Book Reviews by Today, I Read…

A Continuous Book Review and Vocabulary Assignment

February 21

Comments: 2

TSS: Micro Read-a-Thon (FKA Mini Read-a-Thon) Book Pool

by Ann-Katrina

After a late start to the day, I’ve been forced to reconsider my mini read-a-thon. Rather than cancel or postpone it altogether, I’ve decided to shorten it. Instead of twelve hours of straight reading, it will be six, which should leave me enough time to accomplish all the other tasks around here that need to get done. :)

Chopping the timeframe in half means that I also have to reconsider how many books I’ll be able to pack away. Now, I’m down to reading two books and four short stories. It seems like a fair compromise.

Since I decided to keep the four various categories from which to choose, the book pool will seem rather broad.

Tuck EverlastingwtfThe DevouringMister MondayThirteen Reasons WhyGothic! Teen Original Dark TalesMoonlight & VinesProm Nights From Hell

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt • wtf by Peter Lerangis • The Devouring by Simon Holt • Mister Monday by Garth Nix • Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher • Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales by Various Authors • Moonlight & Vines by Charles de Lint • Prom Nights From Hell by Various Authors

2 Comments, add yours...

February 18

Comments: 5

Plotting a Mini Read-a-Thon

by Ann-Katrina

Last year’s Read-a-Thon was my first ever and I’m not completely ashamed to admit that I didn’t do so well, only a little. So, I’ve decided to get some practice in before the next one. And this Sunday seems like the perfect day to do it.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve not had as much time to read as I would have liked and the time I did spend reading was spent reading non-fiction and memoirs. Granted, I do enjoy non-fiction and memoirs quite a bit, but everything in moderation, right?

Come Sunday at 9am, I will be reading from a selection of fiction titles. The goal is to read at least four books (horror, literary, fantasy, chick lit—mixin’ it up so I won’t get bored) and at least two short stories in a twelve hour period. I’ll take a break every three hours to update the blog on my progress and post some book notes.

Now that I’ve put it down in writing, it seems completely doable. I hope. Wish me luck, and company is always welcome if you want to participate too.

(I hope when I’m done this time around, the Sunday Sketch will display a bit more effort than the last one.)

5 Comments, add yours...

February 11

Comments: 4

Buried Alive…Or the (it seems, futile) Attempt to Organize My Bookcases

by Ann-Katrina

It started one day as I lay staring at my burgeoning bookcases. Something needed to be done…and fast.

Burgeoning Bookcase

In a fit of excitement, I pulled all the books from their resting places and piled them on the floor.

Sample of the Book Pile

Mission: catalog and alphabetize. That was before I realized that I have a lot of books.

Ant's Eye View of the Book Pile

So far, from the first four shelves, there are 319 books:

  • 202 fiction
  • 20 non-fiction
  • 46 reference
  • 11 graphic novels
  • 20 expendable

And I still have three more book cases to go (two with five shelves and one with four). <sarcasm>Whoopee!!</sarcasm> But I will not be deterred.

There’s a system. I’m not doing this for nothing. There is some sort of system, right? Please tell me there is. How else do you manage to keep all your books from eating you alive?!?

4 Comments, add yours...

February 9

Comments: 1

Recent Arrivals: wtf by Peter Lerangis

by Ann-Katrina

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: wtf by Peter Lerangis

wtf

First line: The eyes were beautiful.

Initial thoughts: This was a happy surprise mailbox find. And after reading the first chapter, I’m certain of two things: 1) it will be a quick read; and 2) it is fast paced.

I’m not entirely sure of the context or plot or what I’m in for, and the back cover made me raise an eyebrow. Frankly, I’m a little worried and a little excited.

Book description:

ONE PLAN, TWO PARTIES, SIX PLAYERS:

Jimmy: the driver
Cam: the connect
Byron: the know-it-all
Waits: the supplier
Reina: the conscience
MC: the crasher

On one Friday night these six will test their limits to the extreme. Some are driven by lust, others by greed. One just wants to have fun, and another desires to be free. If everything goes as planned, they all get what they want. But within twenty-four hours, bones will break, bodies will touch, hearts will race, guns will be drawn, and everything will go oh so very wrong.

Book Details: 272 pages; Simon Pulse; Pub. November 10, 2009

Learn more:

1 Comment, add yours...

February 8

Comments: 2

Recent Arrivals: Natalie Babbitt Galore!

by Ann-Katrina

When I was younger, I caught the tail end of a movie called Tuck Everlasting. It looked beautiful. And when I found out it was based on a book, I knew I wanted to read that book.

Years drifted by and despite wanting to watch the movie from the beginning and read the book, it slipped my mind. Now I’m making up for it…it seems, in spades. But something tells me I’ll enjoy Babbitt’s style, so I’m going out on a limb and stockpiling.

Tuck Everlasting The Eyes of the AmaryllisGoody Hall The Search for Delicious

Tuck Everlasting: Is eternal life a blessing or a curse? That is what young Winnie Foster must decide when she discovers a spring on her family’s property whose waters grant immortality. Members of the Tuck family, having drunk from the spring, tell Winnie of their experiences watching life go by and never growing older.

But then Winnie must decide whether or not to keep Tuck’s secret—and whether or not to join them on their never-ending journey.

The Eyes of the Amaryllis: When the brig Amaryllis was swallowed in a hurricane, the captain and the crew were swallowed, too. For thirty years the captain’s widow, Geneva Reade, has waited, certain that her husband will send her a message from the bottom of the sea. But someone else is waiting, too, and watching her, a man called Seward. Into this haunted situation comes Jenny, the widow’s granddaughter. The three of them, Gran, Jenny, and Seward, are drawn into a kind of deadly game with one another and with the sea, a game that only the sea knows how to win.

Goody Hall: An out of work actor, Hercules Feltwright, stumbles into a job tutoring Willet Goody, the only child of a widow living in a large, lonely house. Willet quickly involves his tutor in the search to discover the truth surrounding his father. The mystery unfolds with the discovery of hidden treasure, a gypsy séance, and the frightening exploration of a tomb of Midas Goody.

The Search for Delicious: Twelve-year-old Gaylen, the king’s messenger, is off to poll the kingdom, traveling from town to farmstead to town on his horse, Marrow. At first, it is merely a question of disagreement at the royal castle over which food should stand for Delicious in the new dictionary.

Then Gaylen’s quest leads him to unusual characters, including a minstrel who sings about a mermaid child, and Ardis, who might save the kingdom from havoc. And soon it seems that the search for Delicious had better succeed if civil war is to be avoided.

2 Comments, add yours...

 

© Copyright 2005-2024 Today, I Read…. All Rights Reserved. (Please don't steal.)