Throwback: December and January

It's that time of the month again. Or rather months, because I once again put off writing a throwback for way to long and am regretting all of my life choices because there are just too many books to talk about now. Well, then again, in December I mostly listened to audiobooks and didn't read that much so it felt like it would be the more intelligent option to just wait and include January in my throwback. Oh boy, it was not. (Okay, honestly, it's not that bad, I'm just unnecessarily dreading this.)

Anyway, without further ado, this is a list of all the books I read and audiobooks I listened to in the months of January and December!

Books

• The Little Snake by A.L. Kennedy - 3.5 stars
  A sweet, short book similar to The Little Prince but modern.

• Friends in High Places (Commissario Brunetti #9) by Donna Leon - 2 stars
  A crime novel, not with the most exciting plot ever (in fact, it kinda felt like nothing was really happening and the world seemed really bleak) but with interesting characters nonetheless.

• An Introduction to Early Modern English by Terttu Nevalainen
  I'm guessing it is obvious from the title alone but this is a book I read for university. And not the fiction kind. It was interesting enough, though. Also, Nevalainen is a great name and has such a nice flow (a remark brought to you by a student who had to look at Nevalainen's name quite often.)

• Die Känguru-Apokryphen von Marc-Uwe Kling - 4 Sterne
  Witzig (wie erwartet) und ein netter Anhang an die Känguru-Chroniken. Das wohl am wenigsten lustige Buch mit dem Känguru, hat mich aber trotzdem an mehreren Stellen zum hörbar lachen gebracht.

• As You Like It by William Shakespeare - 2 stars
  One of the easier Shakespeare books to read but it just didn't really click with me. Like, there was a lot of drama happening but it all felt really random and was resolved so quickly and the happy ending didn't felt deserved and, yeah, there are definitely better Shakespeare plays out there.

• Romancing the Nerd (Nerd #2) by Leah Rae Miller - 2.5 stars
  I liked this one less than its predecessor. It's a sweet book and all but it felt kinda fake.

• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - 3 stars
  A very interesting book and I'm really glad to have read it but it wasn't really my cup of tea.

• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut - 3.5 stars
  Again, a very interesting book with a lot of powerful story telling and writing but, also, not really my cup of tea (I'm really sorry about this, there are a lot of books that weren't really my cup of tea in here).

• Restmensch von Daniel G. Spieker und Devon Wolters - 4 Sterne
  Sehr interessante Kurzgeschichten, würde ich jedem empfehlen, der auf Horror & co steht, besonders denjenigen, welche von den altbekannten Rezepten für Horrorgeschichten genug haben und sich nach etwas neuen umsehen. Denjenigen würde ich allerdings grundsätzlich alle Geschichten von Spieker und Wolters empfehlen.

• How Humans Evolved by Robert Boyd and Joan B. Silk
  This is obviously also a book I read for university, for biology specifically. And it was really interesting! It was written quite well (especially for a non-fiction book about biology), the jokes were amazingly awkward (biology-textbook jokes are the best) and was actually able to hold my interest for quite a long period of time.

• Die Wilden Hühner auf Klassenfahrt (Die Wilden Hühner #2) von Cornelia Funke - 4 Sterne
  Ein wirklich süsses Buch über die Hühner, das mich erst so richtig auf den Geschmack der Reihe bringen konnte. Weshalb ich jetzt auch sicher bin, dass ich die restlichen Bücher auch bald durch haben werde.

• Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt - 4.5 stars
  This was a re-read for me but I had totally forgotten how this book ends and was blown away for a second time by it. It is such a well-crafted story and you should definitely read this.

• City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare - 2.5 stars
  I was surprised by how well I liked this book? It wasn't amazing or anything but it was easy to read and it kept me hooked from beginning to end. Before I read City of Ashes I wasn't really sure whether I wanted to continue on with this series but now I'm almost certain I'll finish it.

• Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King - 3.5 stars
  Interesting with a lot of good story telling on display. It felt kind of dated, thus the emotional disconnect, but I did enjoy it a lot either way.

• Molekularbiologie der Zelle von Bruce Alberts et al.
  Auch ein Buch das ich für's Bio-Studium gelesen habe, allerdings hat mir das gar nicht gefallen. Klar sind die Themen theoretisch super interessant aber versuch mal tausend Seiten eines Bio-Buchs in zwei Wochen zu lesen (nicht mal zwei Wochen), alle Informationen in deinem Kopf zu behalten und danach noch eine gute Meinung über das Buch zu haben. Es ist unmöglich, unmöglich sage ich!

• Die Wilden Hühner: Fuchsalarm (Die Wilden Hühner #3) von Cornelia Funke - 3.5 Sterne
  Etwas weniger gut als sein Vorgänger, aber immer noch ein wirklich niedliches Hühner-Buch. Ausserdem das Buch auf dem der erste Film basiert und es war eine lustige Erfahrung endlich zu lesen, was in der Originalversion der Geschichte passiert.

• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick - 3 stars
  Very, very interesting and well written. Sadly, I (once again) felt somewhat disconnected from the story and didn't want to give it a higher rating. I'm sorry, Bladerunner.

• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood #1) by Becky Albertalli - 4 stars
  A sweet story with sweet characters and interesting drama that keeps you hooked the whole book. I actually already saw the movie (just an hour ago from when I was writing this) and I have opinions about that, too. (I think there should be a rule about big romantic gestures which specifically states that they are not to involve the public in any kind. I'm just sayin'. Also, what have they done to Leah?)

Audiobooks

• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson - 3 stars
  It just wasn't what I wanted it to be. There were some interesting facts mentioned but mostly I already knew most of what was talked about? But I do blame myself for this because I didn't realize the audiobook was abridged until I saw that it was only six hours long. Still, I don't really feel like reading the original.

• Göttlich: Verdammt (Göttlich #1) - 2 Sterne
• Göttlich: Verloren (Göttlich #2) - 2 Sterne
• Göttlich: Verliebt  (Göttlich #3) von Josephine Angelini - 2 Sterne
  Okay, also diese Reihe ist so ziemlich das typischste Jugendliche-Fantasy Buch-Trilogie-Dingens, dass man sich vorstellen kann und ich finde es klasse. Ich meine, gequälte ultra-hübsche Teenager die nicht zusammensein können, weil *bescheuerter Grund hier einfügen*, weswegen sie sich abwechseln das Leben schwerer machen als nötig, in einer Welt in der sie definitiv die Auserwählten sind und den Weltuntergang verhindern müssen? Absolut merkwürdige Kussszenen, die anscheinend romantisch sein sollen? Allgemein merkwürdige "romantische" Interaktionen? Eifersucht? Tod und Verderben? Es steckt alles hier drinnen! (Man sollte allerdings wirklich in der Stimmung für genau solchen Unsinn sein, damit man es auch geniessen kann, sonst ist es einfach anstrengend.)

• Wolkenschloss von Kerstin Gier - 3.5 Sterne
  Ich habe das Wolkenschloss zum Weihnachtskekse backen angehört, was ich schon letztes Jahr gemacht habe, und ich muss sagen, dafür ist es wirklich geeignet, ausserdem ist mir das Buch beim zweiten Hören noch mehr ans Herz gewachsen. Wenn ich es als Tradition einführen kann, jedes Jahr einmal das Wolkenschloss zum Weihnachtskekse-Backen zu hören, ich glaube, damit wäre ich ziemlich zufrieden und ich glaube, es würde eine Weile dauern, bis es mir langweilig werden würde. Was ein grosses Kompliment ist.

• The Hazel Wood by Melissa Alberts - 2.5 stars
  It just wasn't... It wasn't either what it promised to be nor what I expected. I really liked the actual fairy tales (they reminded me of Through the Woods by Emily Carroll) but only two of them (I think?) were ever told, which was really disappointing. I disliked Alice (the main character) and the ending was somewhat dissatisfying. 

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - 3 stars
  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was an interesting book but not my cup of tea. I didn't know what this book was about and I expected something with a lot of murder in it (the title just sounds like there is going to be a lot of murder and did you see the cover? It basically screams 'beautiful lady murders her seven husbands') and was really disappointed by the actual premise of the book. I'm already not interested in the lives of celebrities that actually exist but a made-up one? Luckily, Evelyn Hugo actually had an interesting life story so I wasn't frustrated or anything by the book. Just not really my thing.

And that's it. I hope you've had some good readings months, too (I'm honestly quite happy with how much I ended up reading, especially in January). Also I'll be starting a new monthly-series-thingy soon but it's going to be about writing not reading (how interesting! <- at least I'm hoping you're thinking something along those lines).

Anyway, have a nice day (or night, or whatever) and happy reading.