’s tale of skulduggery, dark plans and even darker deeds begins . .
.”</span></div>
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<span lang="NL">I definitely enjoyed this novel but it’s very
different from <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Terry%20Pratchett" target="_blank">Pratchett’s</a> <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Discworld" target="_blank">Discworld novels</a> so keep that in mind. This is a
Victorian novel set in London. It’s more or less historically accurate and I
really appreciated that fact. I liked the setting a lot. </span></div>
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<span lang="NL"><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Charles%20Dickens" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a> is one of the main-characters
in this book. How great is that! And he is a really cool character too. Solomon
is amazing and such a sweet one. And then Dodger. Well Dodger made me smile,
laugh, cringe, sigh and hope.<br />
The story isn’t that special though; it’s rather repetitive and even boring at times.</span></div>
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<span lang="NL">But it didn’t capture me as much as his other
novels. I can’t really say why but I wasn’t as interested in the story as I’d
hoped to be. I didn’t love it.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="NL">3.5
STARS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="NL">Happy reading!<br />
Helena</span></div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-88332827271446720422016-12-14T14:19:00.002+01:002016-12-14T14:22:19.712+01:00Jim Butcher: Small Favour<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">Hi everyone</span></div>
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<span lang="NL">This is my review for Small Favour, the tenth
book in <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Dresden%20Files" target="_blank">The Dresden Files</a> by <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Jim%20Butcher" target="_blank">Jim Butcher</a>.<br />
My copy has 433 pages and <a href="https://partnerprogramma.bol.com/click/click?p=1&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fnl%2Fs%2Falgemeen%2Fzoekresultaten%2FNtt%2FJim%252BButcher%2FN%2F0%2FNty%2F1%2Fsearch%2Ftrue%2FsearchType%2Fqck%2FdefaultSearchContext%2Fmedia_all%2Fsc%2Fmedia_all%2Findex.html&name=jim" target="_blank">I got it from Bol</a>.<br /><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Dresden%20Files" target="_blank">You can find all my reviews on the series here.</a></span></div>
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<span lang="NL"> <b>*
SPOILERS *<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="NL">I loved this book. The <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Dresden%20Files" target="_blank">series</a> is getting
better and better and I can’t wait to read the next one.<br />
That also makes it harder and harder to review each new book in the <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Dresden%20Files" target="_blank">series</a>.<br />
There’s so much going on in this book and it all comes together in the end. By
this time the world is incredibly complex but it’s still manageable as a reader
to keep track of everything that’s going on because <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Jim%20Butcher" target="_blank">Butcher</a> takes the time to
explain to the reader what happened and why. <br />
These books are so much fun to read!<br />
I think <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Jim%20Butcher" target="_blank">Butcher</a> has a lot more in store for us because there are hints
throughout the novel about bigger events, a traitor and other overarching
plotlines that have yet to come to the surface.<br />
The characterization gets better in every book and I love seeing older
characters return every so often and every time they reappear there’s more to
them. <br />
The opening scene with the snowfight made my heart melt; it was so, so sweet. <br />
And the scenes at the hospital made me tear up like a child. Too true I’m
afraid.</span></div>
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<span lang="NL">Loved it. Highly recommended series.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="NL">5 STARS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="NL"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span lang="NL">Happy reading!<br />
Helena</span></div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-85661502311424086752016-12-11T20:09:00.001+01:002016-12-11T21:15:23.964+01:00Justin Cronin: The Twelve<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
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This is my review for the second book in <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Passage" target="_blank">The Passage</a> by
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Justin%20Cronin" target="_blank">Justin Cronin</a>. <br />
I read my father’s copy and it has 618 pages.<br />
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Passage" target="_blank">You can find all my reviews for the books in the series here.</a></div>
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<b> * SPOILERS
*<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Well, that opening chapter was unnecessary. A complete retelling
of everything that happened in <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/justin-cronin-passage.html" target="_blank">the first book </a>but with an added bonus;
religious references. Just what we needed. Or not. Big failure in my opinion. </div>
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The part set right after the outbreak is rather confusing.
There’s a whole host of new characters and the story jumps around, trying to
cover all of them. The pacing is off too, especially when changing characters
and POV’s. <br />
But I loved reading about those early days; the fear, the confused people, the
anger all around. I loved that. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Horace Guilder is a very cliché bad character but most of
the others are good. Where the characterization, world building and the general
history of this world were amazing in <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/justin-cronin-passage.html" target="_blank">the previous book</a>, they’re just OK in
this one. I felt distanced from the characters and the events. I didn’t care as
much as before. <br />
I still liked the story and it has it’s suspenseful, horrific, sweet and humorous
moments too. <br />
The story and characters don’t go the way you’d expect and I felt my mind
wander from time to time, wondering why we spent so much time there. <br />
Alicia’s torture and rape, the clear references to WWII and the general disdain
for women made the book less enjoyable then <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/justin-cronin-passage.html" target="_blank">the first one</a>. </div>
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I think/hope we’re in for a truly, epic third book if the finale
of this one is anything to go by. </div>
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<b>3 STARS</b></div>
<br />
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-69480409322414528502016-12-09T17:57:00.002+01:002016-12-09T17:58:01.689+01:00Matthew Kressel: The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
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<br /></div>
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I wanted to write a little review for <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Matthew%20Kressel" target="_blank">Matthew Kressel</a>’s
short-story The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye.<br />
You can read it for free, or listen to it on the website of Clarkesworld
Magazine.</div>
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This is a strange story. It’s rather confusing at first but
you just have to go with it. <br />
It’s a serious, surreal and sad story, making me tear up at certain scenes but
it’s also philosophical and critical of our own society. <br />
It’s a fascinating story and the ending is incredible.</div>
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I highly recommend this one.</div>
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<b>5 STARS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-42711650518199039672016-12-08T17:52:00.000+01:002016-12-08T17:54:39.402+01:00The Poetry of Pablo Neruda<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
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<br /></div>
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I’ve had this book for quite some time now and I never actually
finished reading it. I had read some bits and pieces but the whole book
through? No, I never managed that.</div>
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<br /></div>
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That’s why I decided to read it from start to finish. I
wanted to complete the book in 2016 so I started in May. <br />
Some days I read just a few poems, other days I read more than a few or none at
all. I have to feel like reading poetry to really enjoy it. Are you like that
too?<br />
It’s slow-going that way but I feel like you shouldn’t rush poetry. </div>
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This book contains <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Pablo%20Neruda" target="_blank">Pablo Neruda</a>’s poems. All of them. Which
is why it’s so long.<br />
<a href="https://partnerprogramma.bol.com/click/click?p=1&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fnl%2Fs%2Falgemeen%2Fzoekresultaten%2FNtt%2FPablo%252BNeruda%2FN%2F0%2FNty%2F1%2Fsearch%2Ftrue%2FsearchType%2Fqck%2FdefaultSearchContext%2Fmedia_all%2Fsc%2Fmedia_all%2Findex.html&name=pablo" target="_blank">I got my copy from Bol.</a><br />
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Pablo%20Neruda" target="_blank">Neruda</a> won the <span style="color: windowtext;">Nobel Prize for Literature</span> in 1971.</div>
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This is a beautiful collection. <br />
I love having all his works, together in one book, no matter how big. <br />
My Spanish is really, really bad. I took classes when I was 16 but I had to
quit after just one year. <br />
Every poem in this collection is translated into English, but here and there
the original poems are printed too. I liked reading them in Spanish, just for
the sound though I couldn’t really understand them. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I enjoyed this collection. Spreading it out over such a long
time definitely enhanced the experience and my appreciation of his work.</div>
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<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Pablo%20Neruda" target="_blank">Neruda</a> covers a wide range of subjects in his poetry. Some
poems are confusing or seem to be about absolutely nothing while others are
overflowing with passion or love for a person, nature or something else
entirely. His love poems especially are very human and raw.<br />
But I definitely didn’t like or enjoy all of his poems. Some of his poems are
too raw and bare for me personally). And there are those I just didn’t
understand.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>3.5 STARS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-6632638749381228432016-12-07T17:46:00.000+01:002017-03-08T21:02:45.366+01:00Karen Miller: The Riven Kingdom<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
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This is my review for the second book in the <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Godspeaker%20Trilogy" target="_blank">Godspeaker Trilogy</a> by Karen Miller.<br />
My copy has 744 pages and I got it from Book Depository.<br />
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Godspeaker%20Trilogy" target="_blank">You can find all my reviews on the books in the series here.</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b> * SPOILERS
*<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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This book was definitely better and more enjoyable then <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/10/karen-miller-empress.html" target="_blank">the first one in the series</a> but I’d not call it great.</div>
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The characterization is (again) pretty bad in my opinion.
Marlan is a cliché. He’s so bad and evil he’s unrealistic; there’s nothing more
to him then his badness. And that’s exactly the same problem I have with Hekat.
I can’t believe in them. They are annoying and aggravating. They have one
defining trait and that’s all they are. <br />
I’m honestly surprised the writer is a woman. The two main female characters in
the book are irrational, deluded and convinced of their own importance. Hekat is
worst of all of course. Male writers tend to write females like that so I can’t
see why a female writer would do that. <br />
And lastly, the book is very slow. <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Karen%20Miller" target="_blank">Miller</a> could have cut quite a few chapters
without losing anything of importance. Some arguments were too drawn out and became
a boring repetition of arguments. Rhian especially was very prone to this. It’s
not the doubts themselves I disliked; it’s the endless repetition of her expressing
her doubts that’s tiresome. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The story is interesting. Against tradition and
gender-based-bias Rhian wants the throne and she’d do anything to secure it. I liked this more political focus.<br />
The characters have more doubts too. They understand that every choice and
action has at least one possibly negative consequence and that makes them doubt
everything. <br />
The worldbuilding is amazing. This story takes place in a different part of the
same world and it is very different from Mijak. I liked the time we spent
getting to know these peoples’ customs and beliefs.<br />
The book is less focused on religion, something everyone will appreciate. It’s
still a part of every person/action/event but it’s less shove-it-in-your-face. </div>
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I liked it but it’s far from perfect. </div>
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<b>3 STARS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-87423546808813796812016-12-04T12:50:00.000+01:002016-12-04T12:50:53.149+01:00Andy Riley: The Book of Bunny Suicides<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi again</div>
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<br /></div>
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I bought this little book by <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Andy%20Riley" target="_blank">Andy Riley</a> at the Boekenbeurs
in Antwerpen.<br />
It has only 96 pages so I flew through it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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“Rabbits. We'll never quite know why, but sometimes they
decide they've just had enough of this world- and that's when they start
getting inventive. The Book of Bunny Suicides follows over one hundred bunnies
as they find ever more outlandish ways to do themselves in. From an encounter
with the business end of Darth Vader's lightsaber, to supergluing themselves to
a diving submarine, to hanging around underneath a loose stalactite, these
bunnies are serious about suicide.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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This made me laugh A LOT.<br />
There’s no text but most of the comics are hilarious. Only if you like dark
humor though. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>4 STARS</b></div>
<br />
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-17602013841306276062016-12-03T15:23:00.002+01:002017-01-28T13:49:07.171+01:00Toby Frost: God Emperor of Didcot<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
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This is my review for the second book in the <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Chronicles%20of%20Isambard%20Smith" target="_blank">Chronicles of Isambard Smith</a> by <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Toby%20Frost" target="_blank">Toby Frost</a>.<br />
The copy I read is my father’s and it has 323 pages.<br />
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Chronicles%20of%20Isambard%20Smith" target="_blank">You can find all my reviews on this series here.</a></div>
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“Tea . . . a beverage brewed from the fermented dried leaves
of the shrub Camelli sinensis and imbibed by all the great civilizations in the
galaxy's history; a source of refreshment, stimulation, and, above all else, of
moral fiber—without which the British Space Empire must surely crumble to leave
Earth at the mercy of its enemies. Sixty percent of the Empire's tea is grown
on one world—Urn, principal planet of the Didcot system. If Earth is to keep
fighting, the tea must flow! When a crazed cult leader overthrows the
government of Urn, Isambard Smith and his vaguely competent crew find
themselves saddled with new allies—a legion of tea-obsessed nomads, an
overly-civilized alien horde. and a commando unit so elite that it has only
five members. Only together can they defeat the self-proclaimed God Emperor of
Didcot and confront the true power behind the coup—the sinister legions of the
Ghast Empire and Smith's old enemy, Commander 462.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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Like <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/toby-frost-space-captain-smith.html" target="_blank">my previous review</a>, I can’t really write a big review
about this book because it’s just such a ridiculous story with goofy characters
and absurd events.</div>
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The book is funny, over-the-top, cheeky, light,
entertaining, predictable, silly and dry.</div>
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<br />
ONLY recommended if you like classic British humor.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>3 STARS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-39509838862413542722016-12-01T16:29:00.000+01:002016-12-30T22:32:19.428+01:00Wrap Up: November 2016<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s time for my monthly Wrap Up again! Time flies and I
can’t believe we’re nearing the end of the year. <br />
I had a great reading month page-wise but I did read quite a few books I didn’t
particularly enjoy.<br />
In November, I read 4590 pages. That’s 153 pages per day and 328 per book. </div>
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Here’s what I read.</div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/robert-jordan-crossroads-of-twilight.html" target="_blank">Robert Jordan: Crossroads of Twilight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/aliette-de-bodard-three-cups-of-grief.html" target="_blank">Aliette de Bodard: Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/e-m-forster-where-angels-fear-to-tread.html" target="_blank">E. M. Forster: Where Angels Fear to Tread</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/dawn-french-tiny-bit-marvellous.html" target="_blank">Dawn French: A Tiny Bit Marvellous</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/terry-pratchett-stephen-baxter-long.html" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter: The Long Utopia</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/william-shakespeare-antony-and-cleopatra.html" target="_blank">William Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/aldous-huxley-doors-of-perception-and.html" target="_blank">Aldous Huxley: The Doors of Perception <i>and</i> Heaven and Hell</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/toby-frost-space-captain-smith.html" target="_blank">Toby Frost: Space Captain Smith</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/william-peter-blatty-exorcist.html" target="_blank">William Peter Blatty: The Exorcist</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/thomas-de-quincey-confessions-of.html" target="_blank">Thomas de Quincey: Confessions of an English Opium Eater</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/anne-rice-vampire-lestat.html" target="_blank">Anne Rice: The Vampire Lestat</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/virginia-woolf-orlando.html" target="_blank">Virginia Woolf: Orlando</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/charles-dickens-to-be-read-at-dusk.html" target="_blank">Charles Dickens: To Be Read at Dusk</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/2016/11/charles-dickens-dombey-and-son.html" target="_blank">Charles Dickens: Dombey and Son</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
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You can read the reviews by clicking on the title of the
book you want to know more about.<br />
How was your reading? Anything you’d want to recommend?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-62383610207221594372016-11-30T17:31:00.001+01:002016-11-30T17:34:25.943+01:00Charles Dickens: Dombey and Son<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
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<br /></div>
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This is my review for <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Charles%20Dickens" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>’ Dombey and Son.<br />
My gorgeous copy has 1022 pages of story and 36 pages about the novel itself.<br />
I bought it at Waterstones.<br /><a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Charles%20Dickens" target="_blank">You can find all my Charles Dickens reviews here.</a></div>
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“Dombey and Son is both a firm and a family and the
ambiguous connection between public and private life lies at the heart of
Dickens' novel. Paul Dombey is a man who runs his domestic affairs as he runs
his business: calculatingly, callously, coldly and commercially. Through his
dysfunctional relationships with his son, his two wives, and his neglected
daughter Florence, Dickens paints a vivid picture of the limitations of a
society dominated by commercial values and the drive for profit and explores
the possibility of moral and emotional redemption through familial love.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, take a moment to admire the beautiful cover. And if
you have a copy with the original drawings inside, take a look at those too
because they’re gorgeous. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really, really enjoyed this book.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
It took me a whole month to finish it because I read a few chapters each day. I
find it easier to enjoy Dickens this way then reading it all a week or two.
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Charles%20Dickens" target="_blank">Dickens</a> wrote most of his books as serials so they were meant to be read in
parts and reading them in parts definitely enhances the experience. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dombey and Son is such a beautiful book. <br />
The story is very moving and more emotional then I had expected. I did shed
some tears. One scene especially is truly heart wrenching. It’s a tragic story
with a few uplifting (sometimes even comedic) elements.<br />
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Charles%20Dickens" target="_blank">Dickens</a>’ characterization is, as always, perfect. Some characters are clichéd
or just a bit too much to be realistic but realism wasn’t his goal. He wanted
to drive a point home. Florence for example is too kind, too good and too
forgiving, so much so it can be annoying. But in the end, Florence’s love and
kindness prove to be the only things that matter. Her father’s self-importance,
pride and money didn’t save him; her love did. There are quite a few contrasts
of this kind in the novel. <br />
The novel is very well constructed, there’s a host of distinct, warm and
charming characters and the writing is elegant and beautiful. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t know about you, but it took me quite some time to
figure out whether Carker is actually a good or an evil character. <br />
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Charles%20Dickens" target="_blank">Dickens</a> is brilliant. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I loved it.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>5 STARS</b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig_7d2qV1t9qvKacQmBci6siU_byiU7mB1e8468Oi6nCIt6yADH1GscqPtPgIvv-Y2IzNe366DlzMxaLrwcv-7OHnxlwyaZ-TCtKuRNiZf8gZrBuvq2yyOTk75KLWvT2oQyNTSNn6tzZQ/s1600/Dickens+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig_7d2qV1t9qvKacQmBci6siU_byiU7mB1e8468Oi6nCIt6yADH1GscqPtPgIvv-Y2IzNe366DlzMxaLrwcv-7OHnxlwyaZ-TCtKuRNiZf8gZrBuvq2yyOTk75KLWvT2oQyNTSNn6tzZQ/s320/Dickens+2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-63752581654135822982016-11-28T17:55:00.002+01:002016-11-28T17:57:08.018+01:00Charles Dickens: To Be Read at Dusk<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a little something about <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Charles%20Dickens" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>’ To Be Read
at Dusk.<br />
My copy has 54 pages and <a href="https://partnerprogramma.bol.com/click/click?p=1&t=url&s=29346&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fnl%2Fs%2Falgemeen%2Fzoekresultaten%2FNtt%2FCharles%252BDickens%2FN%2F0%2FNty%2F1%2Fsearch%2Ftrue%2FsearchType%2Fqck%2FdefaultSearchContext%2Fmedia_all%2Fsc%2Fmedia_all%2Findex.html&name=ch" target="_blank">I got it from Bol.</a><br />
<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Charles%20Dickens" target="_blank">You can find all my Charles Dickens reviews here.</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Three ghostly tales from a master of the form, 'The
Signalman', 'The Trial for Murder' and the title story, 'To Be Read at Dusk'.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I liked it. It’s a nice collection and I enjoyed the
stories. The first one especially had me thinking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>3 STARS</b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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<br /></div>
Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-40032746793341944132016-11-27T14:04:00.000+01:002016-11-27T14:05:24.026+01:00Virginia Woolf: Orlando<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is my review for my fourth <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Virginia%20Woolf" target="_blank">Virginia Woolf</a>’s Orlando. I
read Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse and The Waves a few years ago.<br />
My copy has a 16-page introduction and 162 pages of story.<br />
I got it at the Standaard Boekhandel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“<a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Virginia%20Woolf" target="_blank">Virginia Woolf</a>'s Orlando, "The longest and most
charming love letter in literature," playfully constructs the figure of
Orlando as the fictional embodiment of Woolf's close friend and lover, Vita
Sackville-West. Spanning three centuries of boisterous, fantastic adventure,
the novel opens as Orlando, a young nobleman in Elizabeth's England, awaits a
visit from the Queen and traces his experience with first love as England,
under James I, lies locked in the embrace of the Great Frost. <br />
At the midpoint of the novel, Orlando, now an ambassador in Costantinople,
awakes to find that he is a woman, and the novel indulges in farce and irony to
consider the roles of women in the 18th and 19th centuries. As the novel ends
in 1928, a year consonant with full suffrage for women, Orlando, now a wife and
mother, stands poised at the brink of a future that holds new hope and promise
for women.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had a mixed experience reading this book and I know I
should love this but my reading over the past few years has made me realize
that I don’t usually love the classics everyone seems to love. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Orlando’s gender switch was great and different, unlike
other things I’ve read so far. It’s not an important part of the story though,
it doesn’t matter most of the time whether she’s a man or a woman. <br />
And I really appreciate the philosophy in <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Virginia%20Woolf" target="_blank">Woolf’s</a> books. She’s never really
moralizing but she still manages to get her message out there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the book is so boring and dull! There’s nothing to the
story, the writing-style is uninspired and the book didn’t captivate me at all.
I struggled to get through it because it made me go to sleep. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2.5 STARS</b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-52140204665506715452016-11-24T15:35:00.004+01:002016-11-24T15:37:20.697+01:00Anne Rice: The Vampire Lestat<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is my review for <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Anne%20Rice" target="_blank">Anne Rice</a>’s second book in <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/The%20Vampire%20Chronicles" target="_blank">The Vampire Chronicles</a>; The Vampire Lestat.<br />
I got it as a gift from friends and it has 550 pages.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The story begins in our own time with Lestat, tall, blond,
and handsome, a world-renowned rock star. His gifts are timeless, his youth
never withers. But he was not always the powerful and famous child of darkness.
Before his long earth-encrusted sleep, he was an aristocrat in the heady days
of pre-Revolutionary France. It was then that he came face-to-face with the
incarnation of evil and the temptations of love that he has ravenously pursued
through time. Where it has led him and what he has become is the heart of the
tale that has captured millions of readers.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> * SPOILERS
*<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Vampire Lestat didn’t blow me away like I had hoped it
would.<br />
It’s not a bad book in general, I’d almost call it good but it just didn’t
capture me.<br />
I never felt compelled to read on, I wasn’t captivated by the characters and
what happened to them didn’t really interest me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lestat is a brilliant character and I loved how <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Anne%20Rice" target="_blank">Rice</a> made
him seem human in his emotions and actions. Marius is great too and I like the
history he tells us.<br />
Nicolas, Armand and Gabrielle though, they aggravated me so much! I did not
care for them at all and they felt very unrealistic both in character and
actions.<br />
The pacing was off too, especially when Lestat moved to different parts in the
world the plot would go down and the story got really boring in some chapters
of the book. <br />
And lastly; the book was too dramatic for me. I absolutely hate drama for
drama’s sake and <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Anne%20Rice" target="_blank">Rice</a> drowned us in it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I enjoyed the story (though it might have been shorter) and
most of the characters but the book just didn’t grab me.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2.5 STARS</b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy reading!<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-76471297891910000802016-11-21T17:28:00.001+01:002016-11-21T17:29:23.844+01:00Thomas de Quincey: Confessions of an English Opium Eater<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi everyone</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I read <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/Thomas%20de%20Quincey" target="_blank">Thomas de Quincey</a>’s Confessions of an English Opium
Eater. <br />
This is my dad’s copy and it has a 9-page introduction and 127 pages of story.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Once upon a time,
opium (the main ingredient of heroin) was easily available over the chemist's
counter. The secret of happiness, about which philosophers have disputed for so
many ages, could be bought for a penny, and carried in the waistcoat pocket:
portable ecstasies could be corked up in a pint bottle. Paradise? So thought
Thomas de Quincey, but he soon discovered that 'nobody will laugh long who
deals much with opium'.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I did not like this at all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s incredibly boring, nothing more than a stream of consciousness,
the main-character is a vain, dumb, self-absorbed twit and the writing style is
tedious, trying too hard to be intelligent, dull and overwritten. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>1 STAR<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy reading (the next one).<br />
Helena</div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1511125965274473769.post-35277956976084469532016-11-19T17:00:00.000+01:002016-11-19T17:01:19.248+01:00William Peter Blatty: The Exorcist<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">Hi again</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">This review is for <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/William%20Peter%20Blatty" target="_blank">William Peter Blatty</a>’s
classic The Exorcist.<br />
My copy has 351 pages and I got it from my grandfather because he was getting
rid of quite a few of his old books.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">“The terror began unobtrusively. Noises in
Regan's room, an odd smell, misplaced furniture, and icy chill. Small
annoyances for which Chris MacNeil, Regan's actress mother, easily found
explanations. The changes in eleven-year-old Regan were so gradual, too, that
Chris did not recognise for some time how much her daughter's behaviour had
altered. Even when she did, the medical tests which followed shed no light on
Regan's symptoms, which grew more severe and frightening. It was almost as if a
different personality had invaded the child. Desperate, Chris turned from the
doctors to Father Damien Karras, a Jesuit priest who was trained as a
psychiatrist and had a deep knowledge of such phenomena as satanism and
possession. Was it possible that a demonic force was at large? If psychiatry
could not help, might exorcism be the answer?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="NL"> * SPOILERS
*<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="NL"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">Even though I haven’t seen the movie, the
internet has spoiled me for quite a few key-elements of the book. Aside from
that, even without these spoilers, the title kind of says it all. This is a
book about the exorcism of a young girl. Add to that the blurb on the back and
you can basically guess how the story will go.<br />
And because of those spoilers the book isn’t scary to be honest, I had more of
a ‘yuk’ feeling reading some scenes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">More than half the book is just drama, drama,
drama and Chris trying to figure out what’s wrong with her daughter. We already
know, so I truly wished <a href="http://embracingmybooks.blogspot.be/search/label/William%20Peter%20Blatty" target="_blank">Blatty</a> would get on with the story. <br />
He didn’t. <br />
He just kept going on and on about what could be wrong with her. Why did he
even give the book this title if he wanted to write the story of figuring out
what’s wrong with her?<br />
There’s too much drama and too little is happening.<br />
And the too overtly religious aspect of the story made it hard to stomach at
times. I really don’t care for the
religious details and the long, meandering explanations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">I did enjoy the writing-style. It’s
old-fashioned, but is fits the story very well.<br />
The characters are clearly defined and have more depth than you’d expect from a
book like this. <br />
That’s about what I liked about it I’m afraid.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="NL">2 STARS</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="NL">Happy reading!<br />
Helena</span></div>
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Embracing My Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834263935917620147noreply@blogger.com0