Dewey's Readathon: October 2015 pt2

Dewey's 24 hour Readathon
October 17, 2015 (details)
Pre-Dewey post with reading list (here)
Deweys part one: Hours 1-12 (here)

HOUR 13: 5pm
Reading at the cafe.

Mini Challenge: A Recommendation Engine (here)

My current recommendation: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
My recommendation to commenter: The Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr

HOUR 14: 6pm
Still at the cafe with my book. And the hour started with some live music. I have some gorgeous romantic piano playing in the background. It also looks like other musicians are assembling. Perhaps a jazz ensemble?

HOUR 15: 7pm
Sure enough, got some classic jazz tunes while reading at the cafe.

HOUR 16: 8pm
Picked up some dinner and headed home.
Had dinner while playing Words with Friends.

HOUR 17: 9pm
Continued to read and finished Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff!

( happy dancing )

Mini Challenge: 4 Seasons 4 Books (here)

Spring: The Admissions by Meg Mitchell Moore
Summer: The Grownups by Robin Antalek
Fall: Reading The Sweet Oak by Jan Stites
Winter: Blonde Eskimo by Kristen Hunt

HOUR 18: 10pm
Started reading...

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Amazon | Goodreads=====> Actually started reading from page 294 (out of 720). I wanted to make a major dent in this chunkster or possibly finish it during the read-a-thon (fingers crossed).

HOUR 19: 11pm
Reading on the couch.

HOUR 20: 12am
Reading in bed. Probably not a good idea. But, it is the warmest place to be in the wee hours. And, I might nap.

Mini Challenge: Shelfie (here)

HOUR 21: 1am
Read until page 370 of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara before retiring for the night. It was slow going reading this. Got through 76 pages and boy-o-boy was there a doozy of a scene within those pages.

HOUR 22: 2am
zzz

HOUR 23: 3am
zzz

HOUR 24: 4am
zzz

Mini Challenge: Reading Fort (here)

Under the dining room table. Throw blankie, pillows and snacks underneath and all set.
-->late entry, just wanted to answer question

WRAP-UP: 5am

CLOSING SURVEY (here)

Which hour was most daunting for you?
--> Hour 21
Perhaps next year, I should nap between Hour 20-23 and set alarm to be up for Hour 24.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
--> Both books I read were fabulous.
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

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

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
--> Although I do not always comment, I always like the posts on the Dewey site to be able to touch base.

How many books did you read? --> 2

What were the names of the books you read?
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Which book did you enjoy most? --> Both books were enjoyable in different ways.

Which did you enjoy least? --> NA

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

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? --> YES, as a Reader.

LOVED this episode of the Read-a-thon and devoting the day to reading books.

THANKS to the hosts and supporting cast :-)

Until next time...

October 2015 - 21 hours
October 2009 - 22 hours
April 2009 - 8 hours

Literary Hunk of the Month 2015

Literary Hunk of the Month 2015
hosted by Book Perfume
While visiting fellow bloggers I came across this fun meme at the Book Perfume.

Her description blurb:
Admit it–you’ve had a crush on a fictional character. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Here at Book Perfume, we embrace those passions by honoring a literary hunk every month…because the fact that he only exists on paper shouldn’t stop us from obsessing.

While my all-time hunks include Jamie Fraser of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and various heroes from Jane Austen novels, this list will consist of male characters that I come across in my recently read books for each month. These guys will have a quality that makes them stand out (in my eyes). Looks don't necessarily make the cut for my list.

~*~
JANUARY - none found

FEBRUARY - Werner Pfennig
Loved how he followed his heart.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

MARCH - Ethan Figman
Loved his creative passion.
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
Amazon | Goodreads | my review
APRIL - none found

MAY - Sam Turner
Loved that he could cook.
The Grown Ups by Robin Antalek
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

JUNE - James Smith
Loved his goodness.
Longbourn by Jo Baker
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

JULY - Ross Poldark
Loved gentlemanly manners.
Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall, 1783-1787 by Winston Graham
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

AUGUST - Kane
Loved his dark, mysterious, scarred persona.
Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

SEPTEMBER - Jesse Colton
Gentle tough cowboy ways.
Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

OCTOBER - Dale Finnegan
Loved his patience.
The Space Between Heartbeats by Melissa Pearl
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

NOVEMBER - Cormoran Strike
Big and burly with brains.
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling
Amazon | Goodreads

DECEMBER - Captain Chaol Westphall
Protective nature.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Amazon | Goodreads | my review
~*~
* image source header: Sherlock Holmes reading

* Check out Buzzfeed's 15 Literary Hunks To Cuddle By The Fire (here) and TopTez's Top 10 Literary Hunks (here) and Bustle's 7 Literary Hunk Roles Jamie Dornan Should Take On Next, Because He’s Practically A Pro At This Point (here)

* Feel free to comment on any Literary Hunks you have come across in your recent reading.

The Grown Ups by Robin Antalek

The Grown Ups
by Robin Antalek

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookExcerpt
Website
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Published: January 27, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Women's Fiction
Paperback: 384 pages
Rating: 5

From the author of The Summer We Fell Apart, an evocative and emotionally resonant coming-of-age novel involving three friends that explores what it means to be happy, what it means to grow up, and how difficult it is to do both together.

The summer he’s fifteen, Sam enjoys, for a few secret months, the unexpected attention of Suzie Epstein. For reasons Sam doesn’t entirely understand, he and Suzie keep their budding relationship hidden from their close knit group of friends. But as the summer ends, Sam’s world unexpectedly shatters twice: Suzie’s parents are moving to a new city to save their marriage, and his own mother has suddenly left the house, leaving Sam’s father alone to raise two sons.

Watching as her parents’ marital troubles escalate, Suzie takes on the responsibility of raising her two younger brothers and plans an early escape to college and independence. Though she thinks of Sam, she deeply misses her closest friend Bella, but makes no attempt to reconnect, embarrassed by the destructive wake of her parents as they left the only place Suzie called home. Years later, a chance meeting with Sam’s older brother will reunite her with both Sam and Bella—and force her to confront her past and her friends.

After losing Suzie, Bella finds her first real love in Sam. But Sam’s inability to commit to her or even his own future eventually drives them apart. In contrast, Bella’s old friend Suzie—and Sam’s older brother, Michael—seem to have worked it all out, leaving Bella to wonder where she went wrong.

Spanning over a decade, told in alternating voices, The Grown Ups explores the indelible bonds between friends and family and the challenges that threaten to divide them.

First sentence:
It was the summer all the children in the neighborhood caught a virus.

My two-bits:
Just like the title suggests, this story is a kind of coming of age process. A group of characters experience the ups and downs and eventually find their way through life's lessons.

The story is told through the perspective of three characters each of which have distinct voices and personalities. I liked being in the shoes of each equally.

Loved how the group of friends in this story remained in contact and their sideline stories and growth development were monitored as well.

Along with a reading guide, the book includes a playlist for each of the three characters with descriptions of why the songs were selected which was fun to read for extra insight on character background.

About the author:

Robin Antalek is the author of The Summer We Fell Apart (HarperCollins 2010) which was chosen as a Target Breakout Book. The Summer We Fell Apart was also published in Turkey by Artemis Yayinlari. Her non-fiction work has been published at The Weeklings, The Nervous Breakdown and collected in The Beautiful Anthology, Writing off Script: Writers on the Influence of Cinema, and The Weeklings: Revolution #1 Selected Essays 2012-1013. Her short fiction has appeared in 52 Stories, Five Chapters, Sun Dog, The Southeast Review and Literary Mama among others. Robin has received three honorable mentions in Glimmer Train's Family Matters and New Fiction Writer's contests as well as an honorable mention for the Tobias Wolf Fiction Award.

~*~
* part of Summer Reading Challenge 2015. It's not too late! You can join the challenge here. @booksparks #SRC2015
Destination: Escape to the Northeast

Stacking the Shelves - 5.16.15

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

~*~
For Review:

I Take You
by Eliza Kennedy
-Chick-lit
courtesy of Blogging for Books
Amazon | Goodreads -signup to win this, exp May 18

Heat of the Moment
(Moment of Truth #1)
by Lauren Barnholdt
-Romance, YA
courtesy of Epic Reads
Thanks !
Amazon | Goodreads

The Fill-In Boyfriend
by Kasie West
-Romance, YA
courtesy of Epic Reads
Thanks !
Amazon | Goodreads

The Grown Ups
by Robin Antalek
-YA
courtesy of BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2015
Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
Dreaming about getting soon: because MAY is Zombie Awareness Month!

The Making of Zombie Wars: A Novel
by Aleksandar Hemon
-literary fiction
just released: May 5, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads
The seriously, seriously funny roller-coaster ride of sex and violence that Aleksandar Hemon has long promised

Script idea #142: Aliens undercover as cabbies abduct the fiancée of the main character, who has to find a way to a remote planet to save her. Title: Love Trek.

Script idea #185: Teenager discovers his girlfriend's beloved grandfather was a guard in a Nazi death camp. The boy's grandparents are survivors, but he's tantalizingly close to achieving deflowerment, so when a Nazi hunter arrives in town in pursuit of Grandpa, he has to distract him long enough to get laid. A riotous Holocaust comedy. Title: The Righteous Love.

Script idea #196: Rock star high out of his mind freaks out during a show, runs offstage, and is lost in streets crowded with his hallucinations. The teenage fan who finds him keeps the rock star for himself for the night. Mishaps and adventures follow. This one could be a musical: Singin' in the Brain.

Josh Levin is an aspiring screenwriter teaching ESL classes in Chicago. His laptop is full of ideas, but the only one to really take root is Zombie Wars. When Josh comes home to discover his landlord, an unhinged army vet, rifling through his dirty laundry, he decides to move in with his girlfriend, Kimmy. It's domestic bliss for a moment, but Josh becomes entangled with a student, a Bosnian woman named Ana, whose husband is jealous and violent. Disaster ensues, and as Josh's choices move from silly to profoundly absurd, The Making of Zombie Wars takes on real consequence.

AND binge watching:

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
tv series, season two
-1920s, mystery
Amazon | imdb
Our lady sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of late 1920's Melbourne, fighting injustice with her pearl-handled pistol and her dagger sharp wit.

=====> based on Phyrne Fisher book series by Kerry Greenwood

Interesting Book Blogger articles:

10 Problems of Being An Adult Reading YA by Paper Fury


~*~
* some of these may be offered as giveaways within the next two months

* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers

Happy Release: The Grown Ups By Robin Antalek

The Grown Ups
by Robin Antalek
Release date: January 27, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads
From the author of The Summer We Fell Apart, an evocative and emotionally resonant coming-of-age novel involving three friends that explores what it means to be happy, what it means to grow up, and how difficult it is to do both together.

The summer he’s fifteen, Sam enjoys, for a few secret months, the unexpected attention of Suzie Epstein. For reasons Sam doesn’t entirely understand, he and Suzie keep their budding relationship hidden from their close knit group of friends. But as the summer ends, Sam’s world unexpectedly shatters twice: Suzie’s parents are moving to a new city to save their marriage, and his own mother has suddenly left the house, leaving Sam’s father alone to raise two sons.

Watching as her parents’ marital troubles escalate, Suzie takes on the responsibility of raising her two younger brothers and plans an early escape to college and independence. Though she thinks of Sam, she deeply misses her closest friend Bella, but makes no attempt to reconnect, embarrassed by the destructive wake of her parents as they left the only place Suzie called home. Years later, a chance meeting with Sam’s older brother will reunite her with both Sam and Bella—and force her to confront her past and her friends.

After losing Suzie, Bella finds her first real love in Sam. But Sam’s inability to commit to her or even his own future eventually drives them apart. In contrast, Bella’s old friend Suzie—and Sam’s older brother, Michael—seem to have worked it all out, leaving Bella to wonder where she went wrong.

Spanning over a decade, told in alternating voices, The Grown Ups explores the indelible bonds between friends and family and the challenges that threaten to divide them.

~*~
* part of Summer Reading Challenge 2015. It's not too late! You can join the challenge here. @booksparks #SRC2015