Wrap-Up April 2014

21st June 2014

WHAT. THE. HELL?! I see all these figures and can’t believe that they are correct. It’s crazy. I think I’ve never read more pages (at least not during the last 4 years) and it’s been a very very long time since I read/finished so many books over the course of one month. And all of this happened although I was fighting a reading slump, which meant that I had to force myself to read more often than not. But thanks to the 7 Days 7 Books readathon, I finished a great deal of novels that spent way too much time on my currently reading shelf. I’m so glad I participated. It was lots of fun and really helped motivating me.

WU 2014_04A

  1. Der Himmel ist zu weit entfernt by Lurlene McDaniel
    [OT: Mother, Please Don’t Die]

    Definitely not the best Lurlene McDaniel novel but I cried anyway. However, that’s exactly why I picked it up. I needed a quick but emotional read. 3/5

  2. Die Stimme der Stille (W.i.t.c.h., #31-33) by Elisabetta Gnone
    [LT: The Voice of Silence]
  3. Der Duft der Freiheit (W.i.t.c.h., #34-36) by Elisabetta Gnone
    [LT: The Scent of Freedom]
  4. Der Prozess (W.i.t.c.h., #37-39) by Elisabetta Gnone
    [LT: The Trial]

    And yet again, a couple of W.i.t.c.h. rereads. I really love Arkhanta, and Orube and Yua. They are both so beautiful and amazing. However, I really dislike the astral twins story arc. I don’t know why, but it annoys me. Orube’s the best part of the chaos. I also extremely enjoyed Der Prozess because three of my favourite characters are finally back.  4-2-4/5

  5. Ein Moment fürs Leben by Cecelia Ahern
    [OT: The Time of My Life]

    I more or less forced myself to read it because it’s been on my TBR pile for quite some time. My aunt always gives me Cecelia Ahern novels but I don’t usually read them so I have a couple of unread ones. I was surprised to enjoy it, although it did drag a little in the beginning and the end. There were so many parts in which I strongly identified with the protagonist; it was kind of creepy. There was something about a light bulb she didn’t change because it was too inconvenient to get a bulb and climb up something to change it so she just didn’t. At that time, all of the three light bulbs in my ceiling lamp were (and basically still are) broken, because of pretty much the same reason. I actually wanted to change something about it, but apparently, the novel didn’t have a lasting impact on me. 3/5

  6. The Bone Season (The Bone Season, #1) by Samantha Shannon
    [dt: Die Träumerin (The Bone Season, #1)]

    Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me. The world is awesome. I love it! I really truly do and I don’t care whether there’s a lot of info dumping in the beginning. It doesn’t take long to understand and get used to the world. It’s incredibly thrilling – until it becomes incredibly boring. Lots and lots of secondary characters who never became more than their names, too many annoying flash backs, and I was so not digging the love story. I’m almost inclined towards a 2/5 but I’m quite generous because I still hope for the second one. 3/5 →review

  7. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
    [dt. Ein plötzlicher Todesfall]

    Hm, this is difficult. So I did enjoy reading it, it’s just that it wasn’t all that interesting, which means that as soon as I had put it down, I wasn’t inclined to continue. Still, it’s not bad and I’m sure it will make a great TV serial. 3/5

 

WU 2014_04B

  1. Changeless (Parasol Protectorate, #2) by Gail Carriger
    [dt. Brennende Finsternis (Lady Alexia, #2)]
  2. Blameless (Parasol Protectorate, #3) by Gail Carriger
    [dt. Entflammte Nacht (Lady Alexia, #3)]

    Why didn’t I continue this series sooner?! I love, love, love, love it! It’s so entertaining and addictive. I love the characters, I love the world, I love the story. So much, that I had to read the third one immediately after finishing it – but maybe that was because of that cliffhanger. I had some minor problems getting into the third one, but I also enjoyed it immensely. 4-4/5

  3. Die Meisterin (Die Gilde der Schwarzen Magier, #3) by Trudi Canavan
    [OT: The High Lord (The Black Magician Trilogy, #3)]

    Let’s just say I knew why I didn’t want to finish it. I’m heartbroken! Devastated! I don’t think I will ever get over this ending. I’m still in shock just thinking about it. So. damn. evil! And I loved it. Yes, I love it to pieces. I love novels that make me feel very emotional and that have me curling up in a ball, crying bitter tears. All in all, this novel was what I hoped for. It was perfect in every way. The trilogy got continuously better and this was an epic finale. 5/5

  4. Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

    I had such a hard time getting through the second part that I put it aside for almost six months. However, I just loved the rest. The writing! The folk tale! The setting – although I have to admit that I don’t know enough about Russian history to get all the allusions. It’s otherworldly, it’s sad, it’s depressing – a wonderful atmospheric read and I would have given it 4/5 if I hadn’t had the issues with the second part which were in retrospect mostly due to bad reading timing. 3/5

  5. The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line (Veronica Mars, #1) by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham
    [dt. Zwei Vermisste sind zwei zu viel (Veronica Mars, #1)]

    Basically, a mini serial in book form. Besides the third-person narrative and the lack of ‘screen’ time for most of our beloved secondary characters, it’s just like any other Veronica Mars episode. It’s a wonderful continuation of the series and the movie and stays true to Mars canon. If you loved the series, I highly recommend you check it out – just remember to watch the movie first or you’ll get spoiled! 5/5

  6. Just One Day (Just One Day, #1) by Gayle Forman
  7. Just One Year (Just One Day, #2) by Gayle Forman

    Yes, I finally managed reading them and I enjoyed visiting so many different places. As always, I’m the odd one out in that I liked the second one better than the first. The first one started out great but the college part dragged on and on. I liked Willem’s journey much better, especially since one can compare their travel routes and it was more exciting knowing where both of them were at the same time. In the end, it also started to drag a little and I wanted just one more chapter. One more and I would have been happy. There’s a novella out now but that was too much. I wouldn’t have needed it all wrapped up in a neat little bow. 4-4/5

  8. Das Glücksprojekt: Wie ich (fast) alles versucht habe, der glücklichste Mensch der Welt zu werden by Alexandra Reinwarth
    [LT: The Happiness Project: How I tried (almost) everything to become the happiest person alive]

    I’d been reading this for a couple of months, a chapter here, a chapter there. I really enjoyed it as a side read because it’s really funny. It’s not my usual type of book and I wouldn’t want to read it all at once but it fulfilled it’s purpose to entertain me from time to time. 4/5

 

WU 2014_04C

  1. Blühende Fantasie by Diane Karlstrom
    [LT: Wanton Imagination]

    I was a little disappointed because Diane can do so much better. The whole love/jealousy plot and subtext was a little much for such a short novel. 2/5

  2. Letzte Chance für Trouble by Jane Ayres
    [OT: Last Chance Horse]

    I really enjoyed this one – until the fantasy element came up at the end. It was so unneccesary and irritating. The novel could have worked out just fine with a natural solution. 3/5

  3. Anna zu Pferde by Max Kruse
    [LT: Anna on Horseback]

    I love this one so much although it lost a little of it’s glamour the second time around since I knew perfectly well how everything hang together and how it would end. Still, it’s a great historical read and I love how strong and independent Anna is. 5/5

  4. Auf Wiedersehen, Trockadero! by Diane Karlstrom
    [LT: Goodbye, Trockadero!]

    This one was a nice little coming of age story dealing with loss. 3/5

  5. Das Pferdeparadies (Horsehaven, #1) by Christine Pullein-Thompson
    [OT: Horsehaven (Horsehaven, #1)]
  6. Havoc at Horsehaven (Horsehaven, #2) by Christine Pullein-Thompson
  7. Horsehaven Lives On (Horsehaven, #3) by Christine Pullein-Thompson

    Horsehaven is one of my favourite horse novels and when I recently found out that it’s the first in a trilogy, I had to get the other two as well. It’s a great coming of age story at a horse sanctuary. It’s quite unrealistic in parts because the 13-year-old protagonist behaves like an adult while the owner seems to be the little child. Still, I just love reading about the fates of the different horses and the smaller and bigger catastrophes that are bound to happen. 5-4-4/5

Started

  1. Sekret (Sekret, #1) by Lindsay Smith

    I love the idea and the setting. I’m just not so sure about the characters and the plot. I haven’t really gotten into the story so far and then I already have an assumption which I hope won’t turn out true because that would be waaaayyy too obvious.

  2. Rebel Belle (Rebel Belle, #1) by Rachel Hawkins

    This is so not what I expected. It’s not at all bad but kind of frothy. A nice little entertaining read, no more, no less. Since I didn’t know it would turn out this way, I had to put it aside because I was a little disappointed.

Continued

  1. Prodigy (Legend, #2) by Marie Lu [dt. Schwelender Sturm (Legend, #2)]

    After a six-months-break, I decided to pick it up again. I just wasn’t really in the mood for a dystopia.

Stats

In Books
In Pages
Read 22 Read 5191
First Reads 17 Pages/Day 173
Re-reads 5 Pages/Book 236

Trivia

Best (First Read) Die Meisterin 5/5
Worst (First Read) Blühende Fantasie 2/5
Longest on TBR Pile Letzte Chance für Trouble 1156 days
Shortest on TBR Pile Havoc at Horsehaven 3 days
Oldest Der Himmel ist zu weit entfernt 1990
Newest The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line 2014
Longest Die Meisterin  704 pages
Shortest Blühende Fantasie 111 pages
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6 responses

  • Wow, wow, da hat jemand aber wirklich viel gelesen! o.O
    😀 Interessant, dass dir Just One Year besser gefallen hat als Just One Day. Aber gut, kann ich auch nachvollziehen, gerade durch deine Begründung.
    Bei Rebel Belle warte ich noch mal dein Urteil ab ^^.

    • Gelle?! Bin ganz stolz auf mich 😀 !
      Ja, ich bin da mal so ne Ausnahme. Fand damals auch Where She Went einfach interessanter, auch wenn ich das Ende dann vieeeeeeeeeeel zu kitschig fand.
      Ich hoffe, dazu kann ich mich bald mal wieder aufraffen. Irgendwie habe ich da momentan überhaupt keine Lust drauf. Dabei hab ich schon wieder fast den Anfang vergessen.

      • Psst, nicht zu viel verraten, das habe ich noch nicht gelesen ;-).
        ^^ Ich brauche hier auch reden, habe ein angefangenes Buch herumliegen – und das schon seit gut einem Jahr… Joa ^^.

      • Huaaa, sorry, ich dachte, das hättest du schon gelesen. Gut, dass ich nicht ins Detail gegangen bin.
        Ach, das kenn ich. Das kommt bei mir in letzter Zeit öfter vor. Früher konnte ich nie mehr als ein Buch lesen und mittlerweile stapeln sich bei mir die angefangenen Bücher.

  • Es ist/war wirklich beeindruckend wie viel du da gelesen hast und vor allem wie viele Bücher du auch beenden konntest! Und das trotz kleiner Leseflaute. Da merkt man halt wie sehr es doch motivieren kann in der Gruppe zu lesen und sich bewusst mehr Zeit zum Lesen zu nehmen 😀

    • Ich bin selbst auch immer wieder erstaunt, wenn ich das so sehe. Die Woche hat mir dabei aber auch unheimlich geholfen. Wenn das nicht gewesen wäre, dann hätte ich vermutlich kaum etwas geschafft, weil ich mich nicht hätte aufraffen können. Manchmal brauch ich halt nen Arschtritt ;D .

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