Dewey's 24 hour Read-a-thon: I'm back

And very nearly awake...

Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon: Picture Books

Tired eyes led me to picture books, the first one woke me up, the second had a depressing ending that was very unexpected.

Mrs Biddlebox: Her Bad Day and What She Did About It by Linda Smith and Marla Frazee.


For younger kids this picture box does exactly what we'd all like to do when we wake up to a bad day - she cooks up the day and eats it, leaving herself with a peaceful nights sleep. Gorgeous pics, heres when she takes down the sun to put it in her cookig pot:


The Viewer by Shaun Tan and Gary Crew

I've recently had out a few books by Shaun Tan from the library with stunning illustrations, this is the first book with his pictures in that I have brought for myself and I'm not as take with this as the other two - the pictures are darker to fit the story.
Tristan is a child who likes to observe the world, to figure out how things work. His favourite place is the dump where he finds and fixes old things. Till one day he finds an old box with its lid firmly shut. When he gets it home he figures it is a viewer, you look inside and click the disc and it shows you a series of images.
All well and good so far, now this is where I started to become unsure. The first look shows Tristan the beginning of the world, evolution etc. Then we start moving on to colonialism, the destruction of the habitat of Native Indians, Slavery, civil wars, then the holocaust, WW1 and II and finally the present day - starving Africa children, drought, nuclear bombs.


Tristan, and thus the youg readers, are shown the history of the world. I have no issue with children knowing the bad things in this world, in fact I believe that they should know and be talked to about the destruction and pain that humans cause (something that gets discussed in my classroom a lot), BUT this book only showed the bad things. Never once did it show the good that people do. I didn't inspire, it simply depressed showing only the negative side of humans and the world we have created.


Thats my reading for tonight, I'm going to have a quick flick through my googlereader then I'm off to sleep for the next 4 and a half hours. Happy reading x

Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon: 1am

Ok its 1am here and my eyes are slowly starting to drop. I reckon another hour and then I'm off to bed for a few hours kip - I have to teach Monday so can't sleep Sunday afternoon after the read-a-thon has finished as I won't sleep all night Sunday. Tired teachers = Bratty kids (they sniff it out just like dogs!)

For the last 2 hours I've been reading a proof copy of a novel out this month called An Elergy for Easterly by Petina Gappah - at least I thought it was going to be a novel but it is actually a short story collection. Each story is about someone from Zimbabwe, many stories are linked to the government, the price rises in food and everyday living, and also several about AIDS. Writing that makes the book sound depressing but it hasn't been so far. Its very well written and each story is its own - I find some short story collections the story blurs into one. I've read 170 pages so far but I'm going to leave the rest (105 pages) till the morning.

I have two picture books that are hopefully going to be perfect for my tired eyes

Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Pages read total: 475
Books read: Finished Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett, read What I Was by Meg Rosoff and The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Total reading time: approx 7 hours

This is a book that I've been meaning to read for ages as it's one of those 'must-read' classics but kept putting off because I didn't think I'd enjoy it - and boy I was wrong.
The Old Man in the Sea is about an old mans (surprise!) stuggle and determination to prove himself. Once he hooks a giant fish he battles for days to bring the fish in, he battles not only against the fish but pain, hunger and tiredness. This book really reminded me of Japanese sea stories in its style. I may have to read more Hemingway in the future.

Challenges:
1001 btrbyd
A-Z (Author)
1% well read challenge
999 (1001)
Guardian 1000 Novels

Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon: What I Was by Meg Rosoff

Pages read total: 348
Books read: Finished Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett, read What I Was by Meg Rosoff
Total reading time: approx 5 hours


What I Was is a teenage love story with a twist. Kipper is sent to boarding school in East Anglia (not too far from where I grew up), stuck in a small market town near the sea and a typical (of books) fierce boarding school he looks for an escape.
One dreary morning he abandons the cross country run and meets Finn, a young boy living alone in a shack by the sea. He has that first flush of teenage love - a love of longing and not sexual - and wants to become like Finn, to be free to do as he pleases and to fend for himself.
This is the third Rosoff book I have read and the third one that I have loved.
Challenges:
2009 YA Challenge
999 (YA Fiction)

Well I've had dinner now and it'll probably be dark here soon, can't believe the time is passing so quickly.

Going to decide what to read next and go visit a few bloggers

Read-a-thon Hour 3

I'm going slower than I thought!

Books Read: I finished Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett
Pages read in total: 149
Time spent reading 2 1/2 hours

I started with a book that I was half way through and wanted to complete for my own Latin American challenge. The language in this book just grabbed me and needed to be read slowly to be really appreciated. I'll definately post a review on this book later in the week as it was fantastic.

Intoduction Meme: (find it here)
Where are you reading from today?
I'm on my couch in the surprisingly sunny (its rained and been horrid and grey for the last week or so) England. Oh, and the neighbour has decided to bang and drill for the last 2 hours to accompany my reading...

3 facts about me …

- I have a house rabbit, who decided that she wanted lots of attention in the first hour
- I teach English in a high school
- my favorite read is Possession: A Love Story be AS Byatt

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

I have 9 novels and 12 books in total

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)?

Hopefully 4 - 5 books and 18 - 20 hours

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time?

I'm a first timer


I'm going to flick through my google reader than I'm off to read What I Was by Meg Rosoff

Read-a-thon The Beginning

Well I've had a busy morning, the tea is brewing as I type and I've just got to run upstairs and grab my first book. I'm starting with Bel Canto as I have to get it finished, I'm over half way through so it shouldn't take too long.

I'm planning on popping online every two to three hours so I don't get too distracted.

Good luck to all the other read-a-thoners!