The 31st is the last day to enter my Spooktacular give away (see previous post) and I'm amazed by all the entries! Can't wait to pick a winner on Monday!
Sorry I haven't posted much this week, but I've been gearing up for Halloween Weekend. Yesterday the Hubs and I went and saw Paranormal Activity 2, which was awesome. And today I participated in Richmond Zombie Walk with my little nieces and a friend of theirs. It was a blast! Below are a few pics. Tonight the Hubs and I are going to a midnight showing of Rocky Horror, which will no doubt be awesome.
Wishing a Happy Halloween to one and all! And for those of you who aren't fans of the holiday, I wish you a quiet, zombie-witch-vampire free Sunday. :)
Okay, I love Halloween! So I thought I'd join the Spooktacular Book Blog Giveaway Hop- visit I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for the other blog hop giveaway links. This is open to all folowers who have access to Amazon, as the giveaway is a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate which will be emailed to you. The winner will be chosen on the 1st of November. Good luck to all, and Happy Halloween!
Where is your favorite place to read? Curled up on the sofa, in bed, in the garden?
I read anywhere, although not too often in the garden because I don't have one, but I'll certainly read a book in a garden if I find myself in one with a book on hand. Especially now that I have my Kindle, it's nice to just be able to read it while standing in line. But if I had to pick a favorite place to read I'd have to go with in bed, even though you're not supposed to read in bed because supposedly to get better sleep at night a bed should only be used for sleep and love making. And I'm just going to say this; I like reading in the bathroom. There. I admitted it. It's not my fault, though! My dad used to read in the bathroom and that's how I got my hands on my first Stephen King novel when I was just a grade schooler.
What are you currently reading? Basically what book is that?
It's a bit weird, but I'm only sort of reading a short story collection at the moment. It's called Horror Stories by Jack Kilborn and JA Konrath. Between Dewey's Readathon and this past weekend's Halloween Readathon I've read quite a bit of books. But the last few days I was finishing up CNA school, so I had finals and everything, and today I graduate! I have no doubt though I'll be finishing the short story collection (which is pretty darn good) and moving on to other Halloweenish type reads soon. And I have sooooooo many reviews to catch up on! Eek! Talk about a scary story!
This is a great meme from A Tapestry of Words. In the weeks leading up to Christmas you post a book that you'd like to see underneath your tree. This is my first selection:
Can the chatter of the YA nerdosphere launch a successful book? This imaginative collection answers with a resounding yes. Beginning in February 2007, editors Black and Larbalestier debated zombies’ and unicorns’ strengths and weaknesses on Larbalestier’s blog, and the resulting interest roped in stories from a number of impressive authors, including Libba Bray, Meg Cabot, and Garth Nix. Handy icons make it easy to choose which stories each camp will want to read, but the book’s A-plus design—and the desire to know which team wins!—will have unicorn die-hards crossing over into flesh-eating territory, and vice versa. The standouts come from the authors who take their gimmicky mission the most seriously: Carrie Ryan’s “Bougainvillea,” in which she continues the mudo mythology she began in The Forest of Hands and Teeth (2009); Maureen Johnson’s highly unsettling “The Children of the Revolution”; Scott Westerfeld’s propulsive “Inoculata”; and Margo Lanagan’s “A Thousand Flowers,” in which she writes about unicorns with such freshness and fire, you’d think she invented them. Who ultimately wins? To reuse an old joke: everyone. --Daniel Kraus
*This blog is brought to you today by the color purple, in honor of Spirit Day.
I'm surprised at how much I was able to get read this weekend for Halloween Readathon. Between school and work, I still managed to get quite a bit of non-school related reading done. Here's what I read:
Finished:
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Read:
Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror edited by R.L.Stine
Glee: The Beginning by Sophia Lowell
Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler
My favorite was Delirium, but I also enjoyed Hunger, although I need to stop reading books with anorexic main characters because it makes me hungry.
Fear was a mixed bag, some stories I liked quite a lot, and others I felt didn't really belong in a novel titled Fear. Still, a good selection for a readathon. I like short story collections, and it was nice to read one by authors like R.L. Stine and Meg Cabot that I had never read before. And it introduced me to some new authors, which is always a good thing.
Glee was okay. The storyline did at time contradict what happens in the pilot, but I'm a sucker for books that give a little more than you get from a television show. You got a little more background on characters like Mercedes and Tina, and a lot of Rachel, Finn and Quinn. It sets up the Quinn and Puck hook up, but ignores Brittany and Santana's relationship. Sue Sylvester is not featured near enough, but is still amusing. Overall it was worth reading for a Gleek like me, but if you don't consider yourself a Gleek, or don't even know what a Gleek is, then you should probably skip this book.
I didn't get to participate in any of the Halloween Readathon events, which makes me sad. But I did get to do a little twittering. I had a great time, and I hope to do it again next year!
*reviews for Delirium, Fear and Hunger will be posted at a later date.
Somehow I've reached 100 followers!! Woot! It only took a year... but I did take the entire summer off from blogging and I've never been good at marketing myself. But I knew I was getting close to 100 followers, and now I have arrived! Of course, I don't blog to have followers, and I don't have lots of money or awesome publishers sending me free books to give away, or a really cool review style. All I've got is a love for reading and a huge love for the blogging community. That said, I love followers, because followers mean comments and comments make my heart swell (that's for you, Bittner).
As always if you hop and follow, I'll do you the favor of following you back. But even if you don't want to follow, leave a comment and I'll still check your site out. I'm still playing catch up from all the sites I visited on Readathon but I only have one more week of school and then I'll have more quality time with my laptop (I haven't even had time for Cake Wrecks! Oh, the tragedy!).
Now Follow Friday asks a simple question:
What is your reading suggestion this week?
Well, in honor of the Halloween Readathon I'm going to have to go with something Halloween appropriate and suggest I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells. I really liked this story, because like with Dexter, I have a fondness for nice guy serial killers. And I'm hoping to read Mr. Monster, the sequel, soon.
Sorry this is so late, but with school and work, I'm a busy girl these days. Luckily I graduate CNA school on the 22nds... assuming I don't screw up royally between now and then. Prayers wouldn't hurt, if you're the praying sort. :)
I decided to review the manga and graphic novels first, and so here they are:
Odd Is On Our Side by Dean Koontz and Fred Van Lente and illustrated by Queenie Chan
Another manga prequel to the Odd Thomas series. Fittingly enough the story takes place during Halloween. In addition to the help of girlfriend Stormy, this manga introduces Little Ozzie and Terrible Chester, Cheif Wyatt Porter and a few other Pico Mundo residents not in the previous manga. It's kind of amazing to see a world you know only from words brought into life. While Little Ozzie didn't look exactly as I pictured him, his house, his porch and his cat, Terrible Chester, could have been conjured up from my imagination. If you're and Odd fan, then you definitely want to check this out. If you're not an Odd fan, then go read the series! Then start the mangas.
Kick-Ass by Martin Millar and John Romita, Jr.
I saw the movie Kick-Ass, which is based on Millar's graphic novel, and enjoyed it very much despite the incredible amounts of violence that the previews had not prepared me for. I liked the graphic novel as well, although there were many differences- most notably the ending. I really liked the idea of normal people putting on some tights (or scuba outfits) and helping to fight crime without possessing special powers. It does make you wonder why no one's tried that before. How many of us pretended to be Wonder Woman or Superman or some other superhero? Of course I probably would have given superhero a career consideration if I could fly and shoot laser beams out my booty, but sadly these talents have yet to manifest. Kick-Ass was a great choice for Readathon, but I really wish the pages had been numbered!
The Talisman Vol. 1: The Road of Trials by Stephen King and Peter Straub
Okay, first of all I loved the novel The Talisman and it's sequel The Black House. So when I was browsing the graphic novel section for Readathon inspiration, I was more than happy to grab a copy of the first part of the Talisman. During Readathon, I went from graphic novels to book, to graphic novel again. Because I spent so much time cheering, it was nice to be able to read something quick like a graphic novel. While I loved the Talisman, I did have a few complaints. First, if you're not familiar with the story, I just don't see how you'd even know what was going on. It's been quite a few years, and I really felt a bit confused at times. Actually, that's my only complaint, other than the page numbering thingy. It was wonderful seeing the story brought to life of Traveling Jack, and again if you're a fan, this graphic novel is for you. If you still want to read it without reading the novel, then I'd recommend wiki-pedia-ing the story. Otherwise, seriously, you'll be lost. Still, beautiful graphics, and of course the story line is imaginative!
The Exile by Diana Gabaldon
This graphic novel is based on the book Outlander, but focuses mainly on Jamie (which is exactly what us readers wanted!). I loved the illustrations and Jamie's expanded storyline. I did have a wee bit of trouble telling some of Jamie's relatives at part at times, but I don't blame the graphics as much as I blame myself and the late hours I spent reading this (it was my last Readathon selection). This is a must for any Outlander fan, although I would say that it's not necessary to have read the first book in order to enjoy the graphic novel. I thought they did a fine job of explaining the storyline as the graphic novel unfolded, without being overly repetitive. It was a great finish to my best Readathon yet!
Here's some art from inside The Exile:
I don't know why red-headed men aren't considered attractive in some cultures, but I love me a ginger like Jamie!
Tomorrow I'll post the rest of my Readathon reviews, I'll be busy after school today finishing my re-read of To Kill A Mockingbird for tonight's book club meeting! I got distracted by Impossible and Delirium. *sigh* I hate when real life intrudes on my reading time!
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
4am to 6am, when my unfortunate attempt to read with my eyes closed failed miserably.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I really enjoyed reading Green Angel by Alice Hoffman, it was short, simple and bittersweet. And read graphic novels and kids books!
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
You know what, I really missed the challenge where we had to make sentences out our books (using 3 or more). I was bummed to not see that on the challenge list.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I was really happy with how many people twittered, it seems a lot more than last readathon, and we had some awesome cheerleaders!
5. How many books did you read?
8 plus 20 pages of a book that I gave up on
6. What were the names of the books you read?
Odd Is On Our Side by Dean Koontz, Green Angel by Alice Hoffman, The Beatles: The Illustrated Biography , Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow by James Howe, A Taste For Red by Lewis Harris, Kick-Ass by Mark Millar, The Talisman Vol 1 by Stephen King and Peter Straub, and The Exile by Diana Gabaldon.
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
I liked them all! But I'd probably most recommend Green Angel by Alice Hoffman. 8. Which did you enjoy least?
The only book I gave up on: Cathy's Book (If Found Call (650)266-8233) by Stewart, Weisman and Brig. I think it's something I'll finish, but I just didn't like it for readathon.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I really would urge you to visit every blog on your list at least once, but then to also leave random cheers on blogs not assigned to you if you visit them. Pay attention to twitter, bloggers, especially the newbies, need comments to keep them alive. It's kind of like the whole clapping you hands together to bring a fairy back to life.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
Oh, it is on like Donkey Kong!
Odd is On Our Side
Green Angel
The Beatles: The Illustrated Biography
Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow
A Taste For Red
Kick -Ass
The Talisman Vol 1: The Road of Trials
The Exile
*20 pages of Cathy's Book
Total pages read
1431 (159 pages read since last update)
Time spent reading
Almost the entire time, if you count reading blogs, twitter and cheering as time reading.
Mini-challenges completed
The Side-Kick challenge and I'll do the End of the Readathon Meme once it's up.
Snacks
Just some water... might snack on some of the left over mini-quiches before I head to bed. But that nap, er, quiet reading meditation time, has me pretty awake right now!
Odd Is On Our Side
Green Angel
The Beatles: The Illustrated Biography
A Taste For Red
Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow
Kick-Ass
The Talisman Vol 1: The Road of Trials
Total pages read
1272 (0 pages since last update, the whole reading with my eyelids in the relaxed position was an epic failure)
Time spent reading
Oh, what's that over there?
Mini-challenges completed
Is that {insert favorite author here} standing behind you?
Odd is On Our Side
Green Angel
Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow
A Taste For Red
The Beatles: The Illustrated Biography
Kick-Ass
The Talisman Vol 1: The Road of Trials
Currently reading
Just finished The Talisman Vol 1: The Road of Trials
Books finished
Odd is On Our Side
Green Angel
Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow
A Taste For Red
The Beatles: The Illustrated Biography
Kick-Ass
The Talisman Vol 1: The Road of Trials
Total pages read
1207 (160 pages since last update)
Please, don't be too impressed- I'm reading graphic novels, mangas, YA, and children's books.
The hour grows late, but the challenges still await!
Ban This Book! is a nod to banned book week. The object is to take any book, maybe your current readathon book, and find a ridiculous way to get it on the banned/challenged list. Present the story or events completely out of context, use innocent quotes and turn them into something dark and dirty!
For instance I just picked a book at random from the shelf- The Princess Bride by William Goldman, and I'm going to use the plot to present my case as to why the book should be banned.
The Princess Bride is a book that glorifies violence, murder, torture and crime! The main "hero" is a blood thirsty pirate who attacks a poor scarred man and chokes unconscious a mentally challenged giant, then kills a man with poison! Not to mention, this so-called "hero" brutally slays the endangered R.O.U.S's (rodents of unusual size) and later threatens to chop off various body parts of another character. The "love story" is immorality at it's best, the heroine is engaged, and then married, to another man when she abandons him to live in sin with the hero. Revenge against a physically deformed man is a major subplot and his murder is quite excessive. I shudder to think what reading this book could do to the fragile young minds of our youths. No doubt they would want to take up sword fighting and plan careers as assassins. I implore you to take this book of your shelves before more innocent children are corrupted!
Hmm, I might have gone a little crazy there, but hopefully you get the drift. And it doesn't matter if you pick a book already on the banned or challenged list, I know what a bunch of rebellious readers we have out here in the book blogging world! Just have fun with it.
The prize is a $15.00 Amazon gift certificate, which will be emailed to you, so this is open to all readathon participants. It would be helpful to include your email address in your comment, and you can either post a link to your banned books argument or, if you don't have a blog, just enter the entire thing into the comments section. This contest will be open for 3 hours.
1. What are you reading right now? A Taste of Red by Lewis Harris
2. How many books have you read so far? 4 and 3/4s
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? The Exile graphic novel by Diana Gabaldon!
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Yes, I normally work weekends, but I requested off this weekend as soon as I knew the date of this readathon (I do home health care and I need to make sure my shifts were covered).
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Um, just the call of the computer, and the beckoning of the blogs, and the tittering of twitter... but I'm trying to resist!
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How much fun I'm having cheering! I unofficially cheered last year, especially in the later hours, but it's nice being official and being part of Team Metaphor!
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? We need to find a way to lure in more cheerleaders! I think people think it's a lot of hard work, but honestly, you end up visiting so many blogs, why not leave a word or two of encouragement? I definitely think more challenges involving cheer would be a great idea!
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Oh, I will be doing this again. Honestly, I did really good picking out easy reads so far. So even though I've spent a lot of time online I've managed to still get through several books, which helps motivate me to keep on going! Next time though? Maybe a bunch of different flavored coffees!
9. Are you getting tired yet? Not really, I did make a pot of coffee, but I'm working slowly through it. Still raring to go!
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? Obviously book selection is key, you need something to hold your interest. And as others have mentioned, it's important to be flexible. If a book is boring you, or not flowing, put it down and pick up another one! The library police are off duty during the Readathon, so no one will come knocking on your door for failing to finish each and every book you start. You can always revisit the book in the future. And plan snacks! Snacks are so important, look how much time we spend talking about them! lol And Cheer, people, cheer! Knowing that people are out there, staying up and reading along with you helps keep the energy up.
Okay, can't resist this one, since I've been composing cheers all day!
Here's some I came up with:
North to South and East to West Readathon Readers Are the Best! Sea to Sea and Coast to Coast, Readathon Readers have Read the Most!
Dewey's Readathon is finally here,
I'm full of words and good cheer
(and snacks and drinks and sleep deprivation)
Hoping to give you motivation!
Don't give in to yawning sleep,
That stealer of reading time, that creep!
Stay awake and read with me
And read of what was, what is, and what might be!
Every time you close a book
a writer somewhere starts to weep
So give that story one more look
You've got all of Sunday to sleep!
You've got the time and the books,
I've got the cheer and the good looks,
Between us two, we'll read all night
Until the sky is once more light!
You're blazing through your pile
And updating your blog on books,
So I thought I'd cheer you on a while
And tell you how great your site looks!
Read, Read, Read!
You reach for the next book you need,
Another pot of coffee, better brew it strong
But I'm still here to cheer all night long!
Snacks
Pizza
Planters Nut-rition Energy Mix (oh, how I love you)
Mini-quiches (for breakfast, but this is the first time I've posted my eats)
& a few golden oreo cookies w/ chocolate centers
Drinks- coffee and water
Title of book(s) read since last update: Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow
Thoughts on current read: Bunnicula is one of my favorite reads from childhood, and curling up with Harold, Chester, Howie, Bunnicula and the rest of the Monroe family is always nice. Cute story too!
Number of books read since you started:3
Pages read since last update: 102
Amount of time spent reading since last update: About an hour (I was cheering!)
Running total of time spent reading since you started: Are you keeping track? Because I'm not! lol
Mini-challenges completed: I did the 6 word challenge, which was a fun one!
Other participants you’ve visited (running list from start to finish - this way I can easily find my way back to all the new blogs!): I cheered thru the R's and visited a few other sites as well:
http://homebetweenpages.com/
http://rachelcabbit.livejournal.com/
http://intheforestbookreviews.blogspot.com/
http://fayeflamereviews.blogspot.com/
http://www.booksidoneread.blogspot.com/
http://www.literaryobsession.com/
http://reederreads.wordpress.com/
http://richlsjenn.blogspot.com/
http://rocketgirlreviews.blogspot.com/
http://ignoranthistorian.com/
http://www.princessbookie.com/ Prize you’ve won: Zilch, but Readathon is still young!
Title of book(s) read since last update: Green Angel by Alice Hoffman
Thoughts on current read: Green Angel was a beautiful, bittersweet tale, perfect for the Readathon. I've recently started Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow. Aren't puns fun?
Number of books read since you started:2
Pages read since last update: 157
Amount of time spent reading since last update: I did good this time and read for about an hour and half
Running total of time spent reading since you started: I'm not really keeping track that much, but I'm reading more now than I will later on tonight, when I'll probably take more breaks to cheer and twitter and cheer on twitter.
Mini-challenges completed: Just the two from last time, I'll probably go do some now. Other participants you’ve visited (running list from start to finish - this way I can easily find my way back to all the new blogs!): I'm horrible at tracking, but I did start after my last update.
http://ignoranthistorian.com/
http://indextrious.blogspot.com/ Prize you’ve won: None, except the prize of good books and good friends to read along with!
Title of book(s) read since last update: Odd Thomas is On Our Side by Dean Koontz
Thoughts on current read: I absoluetly loved it! Like the first Odd Thomas manga, it's a prequel to the books. It's amazing to see how closely I was able to picture characters and settings from Koontz's descriptions. And Terrible Chester was featured, yay!
Number of books read since you started:1
Pages read since last update: 192 (but keep in mind it was a manga)
Amount of time spent reading since last update:About an hour, I've been doing challenges and cheering too!
Running total of time spent reading since you started: about an hour
Mini-challenges completed: I did the kick off meme and favorite childhood books question
Other participants you’ve visited (running list from start to finish - this way I can easily find my way back to all the new blogs!): Um, I've visited all the blogs on my cheering list from N's to Q's, I'll get to the R's and SH's over the next few hours. And then I've visited random sites from twitter. I really need to keep a track! Opening a notepad right now.
Eeeeeek! Readathon has begun!! I'm starting off with the first challenge so that I can get it out of the way.
Hour 1 Challenge Meme:
Where are you reading from today? Richmond, Virgina is the location, but I'll be all over the house today, trying to keep comfy and focused. I might even read outside!
3 facts about me … 1. I wish I was cool enough to really get into comic book/graphic novel reading, but usually end up reading the popular ones. 2. My middle name is Lorene, but it's pronounced like Loreen-ah. It's a family name thing. 3. I love being back on the East Coast, but I miss Oklahoma so much more than I ever thought I would.
How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? Something like 19... and plenty of others to choose from.
Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? Well, I'm cheerleading, I only signed up for an hour, but I plan on visiting each blog on my list at least once, but I'll stick with the late night readers as long as I can.
If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? You know, I would say to pick small books, but I really think you just need to read what you want to. If that 600 page book on Russian Czars and their coat button's calls to you then that's what you should read. Try not to overdose on caffeine, and take part in my mini-challenge in Hour 17!
The Talisman: The Road of Trials by Stephen King and Peter Straub (graphic novel)
And if that wasn't enough I've got these titles waiting, begging, pleading to be read on my Kindle:
Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense edited by R.L. Stine
The Secret of Ka by Christopher Pike
Glee: The Beginning by Sophia Lowell (yes, I'm a Gleek)
Horror Stories by Jack Kilborn and J.A. Konrath
The Lake and 17 Other Stories by David McAfee
The Little Girl in My Room & Other Stories by Claire Farrell
The New World by Patrick Ness
Wake by Lisa McMann
As always, way overambitious, but I can't help it! Someday I will possess a time turner and the ability to finally read all the books lingering on my tbr pile.
Let me know what you're planning to read during Dewey's Readathon, and add your twitter name if you'd like a follow.
This is my first official Follow my Book Blog Friday, but I've see lots of blog hoppers participating. I'm blogg hopping this weekend, but I don't know how many blogs I'll get to simply because I have school today, readathon tomorrow, and studying and sleeping on Sunday.
I will however be visiting LOTS of blogs during readathon. If you twitter about readathon, then I'll happily give you a follow (I'm Midnghtbookgirl on there). I'm officially cheerleading this time as well, though last year I ended up doing it unofficially. My readathon post will be up later.
And of course, I'm hopping today! Check out Crazy For Books to add your blog to the hop. It's a great way to meet some awesome bloggers!
Please let me know if you're participating in Readathon and what your twitter name is, and I'll be sure to give you a visit and a twitter follow. My anticipation for Readathon is building! Can't wait for Saturday!
Question of the Week: What's your favorite beverage while reading or blogging, if any? Is it tea, coffee, water, a glass of wine, or something else?
I normally just drink water, now that the weather is turning cold I've been drinking hot chocolate while reading- I'm especially loving this new mix I found at Wal-Mart called Candycane Cocoa. It's got little bits of candycane mixed in, yummy!
