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    • Archive for June 28th, 2008

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    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    24 Hour Read-A-Thon: Hour 15 Mini-Challenge

    I’m on a roll. Dewey’s just posted a mini-challenge for hour 15 and this will force me to choose my next book. Dewey writes:

    This hour’s mini-challenge should be easy enough for anyone interested in a short break. Where is your current book set? If it’s a real place, go to wikipedia and find five interesting facts about the place and post about it in your blog. If it’s an invented place, you may actually still find it at wikipedia, depending on the book. But if you can’t, then tell us some interesting facts about it that you picked up from the story itself.

    I’m going to start reading Down River, by John Hart (which is this year’s Edgar Winner). My hope is that it will be fast paced and thrilling. Anything to keep my eyes open! The novel is set in Rowan County, North Carolina. Here are five facts about that setting (from Wikipedia):

    1. The County was named after Matthew Rowan - the acting Governor from 1753-1754
    2. Current US Senator Elizabeth Dole is from Salisbury (located in Rowan County)
    3. The median household income as of 2000 was $37,494
    4. The county’s total area is 524 square miles of which only 2.4% is water
    5. In 2000 it boasted a population of 130,340
    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    24 Hour Read-A-Thon: Update at Hour 14

    I had to quickly post Vasilly’s challenge to just get in under the time limit. I’m growing very weary…and my brain is getting fuzzy. I hope to make it past midnight before having to get some sleep. My update is as follows:

    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    24 Hour Reading Challenge - 14 Hours and a Poetry Challenge

    It’s 11:00PM PCT which means I’ve reached 14 hours in the event. Vasilly has challenged participants to:

    Find a poem and post it. The length of the poem does not matter.

    My favorite poem of all time is Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken:

    TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
    And sorry I could not travel both
    And be one traveler, long I stood
    And looked down one as far as I could
    To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5
    Then took the other, as just as fair,
    And having perhaps the better claim,
    Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
    Though as for that the passing there
    Had worn them really about the same, 10
    And both that morning equally lay
    In leaves no step had trodden black.
    Oh, I kept the first for another day!
    Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
    I doubted if I should ever come back. 15
    I shall be telling this with a sigh
    Somewhere ages and ages hence:
    Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
    I took the one less traveled by,
    And that has made all the difference.
    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    24 Hour Read-A-Thon: Mid-Event Survey

    Here we are at the half way point. Wow, has this day gone by quickly. Dewey has posted the next mini-challenge - the Mid-Event Survey.

    1. What are you reading right now? I’m still working my way through Springtime on Mars. I’ve got 60 pages left to read in this book.

    2. How many books have you read so far? I’ve completed one book and one individual short story. I expect to finish my current read in the next hour or so…

    3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? To be honest, I haven’t thought that far ahead. I will probably select one of the thrillers on my TBR mountain.

    4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Not really. The fires here in Northern California have kept my husband and I very close to home this week.

    5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I’ve only interrupted the challenge to eat, get some exercise, make bathroom runs, and take care of my animals.

    6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How much fun I’ve been having!

    7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I think this is going great. I can’t think of anything to make it better. Good job, Dewey (and all your great helpers!!)

    8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? I’m pretty happy with how I’m doing. I’ve been trying to mix up the reading with the blogging with the mini-challenges and visiting other people’s blogs. I’m glad I chose to read short stories as it is giving me a good sense of accomplishment.

    9. Are you getting tired yet? Yes! I have to admit…I like to go to bed between 9 and 10 o’clock at night. I usually read a bit then drift off to sleep. Now that it is dark outside and I’m in that time frame, my body wants to sleep!

    10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? I would just say, mix it up. Take a break every hour to check on other people’s blogs and catch up on your own posts and mini-challenges. Get up, walk around, snack, drink lots of fluids.

    Now my update:

    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    24 Hour Read-A-Thon: Nearly 11 hours Into The Challenge

    Perhaps it is purely coincidence that the setting sun is a red-orange orb and I’m reading Springtime on Mars - or maybe it is just a reminder to keep on reading! The smoke in the sky has created a gorgeous sunset here and I’m closing in on 11 hours of the Read-A_Thon. I’m slowing down a bit; feeling the fatigue set in. I took a break for dinner and a Gatorade. I whipped up a macaroni and canned chicken salad with lots of diced up veggies. It was quick and satisfying on this stiffling evening. So how am I doing? Here’s my latest update:

    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    24 Hour Read-A-Thon: A MiniChallenge and Update

    I’ve passed the 8 Hour mark and although I’m a little tired, I’m still hanging in there. Dewey posted this mini-challenge:

    This hour’s mini-challenge is something you may feel you really need about this point! I know I do. It’s to go outside for a walk! Get some fresh air. If you run or bike, that’s fine, too.

    I took a walk around my block despite the smoky air. The winds have really picked up here and those thunderheads are looking threatening, but no storm activity yet. When I got back to the house I fed my dogs and ate some chips and salsa. I’ll be taking a dinner break in about an hour, I think. I’ve also managed to do some more reading since my last post.

    Here is my update:

    Thoughts this hour:

    I am really enjoying this challenge - much more than I thought I would based on my experience earlier this month with trying to read for the 48 hour challenge. I think it has to do with that fact that this particular challenge is structured to mix things up and keep participants active: mini-challenges, visiting and commenting on blogs, blogging, reading (of course).  My current read is an easy one which I’m enjoying quite a bit. I think throwing in short stories is an absolute must for these read-a-thons.

    Again thanks to all who have been stopping in and encouraging me!

    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    24 Hour Read-A-Thon: Seventh Hour Update

    Wow it is hard to believe we are now more than 7 hours into this event! Thank you to all who are leaving comments - I usually try to respond to every comment on my blog, but I must admit the sheer numbers are overwhelming me…so, please know I’m reading and appreciating your comments even if I don’t respond directly to you!

    Here is my latest update:

    I don’t have it in me to try to write a review of Mr. Bones - it is a little deep and I need to give it some thought before trying to review it. So that will happen after the read-a-thon is over. I have not taken more than a 15 minute break today from this event…so I am planning to break and take a short walk, have a snack and feed my animals. Then I’ll resume.

    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    24 Hour Read-A-Thon: Update Hour Six

    I am 6.25 hours into the Read-A-Thon and thought I’d give you an update on how I’m doing. Thank you to all the cheerleaders and readers who have stopped by and left comments! Here is my progress thus far:

    I’m having fun! I like how this challenge allows for breaks to blog and read other people’s posts and participate in reading challenges. The time is flying by! I have decided not to go to the wedding reception as the winds have really picked up here and the sky is dark and threatening thunder/lightening. The fear that we will get more lightening strikes and fires; and that the fires burning around us (although contained right now) could flare up, makes us want to stick close to home. The good news is that it means I can read more!

    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    The House At Midnight - Book Review

    And despite my best attempts to be rational, I was afraid. I could feel the house’s atmosphere, that eerie swirling in the corners of the room and the folds of the curtains and behind the furniture. It wasn’t explicit; there was no sudden breathless rush, sucking the air out and dragging the walls in on me, but there was a feeling of underlying menace, a flexing of muscle. I kept my eyes pressed tightly shut all night, childishly afraid of what might be standing at the end of the bed if I were to open them. -From The House At Midnight, page 193-

    Lucas Heathfield’s Uncle Patrick commits suicide and leaves Lucas a rambling country house in England along with his accumulated wealth. Lucas invites his collegiate friends to escape their lives in London and party on the weekends at his new digs. But what begins as sheer abandon from responsibility soon becomes a dark, psychological mystery. Joanna, Lucas’ best friend, narrates the novel and slowly reveals the throbbing sexual undercurrents and malevolent forces hidden between the walls of the house. The novel is full of buried secrets and uneasy parallels between generations. Nothing is as it seems; and beneath it all is a tension which builds to a shocking conclusion.

    Lucie Whitehouse knows how to structure a novel of suspense, but her writing was sometimes uneven and the end leaves the reader wondering at the future of its characters. There is a lot of heavy drinking and a strong sexual theme to the book which may offend some readers - although I actually thought the sexual tension was the strongest part of the narrative.

    The House At Midnight is a story of growing up in the shadow of family secrets, and about betrayal and fear. The strongest character in the book is non human - the monolithic house which Lucas inherits and the ghosts which inhabit it.  Whitehouse lends a gothic feel to her writing which drives the story.

    The House at Midnight is Whitehouse’s first novel - and it is a well-written debut that reads like a ghost story. Readers who enjoy gothic novels and are not put off by sexual themes and moral excesses will find this to be a compelling read.

    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    24 Hour Read-A-Thon: Third Mini-challenge and an Update

    The time is flying by. I’m nearly 3.5 hours into the Read-A-Thon and this is my third mini challenge. Vasilly has challenged participants to ‘Grab one of your favorite books and post one of your favorite quotes from it.’ This was a no-brainer for me.

    The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak is one of my all-time favorite books. It is filled with amazing quotes. Here’s one about the colors of life (as narrated by Death) which I adore:

    People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it’s quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spat blues. Murky darknesses. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them. -page 4-

    If you haven’t read this book - you should!

    Now a quick update on my progress:

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