Alrighty – I’m done. Wiped out. Can’t go on. 100 pages left in Sister Outsider, I just can’t finish tonight. My eyes are way too tired and I don’t want to read Audre Lorde that way – even if I have read all of these essays before.
Total pages read: 1,386
Five and a half books finished.
It was fun and I cannot wait til the next #readathon.
Goodnight #readathon Read More »
So sad, my copy of The Clue in the Old Stagecoach is in bad shape. The binding is a mess and I was terrified I was going to lose the last 75 pages with each turn of the page. Also… gah, the girls dating different boys always throws me, does it throw you? Thankfully, Ned and gang showed up in the end. 😉
180 pages – good late readathon book.
Nancy Drew keeps me going #readathon Read More »
Ruined By Reading has been on our bookshelves for ages (it’s red… a note to myself for my From the Stacks by Color Challenge) and I decided it might be a nice book to read during the readathon. Since, it’s about books – and more importantly about reading them.
It’s a combination of literary theory and memoir and led me to wonder about my own reading habits – and to think of the books I loved and didn’t love, to remember books fondly or not so fondly.
How do you read? Why do you read? Are you doing it wrong? Are others doing it wrong? Is there a wrong way – or a right way?
Interesting stuff lurking here.
*119 pages*
Five Books Down #Readathon Read More »
Just finished The Pioneer Woman’s Black Heels to Tractor Wheels and it was definitely a fun choice for the readathon, I’m glad I waited til now to read it. Not that I didn’t already know much of the early story – or how it all turns out in the end, heh. It’s also kind of fun to hear Ree’s voice, literally, as you read.
But now I want cinnamon rolls.
*341 pages*
Black Heels to Tractor Wheels #Readathon Read More »
First, Frankie Pickle and the Pine Run 3000 – loved it. Loved it a lot more than the last Frankie Pickle I read. I especially loved Frankie’s thoughts on the hobby shop. Great fun for people who love hobby shops and anyone who has ever experienced a “Pinewood Derby”.
Next, Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs. It was cute, in places, but a little slow. I’d have probably liked it more if it was pure graphic novel. One problem – now I’m trying to decide whether it would be better to be a Ninja Queen or a Veterinarian.
*292 more pages down!
Two Cybils for #Readathon Read More »
Well that took a long time, didn’t it? Heh. The Raven’s Bride, 356 pages, and pretty interesting to read about Virginia Poe when we tend to hear so little. I cannot imagine what it was like to live with Edgar Allan Poe – or maybe I can now that I’ve read The Raven’s Bride.
Also interesting, the controversy surrounding this book – as pointed out by someone on BlogHer.com.
One book down #Readathon Read More »
I slept late so I’m starting a little later than some of the other readers, but that’s ok – I’ll finish strong! And, I’m playing catch up by jumping in and answering the questions in the first hour that I missed because I was sleeping. Heh.
1)Where are you reading from today?
– I’m reading from my bedroom. In Glenview, Il.
2)Three random facts about me…
– a) I don’t believe in random facts. Nothing is random. b) There are three prairie dogs sitting next to me, actually they are glaring at me because I am not releasing them from their cage or petting them or paying any attention to them. c) I just spilled coffee all over my desk. Gah.
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
– I don’t know, I didn’t count them. I just photographed them! Here’s that photo.
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
-I thought about making goals and decided I have enough of them in other areas of my life. So no. No goals.
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
-Last year was my first official year and I learned that it’s harder than I thought it would be. I read a lot, just in general, and didn’t expect to find it difficult. But it was. I found myself getting distracted. Getting up and surfing some readathon blogs helped. Yummy food also helps. I just had this breakfast of readathon champs: Two Bite Cinnamon Rolls, Cantaloupe, Coffee! Now I’m ready to read.
The Readathon Begins: My Books and Breakfast Read More »
Until TW started reading The Lost Hero and trying to ruin it for me by telling me about it as she read, I did not know that this series was going to include Percy and friends. For some reason I thought it was going to take place years into the future or something like that. I thought Percy might make an appearance as an older and wiser demi-god or as someone who worked at camp… but I didn’t realize it was simply a continuation of the original story with Percy playing a big (though somewhat invisible role). Huh.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this, after TW clued me into this fact, but I settled into it pretty quickly and found myself enjoying it much the way I enjoyed the very first Percy Jackson book.
It’s hard to tell you what I liked most about this one, without spoiling it for you… because what I liked most is the biggest spoiler of the book. So I’ll just say… pretty smooth move, Riordan. Smart way to develop a new series using the foundation of the original series. Very smooth.
Oh, one more thing – I like this one better than the first book in the Kane series.
I think I reserved My Father’s Daughter because I saw someone talking about in the Adoption Books Challenge. It sounded interesting and I didn’t have any other adoption themed books on my list – so I grabbed it.
It was… interesting.
Told from the perspective of the adopted child as adult – most of the adoption books I read are about young children or about the birth parent or the adoptive parent, so this was something slightly different.
When I read books about children from war-torn or third world countries being adopted by Americans or Euorpeans, there’s almost always a tone of… privilege. By adopting this poor child, we’re giving her a better life. Which is true… except when it isn’t.
Hannah Pool is a good example of this. White American mother and English father adopt African orphan. Mother dies, father does a nice job (once he gets his bearings), Hannah grows up in England – gets a good University education. Has traveled all over the world. And yet… what child, no matter what the situation, wants to be adopted. What child, no matter the situation, wouldn’t wish for her birth family – the experience of growing up with that culture and heritage? When she learns she wasn’t an orphan, her birth father was not dead, and that she has siblings and finally visits… she sees their poverty, hears about a sister lost in the war, understands that if she had not been taken to that orphanage, she’d have grown up there – been like her sister(s) – and part of her, a big part of her, wishes that had happened.
I get it.
No matter how wonderful an adopted child’s life and family are, there’s always something that makes them different from others. I understand.
I don’t even know if having a completely open adoption can completely resolve these kinds of feelings and issues for adopted children. But I also know that adoption can be a good thing and the alternatives – children growing up in homes where adults can’t properly care for them or in orphanages or multiple foster homes, those are situations where it’s obvious adoption is a good alternative. But still.
Lesson learned: Adoption isn’t the ultimate solution. It brings problems all its own.
My Father’s Daughter Read More »
I’m a Sarah Addison Allen fan so you won’t be surprised when I say that I loved The Peach Keeper!
I was prepared for the “magic”, or I thought I was… I’d been reading awhile without any obvious magic happening and just as I was starting to wonder if maybe this one wouldn’t have the same touch of magic – bam! There it was. And it was pretty terrific.
The magical elements were slightly different in this book, than in previous books – and that’s all I’m going to say about that, you’ll just have to read it to see what I mean.
Also, it was really nice to see Claire Waverly make a brief appearance. Like seeing an old friend. I’m surprised by how big of a feel good moment that was for me. Nice touch – and her appearance added just the right thing to the story at that moment.
Great book – give me another one!