Update #1

It has been almost 4 hours since the read-a-thon began and I have gotten nothing done. I started 2 books, gave up on the first and am currently working on Little Lady, Big Apple.  I will have to take a break in a bit because my sister want to go see Frankenweenie (she is a giant Tim Burton fan), but hopefully I will get some reading done in the afternoon.

Starting Line Read-a-thon

It's time for the reading to begin! I don't have an actual list this time, just a bunch of books from the library that I will pick from based on my mood.

Introduction Questions:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?-Ohio

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?-Nothing specific but I am hoping one of my books on hold will be in at the library today.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?-I am planning on making some pretzels soon and hopefully they will turn about better than when I tried to make them yesterday.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!-I have very recently been teaching myself to knit and am about halfway finished with a Harry Potter scarf (blue and silver for Ravenclaw). I also spend way too much time on Pinterest. 

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?-I plan on following the same plan as last time, switch books when getting bored and read easier books like YA.

October Read-A-Thon 2012

What: The Dewey's Read-A-thon
Who: You! And any friends you can force to join!
When: This Saturday the 13th
Where: Anywhere you can take a book, your house, the park, the library, upside down on you bed, lounging in the backyard, at a restaurant, waiting in line.
How: Pick up and read as many books as possible in a 24 hour period. Go without sleep. Ignore your housework. Ignore your friends. Just read all day!

It seems that waiting until the last minute to join the read-a-thon is my tradition. Though to be fair, I work in retail and my schedule varies so I don't usually know if I will be off. And I am a procrastinator. Which of course means I am still tweaking my to-read pile. I am visiting the library later today so it will hopefully be in the final stages soon. Check back soon. Happy reading everyone!

New for October

 After killing my computer (don't ask me what I did, I'm only ok with computers) and not finishing my summer challenge, I have regrouped to start posting again. My reading funk is mostly gone, for now at least, and I am looking forward to new things. First, let me catch up on things that have happened.

• I ended the Semi-Charmed Life Summer Reading Challenge with 55 points. I managed to stick with it for 2 months which is sadly a record for me. I'm not sure if it was my funk or my lack of commitment that sabotaged me, but I think it was a step in the right direction. And it let me finally give up on trying to read Atonement.
• I read Shadow of the Night which was completely disappointing. That's all I'm going to say on that.
• The new Jasper Fforde book came out last week in the US. Hurray! Side note: The sleuthing contests that go along with the releases of all his books are always fun, but hard as I try I usually only get like half the questions right. Doesn't stop me from trying. 
• Read many more books that maybe I will finally get around to reviewing. We will see.

That is about the most of it. Now I'm just looking forward to this awesome fall weather with these beautiful leaves changing colors and the Read-a-thon coming up on Saturday. More on that in a separate post.

Reading Funk

I have been in a little bit of a funk lately. Not really sure why, but most of the books I read aren't really exciting me. Do you know that satisfied feeling you get after you read a great book that has just sucked you in, showed you beautiful things, making you relaxed and content? Or a book that made you the world in a new way, surprising you? Well, it has been a while since I have read a book like that. Don't get me wrong, I have read many perfectly adequate books that have amused me for the moment, but nothing that has sparked deep feeling. I even re-read The Night Circus but it wasn't as enchanting the second time (which I am really hoping is because I am in a mood because that book is awesome). Finding a slump buster is hard though. I have tired light comedies but the character's naiveté was grating. I have tried a sequel to a favorite book but it was disappointing. Maybe I will just take a break from books for a while and see if that works.

Oh, and on a different note, I have officially given up on Atonement. That book was just awful.

End of June Update

For some reason I've never been the greatest on following up on projects. I start with all the greatest intentions, but then I get bored or find something else fun to do. But, I have been trying to be better about that starting with this challenge. And yes, I know it isn't quite the end of June but I don't really care.

• I am still part of the way through Atonement. I haven't attempted to read it lately, but hopefully I will find some strength to carry on.
• I finished Little Lady Agency, the review coming soon. This has been on my to-read list since it came out and I guess I forgot about it until I saw it at the library.
• I also finished A Surrey State of Affairs, which was fantastic.
• Fried Green Tomatoes is still sitting on my Kindle. Should really get on that.

Crossed

By: Ally Condie

Rating: 4 stars

This is the second book in the Matched series, and I was a little hesitant about reading it. I did enjoy the first one but YA series tend to get boring for me. Thankfully, this one doesn't.

Things I enjoyed: It didn't wait the entire book getting Cassia and Ky back together. I really hate when authors do that just to keep the tension because it really just makes the book boring. You can still bring them together and have some conflict.

Things I didn't like: Nothing really. Looking forward to the next one.

I read this for the Semi-Charmed Life Summer Challenge and got 15 points for the Read a book in one day challenge. I am now at 20 points!