Read-a-thon results

Well, I did read more than usual, but I didn't nearly read as much as I wanted to.

I read about 100 pages in Dan Brown's Angels & Demons, half of The Book of Awesome, and a chapter or two in Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet.

I was hoping to finish at least one book, but I'm happy I made some progress.  :)

Autumn Read-a-Thon 2013

Some years I devour books, some years... not so much.  This has been a slow year for me.
The last book I finished was in August.  I did read in September, but I didn't finish any books.

I'm signing up for Dewey's read-a-thon so I can perhaps make a little progress and get back into the habit of reading more often.

I will NOT be able to read for the whole 24 hours, but I pledge to read as much as possible (that is my only goal for this read-a-thon).   :-)

Read in August

Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror

From Amazon: "This spine-tingling novel has more than enough fear factor for the most ardent fan of scary stories. Uncle Montague lives alone in a big house, but regular visits from his nephew, Edgar, give him the opportunity to recount some of the frightening stories he knows. As each tale unfolds, an eerie pattern emerges of young lives gone awry in the most terrifying of ways. Young Edgar begins to wonder just how Uncle Montague knows all these ghastly tales. This clever collection of stories-within-a-story is perfectly matched with darkly witty illustrations by David Roberts.
Look for the other spine-tingling book in Chris Priestley's Tales of Terror series, Tales of Terror from the Black Ship!"

I loved this book.  All of the stories were unpredictable, and creepy without being too scary.  I plan on reading the next book soon.

Bout of Books read-a-thon

I don't have a lot of time to read during the week.
I only have a few hours before bed.
My goal for this week is to finish my current book
and start (hopefully finish) another one.


I'm reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.
 I'm not even going to attempt to finish it, because it is my
"bathtub book" for this month.
I usually read e-books, but I also have one paper book that I
keep exclusively for bathtub reading. :)


I won't be making separate posts each day.
Instead,I will update this entry with each day's progress.



Day one progress:  Three chapters in Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
10% of Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror (only 10% left!)

Day Two:  one chapter in Angels and Demons; finished Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror

Total Progress:
Wow, I really failed at daily updates.
This week was unusually full and busy,
so I didn't get nearly as much reading done
as I would have liked.

Altogether I read:
ten chapters in Angels & Demons
Finished Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror
read two chapters in The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Read in July

The Peach Keeper- by Sarah Addison Allen

Amazon description:  It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather and once the finest home in Walls of Water, North Carolina—has stood for years as a monument to misfortune and scandal. Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite Paxton Osgood—has restored the house to its former glory, with plans to turn it into a top-flight inn. But when a skeleton is found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, long-kept secrets come to light, accompanied by a spate of strange occurrences throughout the town. Thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the passions and betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover the truths that have transcended time to touch the hearts of the living.

I liked this book.  I didn't love it.  It was a little too chick-lit for my taste.  I wish there had been more of the magical element to it, and I would have liked deeper character development, but overall it was a decent read.  I have two more books by this author, and I will probably be reading them in the future.

Love Times Three- Joe, Alina, Valerie and Vicki Darger

Amazon description: "This first-ever memoir of a polygamous family captures the extraordinary workings of a unique family dynamic, and argues for the acceptance of plural marriage as an alternative lifestyle."

I find polygamy fascinating.  

We've heard horror stories of it in the past, but we're now learning about decent families like the Dargers and the Browns (from Sister Wives).  I think these people are doing a lot to change public opinion on polygamy.

I don't think it's a bad thing when it's done right.  As long as all wives are aware of each other (!), are not under-age, and approve of the living situation, then who are we to judge?  I also know that I could never handle it, but kudos to them for living the life they believe.

This book tells the story of how Joe came to marry each of his wives, and it gives insight into how they run their households.  

Bout of Books read-a-thon

I love a good read-a-thon.
Sometimes they're just the thing to jump start my reading habits when they've gotten a bit slack.
I'm sad to say my reading habits have been very slack this year.
In fact, I changed my 50 books challenge on Good Reads to 35 books.  *hangs head in shame*

I will be participating in the Bout of Books read-a-thon.   It's a week long read-a-thon, which is just the thing I need.
Follow the link below to learn more and sign up.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Favorite Quotes from "Speaking from Among the Bones"

"It was one of those glorious days in March when the air was so fresh that you worshipped every whiff of it; that each breath of the intoxicating stuff created such new universes in your lungs and brain you were certain you were about to explode with sheer joy."

"Whenever I'm a little blue I think about cyanide, whose color so perfectly reflects my mood."

"Why didn't nature provide us with a headlamp in the middle of our foreheads, something like the glowworm, but with our lights on the opposite end? And more powerful, of course- it would have been a matter of simple phosphorescent chemistry."

"I believe Daffy referred to such an extravagant outpouring of praise as an encomium and I realized that I had not been given an encomium for a very long while."

Beautiful Creatures- Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

I gave this book 3 stars on Good Reads.  It held my attention, and I liked the atmosphere.  I didn't like the ending.  I guess I expected it to be more dramatic.  I don't think I'll be reading any more of this series.

Book description from Amazon:
"There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything."

Speaking from Among the Bones- Alan Bradley

This series is wonderful.  Flavia is a delight.  I love how the author perfectly creates an 11 year old girl living in 1950s England.  
This is one of those series where each book feels like a visit with old friends.

"Eleven-year-old amateur detective and ardent chemist Flavia de Luce is used to digging up clues, whether they’re found among the potions in her laboratory or between the pages of her insufferable sisters’ diaries. What she is not accustomed to is digging up bodies. Upon the five-hundredth anniversary of St. Tancred’s death, the English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey is busily preparing to open its patron saint’s tomb. Nobody is more excited to peek inside the crypt than Flavia, yet what she finds will halt the proceedings dead in their tracks: the body of Mr. Collicutt, the church organist, his face grotesquely and inexplicably masked. Who held a vendetta against Mr. Collicutt, and why would they hide him in such a sacred resting place? The irrepressible Flavia decides to find out. And what she unearths will prove there’s never such thing as an open-and-shut case."

 Aunt Dimity's Death- Nancy Atherton

I was a bit skeptical about this book, but I was pleasantly surprised (in spite of the improbability of the story line). It is a true cozy mystery with a bit of romance thrown in.  It isn't a typical mystery (there is no crime involved) but it kept me reading.  

From Library Journal

Atherton's first mystery combines a strong sense of traditional English fare with an insistent gothic spirit. Suffering from her recent divorce, her mother's death, and an erratic income, Lori Shepherd receives notice from a prestigious Boston law firm that she must travel to England in order to meet the requirements of a will. While visiting her benefactor's "haunted" cottage with lawyer friend Bill, she uncovers important clues relating to a World War II mystery. Lightweight, nicely written material complete with a few heart palpitations.

No Place like Home- Mary Higgins Clark

This book was horrible.  All you need to know about it is in the below description (from Amazon).  The culprit is obvious through most of the book.  There were way too many details, and it was just too long.  
I kept reading because I was expecting some surprise twist at the end.  Nope.  
I really hate it when I waste time reading a bad book.

"A young woman is ensnared into returning to a place she had wanted to leave behind forever -- her childhood home. There, at the age of ten, Liza Barton had shot her mother, trying desperately to protect her from her estranged step-father, Ted Cartwright. Despite his claim that the shooting was a deliberate act, the Juvenile Court ruled the death an accident. Many people, however, agreed with Cartwright, and the tabloids compared her to the infamous murderess Lizzie Borden, pointing even to the similarity of their names.

To erase Liza's past, her adoptive parents change her name to Celia. At age twenty-eight, a successful interior designer in Manhattan, she marries a childless sixty-year-old widower, Laurence Foster, and they have a son. Before their marriage, she reveals to him her true identity. Two years later, on his deathbed, he makes her swear never to tell anyone so that their son, Jack, will not carry the stigma of her past. Two years later, Celia is happily remarried. Her peace of mind is shattered when her new husband, Alex Nolan, surprises her with a gift -- the house in Mendham, New Jersey, where she killed her mother. On the day they move in, they find the words little lizzie's place -- beware painted on the lawn, splotches of red paint all over the house, and a skull and crossbones carved into the door.

More and more, there are signs that someone in the community knows Celia's true identity. When Georgette Grove, the real estate agent who sold the house to Alex, is brutally murdered and Celia is the first on the crime scene, she becomes a suspect. As Celia fights to prove her innocence, she is not aware that she and her son, Jack, are now the targets of a killer."

Cajun Cuisine and More- Paul Raphael

"Unique Cajun Cookbook but this is much more than a manual for Cajun cuisine; it is a collection of Cajun humor, an assortment of native history, an inspiring variety of bedtime stories, and a dash of colorful lives and unique events thrown in for seasoning."

This was an interesting book.  Being a life-long resident of Louisiana, I had already heard some of the stories and most of the history, but it was interesting just the same. 

The recipes are typical Cajun dishes.  

I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about Cajun culture.

April Reviews

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- by Ransom Riggs

This was by far the best book I read in April.  In fact, it's my favorite read so far this year.  I loved everything about it.

The Amazon book description: "A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here—one of whom was his own grandfather—were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows."

Poodle Springs- Raymond  Chandler & Robert B. Parker

I bought this at a flea market for 25 cents.  I've never read any of the Philip Marlowe books by Raymond Chandler, but I have watched some of the movies and listened to some of the Old Time Radio program.  

When Raymond Chandler died, he left behind only the first four chapters of this novel.  Robert B. Parker picked up where he left off.  I think he did a very good job.  He certainly captured the Marlowe / film noir / pulp fiction feeling.  

I liked this book. 

Nikola Tesla- Imagination and the Man that Invented the 20th Century- by Sean Patrick

from Amazon's book description: "In this book, you'll be taken on a whirlwind journey through Tesla's life and work, and not only learn about the successes and mistakes of one of history's greatest inventors, but also how to look at the world in a different, more imaginative way."

This was a free Kindle book.  It was short and very interesting.  I learned some things that I didn't know, like Tesla once accidentally caused an earthquake (I don't know, I just find that very funny), and that Thomas Edison was kind of a jerk.

This would be a good book for children.  I think I'm going to incorporate it into next year's lessons.

Gone- by Adam Light

This is a short story by one of the Light Brothers. The Light Brothers are Adam and Evans Light. They write horror short stories. I discovered them through Good Reads. 

I enjoyed Gone.  It reminded me of an episode of The Twilight Zone.  

"Greg is having a bad morning. He overslept and now he is going to be late for work. He can't even seem to get himself dressed, and all he really wants is a good strong cup of joe. He's not going to get it. And things are going to go from bad to worse before the day is over."

Vengeance by the Foot- Adam Light

This is another short story by Adam Light.
My only reaction to this one is "Eeeewwww!" *shudder*

"Grant Stone's life has been turned upside down. Months ago, his foot was amputated after several months of wound treatments that failed to yield any positive results. Now he is alone and depressed. He wastes away in bed watching reruns, dreaming of when he could walk. One night, hunger gets the better of him and he goes roaming for sustenance, only to find he is not alone in the house. Wheelchair-bound and terrified, he is faced with a menacing terror straight out of a nightmare."

Crawl Space- Evans Light

"Fooling around on your wife can be hazardous to your health. Just ask Tom.

 He's a man with a lot to juggle: a frustrated wife, a secret new girlfriend, and the unpleasant task of trying to keep his deteriorating vintage farmhouse from falling down around him."

I thought this story would be predictable, but I was so wrong.... and that's all I'm going to say about that.  I don't want to give anything away. ;)

Dark Curtains- Evans Light

from Amazon's book description: "When Claire and James move into a beautiful Victorian home together, she soon discovers that he is being seduced by a secret from his past, one thought buried long ago.

"There is something haunting about "Dark Curtains," and I don't mean that it is simply a ghost story. It has a spookiness and mystery similar to stories like Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, but it is much more than that. It has a sensual quality and a feeling of sadness...which makes this story particularly engrossing. There is something deeper...that grabs you and keeps your interest up to the very last page." - Catherine Depasquale, Reviewer"
I agree with the above review.  
There was an alternate ending included with the main story.  I liked both of them.

Final Update

I'm finished!  

Woot! Woot!

Here is everything I read:

Poodle Springs- Raymond Chandler & Robert B. Parker
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
75% of The Last Night of the Earth Poems- Charles Bukowski

Crawlspace - Evans Light

Dark Curtains- Evans Light

Vengeance by the Foot- Adam Light

Gone- Adam Light

2 chapters in No Place Like Home- Mary Higgins Clark

Not too shabby.  :)

Third Update

I'm still reading!
I just finished four creepy short stories by the Light Brothers.  

* Gone- Adam Light
* Vengeance by the Foot- Adam Light
* Dark Curtains- Evans Light
* Crawlspace- Evans Light

I will be reviewing everything I've read after the read-a-thon.

Now, back to the grindstone.  Hee hee!

Second Update

Well, I ended up taking a longer break than I intended to.  I did finish my second book, though!
Poodle Springs by Raymond Chandler & Robert B. Parker

Unfortunately, I have to take another break.  I have a few errands to run, but then I am back in for the long haul until 5 a.m.

First book finished- nap time now!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

First Update

I keep strange hours, so it was necessary to start early on the read-a-thon.
I've been reading since 1:30 a.m.
I read six chapters in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.  I am loving it.  It's a really engrossing story.  I only have 2 more chapters left, but I had to take a break.

Happy Reading!

RainyMood.com and reading go together like pb&j.  Just sayin'.

It's almost time for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon!  I have been slacking when it comes to reading.  I am hoping this will kick-start things for me to get back in the habit.

This is the third year I am participating in the read-a-thon.  It's always great fun.   It's not too late to sign up, just follow the link.

My goal is to read as much as possible in the next 24 hours.
I want to finish reading four books I've already started.  If I do that, then I might start a new book.  I also have a few novellas I might try to fit in somehow.

The books I will begin with are:
Poodle Springs- Raymond Chandler & Robert B. Parker
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
The Last Night of the Earth Poems- Charles Bukowski
Aunt Dimity's Death

I can't wait to start reading!!

This blog has been abandoned for the past few years.  I am resurrecting it.  I have been keeping track of my reading on Good Reads, but I miss book blogging, so I'm back.  :)

Read in 2013 (quick update)

January
The Carnival of Death- L. Ron Hubbard  (fun look at pulp fiction)
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards-  Lilian Jackson Braun  (ridiculous book! I could overlook the cat's part, but the mustache stuff is just too much)
Who Could it Be at this Hour?- Lemony Snicket (nice start to a new series)
Cutwork- Monica Ferris (I didn't like it as much as the others in this series.  I hate how Betsy got upset over Jill's wedding.  It was none of her business).

February
Betsy-Tacy- Maude Hart Lovelace (nice re-read of a childhood favorite)
What Mrs. McGillicuddy saw! - Agatha Christie (I liked it.  3.5 stars)
Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice series)- Joseph Delaney (really liked it- and there are a lot more books in this series.  I will probably read them all).

March 
Crewel Yule- Monica Ferris (the ending was a let-down, but I enjoyed reading about the shopping spree weekend.  I'm jealous!)

Read in 2012 (68)

Agatha Christie

Murder on the Links

Death on the Nile

Endless Night

The Boomerang Clue (Why Didn't they Ask Evans?)

The Tuesday Club Murders (The 13 Problems)

Dead Man's Folly

Hugh Howey

Wool

Proper Guage

Casting Off

The Unraveling

The Stranded 

Alan Bradley

The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag

A Red Herring without Mustard

I am Half Sick of Shadows

M.C. Beaton

Death of an Addict

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

As the Pig Turns

Hiss and Hers

Louise Penny 

Still Life

A Fatal Grace

The  Cruelest Month

A Rule Against Murder

Monica Ferris

Framed in Lace

A Stitch in Time

Unraveled Sleeve

A Murderous Yarn

Hanging by a Thread

H.P. Lovecraft

The Shadow over Innsmouth

Damon

The Tomb

Veronica Roth

Divergent

Insurgent

Nancy Duplechein

Dark Bayou

Dark Carnival

Brandon Mull

Fablehaven

Rise of the Evening Star

Rivers to the Sea- Sara Teasdale

Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

The Log Cabin Lady - anonymous

The Nervous Housewife- Abraham Myerson

Quaint Epitaphs

Grimm's Fairy Stories

The Complete Emily Dickinson

It's like this, Cat- Emily Neville

Love Among the Chickens- P.D. Wodehouse

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter- Seth Grahame-Smith

Belezaire the Cajun

The Limpopo School of Private Detection- Alexander McCall Smith

Dead Until Dark- Charlaine Harris

The Uncommon Reader

Soup- Richard Peck

Daughters of Zion- Kim Taylor

99 Reasons to Hate Cats

The Woman in the Alcove- Anna Katherine Green

The Glass is Always Greener- Tamar Myers

Odd Thomas- Dean Koontz

The Twelfth Child- Bette Crosby 

The Girl who Swam to Atlantis- Elle Thornton

The Wicked- James Newman

Antiques Maul- Barbara Allan

Mississippi Cotton- Paul Yarbrough 

Mountain Interval- Robert Frost

Being Mrs. Dracula

A Lancaster County Christmas

Whatever Possessed You?

O Canada! Her Story- Karla Akins

The Continuance Agency - Adam Light

Read in 2011 (37 books)

The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen- Elizabeth von Arnim
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
The Name of this Book is Secret- Pseudonymous Bach
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie- Alan Bradley
The Lost Symbol- Dan Brown
Hercule Poirot's Christmas
City of Bones- Cassandra Clare
Crewel World- Monica Ferris
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman
The Anxiety Answer Book- Laurie Helgoe
Is it Me or my Meds?- David Karp
Lightening- Dean Koontz
The Call of Cthulhu- H.P. Lovecraft
Renascence and other Poems- Edna St. Vincent Millay
The Winter Room- Gary Paulson
The Circular Staircase- Mary Roberts Rinehart
Miss Julia Delivers the Goods- Ann B. Ross
The Big Trip Up Yonder- Kurt Vonnegut

Alexander McCall Smith
The Double Comfort Safari Club
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party


James Howe
The Celery Stalks at Midnight
Howliday Inn

Terri Blackstock
Night Light
True Light

M.C. Beaton
Death of a Gossip
Death of a Cad
Death of a Perfect Wife
Death of a Hussy
Death of a Snob
Death of a Macho Man
A Highland Christmas
Death of a Maid
Death of a Gentle Lady
Death of a Witch
Death of a Valentine
Death of a Chimney Sweep