Dewey Post #6: Last Book Finished Under the Wire and Post-Op on the Whole Readathon Thing

First things first.... I finished my last book 30 minutes before the ring of the bell.  The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman was a perfect pick for a late night read.  Unfortunately, it didn't keep me up but I don't think Neil should be blamed for that.  It was subtle creepy and fun and I shouldn't have waited this long to read it.  If you love his work, you'll like this one.

I didn't get a super amount completed but getting three completed isn't all that bad.  I'm not sure if this got me caught up on the GoodReads challenge of 50 books before the end of the year but hopefully I'm not so far behind anymore.

It also looks like I didn't hit that much on my Plan of Attack post; I can go back and scratch 2 from that page.  It was the sleeping that did me in.  If only I had Dewey in my life 10+ years ago, I would have rocked it!

So the goal for next October, try to get some of those other books read & removed from the list so I don't have them yet again to pick from.  It makes for a stale list.

So, until next year, keep reading!

Dewey Post #5: Mini Challenge - Alphabet Soup - Incomplete - Fail

So I didn't finish this challenge and I don't have the heart to erase it.  I'll just keep it for the memories.  The goal was to find words that started with every letter in the alphabet.  I didn't know that Neil was so adverse to X & Z words.  haha!

Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane
A architecture (4)
B bakery (9)
C china (3)
D  driveway (10)
E earth (5)
F fairy (4)
G grandmother (2)
H house (4)
I intelligent (10)
J jellies (9)
K kitten (10)
L lords (10)
M meadows (5)
N newspaper (9)
O ocean (1)
P polish (6)
Q queen (23)
R roads (3)
S shirt (3)
T trifles (9)
U upset (12)
V vinegar (26)
W woman (6)
X xylophone (100something)
Y yourself (21)
Z

I couldn't find anything with Z.  The closest was azaleas.

Dewey Post #4: Graphic Novel to the Rescue!

Just when I needed something light, graphic novel was here to help.  Saga, Vol 5 by Brian K Vaughn.  Great read, crazy story, even weirder characters, all about family and love.  If you are not into graphic novels but want to give them a try, I think Saga would be an excellent one to start with.  Not that many volumes to get caught up with and gets top marks for creativity.  If you liked Firefly, you'll like Saga; space opera at its finest.  

Up next:  The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Dewey Day Post #3: First book finished!

It feels good finishing a book during the readathon.  The Illegal by Lawrence Hill.  Recent winner of the Canada Reads 2016 and all round good book.  Easy read and it gets to a point when you just will it to have a happy ending.

I did take a break this afternoon.  A couple loops around the block to get some fresh air and a boost of energy.  Only about 10 minutes but it was a good break.... think I'll break for some cereal next.

Up next:  Saga, vol 5 or The Walking Dead, vol 11.

Dewey Day Post #2: 12:00PM(AST) Break and Meme/Challenge Catch-Up

Woohoo! Three hours down, 19hrs to go.  :)  Making no promises on how it will go today but loving it so far.  Especially like taking these little mini-breaks to keep brain from tiring out.  I'm old, you know.  So this break is to catch up on challenges and watch The 100.

Hour 4 Mini-Challenge
Find the perfect road trip song for you and your traveling companion to rock out to as you burn through the miles, and tell us why it's such a great fit for this character.

Eminem - Till I Collapse
For the character Keita from The Illegal by Lawrence Hill
Keita is a marathon runner, running from the authorities in his old country, from the man who sponsored his escape, from the authorities who want to deport him from his new country.  Running in marathons for prize money to help his family.  He is not in good shape but he keeps running, despite the pain.  This song isn't a strong energized type, just an insistent, just keep going song.

I have a third of the book left to complete but I want Keita to come out on top so bad by the end. Recommend this book to everyone!


Hour 3 Mini-Challenge

Make a five word story on the theme of books. 

Dewey's making me finish books.

(I have started and abandoned books that I mean to get back to.  Hopefully I'll get to finish one or two of those today.)

Hour 2 Mini-Challenge

TOP 5 BOOKISH CHILDHOOD MOMENTS with the PEOPLE and the BOOKS that made them so special!

1) Mom and My Golden Book Collection.  My mom was great at having the patience in reading to me every book I dragged to her.  She'd even keep reading aloud when my three year old attention span got distracted.  She says that my asking her to read those books improved her reading and helped her develop her own love of reading.

2) The Secret of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

I loved the book, I loved the movie.  It was even my hiding place when I needed to tuck notes/money/tickets away for safekeeping.

3) Charlotte's Web by EB White

Like the challenger said, no notes required.

4) The teen years.  This is when the love of reading really took off.  Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, Fear Street and Christopher Pike books, 

5) Carrie by Stephen King

My folks were great for buying books for me but I think they were getting tired of paying for books that only lasted about a day.  (Thinking back, hey really should have introduced me to the library.)  So it was an easy sell to convince them to sponsor thicker books that lasted me a little longer.  Carrie and Misery was my intro to adult books and my springboard to a lifelong love of the work of Stephen King.  

Go Dewey readers, go!

Dewey Day Post #1: Opening Meme

Opening Meme
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
NutriGrain bars or naan crisps with coffee.... perhaps a few gin & tonics later tonight.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
Credit analyst by day; movie fan, computer geek, and reading fiend at night.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?
Tried to participate last October but was on a plane, flying to India for work.  Not that same when you can't check in.  Plan to participate in meme's and cheer people on this year.

Dewey Attempt #2 Plan of Attack!

This post will be a work in progress....

Challenge Info
Book Title -- Starts with...
A - B - D - E - F - H - J - K - L - M - Q - R - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Author Last Name -- Starts with...
B - D - F - G - I - J - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Short Stories/Novellas

The Professor (At The Lake, #1) by Bentley, Bella
For One Last Kiss (A Grim Reaper Romance, #0.5) by Taylor, Calista
The Diary of Darcy J. Rhone by Giffin, Emily
An Etiquette Guide to the End Times: A Novella by Sepp, Maia
Try Me (One Night with Sole Regret, #1) by Cunning, Olivia
12 Years a Slave by Northup, Solomon
Ru by Thúy, Kim

Graphic Novels
Saga, Vol. 5 Completed!!

The Walking Dead, Vol 11

Short and Short-ish Novels

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Gaiman, Neil  Completed!!
Stop What You're Doing And Read This! by Haddon, Mark
BeSwitched by Snow, Molly
A Gift of Ghosts (Tassamara #1) by Wynde, Sarah
You're a Horrible Person, But I Like You: The Believer Book of Advice by Spitznagel, Eric
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Beah, Ishmael
A Child of a Crackhead by Speight, Shameek
Why Not Me? by Kaling, Mindy

Looks like my plan of attack isn't that much different from last year...

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Oh man, oh man.  This book really creeps up on a person.  I had heard good things from friends and it won a 2015 GoodReads award for Best Thriller so I shouldn't have been surprised.  It was a little slow going at first and the only thing that kept me going is the fact that the library waiting list was 10 months long.  But it gets to a point where you can't put it down, so not all was lost.

Rachel is an alcoholic who suffers from blackouts.  She has been having a rough couple of years.  Her husband has left her for another woman and they had a baby she desperately wanted.  She's living with a roommate that hates her drinking.  And even though Rachel lost her job, she still takes the train into the city everyday so the roommate doesn't kick her out of the house.  She is obsessed with her ex and often makes drunken phone calls, shows up at their house, etc.  Her daily ritual on the train is to look at the houses in the old neighbourhood and make up fantasies about the couple living a few doors down from her old house.  Something bad happens and fantasy wife with the perfect marriage goes missing.  Rachel knows something about that night but her blackouts make her memory spotty and untrustworthy.  The cops don't take her seriously and all she wants is a drink, back together with her ex-husband, a baby, and another drink again.

So, I think the reason I found it slow going at the first was because I didn't find these characters very likeable.  I could empathize with what Rachel and Megan were going through but it takes almost the whole book to really understand who these people are.  Once you get there, it is totally worth it.

So I guess it was a good thing that I had to wait 10 months to check this one out of the library.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon

That time of year again. Unfortunately, last year's attempt to participate was a wash due to a business trip. So here is attempt #2!

http://www.24hourreadathon.com/

Sign up now and join me for a day of reading anything and everything!