Sadness: The Read-a-Thon is over. But I'm happy to say I accomplished most of my goals. Friday was my worst day for reading because my car broke down in the middle of a busy intersection and I was stuck sitting on the side of the road with my dog and a broken foot. Sad to say, I am still without my car, which I call The Bullet. The bullet is at the dealership waiting to be fixed and I may not have it all week! I hate being confined.
So here are my goals and what I accomplished.
Goal #1. Read a book a day. This means I will read one book a day for the entire readathon or read seven total books finished.
I did this. I read and/or finished 7 books during the readathon. Yes. Below is the list of books I finished.
Book #1 War Brothers. The Graphic Novel by Sharon E. McKay and artwork by Daniel Lafrance
Book #2 The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
Book #3 The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
See my post about these books with mini-reviews here: Readathon update post
Book #4 Flight by Sherman Alexie (audio book)
Book #5 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Book #6 Vacationland by Sarah Stonich
Book #7 Eight Dolphins of Katrina by Janet Wyman Coleman. Illustrations by Yan Nascimbene
Goal #2. I have 2 books that I am in the middle of and want to finish this week. Vacationland by Sarah Stonich and The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. Both books are super good and I can't wait to find out what happens.
Finished both of these. See above for books finished and below for mini-reviews.
Goal #3. Writing. I know this is a readathon and not a writeathon but I want to write at least an hour every day this week and I think I will use this readathon as a way to do that. Writing includes blogging for me but I also want to work on my short stories and young adult novel. So much writing to do and so little time.
I did not really accomplish this goal. I spent most of my free time reading. It is so much easier to read than to write and yep, I'm a procrastinator.
Book #4 Flight by Sherman Alexie (audio book)
Listened to this on audio. This about a homeless, parentless Native American teen who has bounced from foster home to foster home and is on the wrong side of the law. As he commits a crime, he is taken on a flight into other bodies in other times and places. Sort of time travel. He is being put into situations and people relevant to his life situation. It has a hopeful ending but boy, was it hard to listen to.
Book #5 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Love this book. The book and the movie are pretty similar and if you've never read The Chronicles of Narnia, hop to it because you are missing out. I love to be transported to Narnia, I only wish it was real so I could travel there and be queen like Lucy and Susan.
Book #6 Vacationland by Sarah Stonich
This book is stunning and Stonich is a master storyteller. Her words and sentences are so descriptive and picturesque and evoke time and place so well. Through out the whole book, I kept envisioning myself at Vacationland. I just didn't want it to end. So good.
Book #7 Eight Dolphins of Katrina by Janet Wyman Coleman. Illustrations by Yan Nascimbene
This children's book tells the fate of 8 dolphins housed in the Oceanarium in Mississippi on the coast during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. There is also a section towards the end of the book, called Man's best friend which tells of the evolution of dolphins as well as how they are credited with saving lives. Eight Dolphins of Katrina ends with a scrapbook full of pictures with a timeline of events. I had no idea that 8 dolphins were swept into the gulf by a tidal wave during the hurricane and needed rescuing until I read this book. I think children would really be interested in this book
Ahhh, I love reading and I love readathons. Don't you?
