Candy's Raves (and Rants)

I got a late start this year for some time with my girlfriends. Much needed. So I read a whole book, a short story and finished another book I had started earlier this month. I also started another one (not sure if I’ll finish it before I head to bed, there’s still a little time left during the “official” event). I’d say a decently successful event for me! It’s why I participate in the Dewey’s Read-a-thon. I don’t feel like I HAVE to read those full 24 hours. It’s whatever works for you.

Here’s the answers to their end of event meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour 20 – I fell asleep in my chair in my office. Oops!

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Anything short, fun – especially if you are staying up late. Anything too heavy and you’ll zone out.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

I noticed I didn’t get but a few cheerleaders hitting my blog. Not a huge deal, it’s for me, not them, but I thought it was a little weird.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

Twitter was the star this year… TONS of posts coming through. Fun!

5. How many books did you read?

2 books total, I guess (one whole one, finished one and started another) and a short story

6. What were the names of the books you read?

The Nestorian Alliance, Chromatics Attack, Effie at the Wedding and I started Proud Pants by Gregory Allen

Which book did you enjoy most?

Chromatics Attack

Which did you enjoy least?

Gosh… none of them. I read really good books this year!

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

n/a

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Yes, of course. I may do just cheerleading in April since that’s tax time and a bad time for me, otherwise I’ll read again

This is a cute and very fast little short story. Being the oldest of 3 girls and the first to get married, I couldn’t really identify with the main character and what she was feeling about her sister getting married, but I think I understand it.

Effie is a cute character and one I hope the author will resurrect into a full fledged novel one day. She cute, funny, with a little bit of that dark humor that I think every good female lead character needs. Her lists were funny and endearing.

This short story was way too short. I want more.

This is recommended for those chick lit fans that are looking for a super fast read (it took me about 15 minutes, tops). Well worth it for the smile it gave me.

Rating:

Book count for 2011: 55

I am amazed at how well thought out the worlds for this book are. I really thought I had pretty much read it all and nothing would surprise me, but Karen Carr has managed to grab me by the hair and say “hey, lookit, something new!”. I absolutely loved the whole premise behind this book. LOVED it. It’s totally bizarre and fun but has enough of a serious tone to it that I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen with Emison and her group of friends next.

The writing it very well done. There were just a few times that I got lost in the character’s dialogue, but it was overall a great book. I didn’t catch a single grammar or spelling error, it is a very cleanly edited book

While this book is geared towards the 4th to 9th graders, I, as a 30-something mom of 2 really enjoyed the plot and subplots that were rolling around in this quick read. I think I’ll pass it along to my 3rd grader as this is the type of book she would enjoy as well.

I recommend this for book for all ages, it’s written for the middle schoolers, but so many of us are coming out of the closet and admitting we enjoy some good young adult fiction that it’s safe to confess it now.

Rating:

Book count for 2011: 54

The author won a charity auction bid on my blog. He was generous enough to donate to one of my favorite charities so I read and reviewed this book during a read-a-thon for him. I will say that I went into this book with pretty low expectations. You see, I’m one of those folks that judges a book by it’s cover. And the current one just doesn’t grab me. It’s a book I would have completely skipped if left to my own devices because of the cover. It really needs something more interesting and less… what it is. It doesn’t do the book any favors or enough justice because the book is WAY better than the cover would lead you to believe… so ignore the cover if the description sounds interesting because it’s quite good.

The book centers around the search for Noah’s Ark and a man by the name of Jack Trader. It looks like the author intends for this to be a series, which I totally get and I can see how this work well for what he’s created here, but I also think this book may have suffered a bit because there was a huge amount character set up in the first half that could have really been woven more into the book itself and less in the beginning. I think that while around 15%, it does really well, it drops back off again until the halfway point.

The plot is really well done. So many authors in this genre of mystery/adventure get so wrapped up in the action that they forget that there’s an actual story they are supposed to be telling. The author does a really remarkable job of staying on point with the whole Ark and Nestorian thing.  Honestly, the plot really was interesting and super well done.

Sadly, while the plot is SO good, the book itself really needed a good content editor. There are large chunks of text with paragraphs that are just too long and there are times when the author really should have made the characters tell us about something instead of narrating large portions of it. It is almost too descriptive in parts and others feel a little disjointed. I think just pulling all the points together and making a cohesive book would have easily made this a four star book (it’s not bad! It’s still a 3 star, which means I liked it, don’t get me wrong!)

Where I think the book really shined is in the dialogue in the last half of the book. It felt like the author had settled in to his characters and they had some really good dialogue going back and forth between them. The first half is a bit stilted as they aren’t really sure where this whole thing is going to be meander to. But the later chapters are so well done that I felt myself getting sucked into their conversations and world because it was so natural feeling.

As I said, it took us way to long to get to our final destination, but once we are there, the author’s writing really shines. He is able to describe the area and the people and their beliefs and everything that surrounds that place with such detail and imagery that I felt like I could easy picture this as a real place in my head. The location was perfect and really made a wonderful backdrop for the plot.

Overall, I would recommend this book for those that enjoy a good adventure or thriller/suspense. It is well done and the plot alone makes it worth reading. The ending had a little surprise or two for me, I wasn’t expecting the very end to happen that way. Hmmm….

Rating:

Book count for 2011: 53

Over at the 24 Hour Read-a-thon website they are asking us about our charity if we’re collecting donations for one.

I’m a top reviewer at Amazon. Like under 300 or something. I don’t really know and I find it amusing that I am, but that means authors are always sending me their books asking me to review it here on and Amazon. It also means that I have over 300 books that people have sent me in the past year or so. An insane amount that I’ll never finish reading.

I donated $100 to Reading is Fundamental last week and it made me think… would these authors be willing to donate to my favorite literacy charity in order to jump ahead of the line? The answer was a big big YES, I set up a quick charity auction and off they went. And Michael Watson, author of The Nestorian Alliance won the bid and matched my $100. I’m reading his book now, actually.

So, I raised $200 for Reading is Fundamental that I know of.

So, authors, readers, bloggers, friends, whomever is reading this… if you have a few extra bucks laying around, toss it towards Reading is Fundamental. Read their mission statement. They do amazing work. If you donate to them, post here. It makes me smile to know that others have as deep of a love and appreciation for literacy as I do.

Update: I still have free books left from my charity auction author (he was SUCH a sport). If you are able to read and review it this weekend, I’ll gift it to you on Amazon Kindle for FREE. See this link for more info!

So over at The Bluestocking Society, we’ve been asked to list our all time favorite books. This is always a stinker question for me because the answer to that question changes day by day. And then there’s the pressure of the whole thing. Do I admit to liking a few overly mainstream books or do I stick to classics that everyone is supposed to love. Oh heck, I’ll just list ‘em and you can judge me all you want…

1. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffengger

2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

3. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

4. Charlotte’s Web by EB White

5. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

6. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

7. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt (actually, all of his books… my favorite memorist)

… and last, but not least (I re-read this one every few years, one of the most memorable from high school…

8. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

Update: I still have free books left from my charity auction author (he was SUCH a sport). If you are able to read and review it tonight, I’ll gift it to you on Amazon Kindle for FREE. See this link for more info!

A mid-event update from me on the Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon I’m participating in, from the mini challenge over there…

1. What are you reading right now?

The Nestorian Alliance by Michael Watson

2. How many books have you read so far?

This is my first one, I’m just getting started today.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

I’m looking forward to finishing this one I think

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

I didn’t free up the entire day this year. I had other plans

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Again, just getting started

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

The number of people participating this year is crazy!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Nah, always a great job!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

I’ll block out the whole day again – I’ll also start the charity review bidding earlier on this blog.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Who me? Nah! Let’s rock it!

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

I think we are all doing a great job. I love the camaraderie of this event each time.

I went to a girls sleepover with friends and then Halloween costume shopping with a friend. MUCH needed time away. I’m getting started reading and will read as much as I can tonight.

Congrats to Michael Watson, author of The Nestorian Alliance, who won the bid for a review. He bid a $100 to donate to Reading is Fundamental and made the donation so I’ll be reading his book TONIGHT and posting a review. He jumped ahead of the line. Thank you for your generosity, Mike!

In fact… I am going to offer to gift up to FIVE of his books (via Amazon) at my own expense as a thank you to him for playing my little game to any Kindle readers out there that are participating in the Read-a-thon that want to read it and post a review TONIGHT. The first five get it. The rules are you have to leave me your email address to gift it to (or email it to me at candytx@gmail.com after commenting here) and you have to post an Amazon review before 6am Eastern Sunday. Also, your review should be HONEST. If you liked it, great. If you hate it, well, that’s okay too. Again, only the first five. Below is a synopsis of his book from Amazon:

The location of Noah’s Ark has been one of history’s most intriguing mysteries. Believed to be on Mt. Ararat, it still eludes all seekers. The year is 1952 and a well worn amulet has been discovered in a collection at the Denver Museum of Natural History with etchings on it’s back indicating the true location of the Ark. Jack, a geologist/archeologist and avid Ark enthusiast, is made aware of the discovery and wastes no time in preparing for an immediate departure to Turkey with his two best friends and partners.

Through a network of agents, Joseph Stalin also learns about the discovery. He is determined to find the Ark first and destroy it. Stalin is still vengeful from being kicked out of seminary school many years earlier. Major Anna Petrova volunteers for the mission to Colorado with orders to retrieve the amulet at all cost.

The Nestorian Brotherhood has been protecting Noah’s Ark for centuries in a location known only to them and they will do anything to keep it safe and hidden. They are well prepared. The man in black is their first defense and possibly their last.

He doesn’t know I was going to do this… in fact, I just decided. Call it Read-a-thon delirium. Thanks, Mike. You were a gem! Let’s get you some reviews!

*** CLOSED ***

We have a winner. Congrats to Mike Watson. A review for his book will be made this weekend! Thanks for your contribution to Reading Is Fundamental and for playing along, you were a great sport!

*** CLOSED ***

Have you ever wanted to jump to the front of my review line? Want a guarantee that I WILL read your book on Saturday AND post a review? I can do that for you.

Here’s how…

I read a lot. This year, not as much as in previous years as life has kind of gotten in the way, but I am, as I have in the past, participating in the Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-A-Thon! What this means is that I will be reading as much as humanly possible from 7am central on Saturday morning until 6:59am central on Sunday morning.

I do this because I think the more people that participate, the more attention literacy gets. I also donate each year to Reading Is Fundamental. I started it off with $100 this year.

So, how do you get your book a guaranteed review*?

It’s easy! You bid for it! But I’m not taking your money. I want you to bid to donate to Reading Is Fundamental.

Yup, that’s right, authors. Leave me a comment with a way to contact you (check the others to make sure you are bidding more than the highest bid out there) and tell me how much you’d donate to RIF to get me to do a review of your book. The winner will be announced at 11:59pm Eastern on Friday, October 21 (or as close to it when I can get to a computer). I’ll ask you to make that donation and send me a copy of your transaction receipt and a copy of your book for my Kindle by noon on Saturday and I will read and review it before the Read-a-thon ends.

*(note, I say review, not ‘good’ review – if the book sucks, I’ll totally say so – I do promise to do an indepth review though!).

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I also challenge other book bloggers to do the same that are participating - or even if they aren’t. What a great way to get some donations in for a fabulous organization and give the authors a chance to jump to the top of the line If you decide to do this too, let me know and I’ll link to you in this post.

Over the top chick lit. That’s probably the best way I could describe this book. It’s funny, it’s stupid and I couldn’t decide if I should roll my eyes or burst out laughing. This isn’t War & Peace, to be sure, but ya know… sometimes you really just need a book that will make you laugh a little – or a lot. I must admit that if I were taking the story at face value, I would have to say that it’s completely ridiculous. But it was supposed to be overly insane. That was the point.

I finished this one pretty quickly as I was anxious to find out what April would get herself into next.

But this book was a little more than this. Yes, it was pretty thin, but there’s a little bit of heart mixed in with all of that laughter and goofiness. Yes, it’s a fun book, but the author does try to give us a little bit of a message about moving on and the importance of going on with your life when things, well… suck.

Overall, I’d recommend this for a light beach read – or a winter night when you just need to curl up with a book, a glass of wine and a good laugh. A good piece of humorous chick lit.

Rating:

Book count for 2011: 52