Book Reviews by Today, I Read…

It’s just into the 23rd hour of the read-a-thon and I gotta admit I’m starting to feel The Sleepiesâ„¢ despite my best efforts involving chocolate ice cream, Cherry Coke Zero, and 5 Hr Energy. It doesn’t help that my reading partner was zoning out on me…until, that is, she finally threw in the towel. There she is waving me good night. Traitor.

As I mentioned in my last update post, I decided to move onto Soulless by Christopher Golden as my next read. It’s not a long novel, but doesn’t truly count as a short one either. And I wish I could say that it’s as engrossing as my previous read, but don’t get me wrong, it is a good read so far.

It started off with a mass seance. Basically, three mediums go on a morning news show to demonstrate their gifts and to allow the deceased, on a grand scale, to communicate with their loved ones. Unfortunately, something they didn’t plan for happened: all those ghosts wanting to communicate with their loved ones are technically soulless (hence the title) and therefore cannot control their rampant urges and the mediums, along with the two news hosts, are locked together (hand to hand) and no one can seem to wake them up or pry them apart.

Dead bodies are now animated by spirits (which are different from souls, by the way) all over the Northeast and it’s spreading fast. There’s chaos and carnage and people are panicking left and right. There’s all kinds of zombie goodness going on while the people trapped inside the news studio try to figure out how to separate the three mediums, and the two poor news hosts, and praying that doing so will fix everything. Exciting stuff I tell ya.

Now, why is it not as engrossing? There’s some character development going on admist the zombie uprising and some of it just seems wildly unnecessary and only serves to quell the awesomeness of people getting their cheeks eaten off and whatnot. But, it’s not enough to get me to set aside the read because sure enough, when I’m ready to throw in the towel, another zombie comes out of nowhere and I’m giddy with fear again.

On an almost related note, I just had a glance outside and at this time of the morning, it seems much darker than I’d expect it. I’m not scared or anything, but I was hearing a couple strange noises coming from the back patio and erm…uh…yeah.

Well, I’ve just finished reading Dawn by Kevin Brooks and I’m a bit numb right now. Figuratively and literally (my butt).

The story, for lack of a better cliche, was intense, and not entirely what I expected.

Sure, I expected some twisted bits (the allusion to something happening to her while quietly laying in bed one December night is like a flashing neon sign), but I never expected it to be that twisted and a bit heart-wrenching.

I swear I felt a tear pricking at my eye and trust me, it was not a moment when I should have been crying and certainly not for the person I nearly cried for.

Ultimately, this is a heavy novel, but much of it is written with a light touch. There are passages that had me cackling and packages that had me shaking my head with consternation.

And since Dawn likes to make lists, allow me to make a list of just a few of them:

• Dawn makes it her mission to kill God. (Although he doesn’t exist.)
• Painted snails. Yes, really. Painted snails.
• “Jesus licks his arse.” (Since I know your eyes may be bugging out, let me say that Jesus is the name of her dog. She also has another named Mary.)
• Born-again alcoholic.

I’m still trying to let the story digest for a bit before I come out with a full review. One thing is for certain though, it certainly had me glued to the pages.

In the meantime, I’ll be taking a fifteen minute break to grab some caffeine, make the rounds to see how everyone else is doing, and then start on Soulless by Christopher Golden.

1. What are you reading right now? Dawn by Kevin Brooks

2. How many books have you read so far? 2 (I got a late start)

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I can’t choose just one. But I know Soulless by Christopher Golden, Fallen by Lauren Kate, Wait Until Twilight by Sang Pak is definitely in the mix.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Yes and No. While I thought not, initially, I realized too late that yes, I needed to. *sigh*

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Does a nap count as an interruption? If so, then I dealt with it by sleeping. Luckily it was only a short one (about an hour).

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Everybody’s so nice. Yeah, I knew that everyone was nice, but not this nice. It’s awesome.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Um…not yet. Try me later.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Have a ready bookmark of participating blogs to visit during my break times rather than digging through my links every time.

9. Are you getting tired yet? Nope. I’m fresh as a daisy.

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? Can’t say that I do, but when I think of something, I shall make it known.

I got a late start because I had a prior engagement, so now it’s all about making up time.

Right now, I’m about to dive into Dawn by Kevin Brooks, which is due out this December. (I was unsuccessful at locating a cover image online, therefore had to take a quick snapshot of my copy).

Brief Synopsis:

Dawn Bundy lives in a world inside her head. A world that is dark and quiet, and where she can disappear from the hard truths of her life. Her father, a drug addicted alcoholic, disappeared two years ago, leaving the skeletons in his closet behind for Dawn and her alcoholic, self-medicating mother to live with. Before leaving, he became fiercely addicted to religion, making Dawn believe that God led her father to do the despicable thing he did–only once–to Dawn on a quiet night in December while she lay quietly in bed.

So, Dawn has decided to go shopping for Bibles to learn about God, her enemy. Because only when you know your enemy can you defeat it–and that is exactly what Dawn sets out to do–she wants to defeat God as a way to heal her pain.

It wasn’t in my original read-a-thon book pool and (as far as I can tell) it’s not very frightening, but when I read the first two pages, I said, “Hmm…that’s interesting.” There’s just something about it that’s tugging at me to read it.

But you can be certain that when I finish, I’ll be moving along to something far more bone-chilling: Soulless by Christopher Golden. I’ve been waiting to read that one all day.

Now, I’m off to see how others are doing for a few minutes (my breather) and then it’s time to get reading.

Wow. There’s less than 24 hours remaining until the 24 hour read-a-thon begins. Is it normal to be nervous? I haven’t yet stocked up on my 5 Hour Energy drinks. (Mental note: Must get 5 hr energy.)

You guessed it, I’m gungho about doing the full 24 hour thing because, due to some bad scheduling on my part, I won’t be able to read for about a 6 hour chunk of the day. That’s one entire full length novel right there and I must make up for it.

OMG, I haven’t even scheduled in time for eating or bathroom breaks…must stop and take breath.

I just went back and re-read what I wrote and I think I’m a bit neurotic about this thing. Am I the only one? I can’t be the only one.