First Book for Readathon Complete

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling of the classic fairy tale, Cinderella. It had the wonderful parts from the original but included so much more. Ella was received a fairy blessing at birth to be obedient. Sounds great until you realize that she is bound to do ANYTHING anyone commands her. Could be as simple as hopping on one foot for a day or ending a friendship when commanded. A fun, quick read, my first for the Dewey's 24 hour readathon! View all my reviews >>

Working my Way Through Ella Enchanted

So I started my readathon morning with a book I wasn't really into and decided to switch to Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. So far so good, almost 1/3 of the way through.

Readathon Weekend!

Here is my stack for my first ever Readathon tomorrow!

1. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

2. Courting Trouble by Deeanne Gist

3. The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman

4. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

5. The Giver by Lois Lowry

6. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

7. The Messenger by Lois Lowry

8. A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist

9. Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins

I'm really excited! A friend and I are doing this together, even renting a hotel room so keep us away from our kids. The only thing I'm worried about is that I asked her if we should get treats and she said, "Treats?" like she had never heard of that idea before. Guess I'm the only reader who likes to snack at the same time.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book 2 for RIP Challenge, Peril the Second

Wow! What a book, my head is spinning from all the events that happen in this book and I don't even know where to begin. David Martin, an aspiring writer from a troubled childhood meets a mysterious man who promises him wealth untold in exchange for writing a novel for his publishing company. As David begins work on the novel, strange things begin happening and he starts to wonder if this deal isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I love this author's writing style. I can see the Barcelona of the early 1900s. I can see the squalor some live in and the luxury others enjoy. I can feel the dripping, damp old tower house that David moves into and I can smell the dust and decay of the room in his house that contains a deadly secret.

The plot is interesting and definitely not predictable, and there are so many twists and turns I can hardly keep track of them. I am not usually a re-reader of books but if I were, I'm sure I could get even more out of this book if I read it again.

I loved it, I would recommend it as a great creepy read; not one to read if you are looking for sunshine and happiness, but a fascinating mystery that leaves you thinking.

U2: At the End of the World by Bill Flanagan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the book cover: When U2 took the stage for their three-year Zoo TV world tour in 1991, Bill Flanagan was there--in the bus, on the plane, in the recording studio and well after hours with the biggest rock band in the world. A tour that began to support the hugely successful Achtung Baby record and ended with a second, even more successful record, Zooropa, took U2 to the far reaches of the world, playing to over a hundred sold-out arenas in over forty cities.

U2 At The End Of The World takes you on the world tour and drops you off at the cultural intersection where rock stars meet politicians; where writers, directors, and models all wind up backstage with U2. And finally, when the band performs their last Zoo TV concert in Tokyo in 1993 and nearly collapses from physical and mental exhaustion, you are there with them waiting for the end of the world.

Wow, I don't really even know how to begin my review for this book. I attended U2's 360 tour last week and that is what prompted my interest in learning more about the band. And I sure learned a bunch! This book is packed with personal insight, quotes and stories from the band members. I feel like I got to know about each of their personalities. It is crazy the situations that rock stars can get themselves into. This book is all about their Zoo TV tour detailing life on the road. It is just unreal, they are taken from place to place, told where to be, stand, what to do and then they do it. Then in their hours off, there is much time for partying and crazy times all night long.

What I was impressed with is that U2 has such a generosity and love with each other. The band members are childhood friends and stick with each other through thick and thin. I also believe that they genuinely try to treat other people with kindness and respect, from trying to inform the world about tragedies in Sarajevo to Bono picking up a crazy fan who was knocked down by a security guard and making sure he is ok.

The thing that I didn't like about this book is how random it seemed. I am on information overload. Anecdote, concert, conversation, places are all jumbled together in an order that doesn't make sense to me. So if you are looking for a simple biography, this is not the one, but if you are looking to laugh out loud and be touched by kindness and craziness, this is the one for you. View all my reviews >>

YA-Dystopian Reading Challenge

I love these challenges and I have even read several in this genre already this year so I will love reading even more!

Hosted by Bart's Bookshelf, the YA Dystopian Reading Challenge takes place from October 15 to the end of the year.

"Dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος, alternatively, cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society in which conditions of life are miserable and characterized by poverty, oppression, war,violence, disease, pollution, nuclear fallout and/or the abridgement of human rights, resulting in widespreadunhappiness, suffering, and other kinds of pain. (Source: Wikipedia)"

The idea is to have fun with this, So your level of participation is up to you, simply pick a target of between 1 & 4 books to read during the two and a half months of the challenge.

Here's my list:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

The Giver, Gathering Blue, The Messenger by Lois Lowry

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

This is my first book for the RIP challenge!

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Connie Goodwin, Harvard graduate student in colonial studies, interrupts her dissertation research to rehabilitate her grandmother's crumbling house in Marblehead, MA at the request of her mother. While there she discovers an ancient key in a 17th century bible with the name Deliverance Dane on a bit of paper. Through much research she finds that Deliverance was a "cunning woman" involved in the Salem witch trials. Connie also finds connections to Deliverance Dane that come close to home.

The book flip-flops between the 1600s and the 1990s forming an interesting picture of life in Salem. I enjoyed reading about life in Salem now and in the 1600s. Howe painted interesting pictures in my mind of life at Harvard and life as a woman in 1692. I also liked the characters. There were few of them and they were decently developed. The magical moments were well illustrated and felt realistic.

There are good things about this book, but my high expectations were unmet. I felt like nothing much happened in the first 200 pages, but then it picked up a bit after that. I did look forward to reading it and finding out the ending. It was also a bit predictable; "aha" moments for Connie were a little funny as the reader could figure out what was going to happen several pages before.

This wasn't my favorite book ever but there were good things about it and I would definitely give Katherine Howe another try in a future book. View all my reviews >>