Yes, I’m late as always! But I had so much going on the last couple of months – namely, my bachelor thesis – that I didn’t have the time to read or blog. Wait, no time to read? Then what’s all of this?! I was surprised myself how many pages and books I read in January. However, these books were either relevant for my thesis, short story anthologies, or comics. I didn’t dare to start a proper novel since I wouldn’t have stopped reading.

Read for Bachelor Thesis

1. The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins
   [dt. Tödliche Spiele (Die Tribute von Panem, #1)]

2. Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) by Suzanne Collins
   [dt. Gefährliche Liebe (Die Tribute von Panem, #2)]

3. Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) by Suzanne Collins
   [dt. Flammender Zorn (Die Tribute von Panem, #3)]

   I’m so glad that it’s over! Although I like the first one, I’m not particularly into the trilogy, but it made for an awesome topic. Now I’m sick of the sight of them and won’t touch them for the next couple of years.

4. The Girl Who Was on Fire: Your Favorite Authors on Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games Trilogy by Leah Wilson (Ed.)

5. The Many Faces of Katniss Everdeen: Exploring the Heroine of the Hunger Games by Valerie Estelle Frankel

6. Of Bread, Blood and the Hunger Games: Critical Essays on the Suzanne Collins Trilogy by Mary F. Pharr & Leisa A. Clark (Eds.)

7. Approaching the Hunger Games Trilogy: A Literary and Cultural Analysis by Tom Henthorne

   These four are anthologies of academic essays. Some were really interesting, others pretty boring, but at least I found many useful quotes. What I loved most is the variety of subjects and therefore theories that are applied to analyse the trilogy.

Read

1. Die schreckliche deutsche Sprache / The Awful German Language by Mark Twain

   In the beginning, it was funny since a native speaker does not think about the quirks of one’s mother tongue – and granted, German has so many exceptions to rules that it’s quite illogical. Nevertheless, the later chapters couldn’t convince me.

2. Der Anfang aller Magie (W.i.t.c.h., #1-3) by Elisabetta Gnone
   [LT: The Beginning of All Magic]

3. Wo bist du, Taranee? (W.i.t.c.h., #4-6) by Elisabetta Gnone
   [LT: Where are you, Taranee?]

4. Zeit des Wiedersehens (W.i.t.c.h., #7-9) by Elisabetta Gnone
   [LT: Time of Reunion]

   These are omnibus editions of the W.i.t.c.h. comics, which I just adore. They were originally a magazine for teens following the story of five girls who are chosen to become guardians wielding the powers of the elements. I loved the magazine but didn’t buy it regularly so when these paperback editions were published, I started to collect them. Unfortunately, I stopped buying them and now that I want to complete my collection, a couple are out of print and the magazine and the paperbacks were cancelled.

5. Das Buch der Dornen by Patricia McKillip
   [OT: Alphabet of Thorn]

   This was my reread for the Favorites-Challenge and I still love it so much! The cover is just awful but the content makes up for it a million times over. It’s a tale of ancient legends come to life on the pages of a book written in a peculiar alphabet of thorns, a tale of people who seem to have nothing in common but are bound together by destiny, a tale of magic, power, and love for both YA and adult readers. You can find my review here.

6. Traumpferde by Herbert Somplatzki
   [LT: Dream Horses]

7. Das Sternenpferd by Tina Caspari
   [LT: The Star Horse]

8. Goldschweif und Silbermähne by Helga Wegener-Olbricht (Ed.)
   [LT: Gold Tail and Silver Mane]

   Three horse story anthologies of which I liked the third one best. I really love horse shorts; they have a way of getting at me, often tearing me up although they are just a couple of pages long. Many of these stories are set in war times or thematise loss and some are really heart-wrenching.

9. Pferde: das schönste auf der Welt by Tinne R. Kamm & Laura Hammer Jakobsen
   [LT: Horses: The Most Beautiful in the Whole Wide World]

   The layout of this one is very pretty. So many beautiful pictures and fancy fonts. Contentwise, it’s a mixture of facts on behaviour, horsemanship, equipment, braiding patterns, and recipies.

10. Interessantes über Pferde by Sarah Thunholm
    [dt. Interesting Facts on Horses]

    This one introduces the various diciplines in which horses are employed, ranging from the big three (dressage, show jumping, eventing) to racing and polo, but also circus acts, trail riding and knights festivals. It was ok but sometimes I thought that the facts were quite outdated. Well, it’s from 1998 after all.

11. The Little Android (The Lunar Chronicles, #2.5) by Marissa Meyer

    I’m so glad that I didn’t read the blurb prior to reading this beautiful short story. Therefore, I didn’t know what this was all about and thus how it would end.

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