Maria's 20: Re-finding myself as a reader

[Maria]

To me, this challenge is really about finding myself as a reader again, since I haven't really thought of myself as a reader the last half a year or so.

However, it seems to be working already! I'm currently reading the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. I've finished the first book, and I'm well into the second :-)

[Kadijah Michelle]

Hi Maria. We are so glad to have you as part of our group!
I'm moving this into our Personal Challenge >50 thread.

Great job finishing your first read!

[Megan]

Congrats on finishing your first book in 2016! Good luck with rediscovering the bibliophile inside!

[Maria]

Thank you very much, both of you! I'm sure it'll be an interesting year :-)

[Maria]

I wasn't really sure whether to update my progress each time I finished a book or monthly. I've decided to post the books individually, so here they come :-)

[Maria]

I really enjoyed this book. I read it in a few days, and I've really missed that! So, a great way to get back in the game - and back into the Shadowhunter world :-)

January 4 - January 7

4,5/5

[Maria]

A great continuation of the Clockword Angel. Again, I was able to read it in a few days despite my exams.

January 9 - January 12

5/5

[Megan]

How did your exams go? It's always nice when you have a good book to sink in to during stressful times:)

[Maria]

Megan wrote: "How did your exams go? It's always nice when you have a good book to sink in to during stressful times:)"

I did quite well in Written Communication, and I'm still working on my paper in Cultural and Literary Institutions - thank you for asking :-)

It's been really nice to escape into a fantasy novel, because even though I like the topic for my exam, I get tired of writing :-p

[Megan]

Maria wrote: "Megan wrote: "How did your exams go? It's always nice when you have a good book to sink in to during stressful times:)"

I did quite well in Written Communication, and I'm still working on my paper..."

Totally understand! Good luck with the paper!

[Maria]

I decided to take a break from The Infernal Devices and read this story collection that has been sitting on my book shelf for some time now. I've commuted a lot these past weeks, and the stories in this book had just the right length for my train trips. I find it easier to read short stories like these on the train, because I hate putting a novel down when in the middle of a chapter - which I always seem to be when I'm at my stop :-p

January 24 - February 1

4/5

[Maria]

I haven't been updating regularly but that doesn't mean I've stopped reading! After reading Four, I wanted to finish The Infernal Devices. And I have to say, I loved Clockwork Princess - I think it was the best of the series.

February 2 - February 18

5/5

[Maria]

I'm mostly into fantasy - and occasionally also sci-fi - but because of all the buzz and hype, I decided to try out the young adult novel Fangirl. It's not one of the best books I've read, but I really liked how I related to Cath on so many levels. If only I had had the chance to read it five years ago! My past self could really have used the reassurance.

February 18 - February 24

4/5

[Maria]

In February, I started as an intern at the library in my home town (and it's even better than I imagined!) - which means I get to read books, I normally wouldn't have. I helped stage a small book read of Naser Khader's Ære og Skam (a Danish politician's view on Muslim and Danish society). To be honest, I found the first half of the book boring. The second half was more interesting, though. The most exciting part was that I got to meet Khader a few weeks later and listen to his personal story of immigration and integration at an event staged by the library.

February 27 - March 2

3/5

[Maria]

My first work of fiction in Danish since high school! Since 8th grade I've preferred reading in English - both fiction and non-fiction, but since most books at Danish libraries are in Danish, I've had to face the challenge! And I must say that I'm rather proud of myself. I've managed to read two Danish books in just one month! I still prefer to read in English, but I've grown more open to Danish literature - and perhaps I might even pick up a Danish book FOR FUN in the near future *gasp*.

So, back to Revolution by Ejersbo. The library, I'm an intern at, is hosting several events revolving around the author, so I figured I had some reading to do. Revolution is the second book in Ejersbo's Africa-trilogy - but when I picked it up, I though it was the first. Luckily, one of the librarians informed me that the books could be read as independent works. At first, I had to get used to the language. It's in Danish. It's blunt. It's abusive. I don't really get the timeline. And there's so many characters! BUT it fits the story. When I got over the initial shock I actually found myself enjoying the book. It's so different from anything I've read so far - in both English and Danish - but I like it.

March 13 - March 27

4/5

[Maria]

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Ejersbo's Revolution, so I immediately picked up Eksil, the first book in the Africa-Trilogy.
I'm a fan of this book. Like the other book, it deals with some very serious themes; drugs, sexual abuse, racism etc. which makes it hard to read at times, but the characters make you keep going.

I read this book in a day, and at some point I am going to read the last in the trilogy, but right now I need a break from the series. It's so good, but it's also tough reading about all these kinds of abuse. Phew.

March 28

5/5

[Maria]

After Revolution, I returned to reading in English - and fantasy. I needed to read something less dark, and I've had Outlander on my to-read list - and physical book shelf - for too long.

Usually I only read one book at the time, but something happened during my read of Outlander - I felt the need to shift between books. (And this actually hasn't changed since). I don't know whether it was this specific book, or if I've actually wanted to do it all along - and now I just did it - but it definitely works for me.

I love the Outlander tv-series, and I liked this book. On some days I managed to read 200 pages and on others only 20. I love the story - if I could have a man like Jamie... :-) - but sometimes it just got a little to dull or predictive for me to stay focused. Perhaps it's because the first season of the tv-series is so true to the book.

I decided to give it five stars anyway, because I really enjoy the characters and universe.

February 26 - April 13

5/5

[Maria]

Despite all the fuzz, Cinder never really seemed like a book I'd want to read. And I'm not blown away by the cover like so many people seem to be.

The reason I decided to read it anyway is one of the classes I'm taking. In English (the course is in Danish), I guess you could call it "Narratology and the function of the story". We have to choose our own topic for the exam, and I mentioned this book without really meaning to - because I didn't really want to read it - and he happened to love the idea of re-writing fairy tales.

So I kind of had to read it. I didn't hate it, but it didn't exactly move me either. I think it has some serious flaws when it comes to characterization, but perhaps that's part of the whole fairy tale-style - it's the morale, not the characters that are important. Or something :-p

April 14 - May 3

3/5

[Maria]

As part of my internship, I am opening up to reading in Danish. However, it's one thing to read books originally written in Danish - to read Danish translations is another. I found myself capable - and enjoying - Ejersbo's works, but I never thought I'd venture into reading a Danish translation of an English work. Yet there I was with the library's copy of Unearthly in Danish, called Kald Mig Engel.

I actually enjoyed it. Partially because I liked the story, but also because the translator had done a really good job. There were a few places where I wondered how the original text sounded, but for most of the time I didn't really notice the language - I just read, read, read.

Luckily I also brought the following book in the series home with me, when I picked up Unearthly, because I'm eager to know what happens next.

May 5 - May 8

4/5

[Maria]

I read Harry Potter as a child, and eventually I'll return to them - probably this summer, if everything goes as planned (which they tend NOT to do, but still...), and I'll probably enjoy them even more than the first time I read them. Still, I wasn't that impressed by this book. It was a little too dull or something? I can't quite put my finger on it. It took me a while to get through it, because I simply found other readings more interesting.

I really liked Dumbledore's comments, though :-)

April 28 - May 8

3/5 (actually more like 2,5/5 - but I can't do that to a Harry Potter spin-off)

[Maria]

I was redecorating my room and decided to listen to an audiobook instead of music while moving around wayyyy too much stuff. I've wanted to read this book for a while, so I gave it a go. I listened to the Danish version, because I couldn't stand the English narration.

If you know me, you know I don't quit books. And I had to remind myself of this constantly during this read. I really wanted the story to work, because I thought the idea was so sweet, fun, romantic, etc. but it just didn't. I only finished this book out of duty to myself as a reader. I really thought it would get better.

April 30 - May 12

2/5

[Maria]

I've become a major fan of audio books, simply because they fit my current lifestyle (commuting A LOT). I still prefer reading an actual book, so I only listen to books, I'm semi-looking forward to. I read the books I'm really excited about old-school style.

I began the Selection series because I needed something easy to read/listen to on the bus and train. And these books fitted perfectly! Like with Cinder, I didn't have high expectations for this series, but I was decently entertained - at least enough to read the first three books :-D

I didn't really like any of the characters - especially not their names! - but it was like watching a stupid reality show or something - if I didn't have anything else to do, I might as well find out what happened next.

May 9 - May 17

3/5

[Maria]

I feel like these stories easily could have been edited into fewer pages - I mean, does the competition really need to last THREE books?

Besides that, I'm still semi-entertained.

May 19 - May 26

3/5

[Maria]

I need a break after this one. It's just a bit too much of the same thing in a row. It gets dull and slow.

May 26 - June 4

3/5