Read-a-long Hour 3: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Time spent reading: 1 hour and 45 mins
Pages Read: 104
Books Completed: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (I had started this previous to the read-a-thon)
Listening to: Thunder, Lightning, Strkie by The Go Team

Having preiously started Alias Grace I knew that I wanted it fiished efore I started any new books for the read-a-long. I loved this book which reminded me that I should read more of the Margaret Atwoods on my bookshelf. I'll be reviewing this properly in the next couple of days. Another 1001 book knocked off the list.

And my quick, off the top of my head answers for Bobby's mini challenge
Favorite Female Character in a book: Jane Eyre every time
Favorite Male Character in a book: Henry, from The Time Travellers Wife - I'd marry him in a flash.
Favorite Side Kick in a book: Hmmmm.....can I have sidekicks? Hermione and Ron
Favorite Couple in a Book: Henry and Clare (TTW)
Favorite Book Series: Harry Potter
Favorite Author: Neil Gaiman, Sarah Waters, Margaret Atwood...the list goes on
Favorite Book Cover: The Red Tree by Shaun Tan
Favorite Book of 2009: The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer, both by Patrick Ness

Read-a-thon: Hour 1 Meme

Just a quick post to say that I'm off and started, a queue in the supermarket and the fact that we started an hour earlier than I thought meant i was sitting down just in time to start.
Over at read-a-thon head quarters they have put up their first meme of the day, here are my answers:
Where are you reading from today?
My couch at the moment, I may go up and lie on my bed to get the last few hours of the sushine - my front room is always dark and chilly as its overlooked by trees.

3 facts about me …
an avid reader, wannabe scrapbooker and people watcher.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
7 plus one to get finished, they are all listed on my earlier post.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
Not in particular, to read for as long as possible. I'm not cheerleading this time, but have picked a handful of bloggers to cheer along instead, this way the updates are on my google reader and take less of my reading time up.

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time?
This is my third time so not really a vetran, the main thing is to enjoy yourself, have good backround music and a good selection of shortish books. Oh, and even if your someone who never gives up on a book, if you're not feeling a book today set it down and pick up another, even if its not from your alloted pile.
Good luck everyone xxx

24 Hour Read-a-Thon: The all important pile

I meant to have a nice lie in this morning, I didn't go to bed till late so it shouldn't have been hard but I was wide awake at 7 and ready to go. Unfortunately the read-a-thon doesn't start till 2 here. I just have to pop to the supermarket - a 5 minute walk - and then I'll be pretty much ready to go and good hour and a half early. I think I'll probably just get started a bit early as I never make the full 24hours (a good 4 hour sleep is needed) and because Alias Grace is screaming out to be finished.
Other than Alias Grace* (less than a 100 pages to go) I'll have this pile to tackle:
Tales from Firozsha Baag, Rohinto Mistry*
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heavan, Sherman Alexie
Coraline and Other Stories, Neil Gaiman (its the other stories that I'm interested in as I've read Coraline a few times).
An Illiad, Allessandro Baricco
Ash, Malinda Lo
Black Juice, Margo Lanagan
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins*

The ones with the stars beside them are the ones I particularly would like to get read and finished. The others would be a bonus, as they are all books which are from the library, are part of a bookring or a book I'm giving away on bookcrossing.

Starting a reading journal.....will it last?

In a random act of madness last week I purchased Postcards from Penguin: 100 book covers in one box, quite what I was planning on doing with it I don't know. It finally arrived Wednesday, I had a quick look through and then wondered why I had bought them. Don't get me wrong they are interesting to look through, but the type of thing which sits on a shelf and gets dusty, never getting looked at again.
As I'm never going to post them out to people - that would ruin the set! I've decided to use them to make a reading journal. I've always loved the idea of a reading journal, something that in later years I can go back to and browse through, but never quite known where to start. The postcard format limits me to a small size, and I'll be able to test out my journalling writing that I need to perfect for scrap booking.
I'm starting tomorrow with the 24 hour read-a-thon, I'll post a picture of what I wrote when the whole thing is finished.

Do you have a seperate reading journal, or a place to jot down your reading other than your blog?

It's Tuesday...Where are you?

It's Tuesday...Where are you? is held each week here by Raidergirl3.

Physically this week I'm at my Mum's house in Suffolk. Offically here to surport my sister for the week through her pregnancy problems - mainly male related! But also to get looked after whilst I tackle the stacks of coursework marking which I need to tackle. I'm taking a break at the moment to create a rivision booklet (I'll always opt for the more creative element of teaching over the boring marking side of it).
My sister is coming up in a few hours and if her back pains have subsided we're all of to sob at Blind Side (I cried at the trailer so not sure how I'll cope!).

In my reading I'm both in France and Canada. In France I am trailing around after Gertrude Stein and her brother at the moment. They are busy buying up bits of art - mainly Cezanne and Matisse at the moment. We have been to Pablo Picasso's atillier, joined Matisse and his wife for dinner and trailed around many famous Cubist paintings with our friends the artists of these paintings. (Gertrude Steins, The Autobiography of Alice B. Tolkas)
So far I'm getting on okay with this book, which is a disguised autobiography of Gertrude Stein, although it does grate on me everytime she declares herself a genius - she's obviously not intelligent in ways of getting the reader to like and admire a character.

I'm also in Canada in the 18th century. Accused murderess Grace Marks flits between playing maid to the wife of the owner of the prison; she sews and knits for the lady whilst being an object of fascination, to being exaimined by our other main character. Dr Jordan is a psychologist seeking a new method of understanding prisoners in the hope of opening his own establishment. His story is told through a third person narrative and also a series of letters between him and his family and friends. I'm waiting to find out if Grace Marks is guilty of the crime or an innocent bystander (I'm going for all out guilty and the perpetrator - she seems capable).

Where are you in your reading travels?
Have you read either of these books? Do you have any questions for me about them?

1% Well Read Challenge

The 1001 list (which has very quickly broardened to the 1294 list - they add and take away books every couple of years) has been a personal challenge for the last few years. No, I don't expect to complete it. And no, I don't think every book on it is great. But its a good way to think about what I've read, what I mean to read, and to discover books and authors I have never heard of.
So far of the 1294 books, I've read 205 (15.99%), I own a further 8.35% of the books and I have 0.55% of the books coming to me soon in the form of a bookring, (I'm not normally a geek but with this list I am).
The 1% Well Read challenge requires me to have read 13 of the books of this mamouth list by this time next year - I'll probably be trying to triple that at least. So this challenge is more about reading other people's reviews to get ideas of which books to select next - from my TBR pile or the library.
Below is a potential pool, although it is widely subject to change at any moment:
Movern Callar by Alan Warner (READ)
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Alias Grace, Atwood (READ)
The Autobiography of Alice B.Toklas, Stein (READ)
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, Calvino (READ)
The Lord of the Rings, Tolkein (Current Read)
Blonde, Oates
Small Island, Levy
Great Apes, Self
Wild Swans, Chang
Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord, de Bernieres
The Leopard, Lampedusa
A Town Like Alice, Shute
All Quiet on the Western Front, Marque
The Radeztky March, Roth

The Sunday Salon: Le Dossier: How to Survive the English by Sarah Long

A lazy Easter weekend, I've recamped to my Mum's for this first week of half term, so so far I've watched more TV in the last 24 hours than I've seen in the 2 weeks previously, I've scoffed biscuits, pizza and chocolate. That doesn't even mention that Sunday lunch which I had at the pub my sister manages (which was gorgeous).
The rest of the day will be spent lazing around the house, with Alias Grace and The Autobiography of Alice B. Tolks. As of tomorrow I'm on a 5 hour a day marking schedule until the mountain of coursework is marked.

I finished yesterday Le Dossier: How to Survive the English. This book was a small independently published book at first, but soon was translated to English with comic effect. Hortense de Monplaisir is a Parisian housewife brought over to live in London by her husbands career. She criticises and views every aspect of the English life, from our eating habits, body shapes to our manners. The book revealed some truths - we love cheap clothes shops so we can look like the celebrities and still afford to change our looks as often as them, we spend far more money and time on our homes than anything else, and treat children and pets with equal priviledge. But the book also shows up a sharp contrast with our European neighbours - she can't understand that we queue politely and uncomplainingly, that stop at traffic lights and follow speed limits and that we say sorry if someone bumps into us. This was a funny read, something light and comic. If your Englsih and don't mind being criticised this is worth a read.