Hours Spent Reading: 2.5
Books Read: 1
Pages Read: 296
Money Raised: $591
What I'm listening to: I Fall In Love Too Easily
Please remember that I'm reading to raise money for Room to Read, which builds libraries, stocks them with books, and trains people to become their librarians.
Up Over Down Under Micol Ostow and Noah Harlan
It wouldn't be a 48 Hour Book Challenge without a Students Across the Seven Seas book! And a super-special to boot!
As a super-special, we get 2 stories. Billie is an Australian studying in DC and interning at the EPA. Eliza is an American studying in Melbourne and doing fieldwork in Melbourne bay. They're living with each other's families.
The chapters tend to alternate between the two girls. Billie's a super-hard core environmentalist (and occasionally annoyingly sanctimonious about it.) Eliza, the daughter of a high ranking politico at the EPA, is used to growing up in the spotlight and is looking to cut loose when she's on the other side of the world. It was a bit painful to watch Eliza make a ton of decisions that even she knew were bad.
BUT! Overall, super fun, even though it's a bit odd to read a SASS book about my own city. The map of the city is comical. Also, I must chafe when Eliza claims the DC doesn't function very will because of it's design-- traffic is confusing? The streets are a grid and go in numeric or alphabetic order! Traffic is confusing if you aren't used to it, yes. I found it very confusing for awhile, but I doubt that a born-and-breed DCer would claim it was confusing...
Also, if they're driving from Dulles to DC, why are they going through Maryland? If you work for EPA, your office would be on the Mall, not the Hill, and the Washington Monument is in the middle of the mall, not the end of it, no building in DC proper has 17 floors, and while Billie's disappointed that she doesn't get to do much as an intern, she's doing MUCH MORE than any real intern, especially a high school one would get to do...
Ok, I stopped cataloging the little details after awhile (never watch a DC-based movie with me. The highway signs are always a mess and I will tell you all about it!!!!)
Book Provided by... my local library
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Hello all, and welcome to the week-long SASS Super Special Blog Bash!
In celebration of the final installment in the Students Across the Seven Seas series, double-edition UP OVER DOWN UNDER, I'll be running interviews with other SASS authors all week long! Comment on any of the blog posts to be entered to win books from the SASS series!
Today we're chatting with Noah Harlan, who happens to be enjoying a special double-edition celebration of his own: today's his birthday!
In addition to being my co-author, Noah is also my husband (funny how that worked out, huh?). Noah spent a year living in Australia when he was in college, and so when my SASS editor told me that her publishing peeps were interested in a super-special SASS story set half in Australia, a collaboration seemed to be the next logical step.
In UP OVER DOWN UNDER, eco-warrior and outdoorsy Melbourne girl Billie swaps places with buttoned-up politician's daughter Eliza. As Eliza tries to get in touch with her inner wild child down under, Billie learns the ins and outs of life on Capitol Hill. Noah and I took turns writing from Eliza and Billie's point of view. We hope you'll enjoy the results!
When we started writing our book, we weren't yet engaged, but a funny side note is this: we were married in December, and went to Australia this February for our honeymoon! That's us above, relaxing in the Botanical Gardens in Sydney. G'day, indeed!
I'm going to give the floor to Noah. Take it away, birthday boy!
Q: What's the most adventurous thing you've ever done while traveling?
A: I've had some pretty extreme adventures while traveling, but the MOST adventurous thing? That would have to be when I was nineteen and doing a semester in Africa. We spent a month hiking on Mt. Kenya. At 10:30pm on the night we were going to summit, a small group of us decided to head for the peak on our own. It was a full moon, the clouds were thousands of feet below us, and the air was extremely thin and bitter and cold. I thought for a moment about not going, but then realized that this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments. We set out and it took just under 90 minutes to head up. A few moments before midnight, we summited, and spent about half an hour up there watching all of Africa under a full moon from 16,000 feet above the equator. We then headed back down.
The next morning, with the rest of our expedition, we headed back up -- far more tired but still exhilarated.
Q: That sounds incredible - and exhausting! Any travel horror stories?
A: I do have one, but it involves broken laws, corrupt police and a mad sprinting leap onto a moving ferry. That's all I can say about that...
Q: Say no more. So, what's your number one travel tip?
Get off the beaten path! You have to find the places others aren't going to find something wondrous.
Q: Speaking of wondrous things: any souvenirs from travel that have special meaning or importance to you?
I used to keep trinkets, but in an effort to trim down my life (and make room for two of us in one space) I have gotten rid of a lot of them. I realized, as time passed, that the trinkets were just tokens to keep my memories alive, and I could actually keep those memories by looking at photos and staying in touch with friends I've met along the way.
Q: Keeping in touch is probably more rewarding than sitting at home alone with your trinkets, too! Have you tried any particularly exotic foods while traveling?
You bet! Street meat in Zanzibar. Pho soup with cubed cow's blood in Vietnam. Kangaroo steaks & ostrich omelettes in Australia.
Q: Um, wow. And...ew? I a
I usually like these SASS books too, but the DC stuff would drive me crazy.
When Bill and I watched that action movie Independence Day ages ago, we had no trouble with any of the aliens or flight scenes, etc. But what we couldn't get over was the idea of getting from NYC to DC in four hours during an alien invasion. Come on! Now that's ridiculous!
Ohhh, sounds like a good one! I don't have any SASS books in my pile this year, but this makes me want to track this one down. (The only time I've been to DC was KidLit Con and I had no problems navigating. There are so many maps everywhere (at least the touristy parts I went to) that it was really easy!)
Oo! There is a new SASS book and I didn't even know about it. I'll have to check it out even though the DC stuff will drive me mad (if some of the other books did and I wasn't even so familiar with all the locales they were talking about).
Ok, the DC comments made me laugh.