April 2019 wrap up

This April was a little bit different from the other months. I am talking of course about how my reading went. April was the month of readathons for me. I took part in two of them.

The bigger one and the one I was most excited about was O.W.L.'s Magical Readathon that was organised by G (@book_roast on Instagram & YouTube) and took place all of April. You had to read books the fulfilled prompts which corresponded to the classes at Hogwarts.

From the 5th until the 15th we had FantasyAthon which was, as you can guess, based on reading fantasy books. This one was organised by Julie (Pages and  Pens on YouTube), Madi (The Book Pusher on YouTube) and Ali ( Ali Corvere books on YouTube). 

So, without further ado let's see the books that I managed to read this month.

As Kismet Would Have it - Sandhya Menon

This is a funny, romantic and very sweet novella which is a sequel to When Dimple met Rishi (see review here). It is a very beautiful story and I really liked reading again about Dimple and Rishi. I hope there is more in the future. 

OWLs : Muggle Studies (contemporary) 

Είμαστε Αστρόσκονη: Σύμπαν, μια ιστορία χωρίς τέλος - Διονύσης Π. Σιμόπουλος 

(We are Stardust: Universe, a story without end - Dionisis P. Simopoulos)

It was an interesting book about the universe and its story from the birth of stars until their death and everything between. It was written in a simple language so that everyone could understand. 

OWLs: Astronomy ("Star" in the title)

Saga, vol. 4  - Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

I read another volume of this graphic novel and I enjoyed it a much as the previous ones. I can't wait to read the next one.

FantasyAthon: A fantasy in a genre/format you don't normly (graphic novel/ebook)

Exhalation: Stories - Ted Chiang

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I enjoyed some of the stories but not all of them.

I will soon have a full review of this.

OWLs: Divination (Set in the future)

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

I have heard so many things about this book and thankfully it didn't disappoint. It is a well-written and funny book that talks about the end of the world.

OWLs: Arithmacy (work written by more than one authors).

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #2) - Philip Pullman

I finished the second book pf this trilogy and the only thing that I can say is that I loved it.


OWLs: Potions (next ingredient: sequel)
FantasyAthon: Start or continue on in a series

Literary Landscapes: Charting the world of Classic Literature - John Sutherland

Books about books are my sweet spot. I always read them and I always like them. This one was no exception and it certainly added more books to my already big tbr.

Circe - Madeline Miller

I have heard so many good things about it but I didn't know exactly what to expect, only that it was a retelling of Circe's story. It was much more than that and I really liked it.

OWLs: Charms (Age-Line: read an adult book)

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

This book won a Pulitzer award and for good reason. I enjoyed it even though at some points I fell a lit bit lost. You observe the relationsphip between father and son and it is written in a kind of different way.

OWLs: Defense Against the Dark Arts (Reducto: Title starts with R)

I am Marie Curie - Brad Meltzer & Christopher Eliopoulos (ill.)

eARC from Edelweiss+

This is a very cute little picture book about the life of Marie Curie with very beautiful illustrations. I really liked it.

David Bowie - Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara &Ana Albero (Ill.)

eARC from Netgalley

This new addition to the Little People, Big Dreams series is one you should buy for your little ones. It has beautiful illustrations and it is very inspiring and empowering.

OWLs: Transfiguration ( Sprayed Edges or Red Cover)

Uprooted - Naomi Novik

I really liked this one. It is like reading a Grimm's fairy tale. You can consider it as a retelling of Russia fairy tales. I enjoyed the writing and especially the depiction of the Wood. It is a magical book but at some points I wished it was more fast paced.

OWLs: Ancient Runes (Retelling) 





I managed to complete my OWLs for the career of Curse Breaker and in total completing 9 exams.
I did not do as well in FantsyAthon and I completed only 3 promts finishing only 2 books during its period.

That's it for my reading wrap up for April.

Athina

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Assassin's Creed: Heresy by Christie Golden - A Review

Today we talk about another book that belongs to my favorite Assassin's Creed Series. This one is called Heresy and it's written by Christie Golden. 

Heresy is set in the universe of Assassin's Creed and through it we relive the memories of  high-ranking Templar Simon Hathaway's ancestor who fought beside Joan of Arc. He  slowly uncovers secrets of the past that could dangerously impact his present  and that of the entire Templar order. An endless conflict. An old wrong. A new revelation.

Simon Hathaway, member of the Templar Inner Sanctum, brings a cool head and detached manner to his new role as Head of Abstergo Industry's Historical Research Division. But Simon also has an insatiable curiosity, and is fascinated by the thought of experiencing history first-hand through his ancestor Gabriel Laxart, who fought alongside the legendary Joan of Arc.

When he enters the newly-designed Animus for its initial project, Simon finds himself unprepared for what he discovers: how deep the conflict between the Templars and the Assassins goes, and what his ancestor is willing to do for the woman he loves. And as he slowly uncovers secrets of the past, Simon is confronted with the most dangerous truth of all:

Who is the heretic and who is the true believer?

I really enjoyed reading Heresy and from all the books that I have read in this universe this is a little bit different from the normal Assassin's Creed style. It is written in a different style and it combines the present day London and Abstergo with the past (when Joan of Arc lived). 

The world building was good and it shows the medieval/renaissance world with authenticity and does set the scene really well. In terms of characters I liked the modern and historical characters. I really liked all the modern characters and found they really had a story of their own. The plot was well paced and had a lot of action. Lots of battle scenes as you would expect but also some good character development. There was also some surprises and shocks. 

It may sound weird but in this book, I liked more the parts of the book that had to do with the present. Finally I liked the ending which was something I didn't expect.

Have you read this book?

You can buy this book from Book Depository using this link (affiliate link)

Athina

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Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik - A Review

Today we will talk about the book Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, author of Uprooted (Translated in Greek by Sελίνι). 

The book is a very loose retelling of the story of Rumpelstiltskin and you would recognize some elements of it like turning things into gold and the importance of names.  The books of Naomi Novik have this magical and atmospheric thing that you want from a fairy tale.

Well, what can I say about this book...
I really liked it  and that's why I gave it 4 stars at the end. But I had my issues with it. It was very slow paced for me in some places and the multiple POVs (I think I counted six) sometimes confused me. It would be better with less narrators in my opinion.

Despite that it still kept me captivated from the beginning until the end . It is a magical and very atmospheric book. I liked the story and how the author managed to compile so many aspects of it into one which made sense during the book. I liked the characters and in the end I was rooting for the Winter King. I loved the world building and the description of places and scenery was amazing.

Summary from Goodreads:

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders... but her father isn't a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife's dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers' pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed--and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold.

But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it's worth--especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand.

You can buy this book from Book Depository using this link (affiliate link)

Athina

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - A Review

Today's book review is about a well known classic that I only read recently. I am talking about The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

The novel takes place in the 1920s New York and it's a glamorous, ironical and compassionate book. It is the story of Jay Gatsby who came so mysteriously to West Egg, of his sumptuous entertainments, and of his love for Daisy Buchanan – a story that ranges from pure lyrical beauty to sheer brutal realism, and is infused with a sense of the strangeness of human circumstance in a heedless universe.

It is a magical, living book, blended of irony, romance, and mysticism.

It is indeed a very interesting and magical story that describes perfectly the charm and glamour of the 1920s. We see the life of the mysterious Jay Gatsby through the eyes of our narrator Nick. We observe how money can make you look different in the eyes of others and how at the same time when you need them people can abandon you.

It is a sad book but it is also very beautiful. The author writes very beautifully and he creates the perfect atmosphere for the novel. 

I wish I had read it sooner because I really liked it and it among my favorite classics. 

You can buy this book from Book Depository using this link (affiliate link)

Athina

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March 2019 wrap up

March is over and we are in full Spring mode and ready for April and the festivities it brings.

This month I managed to read  6 books and I think it's time to see them one by one.

Goldfieber - Endstation Geldspercher

It is a German reproduction of many Disney stories all around the theme of  gold, treasure and treasure haunting of course. 

I really liked reading some of my favorite stories with Scrooge McDuck  etc. Also because it is in German I could practice my long forgotten German skills. 

From Russia with love (James Bond 007 - Original Series #5) - Ian Fleming

This one was a little different from the previous books because we got to see James Bond after page 130. That of course didn't bother me and didn't affect the way I enjoyed the book. 

It has all the classic tropes that we love to hate in James Bond books and movies.

I am off to see the movie now.

Είναι αρρώστια τα τραγούδια - Μάνος Ελευθερίου 

(Einai arrostia ta tragoudia - Manos Eleftheriou)

This short book contains a collection of essays regarding the case of the Greek song industry. Of course there are also essays about composers, songwriters and singers. 

The essays were well written but this book was not for me. I am not regretting reading it though.

Vengeful (Villains #2) - V. E. Schwab

I finished Vengeful and I found it more fascinating than Vicious. I loved the plot and how everything unraveled through the end.

A will have a more detailed review soon on the blog.

Μιλώντας στην κόρη μου για την οικονομία - Γιάνης Βαρουφάκης
(Talking to my daughter about the economy - Yanis Varoufakis)

It's another book in the series Patakis Books are doing with the general title "Talking to ..." This time the theme was the economy and capitalism mainly. The author is an expert on his field but somehow I didn't enjoy this books as much as I wanted to.

Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik

I really liked this one. It's a very loose retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale and it is very well done. I wish only there were less POVs.

My full review will come soon.






Have you read any of these? If so, what were your thought? I would love to hear!

Athina

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The House of Paper by Carlos Maria Dominguez - A Review

Today's review is for a book that I really really liked and which I wanted it to be bigger. You see it's only 112 pages. The book in question is The House of Paper (La casa de papel) by Carlos Maria Dominguez which I read in it's Greek translation by Lena Fragopoulou and Patakis Publications. 

The book is about Bluma Lennon, distinguished professor of Latin American literature at Cambridge,  who is hit by a car while crossing the street, immersed in a volume of Emily Dickinson's poems. Several months after her untimely demise, a package arrives for her from Argentina-a copy of a Conrad novel, encrusted in cement and inscribed with a mysterious dedication. Bluma's successor in the department (and a former lover) travels to Buenos Aires to track down the sender, one Carlos Brauer, who turns out to have disappeared.

The last thing known is that he moved to a remote stretch of the Uruguayan coastline and built himself a house out of his enormous and valuable library. How he got there, and why, is the subject of this seductive novel-part mystery, part social comedy, and part examination of all the many forms of bibliomania.

This is a very sweet little book about our love for books which can sometimes leads us to strange situations. The book is about books and those who love books. Those who love to read them, to collect them , to smell them and even sleep with them... 

It is a very original story, in my opinion. The House of Paper is a tribute to the strange and passionate relationship between people and their books.

It's a book that I will recommend to everyone who  loves books.

Athina

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Μιλώντας στην Αθηνά για το Χάος και την Πολυπλοκότητα - Τεύκρος Μιχαηλίδης & Τάσος Μπούντης (A Review)

Σήμερα μιλάμε για το βιβλίο Μιλώντας στην Αθηνά για το Χάος και την Πολυπλοκότητα, το οποίο προέκυψε από τη συνεργασία του Τεύκρου Μιχαηλίδη και του Τάσου Μπούντη και κυκλοφορεί από τις Εκδόσεις Πατάκης στη σειρά "Μιλώντας για...".

Στο βιβλίο βλέπουμε τον κύριο Αρχιμήδη, γείτονας της Αθηνάς, καθηγητής μαθηματικών στο πανεπιστήμιο, που αναλαμβάνει να της εξηγήσει τις δυσκολίες στην πρόγνωση του καιρού εντάσσοντας το κλίμα σε μια γενικότερη κατηγορία φαινομένων που χαρακτηρίζονται ως χαοτικά. 

Εγκαινιάζεται έτσι μια σειρά συναντήσεων στη διάρκεια των οποίων η νεαρή μαθήτρια μυείται στα μυστικά της πολυπλοκότητας, ενός σχετικά νέου γνωστικού αντικειμένου που συνδυάζει τα μαθηματικά µε τις φυσικές και κοινωνικές επιστήμες σε μια προσπάθεια να ερμηνεύσει φαινόμενα που η παραδοσιακή σοφία δυσκολεύεται να διερευνήσει.

Κουβεντιάζοντας µε τον ηλικιωµένο καθηγητή, η Αθηνά και οι φίλες της θα έρθουν σε επαφή µε έννοιες όπως η αυτοοµοιότητα, τα φράκταλ, οι κλασµατικές διαστάσεις, οι παράξενοι ελκυστές και θα καταλάβουν πώς όλα αυτά εµπλέκονται στη λειτουργία του σώµατός µας, στην ανάπτυξη των φυτών, στον σχηµατισµό των ακτογραµµών, στη µορφή των νεφών. 

Αυτό το βιβλίο το αγόρασα, εκτός από το ενδιαφέρον θέμα του και για δύο άλλους προφανείς λόγους. Πρώτον είναι γραμμένο από τον Τεύκρο Μιχαηλίδη του οποίου τα βιβλία είναι από τα αγαπημένα μου και τα αγοράζω χωρίς δεύτερη σκέψη και δεύτερο περιέχει στον τίτλο το όνομά μου οπότε δεν μπορούσα να το προσπεράσω. 

Διαβάζοντάς το λοιπόν μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ. Με τον υπέροχο τρόπο που γράφει ο Τεύκρος Μιχαηλίδης μας μαθαίνει μέσα από την ιστορίας της Αθηνάς και του κ. Αρχιμήδη ότι χρειαζόμαστε να ξέρουμε για το χάος και την πολυπλοκότητα. Ότι έχει να κάνει με αυτες τις έννοιες είναι γραμμένο κατανοητά και με πολλά παραδείγματα και εικόνες με αποτέλεσμα ο αναγνώστης να μαθαίνει χωρίς να κουράζεται. 

Έχω διαβάσει και άλλα βιβλία από τη σειρά "Μιλώντας για..." των Εκδόσεων Πατάκης και θεωρώ πως αποτελούν μια πολύ καλή εισαγωγή σε πολλά ενδιαφέροντα θέματα όπως τα μαθηματικά, η φυσική , οικονομία και πολλά άλλα.

Αθηνά

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - A Review

Today's review is about a book that we all know, even if we have read it or not. I am talking about Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It was written in 1818 and it was the first science fiction book of its time. 

If you happen to not know the premise of the book, let me tell you something about it. It's about the story of Victor Frankenstein and the monstrous creature that he created, and yes the doctor is Frankenstein not the monster as a lot of people believe. 

On the surface, it is a novel of tense and steadily mounting horror, but on a more profound level, it offers searching illumination of the human condition in its portrayal of a scientist who oversteps the bounds of conscience, and of a monster brought to life in an alien world, ever more desperately attempting to escape the torture of his solitude. A novel of hallucinatory intensity, Frankenstein represents one of the most striking flowerings of the Romantic imagination.

I read Frankenstein for the first time this autumn and I really liked it mainly because it was different from what I was expecting. It is a very beautiful but sad story and not at all scary as some people think. 

Frankenstein's creation was not as bad as it seems. In fact it had a good character but the circumstances, his appearance and the way people and his creator Victor treated him, made him act like this. The only thing he wanted was to be accepted and not to be alone. 

Victor on the other hand, wasn't a good character and I think it was very selfish and arrogant. 

Reading this book you can find out who the real monster is in the story. 

You can buy this book from Book Depository using this link (affiliate link)

Athina

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The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson - A Review

Today we are going to talk about the book The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson that comes out today (12th January 2019). You find the name of the author familiar to you and that is because she is the author of the comic Ms Marvel.

I read The Bird King in an ARC form courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher Grove Press. 

It is set in 1491 during the reign of the last sultanate in the Iberian peninsula, and it is the story of Fatima, the only remaining Circassian concubine to the sultan, and her dearest friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker. Hassan has a secret. He can draw maps of places he's never seen and bend the shape of reality. 

When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan's surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realizing that she will see Hassan's gift as sorcery and a threat to Christian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, Fatima will risk a lot to save Hassan and escape the palace walls.

As Fatima and Hassan traverse Spain with the help of a clever jinn to find safety, the book asks us to consider what love is and the price of freedom at a time when the West and the Muslim world were not yet separate.

I really liked this book and I am glad I read it. I like the story and how it progresses and also the way the author combines some historical facts and mythology with fantasy elements and makes it look natural. The characters and the world - building are  also very good. 

I really liked the friendship that is developed between our main characters. The writing is magical and beautiful. 

One negative thing I can  say is that the book is really slow paced, especially at some points. Despite that is a very good book with a well structured story that I recommend you should read. 

You can buy this book from Book Depository using this link (affiliate link)

Athina

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February 2019 Wrap up

Another month came to its end and I think it is only appropriate to talk about the books I read in February of 2019.  It was a slow month for me regarding reading but I managed to read some books that I really liked.

So, let's start...

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1) - Laini Taylor

I finally read Strange the Dreamer and I loved it! The writing, the story, the world building... Everything was amazing!

I can't wait to continue the series.

The Red Address Book - Sofia Lundberg

I read this as an ebook because I had an arc from Netgalley. 

It is a very beautiful and heartwarming novel that I really liked and recommend. It can be described as a historical fiction.

You can check my review of it here

Last Descendants (Assassin's Creed : Last Descendants #1) - Matthew J. Kirby

By now you should probably know how much I like the Assassin's Creed books. 

Unfortunately this one was not one of my favorites. I liked it but I would prefer it if it took place only in the past and not at all in the present day.

Northern Lights (His Dark Materials #1) - Philip Pullman

I should have read this book earlier. I would have loved it as a child, ut I still loved it now. Philip Pullman is an incredible storyteller and everything about this book was amazing.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

Another book by an amazing storyteller. Roald Dahl knows how to tell you a story and he does it very well.

Saga vol. 3 - Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

I read another volume of the Saga graphic novel and I really really liked it as I did with the previous ones. On to the next one now...

The Bird King - G. Willow Wilson

I read this book as an ARC from Netgalley and the only thing I can say is that  it is very good. I enjoyed the story and the world-bulding and everything between.

It comes out on the 12th January.

That's all from me for February. I managed to read 7 books , 3 of them were ebooks and I can say that the majority of them were 4 and 5 stars.

Let's see what March will bring...

Athina

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