Hours Spent Reading: 32
Books Read: 10
Pages Read: 2756
Money Raised: $ 723.54
What I'm listening to: Maria
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.
The Last Apprentice: A Coven of Witches Joseph Delaney
Much like The Spook's Tale: And Other Horrors, this is a book of background material, to hold us over until the next book in the series, Rise of the Huntress comes out in September.
In this volume, we have the Spook's story of how he met and fell in love with Meg Skelton, and how it went wrong. It sheds further light on why he distrusts witches, especially relationships with witches. We have Alice's story of her first days with Bony Lizzie, we have remembrances of one of the dead witches buried in Witch Dell, and we have a story told by Tom of when he and Bill Arkwright found a Celtic Witch Assassin (rather different than the English witches.) AND! We get the first two chapters of Rise of the Huntress-- upon their return from Greece, Tom, Alice, and the Spook discover that the War has finally come to the County. The Spook's house, and more importantly, his library, have been burned and destroyed. Bony Lizzie has escaped and the Fiend is still loose... CAN NOT WAIT!
If you're a fan of the series, this is a fun book to hold you over until we get to find out what happens next. I like that it's actual stories with characters we know well and characters that are only on our periphery instead of something like an encyclopedia of facts...
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Hours Spent Reading: 27
Books Read: 8
Pages Read: 2330
Money Raised: $715.54
What I'm listening to: Life Begins At The Hop
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.
Alibi Junior High Greg Logsted
Ok, so here's a problem with working at a library and read-a-thons. I'm always thinking "Great! This can be when I read all the books that are due back and I haven't gotten to yet, plus all those books that I bought and haven't read yet because my book buying eyes are bigger than my reading eyes..." But then I start checking out all these extra books for the read-a-thon. Because I didn't have enough already?
Then, when you spend a day at the library in the middle of a read-a-thon?
I think it shows admirable restraint that I only walked away with 1 extra book today.
Somehow, I had never heard of this one before, when it caught my eye on the book cart this afternoon.
Cody has grown up with his dad, helping him with CIA stuff, his entire life in deep undercover. He changes identities every week. He speaks 5 languages and knows many, may ways to kill you. After a cafe bombing in Santiago, Cody's facing his biggest challenge-- junior high.
It sounds like it should be a comedic romp, but it's not. Cody has some serious PTSD issues from the bombing. He's completely unprepared for junior high-- how to dress and talk like a normal kid, to not be smarter than your teachers, all the unwritten codes he's never had to deal with before-- it's not easy to adjust. Plus, his dad is still out there, somewhere, fighting the bad guys.
To make matters worse, it looks like the guys who were after his dad in Santiago are now after Cody. Luckily, his neighbor is an Army Ranger who's just returned from Iraq missing an arm. The guys bond (without talking about it) over their mental recovery and physical training.
Not to say that there aren't funny bits. It is darkly comedic. And good. I'm surprised it didn't get more buzz last summer when it came out. It should have.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Hours Spent Reading: 24
Books Read: 6
Pages Read: 1970
Money Raised: $684
What I'm listening to: the dishwasher. Exciting stuff, I know.
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.
The Red Pyramid Rick Riordan
Ok there are A LOT of similarities between this and the Percy Jackson. Couple of kids discover that they're part of an ancient belief system that's still alive and kicking in the modern world and have just a few days to get across the country and save the world, all the while battling mythical forces of badness.
Only instead of Greek gods, it's Egyptian ones.
Carter and Sadie are brother and sister, even though they didn't grow up together. They are descended from Pharoahs and they should be a part of the organization of Egyptian court magicians that's still alive and kicking... but the organization wants them dead, because they also have the spirits of Horus and Isis hanging out in their bodies with them.
But that's all secondary, because Set has kidnapped their father and is about to destroy the world, so he's their bigger worry.
Like I said, there are a lot of similarities with Percy, but I think I like this one better. I like that Carter and Sadie take turns narrating the story, but they're also bantering back and forth in their narration, like brother and sister. It's hilarious and works really well. I also really like how Riordan writes Bast.
There was some controversy about race when The Last Olympian came out. It's worth noting that Carter and Sadie are bi-racial. Carter is darker skinned, while Sadie is lighter skinned. And race is discussed-- Sadie resents that strangers don't think she's related to her dad and brother. Carter dresses like a dork (according to Sadie) because his dad has made sure that he always looks impeccable because people will judge him on appearance. Cops like to follow him around. Riordan is white. I'm white. I love that the blogosphere has been tackling issues of race in books and I would love to hear other opinions on this. I feel like I should say more, but I'm in the middle of a readathon and don't really have time to mull this issues and have only mulled them to this point because I was thinking about them while at work. But, I wanted to mention it so others could talk about it.
Overall though, I liked this better than Percy Jackson and am excited to re
Hours Spent Reading: 13
Books Read: 4
Pages Read: 1144
Money Raised: $629
What I'm listening to: Another Man's Done Gone
Please remember that I'm reading to raise money for Room to Read, which builds libraries, stocks them with books, and trains people to become their librarians.
So Punk Rock: And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother Micol Ostow, art by David Ostow
My second Micol Ostow book of the day, but much different than the other stuff of her's that I've read (which have all been SASS novels.)
Ari Abramson is a junior at a Jewish Day School in New Jersey. In an effort to up his coolness, he starts a band. As the school paper says, The Tribe consists of three Gittleman juniors: founder and self-professed Joe Schmoe Ari Abramson on guitar, quiet dark horse Yossi Gluck on drums-- (seriously-- did any of us see him coming?), and the irrepressible Jonas Fein on base and lead vocals. Rounding out the quartet is backup singer Reena Gluck, whose inimitable vocals have been described as a cross between Amy Winehouse and a sane person. p112
Initially, it's a pretty motely crew, but for some reason, they seriously rock.
Of course, there are tensions as Jonas's ego gets the better of him, Ari still can't catch the eye of hot girl Sari (of course ignoring that Reena is much more awesome and not nearly as annoying.) And Ari's parents are gung-ho about honors classes, the SATs and Ari going to Brandeis (even though it's just the beginning of junior year.)
Friendship, self-exploration, and a book about Jewish kids that doesn't try to explain anything for non-Jews in the text (there is, however, a glossary in the back.) So you get such hilarious exchanges as "Are f^&*ing you serious?" "Serious as Yom Kippur, man" p 37 (And yes, while they swear just as much as you'd expect rocker high school boys to swear, it's all @$#$^^$%#$^@%# out.) Just thinking about that line makes me laugh. Warning world-- I'm going to start using it. The rest of the book is also super-funny.
Parts of the story are told comic-book style, which works well. I wished there was more of it.
A super-awesome book that I loved loved loved loved.
BUT, I was hoping that Ostow was kidding when she referenced a t.A.T.u. cover of How Soon Is Now? Sadly, she wasn't. It really exists. I have a dark, secret, horribly embarassing soft space for t.A.T.u. but... that's just wrong. I've listened to it. It's wrong. I may have downloaded it.
I blame the coffee.
Also, I do love the Murakami references. Because he's awesome.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through
Hours Spent Reading: 10
Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 890
Money Raised: $623
What I'm listening to: Black Hole Sun
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.
The Ghosts Of Ashbury High Jaclyn Moriarty
According to the introductory note, gothic fiction is often full of "mad people locked in attics, secret passageways, monsters, murderers, ghosts, and family curses."
Although this book takes place at a modern high school outside Sydney and is, for the most part, realistic fiction (with just a touch of magical realism) this does have everything that a good gothic novel needs.
I know I owe you reviews of the previous Ashbury High books (although you do not really need to read them to read this one.)
It's Year 12 for Cass, Lydia, and Em. (Liz makes a brief appearance as well and Bindy keeps popping up, never fear.) As with Moriarty's other books, this is told in "stuff" mainly personal essays for the HSC, committee meeting notes, emails, and blog entries.
Of course, due to the nature of most of the narrative-- an exam question to "Write a personal memoir which explores the dynamics of first impressions. In your response, draw on your knowledge of gothic fiction" and an assignment to "Write the story of Term 2 as a ghost story" we're never entirely sure of the reliability of our narrators, even when we know our narrators from previous books and how they're usually unreliable.
Ashbury has two new scholarship students-- Amelia and Riley. The school is obsessed with them, their aloofness, their secret history, their insane talent at everything they touch. Mostly though, their past. They came from Brookfield, but no one's Brookfield connections know them, except Seb, who warns Lydia to steer clear.
The reader sees different parts of the story, different sides, and has to guess what's happening. And there are important elements of gothic fiction that you forget and then, BAM! There they are!
It's not a comedic book, but parts are very, very funny (I mean, everything Em touches is comedic gold.) But it's also a very interesting look at second chances, perception, history and present, and, of course, ghosts and haunting-- real, metaphorical, and imaginary.
More people need to discover the genius that is Moriarty. Seriously.
Book provided by... my wallet.
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Hours Spent Reading: 3.5
Books Read: 2
Pages Read: 410
Money Raised: $594
What I'm listening to: Judas's Death (although, given the book, it would be much more appropriate if I had been listening to Mercy House. Sadly, my life is soundtracked by iTunes shuffle right now, not a well-thought out playlist.)
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.
Keesha's House Helen Frost
Keesha's house is set off the street
s if you don't know what you're looking for
you might not even see the wide blue door
half hidden by a weeping willow tree.
Using sestinas and sonnets (and even a crown of sonnets) several kids tell how they became lost, and sometimes, found. They tell of the safe place they found at Keesha's house, where people just let them live and be. Where they're allowed to exist. We also hear from the adults in their lives, the ones that care, the ones that see what's happening, the ones that don't.
There is tragedy here, and hope. Like the other books written by Frost, I'm always struck by the absolute poetic craft she puts into her work, but her words and story shine through so much that you don't notice it while reading. (Ok, so, I knew it was Frost, so after reading a first poem, I analyzed it and quickly recognized the sestina, then looked at rhyme schemes for the sonnets. BECAUSE I AM A DORK.)
Powerful wonderful stuff.
Round up is over at The Crazy Files.
Book Provided by... a giveaway at a work meeting! score!
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
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
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
The coffee is brewing, the dogs are fed, the dishwasher loaded.
It's time to start reading!
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.
Hours Read: 19.5
Books Read: 8 whole books, 1/2 of two other books, so 9.
Pages Read: 2055
Well, I didn't get in 20 hours, but that's ok! I had fun. I'm currently halfway through Geek Charming by Robin Palmer. I'm at my parents until Tuesday, and given that all three of us have spent the after noon curled up in chairs, drinking coffee and reading, I'll get a lot more done in the next few days! Also, I reviewed 12 books (including the the two below) so that's good. As part of the Summer Reading Blitz, I'm trying to read 30 books in June. As of Friday night, I had only read 2, so I was a little behind schedule, but now I've read 11, so I'm a little ahead of schedule. Yay!
Anyway, I'm now seeing how many people cross the finish line over at MotherReader, as I said I'd donate $1 to Bridget Zinn for everyone who finished the challenge. Plus, another $1 for everyone who read at least 20 hours, but I'll have to wait a few days for that!
Anyway, the last full book I finished today was Masquerade, which is the second Blue Bloods novel, but I should review the first Blue Bloods novel first, right? Right.
Blue Bloods Melissa de la Cruz
So, I knew this was Gossip Girl + Vampires. What I didn't know is that is was really good.
Blue Bloods is well written-- I'm guessing it has a super-high lexile score and works in a lot of different things-- it's not just about vampires, but also about the founding of Plymouth Colony, what really happened at Roanoke, and the Illuminati. And a murder mystery (something can actually kill vampires? Really?) Plus the usual rich mean kid high school drama of love and backstrabbing, fabulous clothes and awesome parties.
It sucked me in and held me. If you've at all toyed with reading this series, toy no more and pick it up. A very pleasant surprise.
Masquerade Melissa de la Cruz
So, this whole plot of who-can-kill vampires is continuing and getting worse. There's a new Blue Blood in town, and he's into all sorts of mischief that doesn't make things look good for him, or for Mimi Force. Jack continues to be drawn to Schuyler, as it turns out he was to her mom. Schuyler's half-blood status is mucking about with her transformation. Also, a lot more of the Angel lore that ties into the history of vampires, as according to de la Cruz.
If you liked the first, you'll like the second. The third is out (but even though it's been out since October, there's a still a waiting list at the library! The fourth then comes out this October...)
I finally got wise and decided to listen to an
audiobook while doing the mindless work of laminating and cutting. I'm still not finished, but I got a good bit of listening in on a book I've had in the queue for a long time.
Time Reading - 3:00 - 5:00 (2 hours)
Book Read - M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
Time Blogging - 5 minutes
I've told the family I won't be making dinner until AFTER my time expires. Hey, they can eat a few snacks until then! Since I'm making a donation to
Flying Horse Farms based on the number of hours read, I'm pushing myself a little. I won't make 25 hours, but still plan to donate $50.
My final book? I've decided to spend some time reading the
letters written to Box #5667. This one's a "new" old favorite. I've read it before, but it's heartfelt book that I adore and just seemed like a perfect title to the mark the end of the challenge.
I'll be back later with my final update and (hopefully) some reviews!
Hours read 16.25
Books read 7.5
Pages read 1749
Zombie Queen of Newbury High Amanda Ashby
Geeky Mia has never been entirely sure why Rob the football god, has started dating her. What she does know is that Queen Bee Samantha wants Rob to herself, and Rob seems to be turning. So, led by her hypochondriac best friend, Mia casts a love spell on Rob. A love spell that goes horribly, horribly wrong and turns the entire senior class into a zombie and Mia into their queen. Mia is puzzled and flattered by her new-found popularity until the new kid, Chase, tells her that Zombie Queen just means she's the first to be eaten. Now Mia and Chase have limited time to reverse the spell and save the prom.
Seriously, was my high school the only one in the US where the football players were not total gods of the school? Some of them were really popular yes, but so were some of the band people. Football player = super hot big man on campus is getting a little stale.
Anyway, a super-fun book and a really quick read. I loved how all of Mia's crazy cures and vitamins and supplements actually helped in keeping some of the zombie effects at bay.
After mass this morning I took myself out to breakfast, did a bit of shopping, and came home to a heap of laundry. I did eventually get back to reading. I'm taking a break now to go to school for a bit of work (laminating) and to grade some papers. I do hope to get in a few more hours before my time is up at 7:00 pm. My guess is that the reviews and wrap-up will come after I'm off the clock.
Time Reading - 11:00 -2:00 (3 hours)
Books Read - Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston
Time Blogging - 5 minutes
If you're counting, that's 17.5 hours. I think my total last year was 18 hours. (I'd check this but all my posts from last year are gone--who knows why? I certainly can't explain it!) I should just pass this mark. I don't think I'm going to jump into Book 6 just yet, so I'll need to mull over the book that will carry me through to the end.
I'll be back later. Happy reading to you!
Hours read 14.25
Books read 6.5
Pages read 1550
Well, I am now in Wisconsin! I made my connecting flight (which was a miracle) and even cooler, ran into someone from high school!
I had to board shortly after my last post, but got 4 more hours of reading in while in the air. Things are now even more confusing because I've switched timezones. So, I have to add an hour to what all the clocks tell me to keep my hour count correct for how many hours into the challenge I am. Ai yai yai. After I landed, I hung out with my parents for the rest of the night, because dude, they're my parents! And I don't get to see them all that often. But now it's bedtime, so they've headed off to bed and I'm doing a post before I'm off to bed as well (although I'll read a bit before actually sleeping!)
Anyway, I read two more books.
You Are So Undead To Me Stacey Jay
Megan thought that after the zombie attack 5 years ago, her Settler powers had left her. No such luck. On the night of her date with the hottest guy in school, right before he's supposed to pick her up, someone else shows up at her door. An undead someone.
In the world Jay creates, there are things we left undone or unsaid when we die that can follow us, even after we are buried. If such things are pressing enough to the dead person, they will leave their grave and find a Settler. The Settler takes their inoformation and promises to pass on the message, fix the wrong, and then sends the dead to a peaceful afterlife. Being a Settler has an uncanny knack to completely mess up Megan's social life. Then, there are the Reanimated Corpses, or actual Zombies-- people brought back to "life" to kill other people at the behest of those who practice the dark arts.
It's bad enough the undead are seeking Megan out, but there are a lot more Zombies trying to kill her. Someone is after her, and it's time to face up to her awesome powers and get beyond what happened. After all, how else is she going to get to Homecoming? Unless that's the evil plan, to keep her from homecoming so no one can stop the massive zombie attack.
Part mystery, part zombie novel, part romance, this is more action packed than some of the lighter zombie novels we've seen lately, but still heavy on the "does he like me, does he not, is the head cheerleader evil as in try to kill me? or just evil as in a total head cheerleader B----?" sort of thing. It's a fun read.
Mob Princess: For Money and Love Todd Strasser
Kate's life has fallen apart on Christmas Eve. After her boyfriend dumps her for not putting out, Kate thought the night would suck, but then she walked into her house and found a whole host of worse problems waiting for her. Her mother was moving out. Her father's girlfriend was pregnant (although it seems to the reader that there's much more going on than just that) and her dad needs her to be the brains of his business with her mother gone. His mob business.
There's mean girls, a possible turf war with a rival family, and two guys to choose from. Lots of fun and I want to read more, although just when the plot really got good, the book ended. In a frustrating way, not "well, that was a stasifying conclusion with enough open ends to keep me waiting for more adventures" way, but in a "WAIT? WHERE IS THE REST OF THIS BOOK?!" sort of way. So, you know, you might want to check out multiple volumes at once. I know I'll be hunting down the rest!
Moving right along this morning, this is where I find myself.
Time Reading - 8:30 -11:30 (3 hours)
Books Read - A Taste for Red by Lewis Harris and nearly half of The Robe of Skulls: The First Tale From the Five Kingdoms by Vivian French
Time Blogging - 5 minutes
I will be blog a bit later about these books, but let me just say that
A Taste for Red was a lot of fun. Here's an excerpt.
"There's something wrong about Ms. Larch. I can't explain it, but I know it. I knew it the moment I stepped into her classroom." I didn't want to go overboard, but the words came spilling out. "She's just strange. The way she looks and acts. The way she dresses. It's like she's some kind of alien fashion model."
"Hey, you don't have to lose a beauty contest to be a science teacher. I like looking at Ms. Larch a lot more than I ever liked looking at Mr. Boyd--although he was definitely funnier."
Boys are so limited.
More about this book later, as well as some thoughts about
Robe of Skulls when I am finished. For now I am now officially off the clock.
Did you know that it's FREE ICE CREAM DAY at Friendly's? That's right, you get one free scoop between 12 and 5. William and I are going out to lunch and then for some ice cream. I also promised to help him rearrange his room this weekend. So, I have 8 hours under my belt. That will suffice until later this afternoon when I can get back to it. I hope those of you reading are enjoying the time. I sure am having fun.
Hours Read: 8
Books Read: 3.5
Pages Read: 879
Stormbreaker (An Alex Rider Novel) Anthony Horowitz
After his uncle, his only living relative, is killed under suspicious circumstances, Alex Rider discovers that he was really a spy for M-16, and killed shortly before stopping something big. M-16 decides to press Alex into service to finish the job. Alex doesn't want to, but is blackmailed into it.
He is sent undercover to a computer facility building the new Stormbreaker, a revolutionary new laptop that is going to be given to every schoolchild in England. Alex knows something's not right about the scene. He also knows that Herod Sayle, the owner and mastermind, and his band of cronies (straight from any spy movie, although Mr. Grin might be a little more Joker-esque) are probably onto him as well.
I do really enjoy the teen-spy-novel genre. I tend to enjoy the ones staring girls more (I'm a sucker for a romantic subplot) but this one was very, very good and if you like teen spies, check it out. (Although, you probably have. This is like, the first/biggest/main teen spy series, and I don't know why I haven't read it before now.)
Here's a really striking quotation-- something that I think a lot of teen spy heroes feel (all in trouble with the law, though many tricked into breaking the law so there's something to hold over them) and with no families, etc (exception being Gallagher Girls and The Squad):
In the end, the big difference between him and James Bond wasn't a question of age. It was a question of loyalty. In the old days, spies had done what they'd done because they loved their country, because they believed in what they were doing. But he'd never been given a chance. Nowadays, spies weren't employed. They were used.
Hours Read: 3.5
Books Read: 1.5
Pages Read: 399
Great Call of China Cynthea Liu
Frequent readers know how much I love the SASS series. I was so happy when a new one came out, but I saved it for this weekend, because I read 3 SASS novels during my first 48 hour Challenge and that's when I really fell in love with the series.
OMG. A novel that uses standard Pinyin?! Be still my geeky heart. This means I understood things much better than Cece did, because I only had to translate Pinyin to Mandarin to English, but wacky-made-up-by-the-author-system to Mandarin to English. AND! Cece's fav Chinese food? Muslim! MINE TOO. (Seriously, they need to start exporting that to the US. I could eat dingding mian every freakin' day. When I lived in Nanjing, I practicly did!) Also, I love the way she comes up with stories to remember her characters. (Although da, meaning big is NOT an exploding star. It's a man with his arms stretched wide! If you think of it as a man, you can add on to the story for other characters. Also, what's with always taking a soft sleeper train?! Way too expensive. Hard sleeper's where it's at. (Says the girl who gets street cred for once attempting to travel for 16 hours with a Standing Room ticket. Luckily, around hour 5, which was 4 am, a hard sleeper bed opened up and the ticket collecter took pity on me and offered me the upgrade.)
Anyway, and excellent addition to the series. I've been wanting them to do one on China since forever. This one does it justice.
Hours Read: 1.5
Books Read: .5
Pages Read: 153
I know MotherReader's only tracking time and not books and pages, but I'm still kicking it OLD SKOOL.
Anyway...
Nobody's Princess Esther Friesner
This is what we know about Helen of Troy-- she was the most beautiful woman in all of Ancient Greece and was stolen from her husband. The Trojan War happened to get her back and then she was returned to her husband.
Friesner wanted to know what happened before. So, this is Helen's story, growing up, longing to be more than a pretty face, longing for more from life than having a husband picked for her and being queen. So, Helen trains with her brothers, talks her way into the boar hunt of Calydon and befriends Atalanta AND the Oracle at Delphi.
A thoroughly enjoyable adventure tale, even though those versed in Greek Mythology will scoff at the premis. Friesner has an excellent authors note at the end, explaining where she got her details, as well as the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Helen could hande a sword. I very much want to read Nobody's Prize.
Here's another book that I read awhile ago and have the review written for that ties in well:
Quiver Stephanie Spinner
This is a novelization of the story of Atalanta. There are a few versions of the Atalanta myth, but Spinner pretty much follows the one that is outlined here. Told in first person from Atalanta's point of view, there are a occasional breaks that show conversations between various gods and goddesses to show how and why they are interfering in her story, and changing the course of events.
This is an excellent retelling of myth and a good author's note at the end. Y'all know how much I adore a good author's note.
The main difference (besides style) in these works is that Spinner has the hunt for the fleece happening before the hunt, so Atalanta and Jason are already friends (and, of course, Helen isn't there!) Friesner puts the fleece after the hunt.
Alright, I'm insane and didn't sleep all weekend. And when I woke up on Monday at 12:00 (I didn't have to work until 1, and I had gone to bed at 9 on Sunday) I still felt like I had been run over by a MACK truck. Apparently flying to Iowa and back last weekend, a few days of Code Red air days and no sleep = sinus and ear infection. So I didn't go to work yesterday which is very, very poor form. BAD JENNIE. Also, there is definitely a point of diminishing returns. I probably could have read the same amount if I had slept because the lack of sleep was messing with my reading speed and comprehension.
But it was fun.
Anyway, today I'm adding pictures and things to my 48 hour posts, I'm also going to be posting some things on my spoiler blog because I have a lot of opinions on where Princess Diaries left off.
ALSO! The 24 Hour Read-a-thon is coming up in 2 weeks.
This one is a little different--
1. Everyone reads for the same 24 hours (1:59 Saturday afternoon to 1:59 Sunday afternoon if you're on the East Coast like me.)
2. You can read anything you want.
3. Instead of fame and glory, this one's for charity (Reading is Fundamental.)
SO! I'm asking for sponsors to help me for this. There are a few ways to sponsor me.
You can just donate a lump sum. Or, you can donate based on how I do.
I will personally be donating $.03 for every book, hour and page I read. Based on this past weekend, I'm expecting that to be around $60-$70.
I've already received some sponsors, so including my own donation, I will be raising $.08 for every page I read, $.06 for every book, and $.06 for every hour.
If you would like to help me raise money for this worthy cause, please email me at kidsilkhaze (at) yahoo (dot) com.
Anyway, some further thoughts on books. I think I forgot to mention that Pure Dead... talks about poop. A lot. Mainly dragon poop. And baby poop. And how Yetis like to eat poop. This can either be a turn off or a selling point, depending on your audience.
Also, it was obviously written by a mother. There is a lot in here for adults poking fun at childhood foibles that kids won't get. But, for kids, there's poop. Lots and lots of poop. And talking crocodiles.
Also, the character of Ffup was interesting. I'm still not keen on how her personality totally changed when she found out she was a girl. I also think her as a teenage mother was odd, because she was very much a teenager and not ready for a child, even if she was 600 years old.
All in all, it was just very, very British. British children's books are always much more adult than American children's books are.
UPDATE:
Also, I wanted to add how much I love Mia's dorkiness. She talks in Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings similes. And she rights Battlestar Galactica fanfic. And is an expert on Lifetime movies, much like my friend Sarah.
Hours read/blogging: 42 Hours
Number of books read: 19.25 books
Number of pages read: 4364
Well, at hour 48 I'm a little more than 1/4 of the way through
Alice in Blunderland by Phylis Reynolds Naylor.
I'm also incredibly sleepy. In the past 48 hours, I got 5 consecutive hours of sleep. I got another 30 minutes taken in random instances of dozing off (about 5-10 minutes each) plus there was another 30 minutes of random cooking, laundry, and trying to put the duvet cover back on the duvet.
Anyway, I'm off for a nap. Tomorrow I'll do a rap-up post, going a little further in depth on some of the books I read, adding pictures and links, and spoiler pages for when I need to rant and rave about endings...
Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep
Hours read/blogging: 41 Hours, 30 minutes
Number of books read: 19
Number of pages read: 4299
WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.
Princess Mia Meg Cabot
Well, Michael and Mia are officially splits-ville. Mia spends so much time wallowing in bed in the aftermath that Lars has to literally pick her up, chuck her into the limo and drag her off to therapy. There she's told to do at least one scary thing a day. Like go shopping with Lana Weinberger.
And everyone thinks JP and Mia are a couple, because of some photos that appeared in the New York Post. Lilly's no where near talking to her.
Also, Mia has to give a speech about Genovia to this highly exclusive women's society, Domina Rei (like Opus Dei, but non-religious and for women.)
The following thoughts were so forceful that I had to type them while reading the book:
JP needs to go away. He needs to go away NOW. Or Mia needs to wise up to see what he's doing and PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE!!! He is scum! Trying to put the moves on her and drive Mia and Lilly apart. I mean, I have my issues with Lilly, but who the hell does this guy think he is?! And why doesn't Mia or Tina see it? Oh wait. Tina does see it. Someone needs to hit Mia upside the head with a frying pan and knock some sense into her.
Ok. Now that I've finished the book, and this is the last in the series so far, I definitely have some thoughts for the spoiler page. Look for them tomorrow.
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Congratulations, Jennie! Those are some awesome totals (especially your donations).
33 hours?! You are a superstar! I am not going to make it to 30 (alarm went off at 7 this morning and I just couldn't deal with it). Maybe next year. For now I'm hoping to make 27 or 28...
Congratulations, Jennie!
Wow, those numbers rock! I don't think I could manage 33 hours of reading on just 6 hours of sleep.
Wow! I'm very impressed! I hope you get some sleep.
Well done! And to think that when you started first grade the reading specialist was concerned that you weren't where you should've been! (Of course, you read Charlotte's Web by the end of first grade....)
:-)
Great job! Thanks for playing!
WOW what an awesome donation
Wow, Jennie! That was some great reading!