October ReadAThon - Update #3 - The Apothecary

Shop Indie BookstoresThe Apothecary by Maile Meloy. GP Putnam and Sons. 16.99. 9780399256271.

With a mix of realistic fiction and fantasy, known as magical realism, we are drawn into Janie Scott's memories as she looks back almost 60 years ago when, at the age of 14, she had the best year of her life.  She lived in London with her parents but that wasn't the great part as it was 1952 and London still hadn't put itself back together after World War II.  The great part was meeting Benjamin and his father, the apothecary.  Benjamin and Janie were caught up in the apothecary's plan to save humanity by isolating, and hopefully reversing, the atomic bomb.

I was sucked into the story from the "note to the reader" all the way to the end.  Even though the story was told from Janie's memories, it felt more immediate.  Though, I admit, it was little jarring to go from being 7 on one page to 14 on the other.  Other than that, I found The Apothecary fascinating. I will need to go back and read it again to see if stands up to Newbery scrutiny, but even if it doesn't, I can't wait to see what the students think of this one!

Update:

Title of book(s) read since last update:

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

Number of books read since you started:

2
Pages read since last update:
353p.

Running total of pages read since you started:

715p. plus 30 min audio

Amount of time spent reading since last update:

3h 50 min
Running total of time spent reading since you started:
8 hours



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October Readathon Update #1 - Fingertips

Woo-ha! My first update.  Reading, relaxing, cheering, and running errands.  Soon to be cleaning! Yeah for the weekend!


 Currently Reading:The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman

Number of Pages Read Since Last Update: 203

Number of Books Read Since Last Update: NONE

Number of Minutes Read Since Last Update:2 hours

Total Number of Pages Read: 203

Total Number of Books Read: None

Total Number of Minutes: 2hrs. 30 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon: My List of Books!

Hello everybody! This is Aneeqah here! This year, I'm participating in the Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon, for the first time ever! I won't be able to read much, since I'm going over to my relative's house. My goal is to read 6 hours, and 2-3 books. Here's what my stack looks like:

• Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick- This one will defiantly be my first book I read, I've been anxious to get to it!
• All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin- I met this author at the ATBF, and I recently finished her other book, so I want to try a new book from her!
• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Leviathan- My friends have recommended this one to me, I've been meaning to get to it for a while!
• The Absolute Value of Mike by Katherine Erskine- I read another book by this author, [which almost made me cry!] so I also wanted to try this one.
• Cloaked by Alex Flinn- Like the others, I read another book by the author previously, and this one's been on my TBR for a really long time!
• Evernight by Claudia Gray-I've heard some really good things about this series, so I wanted to try it out. It sounds like a few really good books I've read previously, so I'm hoping it'll be as good as the others!
• Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia- I've also heard really good things about this book, and it sounds interesting.

That's my list! Like I said before, I'll be at my relative's house, but I'll be sure to bring a book along there, just in case I have time to read there! My start time for the read-a-thon is 7 AM, so I'll probably just get up the same time I do for school [so much for sleeping in]. I'll be posting here bright and early tomorrow morning!

Sunday Salon - October Readathon 2010 - Final Update

Reckless by Funke

Those last hours of the ReadAThon were really tough.  I took a nap, read some more, and then ended up going to bed around 2:30 am.  My total reading time was a little over 10 hours so I missed my personal goal of 12 hours even though I actually read as many pages!  I feel pretty good!   I spent a lot of time cheerleading and on twitter and really felt connected.  All in all, it was a great time!


ReadAThon Update
Number of books read since you started:
4
The Familiars by Epstein and Jacobson
Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ron Koertge
Stuck on Earth by David Klass
Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst

Pages read since last update:
Reckless - 138 pages
Behemoth - 44? - ebook
Lulu and the Brontosaurus - 113 pages

Running total of pages read since you started:
1147

Amount of time spent reading since last update:
2 hr 15 min

Running total of time spent reading since you started:
10 hr 15 min

Participants you visited:

20 - I had a lot of fun cheerleading!

Readathon October 2010 - Update 4 - Stuck on Earth by David Klass

Stuck on Earth by Klass

Tom Filber or Ketchvar III? Ketchvar believes he was sent to Earth to determine if a race of people who were mean to each other and the place they lived on was worth saving. He was bullied by his family and by people in the neighborhood but the help of the school counselor, a neighbor he noticed but didn't know, and an old teacher, he learns more about who he is and what he's supposed to do.

Although Stuck on Earth has a great many funny parts, it's not a funny book. The issues of bullying and environmental damage are real and happen much the way Klass has pointed out in his book. The ending wrapped up a little neatly but it was necessary after the emotional trauma Tom and Ketchvar suffer throughout the book.

I give this one 3 copies. It's good but I will have to find the right audience. Pair this one with Operation Redwood and Klass' other book, Firestorm.

ReadAThon Update

Number of books read since you started:
3
The Familiars by Epstein and Jacobson
Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ron Koertge
Stuck on Earth by David Klass

Pages read since last update:
Heart of a Samurai - 25 pages
Reckless - 70 pages
Stuck on Earth - 227

Running total of pages read since you started:
850

Amount of time spent reading since last update:
3 hr 25 min

Running total of time spent reading since you started:
8 hours

Readathon October 2010 - Update 3 - Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs

Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Koertge
Kevin Boland likes to play baseball and to write poetry. His dad is also a writer. His dad buys him a spiral notebook and he uses that as his secret diary. Kevin is fourteen and dating Mira (pronounced Mee-ra) who's into saving the planet. She doesn't get him. Then he meets a girl who does. They become poetry buddies but Kevin wants more. He's not sure what to do about Mira, though, because he likes her too.

Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs is written in free verse but every so often Koertge throws in some poetry forms. This book had a great story and great poems. Koertge threw in a villanelle, a pantoum, a sestina, and a ghazal. You don't know what they are? Don't worry, Koertge weaves in the poetry lessons effortlessly. I would love to see this being used in a classroom! I must go back and read Shakespeare Bats Cleanup now, though you don't need it to understand this one.

I give this 4 copies. I will copy a few of the poems and put them in teacher's boxes and see if I can't get them to want the book! Pair this with What My Mother Doesn't Know, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup and Pieces of Georgia.

ReadAthon Update


Number of books read since you started:
2
The Familiars by Epstein and Jacobson
Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ron Koertge

Pages read since last update:
170
Running total of pages read since you started:
530
Amount of time spent reading since last update:
1 hr 20 min
Running total of time spent reading since you started:
4 hrs 35 min

I'm off to to do a little cheering and get some dinner.

Readathon October 2010 - Update 2 - The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson

The Familiars by Epstein and Jacobson

Skylar, Gilbert and Aldwyn are familiars - animals chosen by witches and wizards to help them with their magic and to be companions. Well, Skylar and Gilbert are familiars while Aldwyn is just an alley cat who fell through the right window at the right time! He made a close escape from Grimslade the bounty hunter and got a nice house out of it too!

The three familiars go on a quest to save their loyals, the human companions, because they were kidnapped by the evil queen Loranella. Queen Loranella killed the children's tutor, Kalstaff, and then took Jack, Dalton, and Marianne somewhere and hid them. The familiars have to rescue their loyals within three days; before the protective spell on them vanishes, leaving the children to the mercy of the evil queen.

The Familiars is a fast-paced action packed humor-filled adventure story. The three familiars have to overcome many obstacles on their way to find the children, including their own pasts. They have to rely on each other for strength and support, and that's not something they know how to do. Along the way, they also uncover a secret that just might change everything we know about familiars.

I give The Familiars 4 copies. It will checked out and put on hold constantly. I would display this with Harry Potter and The Golden Compass.

Title of book(s) read since last update:
The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson
really enjoying this so far.  I can see how it would be appealing to students who like action and adventure.  Although there are humans in the book, I think the animals will make it appealing to even more students.


ReadAThon Update 2

Number of books read since you started:

1
Pages read since last update:
150

Running total of pages read since you started:

360

Amount of time spent reading since last update:

1 hr 15 min
Running total of time spent reading since you started:
3 hrs 15 min
Mini-challenges completed:
0
Other participants you’ve visited:
 11

Readathon October 2010 - Update 1 - The Familiars

Title of book(s) read since last update:
The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson
really enjoying this so far.  I can see how it would be appealing to students who like action and adventure.  Although there are humans in the book, I think the animals will make it appealing to even more students.

Number of books read since you started:

0 = still reading
Pages read since last update:
210

Running total of pages read since you started:

210

Amount of time spent reading since last update:

2 hours
Running total of time spent reading since you started:
2 hours
Mini-challenges completed:
0
Other participants you’ve visited:
leeswammes.wordpress.com
knigolandiya.info
lissalongyarn.blogspot.com

Readathon October 2010 - Kickoff Post

Good morning! I start the October ReadAThon at 8 am - only 45 minutes away! I'm infusing my body with coffee and cereal to help me make it through at least my first book.  I'll be reading and cleaning today with a short trip to the bookstore, the library sales, and possibly the library. 

Here are some of the books I want to tackle:

• Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs
• The Familiars
• Heart of a Samurai - Mock Newbery
• Reckless
• Lulu and the Brontasaurus
• The War to End All Wars - Mock Newbery

It seems like a good mix of contemporary realistic, fantasy and historical fiction. 

Here's how my posts should look:

Title of book(s) read since last update:

Number of books read since you started:

Pages read since last update:

Running total of pages read since you started:

Amount of time spent reading since last update:

Running total of time spent reading since you started:

Mini-challenges completed:

Other participants you’ve visited:

I'll be cheerleading too! So look for me around the blogosphere and on twitter at http://twitter.com/thebrainlair.  I'll update after each book or every 3 or so hours whichever comes first.

Happy Reading!