Booklist2011
Books 2011
001. Das Tal 1.3 Der Sturm - Krystyna Kuhn
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This book really deserves the 6 stars. I loved this series from the start. There is a lot of mystery, tension, many secrets and a complicated love story. The characters are all very well developed and a lot of effort seems to be put into their development. So far each book raised many questions and some of them were answered in the next book and new questions arose.
This book was no different when it comes to that scheme. Yet the answers were a little different. They revealed a little bit more about the characters and some of the motivations of the original group of students in the valley. And finally Julia told Chris the truth about her name, but immediately told him not to ask any more questions. And this whole revelation is followed by yet another cliffhanger. I really cannot wait for February. When book # 4 will be released.
The reading pace of the book was very comfortable as well. The chapter size is just perfect to get into a fluent reading process.
What I liked most about it, was that you had the feeling of being able to watch the story unfold itself before your inner eye. Like in a horror movie a la Blair Witch.
Over all once again a fantastic read.
002. Reckless - Cornelia Funke
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I bought this book, cause I loved the Inkheart books so much and the way they were written. I was hoping to find something a little like that when I bought Reckless. And let me tell you one thing. It got so much better.
I love Fairytales. Have and always will love them and this was such a fantastic story filled with so many of Grimm's Fairytales and of course the two main characters names were Jacob and Will. How fitting. It was wonderful magical story. One that helps you fly away into another world while reading the book and one that makes you forget about the here and now just for a little bit. Truly a wonderful story.
I also loved the looks of the book. The illustrations made the experience of reading it much more vivid and helped the inner eye to dive into this fantastic magical world behind the mirror.
Luckily there will be another story and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of that new book.
003. Alhambra - Kirsten Boie
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Okay, so I bought this book, because I am totally in love with this city, its history and everything it stands for. The summary sounded really good. The book itself didn't really fullfill my expectations.
I gave it 3 stars, because the idea wasn't all bad, in fact I found it rather fascinating before I began reading and I gave 3 stars, because of the research.
All in all the research seems to have been a little too much though. The story felt pressed into historic events. There was no real reading pace and the story wasn't told fluently, because it had to be fit into the historic events to some extend.
The main character is rather weakly developed and some happenings seem to happen too far out of the blue and in such an unbelievable and unlogical way that it's hard to really get into the story.
It got a little better after about 200 pages when the story finally seemed to happen, because of the sake of the story. And then everything happened too fast within the last 100 pages - out of 416. I missed the dangerous adventure though and the main character really being threatened by any of the events. That part of the story was finished way too soon and way too quickly.
So yeah, overall a good idea, but the turnout could have been better.
004. Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare
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What a fun read.
I already loved the Mortal Instruments stories and the world created in these books.
Now this is a ride back into the past, where you learn a little more about the Shadowhunter families, about the heritage of some of the future's heroes and a little more about Magnus Bane.
The story itself is very capturing, full of fantastic and colorful characters. From whitty and sharpminded to rather shallow and stupid, you can find all sorts of characters who in combination make a perfect mixture of a society.
And of course there are Tessa, Will and Jem, who I adore most out of all the characters.
Will for being a character how I love them, a little Han Solo, a little Dean Winchester. A bad boy at first sight, but so much more when you look closer. Then there is Jem, sweet and wonderful little Jem. So delicate, fragile and yet so strong. And Tessa who has to learn how to deal with who she is and that her life will never be what it used to be, who has to deal with the loss of her family and a range of other emotions, especially her feelings for Will.
Reading this story was a really fluent act. Everything just fell into place perfectly. Nothing felt odd or squeezed it or awfully made up. No, it all fell into place so naturally, so logically. Just truly delightful.
There wasn't as much situational comic as there was in the Mortal Instruments books. But then again this story seemed a little darker to me and too much of it wouldn't have fit with the story.
I can't wait for this adventure to continue.
005. Scherbenmond - Bettina Belitz
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Unlike the first book "Splitterherz" this one took me a little more time to get into. The first 100 pages were rather hard for me. I kept closing the book, putting it away, only to take it back and read another chapter. And so I fought my way throught the first couple chapters, not really getting the spirit and the mood and everything felt out of place. The characters felt weird and odd and I actually just kept on reading, because I had loved the first book a lot.
And in the end it was more than just worth it.
With all the characters getting together the story began to make more sense again. Where the story from one character didn't really make sense, the view from another on the situation made it all a little cleared and the story started to move along rather smooth and rapidly after that.
While it's not enough for 6 stars, it's still a really good 5 star rating. Especially because of the great mixture of characters who add up so brilliantly to the storyline developed around them. They give each other the kicks that lead events to where they are ending, leaving some questions at the end that make you look forward to the next book in this series.
006. Engelsnacht - Lauren Kate
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Well 3 stars are really a lot for this book.
I remember buying it, cause the lady in the bookstore suggested it to me and it was this big announcement and what not in the store. So I thought why not.
Well, yeah. It took me forever to read it in the first place. Mostly read it when I was in the bathroom, except for the last 150 pages now. Cause for once I was getting closer to an end and the story had picked up some pace ... finally.
But only to be filled with many cliches and way too many expectable things. There was nothing new and the research seems to have been done rather loveless.
It's so easy to research angels and it would have been much more convincing if some of these things had been told in the story. But there was nothing like that.
The female main character is a better Mary Sue, the male main character a shallow image of todays model hero.
The developments show nothing new and the lack of research and ideas make this just another story like so many.
Good ideas. So therefore 2 stars.
007. Beastly - Alex Flinn
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I love, love, love Fairy Tales. I don't even know how often I have to repeat that. I love them wether they are old or new.
And Beastly really didn't make a difference there.
I loved that it was written from the Beasts point of view. That it wasn't about Beauty, but about what made the Beast become the Beast.
The author managed to combine a wonderful Fairy Tale with a load of critical hints towards modern society and its tendency to only look on the outside and not what happens within.
So in this story Kyle has to learn what it means to not be popular and pretty anymore, to be one of the freaks, one of the ones who are being laughed at and who are made fun of. Always standing outside, not really fitting in, not being noticed, cause they do not live up to todays standards.
In the end he learned his lesson, learned who his friends are, the ones who love him for who he is, who take him even in his beastly shape and love him. In the end, he finds his true love. That one person, who looks behind the ugly shape and sees the true inner beauty, the person behind the mask.
So much love for this book :D
008. Dark Moon - Claire Knightley
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Okay, I was really not sure about this book in the first place, because a lot of people who loved Twilight recommended and suggested it and since I hated the Twilight books, I wasn't really sure about this book. Especially the short description and the mentioning of shimmering skin made me cringe.
Well, and then I read some rather good reviews about the book and told myself it'd be unfair to just judge the book by what was written about it and that I might be better off testing it myself. And it was good that I did.
While it's sort of the same basic main construction of books in this genre these days - girl falls in love with a vampire and the human boyfriend kinda falls behind and this 3 way thing starts - the universe and story around this construction is rather unique and capturing.
Based on a legend of the First Nations in Canada you find a different approach of the vampire story. Something refreshingly different and new. Combined with a really fluent way of writing, a very wonderful main character and a logical story development this adds up to a great reading experience.
I found it rather grounding and wonderful that the place for the story is so real - Vancouver with rather detailed descriptions at some points - and that there are references to todays events. The "fantastical" part of the story doesn't seem to be out of place at all combined with "real" things. Everything just falls into place.
Usually I also don't like books without real chapters. This one here was different though, cause the entire construct of story development, character development and use of paragraphs more than made up for the lack of chapters.
009. Ascheherz - Nina Blazon
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Okay so I have to admit that I am really glad this book was recommended to me and that I followed said recommendation and read it right away.
The first part out of the 5 parts within the books was rather hard to read. Some things seemed really off, irrational even. Summer, the main character, didn't really appear in a good light, some things just didn't make any sense.
All of that changes instantly though with the second part and the more and more her journey proceeds towards finding out who she really is. With every memory she gets back things get clearer and cleared and the happenings in the first part all make sense and are really logical given the circumstances for Summer at that time.
All in all the way the story is told is very fitting with a character who has lost her memory and is slowly finding her way back into her life. The reader only knows and learns what she learns and from that perspective it all makes a lot of sense.
On top of that there are many colorfull side-characters, a bittersweet lovestory and many things and happenings you would have never guessed in the first place.
010. Neva - Sara Grant
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I was lucky enough to get this book for free with the only condition that I had to write about how I liked it or not.
Even before I got it, Neva was on top of my wishlist.
With Neva Sara Grant has written a book about a future that doesn't seem so unlikely with all the things going on regarding to DNA research, natural catastrophes and so on.
In Nevas World everyone almost looks identical. Her world is colorless, hopeless, controlled by their government. Free choice is something unknown. It's decided for everyone who's to mate with whom, who's to work as what.
In the times Neva lives, changes are at work though. People start to realize what's happening to them and some rebel. Neva is one of them.
I really loved that the theme of the book could be found in the choice of words, the structure of the sentence, the characters clothing. You can follow the change in the story by taking a good look at how those things change.
Everything in this book supports itself. A really great read it is as well :-)
011. Call me Irresistible - Susan E. Phillips
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I was anxiously waiting for this book. Probably like any other fan of SEP.
When it arrived though, I wasn't really in the mood for lovestories and didn't want to spoil it for me. So I read Neva first and after that I wanted something a little lighter, a little more positive and hopeful. And SEPs books are always good for that.
I totally loved Teddys story. I couldn't even put the book aside. It had me frozen to the loo *lol* for about 3 hours, cause I couldn't stop reading and only the constant whining of the cat, made me put it aside to feed them.
It was great to meet so many characters again. Francie, Lady Emma, just to name a few. The story was just wonderful.
I liked that Meg is such a strong woman, that she stood up for herself and that she saw the man behind the mask in Teddy.
They are just perfect for each other :-)
012. Die Mäusestrategie für Manager - Spencer Johnson
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I got the book from our CEO. He suggested it as a gift to a group of guys who completed Green Belt training.
So he gave it to me and I took it home to read.
I am a little sad about the translation of the title into German. The book is not just about a story for managers. It's a story for everyone. It applies to so many situations in life.
It's a story told at a class reunion and it deals with how people react to change, how they make change happen and how they set things in motion. It's really a great story, a good way of making poeple reflect and think about their way of action in life.
013. Angels: Meine Rache währt ewig - Lisa Jackson
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The first Thriller I read in years and I really liked it a lot. So much in fact that I bought the other ones in the series as well.
Usually it's not my genre, but the text sounded really, really interesting. It dealt with a story about a vampire cult in New Orleans area college where several girls went missing.
The whole story was spiced up with steamy hot sex and a tension bow that went straight from the beginning to the end.
I don't want to say too much about it. Otherwise it would just spoil the ending.
The characters though were really human and very likable making it easy to feel with them.
014. Dornröschengift - Krystyna Kuhn
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Mit Dornröschengift habe ich - nach all den anderen Büchern, die ich von der Autorin bereits gelesen habe - genau das bekommen, was ich mir erhofft hatte. Ein kurzweiliges Lesevergnügen.
Im Gegensatz zu Aschenputtelfluch oder den Tal-Büchern, war Dornröschengift allerdings etwas vorhersehbar. Mir war sehr schnell klar, wer es war.
Dennoch fand ich vor allem das Element des Anprangerns des Außenseiters ansprechend. Weil es leider so oft auch in der Realität immer passiert, dass man diejenigen verdächtigt, die einfach anders sind und nicht mit dem Strom fließen.
Trotz der Vorhersehbarkeit war es ein kurzweiliges und gutes Lesevergnügen.
015. Der gläserne Fluch - Thomas Thiemeyer
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Ich konnte es wie immer kaum erwarten dieses Buch in die Hände zu bekommen. Wie alle anderen Werke von Herrn Thiemeyer, habe ich auch dieses Buch vorbestellt und bekam es so pünktlich zum Erscheinungstermin nach Hause geliefert.
Das Warten und die Vorfreude haben sich auf jeden Fall gelohnt. Von der Aufmachung über den Inhalt stimmt auch in diesem Buch wieder alles.
Es ist eine wahre Freude diese wunderbare Mischung aus Abenteuer, Legende und Wissenschaft zu lesen.
Besonders die Zusammenstellung der unterschiedlichen Charaktere hat mir sehr gut gefallen und es war schön alte Bekannte auch in diesem Buch wieder zu finden.
Die Weiterentwicklung der Hauptprotagonisten - vor allem die von Oscar und Charlotte - haben mir dabei mit am besten gefallen. Charlotte reift in dieser Geschichte zu einer starken, jungen Frau mit sehr viel Persönlichkeit und auch Oscar entdeckt einige ihm vorher unbekannte neue Stärken und vor allem seine wahren Gefühle für Charlotte.
Überhaupt scheinen mir Beziehungen - seien sie nun zwischenmenschlich oder interkulturell - sehr stark im Vordergrund zu stehen. Da wären einmal die ungewöhnliche Beziehung zwischen der Kiwidame Wilma und dem verkrüppelten Hund Jubo, die Beziehung zwischen Humboldts kleiner Gruppe und den Dogon und die so gänzlich gegensätzliche Beziehung zwischen der Söldnertruppe von Jabez Wilson und den Dogon. Darüber hinaus wird auch das Miteinander der Christen und den Dogon angesprochen. Dann natürlich die zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen zwischen Oscar und Charlotte, Oscar und seinem Vater, Charlotte und von Humboldt und noch so einige mehr.
All diese verschiedenen Formen der Beziehung finden sich in unserem täglichen Leben. Sie machen es manchmal leichter, manchmal härter, aber doch um so vieles reicher.
Natürlich treten dadurch auch unterschiedliche Grundwerte, Vorstellungen und Glauben auf. Eine Tatsache, die das Buch noch lesenswerter und faszinierender macht. Gerade weil Herr Thiemeyer es so gut versteht, diese Themen in seinen Büchern zu entwickeln.
Am deutlichsten hängen geblieben sind bei mir zwei Aussagen:
Jeder Mensch besitzt ein vorbestimmtes Maß an Glück und Unglück.
Nichts ist vorherbestimmt und festgeschrieben. Jeder einzelne hat die Chance Veränderungen herbei zu führen und man muss sich nicht einfach so kampflos in sein Schicksal ergeben und alles als gegeben hinnehmen.
Ich gebe diesem Buch daher auch alle meiner 8 Tinkerbell. Es war wie immer ein großes Vergnügen und ich kann es kaum erwarten das nächste Buch von Herrn Thiemeyer in die Hände zu bekommen.
016. Grimm - Christoph Marzi
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Mit Grimm ist Christoph Marzi ein Buch gelungen, dass seine Leser auf eine sehr kurzweilige und unterhaltsame Reise in die Welt der Märchen entführt.
Dabei handelt es sich bei Grimm nicht unbedingt um das klassische Märchen schlechthin. Viele der Elemente haben mich an Filme erinnert wie beispielsweise Brothers Grimm, Snow White mit Sam Neil, die Chroniken von Narnia, …
Und dennoch wurden immer wieder klassische Märchenthemen aufgegriffen und erwähnt, die es einem märchenliebenden Leser wie mir sehr leicht gemacht haben sich in der Geschichte zu verlieren.
Besonders angetan hat es mir dabei die Geschichte mit der Spur aus Rosenstaub, die sich wie ein roter Faden durch das ganze Buch hindurch zieht.
Darüber hinaus sind Christoph Marzi mit Leander und Vesper zwei sehr sympathische, authentische und individuelle Hauptcharaktere gelungen, die der Geschichte noch etwas mehr Pfiff und Charme verliehen haben.
Auch bei diesem Buch hat mich die Kapitellänge nicht so sehr gestört. Normalerweise sind mir kürzere Kapitel auch lieber, weil es einfach besser zu meinem Lesetempo und zu meiner Lesezeit passt. Für Grimm habe ich hier sehr gerne eine Ausnahme gemacht.
Einziger kleiner Minuspunkt war für mich die Entwicklung am Ende. Irgendwie erscheint der Schluss nicht in sich geschlossen. Zumindest nicht für einen Einzelband. Das Ende hätte ich an dieser Stelle so auf diese Art noch nicht erwartet und ich habe mich gefragt, warum hier jetzt schon Schluss ist.
Trotzdem gebe ich dem Buch 7 Tinkerfairies für ein tolles Buch, dass mich zweimal hat später zur Arbeit kommen lassen, weil ich mich fest gelesen hatte.
currently reading: Graceling
# of books read: 016