Where was I? Oh, yeah, Readathon. For me the best part of readathon is compiling the Pile O' Books. It's very important, in order to have a successful readathon, to pick the right kinds of books. Now obviously some of you out there are super serious readers who can power through War and Peace in just a few days, but for those of you out there like me, you want simple, fun, entertaining reads if you're going to make it through 24 hours of reading (although you really should take the time to be a cheerleader- it's a fun break for you and much needed support for lonely bloggers suffering from lack of sleep and the fear that their 24 hours of reading is going unnoticed). So soon I will be posting a list of books/graphic novels that might help you through the long hours of readathon. And please, give me your suggestions!!!
One book that I bought for my Kindle for a past readathon (is it driving you crazy that sometimes I capitalize Readathon and others times I don't? It's annoying me too), but only recently got around to reading is Wake by Lisa McMann. Everyone told me what a great readathon read it would make, but I just kept putting it off, waiting for the next readathon. But part of that is that I so love the physical tower of readathon books, that I end up not reading on my kindle or nook. However, I do plan on getting the second book in McMann's series for my readathon pile this year.
by Lisa McMann
From Goodreads:
For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.
She can't tell anybody about what she does they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can’t control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant.
My Thoughts: A really great, quick read. I read this in just a few hours, and really enjoyed the premise and that characters. I can see now why people urged me to read it on Twitter during past Readathons. There was a point in the beginning when I felt like I was reading a Nightmare on Elm Street book, but overall it felt fresh and new. I like that the main characters aren't super rich, aren't worried about what they're going to wear or who designed their shoes. So many YA books feature rich, or at least very comfortable middle class characters. The characters in Wake are poor, and not just in the "My iPod is almost two years old" way. And it's not a big deal, it's just a fact. The only thing that really keeps this book from being a true Midnight Book read is that the writing style can be a bit jarring at time. It's told in third person, which is rare in YA, but it didn't always work for me. That said, I happily devoured the book, and can't wait to read the next two in the series. I owe this book an apology- I apologize for leaving you to linger in my kindle for so long, I apologize for all the readathonss that passed us by, you deserved a better, more dedicated reader! However, I feel better that I'm getting the word out. Wake would make a great Readathon book (see, doing the capitalization thing again, argh!).
Wake gets a Midnight Book Rating of:
It might not be perfect, but it's perfectly readable. :)
Okay, so I know you don't care about this next bit, and feel free to skip it, but I'm getting super excited about Richmond Zombie Walk! Last year was my first time participating, and I was lucky enough to get two of my lovely nieces to join in. This year will be even better, because my nieces are Girl Scouts and my sister in law is planning on getting the entire troop to dress up as Girl Scout zombies... which will be epic! Last year was just kind of pulled together so we didn't have a theme but I did learn how to make my own fake blood. Here's some pics:
So if you're still here and awake, let me know some of your choices for best Readathon books and I'll include them in a future post- or feel free to create your own post that I'll link to when I create mine. Thanks!
Yeah Readathon! You just made my day (pathetic I know). Last year, I read Squirrel Meets Chipmunk by David Sedaris, its a short and fun read. I'd highly recommend it, or anything by Sedaris for that matter.
ReplyDeleteAlso, love the Zombie Walk pictures.