October Roundup – Part Five

November 4, 2009 at 12:10 PM (Uncategorized)

This is the final post in my Round Up for October. So far I have reviewed thirteen books. I have three more books to review here. I doubt November will have quite the volume that October had, but I’m reading some really interesting books this month, so I’m excited about that.

My final three books in October:

200 Best Home Businesses, by Katina Jones

From Amazon.com:

Tired of your humdrum workday routine? Looking for a new an exciting career path that allows you to be your own boss and make your own rules? The 200 Best Home Businesses is the book for you.

This completed revised and update 2nd edition profiles 200 of the best and most profitable businesses that you can run from your home Inside, you’ll find jobs for your every interest, from Computer Programmer to Personal Chef. Each business profile provides you with all of the information you need to choose the business that’s right for you:

  • The pros and cons of each business
  • Estimated start up costs
  • Skills needed
  • Advertising tips
  • Expert advice from home business entrepreneursNo matter what your interest or level of experience, you can take charge of your life, tap into your unique background and talents, and build a solid career for the future. The 200 Best Home Businesss, 2nd Edition shows you how!

    My Opinion:

    This was a Fall Challenge book, otherwise I might not have read it. While I didn’t necessarily need the information in the book, it was fun to look through the various jobs. There were some I expected: envelope stuffing, dog training, resume writing. (I’ve seen these before), and others I’d never thought of, like a book index writer. All in all, I had a lot of fun reading 200 Best Home Businesses. I’m not going to rate this, because I’m not sure how I would.

    The Winter Queen, by Boris Akunin (translated by Andrew Bromfield)

    From Amazon.com:

    Three million copies of Akunin’s Erast Fandorin historical mystery series have been sold in Russia, where the author is a celebrity. This volume–the first of nine installments so far–should get the series off to a rousing start in the U.S. It’s set in Czarist Russia and stars the naive but eager Fandorin as a young investigator with the Moscow police. Why would a university student shoot himself in the middle of the Alexander Gardens? Fandorin sets out to find the answer and soon lands in the middle of a far-reaching international conspiracy. Akunin effectively juxtaposes the comical innocence of his hero against the decadence of nineteenth-century Moscow–aristocrats idling in gambling clubs while the winds of revolution freshen. In his debut, Fandorin comes across as an odd but appealing mix of Holmesian brilliance and Inspector Clousseauian bumbling. Occasionally, Akunin’s style seems a bit affected, aping the manner of, say, Thackeray, commenting on the foibles of his characters, but at the same time, that nineteenth-century tone is part of the book’s appeal. Anne Perry fans, in particular, will enjoy this series.

    My Opinion:

    The description above of a detective who is half-genius and half-bumbling moron is pretty apt. It was fun as a reader to see at least a hint of what danger was coming, just before Fandorin walked himself into it. I liked this book. It’s not my favorite book of all time, but it was very entertaining. I wouldn’t mind reading further in the series, and possibly buying the books, but I want to read at least the next book before I decide. (Or should I check Paperbackswap.com for the first few? Decisions, decisions…)

    I can’t decide between three and four stars for this book. I give it three and a half for now.

    Finally,

    Deja Dead, by Kathy Reichs

    From Amazon.com:

    Temperance Brennan may not be competition for Kay Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell’s medical examiner, in the romance department, but she’s just as stubborn and almost as astute when it comes to sleuthing. While investigating a grisly discovery for the Montreal coroner’s office, Tempe finds herself remembering a similar investigation she conducted on the remains of a woman who was savagely dismembered and stuffed in garbage bags. When Tempe’s concerns about a serial killer are dismissed by the police, she decides to pursue the matter herself–a course of action that both puts her career on the line and so effectively upsets the murderer’s plan that he sets his sights on her. Montreal, with its French culture, is an enticing setting for Reichs’ first mystery, and as a forensic anthropologist who spends part of her time working for the Province of Quebec, Reich knows the city well. She also contributes a wealth of authentic medical detail as she follows Tempe on her gripping, convoluted quest to catch a psychotic killer. A high-voltage thriller that readers won’t want to put down. Reichs’ novel generated great interest at the Frankfurt Book Fair and prompted a big-numbers rights auction.

    My Opinion:

    I love the television show, Bones, and really looked forward to reading this book. I can’t say I was disappointed exactly, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. The only character from the show was Tempe, but she is the same character in name only. Besides the location switch (from D.C. to Montreal), Tempe is a divorced mother and recovering alcoholic in the book. Far different from the sweetly analytical unattached Bones from the show.

    I did like the book, but it probably won’t make it to my bookshelf. Three stars.

    And that is it for October. Join me soon for the mid-November round up.

    twyls

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    October Roundup – Part Four

    November 3, 2009 at 12:00 PM (Uncategorized)

    On to the next three books:

    The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, by Ann Brashares

    From Amazon.com:

    They were just a soft, ordinary pair of thrift-shop jeans until the four girls took turns trying them on–four girls, that is, who are close friends, about to be parted for the summer, with very different sizes and builds, not to mention backgrounds and personalities. Yet the pants settle on each girl’s hips perfectly, making her look sexy and long-legged and feel confident as a teenager can feel. “These are magical Pants!” they realize, and so they make a pact to share them equally, to mail them back and forth over the summer from wherever they are. Beautiful, distant Lena is going to Greece to be with her grandparents; strong, athletic Bridget is off to soccer camp in Baja, California; hot-tempered Carmen plans to have her divorced father all to herself in South Carolina; and Tibby the rebel will be left at home to slave for minimum wage at Wallman’s. Over the summer the Pants come to represent the support of the sisterhood, but they also lead each girl into bruising and ultimately healing confrontations with love and courage, dying and forgiveness. Lena finds her identity in Greece and the courage not to reject love; Bridget gets in over her head with an older camp coach; Carmen finds her father ensconced with a new fiancée and family; and Tibby unwillingly takes on a filmmaking apprentice who is dying of leukemia. Each girl’s story is distinct and engrossing, told in a brightly contemporary style. Like the Pants, the reader bounces back and forth among the four unfolding adventures, and the melange is spiced with letters and witty quotes. Ann Brashares has here created four captivating characters and seamlessly interwoven their stories for a young adult novel that is fresh and absorbing.

    My Opinion:

    I have to admit that the premise and set-up of this book didn’t catch me. I thought it was going to be a boring book, with flat characters. To be fair, I thought the same thing of Harry Potter going in (sometime shortly after the fourth book). I have a thing about huge hits, I guess.

    I was pleasantly surprised by this Sisterhood book. I even cried towards the end. Once I got to know the characters, it was pretty much smooth sailing. I can’t even pick a favorite of the girls.

    Three stars. I’ll probably read some more of the series, but I’m not interested in owning the books.

    I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith

    From Amazon.com:

    Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain wants to become a writer. Trouble is, she’s the daughter of a once-famous author with a severe case of writer’s block. Her family–beautiful sister Rose, brooding father James, ethereal stepmother Topaz–is barely scraping by in a crumbling English castle they leased when times were good. Now there’s very little furniture, hardly any food, and just a few pages of notebook paper left to write on. Bravely making the best of things, Cassandra gets hold of a journal and begins her literary apprenticeship by refusing to face the facts. She writes, “I have just remarked to Rose that our situation is really rather romantic, two girls in this strange and lonely house. She replied that she saw nothing romantic about being shut up in a crumbling ruin surrounded by a sea of mud.” Rose longs for suitors and new tea dresses while Cassandra scorns romance: “I know all about the facts of life. And I don’t think much of them.” But romantic isolation comes to an end both for the family and for Cassandra’s heart when the wealthy, adventurous Cotton family takes over the nearby estate. Cassandra is a witty, pensive, observant heroine, just the right voice for chronicling the perilous cusp of adulthood. Some people have compared I Capture the Castle to the novels of Jane Austen, and it’s just as well-plotted and witty. But the Mortmains are more bohemian–as much like the Addams Family as like any of Austen’s characters. Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmations, wrote this novel in 1948. And though the story is set in the 1930s, it still feels fresh, and well deserves its reputation as a modern classic.

    My Opinion:

    This came highly recommended to me. I see why, since the characters and their exploits are unforgettable. I have a hard time rating this over three stars, though, because it just didn’t resonate with me on some levels. While the characters are memorable, I didn’t click with them the way I would have liked to. I couldn’t understand their motivations or desires.

    The book was well-written and carried my interest throughout. The characters were charming and life-like. I think in this case the rating I give the book is on a very personal level. If I were to rate it just based on the quality of the book, I would give it four stars.

    Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld

    From Amazon.com:

    Playing on every teen’s passionate desire to look as good as everybody else, Scott Westerfeld  projects a future world in which a compulsory operation at sixteen wipes out physical differences and makes everyone pretty by conforming to an ideal standard of beauty. The “New Pretties” are then free to play and party, while the younger “Uglies” look on enviously and spend the time before their own transformations in plotting mischievous tricks against their elders. Tally Youngblood is one of the most daring of the Uglies, and her imaginative tricks have gotten her in trouble with the menacing department of Special Circumstances. She has yearned to be pretty, but since her best friend Shay ran away to the rumored rebel settlement of recalcitrant Uglies called The Smoke, Tally has been troubled. The authorities give her an impossible choice: either she follows Shay’s cryptic directions to The Smoke with the purpose of betraying the rebels, or she will never be allowed to become pretty. Hoping to rescue Shay, Tally sets off on the dangerous journey as a spy. But after finally reaching The Smoke she has a change of heart when her new lover David reveals to her the sinister secret behind becoming pretty. The fast-moving story is enlivened by many action sequences in the style of videogames, using intriguing inventions like hoverboards that use the rider’s skateboard skills to skim through the air, and bungee jackets that make wild downward plunges survivable — and fun. Behind all the commotion is the disturbing vision of our own society — the Rusties — visible only in rusting ruins after a virus destroyed all petroleum. Teens will be entranced, and the cliffhanger ending will leave them gasping for the sequel.

    My Opinion:

    This was a re-read of one of my favorite books. I own the original trilogy, though I haven’t yet read Extras. What a great series it is, too. Though the entire story is well-worth reading, Uglies will always have a special spot on my bookcase – and in my heart.

    I love everything about this book, from the main character, Tally, to the secondary characters, to the high-speed action. Every time I read Uglies or one of the sequels I pick up on something new. This time around I fell in love with one of the secondary characters, Croy. I never noticed the role he played, usually because I was watching Tally’s movements too closely.

    A definite five star book.

    twyls

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    October Round Up – Part Three

    November 2, 2009 at 12:00 PM (Uncategorized)

    I’ve got three more round-up posts for October coming at you – parts 3 through 5. Look for one a day for the next few days.

    I left off my round-up (after part one and part two) on the fifteenth of October, a full six books into the month. This month turned out to be a large one for me, partly thanks to the Read-a-thon on the 24th and 25th. I read four books that day. (They will be the subject of this post.)

    I also read six other books. Look for the YA stuff tomorrow, and some miscellaneous books two days from now.

    Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony, by Eoin Colfer

    From Amazon.com:

    Demons are beginning to materialize without warning on Earth.  If humans were to capture one, all fairies would be exposed. In order to protect themselves, the fairies must decipher complicated equations to determine where the next demon will appear.  Not even the brilliant Foaly can make heads or tails of the formulas – but he knows someone who can: Artemis Fowl.

    When a very confused demon imp appears in a Sicilian theater, Artemis is there to meet him.  But he is not alone.  Someone else has unlocked the secrets of the fairy world.and she is only twelve years old. Now, in a race against time, a newly-reformed Artemis Fowl will have to dip into his bag of dirty tricks if he is to save his fairy friends from his latest nemesis, not to mention a power hungry demon warlord who is poised to invade our dimension with his savage army.

    My Opinion:

    Like all the Artemis Fowl books, this one had me giggling throughout. I care deeply for these characters already – Artemis and Holly, of course, as well as Mulch, Foaly and the rest of the cast. Butler has a special place in my heart. I loved this new adventure, and the new character is produced, No. 1, is a good addition to the “cast”. Five stars.

    Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox, by Eion Colfer

    From Amazon.com:

    Artemis’s mother has contracted a deadly disease–and the only cure lies in the brain fluid of  African lemurs. Unfortunately, Artemis himself was responsible for making the lemurs extinct five years ago. Now he must enlist the aid of his fairy friends to travel back in time and save the lemur. Not only that, but he must face his deadliest foe yet: his younger self.

    My Opinion:

    I liked this book. I thought it was a great ride. I did get a little confused with the ending, but it quickly came together for me. (JRob did not like this book as much as some of the other Artemis Fowl books.)

    I see on Amazon that there is another Artemis Fowl book coming out in July of 2010 called Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex. I’m looking forward to it.

    The Time Paradox was a little hard to follow at times. I loved seeing Artemis struggle against Young Artemis. I was confused about why Minerva wasn’t in this book. Also, the relationship between Holly and Artemis seemed forced a few times.

    All in all, a five star book.

    The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

    I don’t think this classic needs an introduction. I hadn’t yet read the book that inspired the movie. I think the book is more of a fairy-tale than the movie. It leans heavily on trials, the repetition of the number three, and other fairy-tale elements. I love the movie, and while the book is different, I love it, too.

    I’m glad I bought this book, because I plan to read it to any children I have. I also want to re-read it regularly.

    Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn’t, by Stephen Prothero

    From StephenProthero.com:

    Do you get tongue-tied when asked to name the Twelve Apostles? Do you think Adam’s wife was Joan of Arc? If so, join the crowd. The United States is one of the most religious places on earth, but it is also a nation of religious illiterates. Many Protestants can’t name the four Gospels, many Catholics can’t name the seven sacraments, and many Jews can’t name the first five books of the Bible. And yet politicians and pundits continue to root public policy arguments in religious rhetoric whose meanings are missed, or misinterpreted, by the vast majority of American citizens. This is in my view a major problem in contemporary civic life. “Religious Literacy,” which will be published by HarperSanFrancisco on March 1, 2007, explores this problem, pinpointing key moments in U.S. history that spawned our current epidemic of religious illiteracy and offering practical solutions to remedy this problem, including mandatory religion courses in the public schools. The book also includes a Dictionary of Religious Literacy with key terms, beliefs, characters, and stories that every American needs to know in order to make sense of religiously inflected debates: from abortion and gay marriage to Islamic terrorism and the war in Iraq.

    My Opinion:

    This book was well thought out and very useful for me. I’ve always been fascinated by religions.  As a Christian looking at the broken world, I see a total lack of knowledge among Americans in most religions, including Christianity. I think Prothero has a good start on how to fix this situation, advocating a class on world religions and a class on the Bible as literature in every student’s career.

    I very much liked the last chapter, which was a dictionary of religious terms. It had entries like “Quran” and “Baptist” as well as “secular humanism” and “Moses”. I loved it.

    Four stars.

    twyls

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    Read-a-Thon Reflections

    November 1, 2009 at 9:40 PM (Uncategorized)

    So October is over! The month went fast. I barely survived the Read-a-Thon, and burned out on the computer for a few days. I don’t know how many hours I finished within the 24-hour Read-a-thon, but it wasn’t as many as I had hoped for. Am I the only newbie who went in hoping to read at least 23 hours? C’mon, I can’t be the only one who at least thought about it. Can I?

    I finished four books during Dewey’s Read-a-thon:

    Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony

    Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

    Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – and Doesn’t

    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    Look for reviews of these, plus the other books I finished in the last half of October – coming soon!

    twyls

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    Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne, Vol. 2

    October 30, 2009 at 8:53 PM (Uncategorized)
    Tags: , ,

    This is the second volume in the Visionaries series, reprinting John Byrne’s five year run on the Fantastic Four. In the previous TPB we saw the FF fight Diablo, Ego, and Dr. Doom (among others), as well as the introduction of Frankie Raye (the Human Torch’s new girlfriend) as Nova, and The Thing’s Aunt Petunia. What’s in store this time around?

     

    First, here’s a capsule description of the group for any newbies out there…The Fantastic Four are comprised of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Susan Storm Richards (The Invisible Girl), Johnny Storm (The Human Torch), and Ben Grimm (The Thing). Four people who were given strange powers by cosmic rays on an experimental rocket ride.

     

    And here’s the breakdown…

     

    Fantastic Four #241 – The team takes a trip to Wakanda and meets their old friend the Black Panther. They’re tracking a unique energy signature that eventually leads them into confronting a time-displaced Roman Legionnaire with the ability to cancel-out all their powers.

     

    Fantastic Four #242 – This issue marks a shift to a more cosmically originated adventure. Terrax, the unruly herald of Galactus, arrives on Earth and takes the entire island of Manhattan hostage in order to coerce the FF into fighting Galactus, who is hunting him down for his disobedience.

     

    Fantastic Four #243 – Galactus once again arrives on Earth. The demi-god easily defeats Terrax, stripping the herald of his cosmic power. Galactus is so drained by the ordeal, however, that he immediately sets out to feed off the lifeforce of the planet (for the umpteenth time). Fortunately he is so weak that he is soon overpowered by the combined might of the Avengers and the FF.

     

    Fantastic Four #244 – This is another landmark issue that ushers in dramatic changes to the status quo of the team. Reed convinces everyone that they must save Galactus. In exchange for Frankie Raye becoming his new herald Galactus swears never to bother the Earth again (I wonder how long it will last this time). This decision is quite a blow for Johnny, naturally.

     

    Fantastic Four #245 – This issue switches gears again, focusing on the Invisible Girl and Franklin Richard (Reed and Sue’s son). His mutant power activates suddenly, transforming him into a grown man with unlimited power but no memory of who he is. He tears through the FF until he encounters his mother, who recognizes her son at the last minute. After discovering the truth about himself, he decides to revert back to his childhood form and put mental blocks in place to prevent anything like this happening again. Before he does that, though, he converts the Thing back to is more evolved form.

     

    Fantastic Four #246 – Dr. Doom rears his ugly face once again. At the end of their last battle, Doom’s mind was transferred to a miniature doll, caught in the very trap he set for his old foes. The FF decides to deliver his now comatose body to the Latverian embassy, but walk right into an ambush of Doombots. While they are kept busy, another set of Doombots go about transferring Doom’s consciousness back into his real body.

     

    Fantastic Four #247 – The FF team up with Dr. Doom to regain control of Latveria from Zorba, the monarch that took over the nation several issues ago. This issue is most notable, however, for being the first appearance of the little boy called Kristoff, whom Doom adopts and who eventually becomes his heir.

     

    Fantastic Four #248 – This is an offbeat tale that has the team visiting the Inhumans at their new home on the moon. An alien crystal is activated nearby, however, that sends each member into their own personal nightmare (although this story only follows Reed Richards).

     

    Fantastic Four #249 – A group of Skrulls arrive on Earth, intent on destroying the FF. Hot on their tail, however, is Gladiator, a superman type from the Shi’ar Empire (the Skrull’s sworn enemies.) When the FF investigates the crash (which naturally happens in the middle of NYC) Gladiator mistakes them for the Skrulls and starts fighting them.

     

    Fantastic Four #250 – It’s the FF versus Gladiator, Round Two! Captain America and Spidey get in on the action. While the FF is initially beaten up by Gladiator, the Skrulls take on the form of the X-Men and join the melee. Eventually, Reed figures out a way to solve all their problems, and Gladiator takes the Skrulls back to his homeworld.

     

    So in ten issues, the FF battle two of their most powerful cosmic foes Terrax and Galactus, fight with and then team-up with Dr. Doom, and have an encounter with the alien menace of the Skrulls. Byrne certainly has ratcheted up the action in this series so far. He also has a good way of building upon continuity, which I like a lot. Even though I don’t know the full history of all the characters, it’s easy to pick things up with each new chapter building on the last.

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    Hulk Visionaries: Peter David, Vol. 2

    October 30, 2009 at 8:51 PM (Uncategorized)
    Tags: , ,

    This is the second volume in the Visionaries series reprinting Peter David’s ten year run on the Incredible Hulk.

     

    The Hulk, for any newbies out there, is Doctor Bruce Banner, who was transformed into a powerful, raging behemoth after being exposed to a gamma radiation from a bomb he was working on.

     

    Incredible Hulk #340 – This issue was probably one of the most requested stories of all time. It features a straight-out slugfest between the Hulk and Wolverine. Wolverine originally debuted in the Incredible Hulk #181, and this is a basically a rematch between the characters in their new incarnations.

     

    Incredible Hulk #341 – The Hulk, Allan Quarterman, and Rick Jones arrive at the farm of Quartermain’s brother, who happens to be a computer whiz. In exchange for hacking into the government’s computer systems (and remember this was five years or so before the internet so it’s not as easy as it sounds) the Hulk agrees to hunt a strange beast that’s been eating the neighbor’s cows. It turns out to be Man-Bull, an old Daredevil villain.

     

    Incredible Hulk #342 – The Hulk finally figures out where the Gamma Bombs are. They’re being stored in an army base in Yuma, Arizona. The Leader, who has his own plans for the Gamma Bombs, sends Half-Life to try to kill the Hulk.

     

    Incredible Hulk #343 – This issue features the return of Betty Banner, who was abducted by the Leader last issue. He’s released her right in the path of the Banner and the gang, in order to slow down their quest to find and destroy the Gamma Bombs that the government has been manufacturing.

     

    Additionally, the Leader has abducted two of the former Hulkbusters, Saunders and Laroquette, and brainwashed them into becoming his super-powered henchman. He fits them out in special armor and dubs them Redeemer and Rock.

     

    Incredible Hulk #344 – Betty and the Hulk have a heart to heart talk about their relationship. Along the way she tells him that she’s pregnant with Banner’s child. Meanwhile, on the action front, the Leader’s new henchmen break into the army base in Yuma and steal a Gamma Bomb.

     

    Incredible Hulk #345 – This is the big conclusion to the first year’s worth of stories. Banner and the gang are alerted by the Leader that he plans to set a Gamma Bomb off in Middleton and kill all the inhabitants. The Hulk races to the town, only to be confronted by Rock & Redeemer. The Hulk defeats them with plenty of time to spare, but the Leader detonates the bomb prematurely.

     

    Why has the Leader gone through so much trouble? Basically he wanted to get rid of the Hulk so his plans for world domination can go forwards without any interference from his old foe. There are only five survivors from the Gamma Bomb explosion, which the Leader abducts to start his new army of super-powered henchmen.

     

    Incredible Hulk #346 – This is basically an aftermath issue. We learn what happens to Betty Banner, Rick Jones, and Alan Quartermain after the Middleton Massacre. No sign of the Hulk in this story, just a lot of flashbacks.

     

    Incredible Hulk #347 – This issue marks the first appearance of the Hulk in is Joe Fixit persona, a Las Vegas legbreaker for the casino mogul Paul Berengetti. It also makes the first appearance of Marlo Chandler, who becomes a supporting cast member for the next 60 issues or so.

     

    A lot of things have changed since last issue. It starts three months after the Middleton Massacre. The Hulk is no longer turning into Banner during the day. Now, the sun burns his skin, so he wears a suit, a hat, and gloves to protect himself from its rays. Basically, he’s created the life he’s always wanted. Of course, things aren’t going to go so smoothly from here on out.

     

    Incredible Hulk #348 – The Detroit mob wants to move in on Las Vegas, and start by trying to strong-arm Berengetti. They hire the Absorbing Man to take on Mr. Fixit.

     

    And that wraps upon another eight issues. David sure packs in a lot of changes over a short amount of time. And he’s definitely not afraid to shake things up. I like the new direction the series is taking; it opens up a lot of new possibilities. But for that, I guess I’ll have to wait and see what the next volume has in store.

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    Webcomic Mini Challenge Post

    October 25, 2009 at 2:39 AM (Uncategorized)

    So I saw one of the Mini Challenges for the Read-a-Thon was this Time for Comics challenge. I started reading Unshelved for this challenge, and got sucked into it. The comic started in 2002, as far as I can tell, so I’ve got a bunch of back-reading to do. I’m excited.

    The comic follows a librarian. Sounds dull, but I’ve been giggling at the smart-aleck dialogue for a half hour or so now.

    I keep reading, hoping to pick some good words to describe this webcomic, but instead I just keep reading. It’s really quite funny, at least if you enjoy odd, slightly depraved humor. It focuses on two jobs that Dewey, the main character, fills: reference desk and young adult librarian. The humor may be appropriate for young adults, but is better suited for adults.

    I highly recommend Unshelved.

    twyls

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    Update #3… the trouble starts

    October 25, 2009 at 2:05 AM (Uncategorized)

    First, the stats:

    Title of book(s) read since last update: Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – and Doesn’t, by Stephen Prothero
    Number of books read since you started: 3 finished, partial read of the Bible
    Pages read since last update: 92
    Running total of pages read since you started: 637
    Amount of time spent reading since last update: 3
    Running total of time spent reading since you started: 11.5
    Mini-challenges completed: 2
    Other participants you’ve visited: Ack! I need to get on this.
    Prize you’ve won: 0

    –

    So I crashed early. I’m hoping the nap I took between 5 and 7 will get me through the night. My biggest weakness in this is that I do not drink caffeine. I can’t get that extra little jolt. I haven’t spent as much time reading as I would have liked, but I did get over one major hurdle. I was starting to feel like I was forcing myself. I relaxed into it, and decided that the point of this was to have fun, not to torture myself with reading for 24 hours.

    Now I’m having fun again, and looking forward to a long night of reading.

    Carry on, Read-a-thoners!

    twyls

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    Update #2 and Mini-Challenge Entry

    October 24, 2009 at 8:08 PM (Uncategorized)

    Title of book(s) read since last update: The Bible (New Living Translation) – several excerpts from my daily Bible reading; Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – and Doesn’t, by Stephen Prothero
    Number of books read since you started: Finished two; partial reads of two others.
    Pages read since last update: 49
    Running total of pages read since you started: 545
    Amount of time spent reading since last update: 3 hours
    Running total of time spent reading since you started: 8.5
    Mini-challenges completed: 2 (after this post)
    Other participants you’ve visited: Not many, and no comments
    Prize you’ve won: 0

    –

    An entry into the Mix up the Titles Mini Challenge:

    Dear Ghost Witch Enemy: The Ghost-Feeler Inheritance

    This fourth in the wildly successful Ghost-Witch-Enemy series, by acclaimed author Jenna Bratt, sees our plucky heroes solving the mystery of the Ghost-Feeler Inheritance.

    Rue, Jock, Semele and the rest of the gang are asked by Miss Fala to track down her uncle’s inheritance. Long time readers will recall Uncle Snickers as the wise-cracking poltergeist from the first Ghost-Witch-Enemy book, Dear Ghost Witch Enemy: Little Terror House Revisited. Danger – and hilarity- follow the friends at every turn. This, after all, is what the plucky kids signed up for!

    Recommended for children 7 and up.

    –

    My goodness, that was fun. I might do that just to come up with story ideas.

    twyls

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    Read-a-Thon Post #1

    October 24, 2009 at 5:20 PM (Uncategorized)

    I don’t think I mentioned yet that I am participating in Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-Thon. I am now entering Hour Six, and still having a blast.

    Title of book(s) read since last update: Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony (had half the book to finish) and Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox.
    Number of books read since you started: 1.5
    Pages read since last update: 495
    Running total of pages read since you started: 495
    Amount of time spent reading since last update: 5.5 hours
    Running total of time spent reading since you started: 5.5
    Mini-challenges completed: Getting ready to visit some
    Other participants you’ve visited: Will visit after next update
    Prize you’ve won: 0

    And that’s all I have time for. I haven’t decided what to delve into next, so I’m going to read my daily Bible reading in between books. I might read for tomorrow, too, so I can focus on sleep tomorrow.

    twyls

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