Read-A-Thon: Update #3

This update covers hours five and six of the Read-A-Thon (9:00 am to 11:00 am PST).

How I am feeling at this point in the Event: I took a 15 minute break during this period to take a quick shower (refreshing!) and eat an English muffin with peanut butter and a yogurt. I found myself a bit distracted reading … this always happens if I try to read non-stop. Hopefully the next two hours will be less distracting!

Mini Challenge: Perspectives

Opi’s Ramblings is hosting the mini challenge Perspectives where she asks readers to: ‘Name three books that are told from a different world view, a different perspective, that you have read and enjoyed. Give a one sentence summary of the book, and another sentence that explains how the book shares a unique perspective.‘ Here are my answers…

The White Tiger by Arivand Adiga (read my review here)

One line sentence summary: A self-described entrepreneur and philosopher, the pathological protagonist of Adiga’s novel is also a murderer who takes his destiny into his own hands and does what he feels he must to become a free man.

The unique perspective: Balram Halwai is a low caste servant who reveals the dark underbelly of Indian society while elevating his status through murder.

Tortilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle (read my review here)

One line sentence summary: Two couples – one a wealthy white California couple living in a gated community, the other a Mexican couple who have arrived in the US illegally – cross paths among the political quagmire of illegal immigration.

The unique perspective: The novel is told from two divergent viewpoints of illegal immigration and in so doing explores the social injustice and the harsh realities of survival among desperate people.

The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean (read my review here)

One line sentence summary: An elderly Russian woman suffering from Alzheimers spirals back in time to the Siege of Leningrad and her life at that time working in the Hermitage Museum.

The unique perspective: This simply wrought and poignant novel is told from the perspective of a woman with Alzheimers and explores the tenuous nature of memory, the power of imagination, and the endurance of love.

The stats:

Books I Have Finished:

1. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

My Current Read: The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano

Bloggers I Have Visited Since the Read-A-Thon Began:

1. Good Books & Wine
2. True Harbour
3. Aphazia
4. Just One More Thing…
5. Karen

Mini Challenges (with links) That I have Completed:

1. Hour 1 Intro
2. Where in the World is the Read-A-Thon
3. Bart’s Bookshelf: Using book titles to make a sentence
4. Opi’s Ramblings: Perspectives

TOTAL Time I have participated (less the down time): 5.75 hours

Look for my next update at the end of Hour Eight (or around 1:00 PM PST). I will also be posting a mini-challenge during at the BEGINNING of Hour Eight (Noon PST) which will end at 3:00PM PST (or then end of hour 10)