Night by Elie Wiesel is the heartbreaking memoir of Wiesel's experiences in Nazi concentration camps. It was an emotionally difficult read, probably not the best choice for the Readathon. But, if you haven't read this book, get a copy and read it as soon as possible. Remembering the injustices of history can help us prevent injustices in the future.
4.50/5
Disquiet by Julia Leigh starts off with a intriguing air of mystery. Olivia, with her two children in tow, returns to her mother's house in France. Olivia seems to be on the run, but why? Soon after Olivia arrives, her brother, Marcus, and his wife, Sophie, return to the house with tragic news. It seems that Sophie has given birth to a stillborn child. Unhinged, Sophie has taking to treating the corpse as if it was a live baby. Would she ever regain her sanity and allow the poor dead child to be buried?
In the end, I was horribly disappointed with this book. Leigh doesn't ever answer the first, and most intriguing, question about why Olivia has returned to France.
2.0/5
Xiao Yanqiu was a rising star with the lead role in The Moon Opera. But before the opera could open, Xiao, in a jealous fit, flung boiling water into the face of her understudy. Disgraced, Xiao is demoted to being a mere music teacher. But twenty years later, a rich businessman who remembers Xiao's beauty offers to underwrite a new performance of the The Mood Opera. But can Xiao, who hasn't been on stage since her disgrace, be the star she used to be? And what will happen when her new understudy begins to show signs of enormous talent?
The Moon Opera is a tragic look at the world of Peking Opera and of China. I enjoyed the story, despite the sad ending (which I won't spoil for any who want to read the book). This was one of the better short novels I read during the Readathon and I would recommend for Readthoners next time.
3.75/5
Koula by Menis Koumandareas, a Greek novelist, tells the story of an affair between a young university student and an older woman who works for Greek IRS. They meet on the subway, where they often ride in the same car. Eventually, the begin to talk. Soon enough, they are carrying on an affair. The woman, Koula, becomes obsessed with the younger man. Realizing it, she breaks off the affair despite, or because of, her genuine affection for the younger man.
I read this during the Readathon for the Orbis Terrarum Challenge. It's pretty good novella, but not spectacular. But at 88 pages, it's a good read for the Readathon.
2.75/5
The Pink Institution by Selah Saterstrom is a short novel that chronicles four dysfunctional generations of a post-Civil War Mississippi family. A prose poem, many parts of it were touching, many disturbing, but they were well written. But there were also parts where the novel jumped the shark and became a little to "artsy" for me; parts where the narrative was absent or too difficult to find.
1.5/5
Yeah!!! I made it. The whole head-nod-no-I'm-awake think prevented me from finishing Black Dogs or reaching the 1000 page mark. But I had a lot of fun.
Thank You Organizers and Cheerleaders. And to my fellow Readers, Well Done!
Final stats: 981 pages and 5 books completed in 13:40:02
I'm still awake with only one hour to go. I'm still reading Black Dogs and still fighting to keep from falling asleep. With only one hour to go, I'm pretty sure I can make it now.
Running stats: 947 pages and 5 books completed in 13:02:50.
Still slowly making my way through Black Dogs. I have resorted to reading while standing up in order to keep from dozing off. Only 2 hours to go. Maybe I can hit 1000 pages with a big push. We'll see ...
Running stats: 915 pages and 5 books completed in 12:26:07.
The pushups helped me stay awake this hour. I'm still reading Black Dogs by Ian McEwan. This one is probably going to see me all the way to the finish line.
Running stats: 886 pages and 5 books completed in 11:51:29.
Wow, it is really getting hard to stay awake now. I find myself starting to doze or reading the same sentence more than once. I think I'm going to have to do another round of pushups or yoga to stay awake. But only 4 more hours to go!
Dana asks what your four favorite books are. Right now, mine are:
But if you ask me again tomorrow, they'd be different.
Running stats: 855 pages and 5 books completed in 11:22:33.
Not getting a good night sleep last night is coming back to haunt me. My eyes sting and have started to get that gummy feeling. I started Black Dogs by Ian McEwan this hour. It happens to be a large print book; I was hoping the large print would make it easier to read, but it really isn't working out that way. But hey ... we're more than 3/4 of the way through the readathon. As they say in marathoning, "It's all down hill from here!"
Running stats: 834 pages and 5 books completed in 10:53:13
Despite the suffering a few times from the "I'm falling asleep head nod," I was able to finish Disquiet by Julia Leigh. It is a creepy little novella about a woman who can't let go of her stillborn child. >Shudders< Finishing this book also means that I have completed the Orbis Terrarum Challenge.
Running stats: 809 pages and 5 books completed in 10:28:37.
I didn't do much reading this hour. I am really tired now and eyes hurt so it was easy to distract myself by puttering around. I need to refocus and try to finish Disquiet during hour 17.
Running stats: 733 pages and 4 books completed in 9:36:42
This hour I completed The Moon Opera and started Disquiet. I am starting to get sleepy now, so my reading pace has declined significantly. But, that's OK. I remember this from previous readathons. It's temporary, like the Wall in marathons. You just have keep pushing until you get your second wind.
I also completed the Wisdom of Aging Mini-Challenge hosted by Care. In addition, Lynn asks for your favorite five books from your childhood in the Give Me Five Mini-Challenge. Well here are my favorites:
Running stats: 715 pages and 4 books completed in 9:23:16
This hour I continued reading The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu. With only 14 pages left, I will finish it in hour 15. From there I will move on to Disquiet by Julia Leigh. If I can finish that one, I will have completed the Orbis Terrarum Challenge.
Running stats: 673 pages and 3 books completed in 8:50:57
This hour I started The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu. It is the story of a young opera star that disfigures her understudy. Then, after twenty years away from the stage, returns to the role that made her famous when a rich man sponsors a new production of the Moon Opera.
I also did some yoga, at the suggestion of Soleil at The Yoga Mini-Challenge.
Running stats: 618 pages and 3 books completed in 8:13:03
In this hour I finished Koula by Menis Koumandareas, the story of a brief affair between a young man and an older woman. In the next hour, I plan to either read some more of The Number Devil to my son or read The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu.
Despite not reading as many pages or hours as I had hoped, I am succeeding in my goal to knock out some of my reading challenges. I think I have a pretty good chance of finishing both the Orbis Terrarum Challenge and the Colorful Reading Challenge.
Running stats: 571 pages and 3 books completed in 7:37:39
Mid-Event Survey:
- What are you reading right now?
- How many books have you read so far?
- What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
- Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
- Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
- What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
- Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
- What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
- Are you getting tired yet?
- Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
My Answers:
This hour, I had dinner with my family. I also completed the two mini-challenges of the hour:
What I didn't do is get a lot of reading done. But I did start a new book, Koula by Greek novelist Menis Koumandareas. It is a really short novella, just 88 pages. Perhaps I can finish it in the next hour.
Running stats: 521 pages and 2 books completed in 7:08:46
This hour I finished Elie Wiesel's Night. A truly sad tale, but a good read.
Earlier this hour I completed Joy Renee’s Reading is Fundamental mini-challenge. I was the first because I've already spent a couple of my readathon hours reading The Number Devil to my son, so I just linked to my hour 8 update. I'm looking forward to reading more to him when he gets home from his friend's birthday party.
Running stats: 483 pages and 2 books completed in 6:45:58
I continued to read Night during hour 10. I am surprised that out of 10 hours I have only spent 6 hours reading. That's only 60% of the time. I was shooting for 75%. Hopefully I can bring the average up over the remainder of the readathon.
I also completed Erika's minichallenge:
What book or books do you return to read again and again and why?
I am not really one to reread entire books, although I often refer back to books that I have read. But there are a few that I have read more than once:
Update from hour 21: I just thought of another classic that I reread often: Dante's Inferno. It is one of my favorites. I can't believe I forgot it.
Running stats: 422 pages and 1 book completed in 6:00:40
I didn't get much reading done this hour. I spent some time getting the pictures that I added to my hour 8 update. Plus, it is difficult to read about the horrors described in Elie Wiesel's Night; it is hard to believe that humans can do such things to other humans.
Running stats: 402 pages and 1 book completed in 5:36:09
My family returned from the Halloween party. So, this hour I resumed reading The Number Devil to my son. He's really enjoying it and so am I. This hour we read about squares, square roots, and triangular & quadrangular numbers.
Bonus update ... Some pictures!
Reading to my son.
Keeping me company today while I'm reading.
Running stats: 382 pages and 1 book completed in 5:19:36
During hour 7 I did indeed resume reading The Greatest Show On Earth. I'm already getting a little tired, so I had a hard time following some of what I read. It was a chapter full of scientific names. So, after finishing that chapter I switched to Elie Wiesel's Night. I'm only 14 pages in, but I can feel the sadness begin to build already. I hope to finish Night in the next couple of hours.
Running Stats: 341 pages and 1 book completed in 4:41:12
The Pink Institution got weird again. I finished it, but it didn't make a lot of sense. It is a prose poem, so perhaps it doesn't have to make sense. Anyway, it is the first book I have completed during this readathon. Woot!
I think I will go back to Dawkins' The Greatest Show On Earth for hour 7 and then on to another book during hour 8.
Running Stats: 298 pages and 1 book completed in 4:04:02
I started reading Selah Saterstrom's The Pink Institution. It is a strange book. A sparsely told tail of a family on the decline in post-Civil War Mississippi. I didn't like it at first, but now that I am over 80 pages into it, I am starting to see an engaging plot.
Running stats: 246 pages in 3:24:42
This has been my favorite hour so far. I read The Number Devil by H. M. Enzensberger to my 7 year old son. It was a pretty interesting read, covering number theory in a kid friendly way. Alas, my son is off to a Halloween party, so I will be alone in the house again. But, he asked if I could read to him later. I'm looking forward to it!
Running stats: 164 pages read in 2:55:45
Well, I didn't switch books because I wanted to finish the chapter I was reading in The Greatest Show On Earth. But, I will be switching books in hour 4 because my family is home from the gym and I will be reading to my 7 year old son.
Running stats: 98 pages in 2:04:42
Well ... that's 2 hours done. I have to say that I am disappointed with the pace of my reading. Perhaps reading a nonfiction book on evolution isn't the best choice for a readathon. I think, perhaps, in hour 3 I will switch to something a little easier to read.
Running Stats: 67 pages read in 1:22:56
So, I started the readathon with one of the books I am currently reading, Richard Dawkins' The Greatest Show On Earth. It is about the evidence for evolution. It is a pretty easy read, but surprisingly snarky. I would have prefer Dawkins to argue his case rather than make fun of the opposing view.
Mini challenge for this hour:
Where are you reading from today?
3 facts about me …
How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time?
I am reading in Sugar Land, Texas, a suburb of Houston. My readathon goal is to use the time to polish of some of my reading challenges. To that end, I went to the library and checked out a bunch of novellas that meet the criteria of my challenges. I am afraid I went a little overboard and checked out way too many to list. But, here a some that I want to finish:
I checked out a bunch of novellas, books of less than 200 pages, because I found last time that these books are the easiest to read. As you get tired, holding the events and characters of longer books in your head becomes a little difficult. In addition, shorter books give you shorter, achievable goals that can motivate you to keep going. So, a little late I know, I would recommend that novice readathoners choose shorter books to read. But, the most important advice I would pass on is that readers need to take breaks. Get up, walk around, change your eyes' focus distance. Remember, you have 23 more hours to go!
Running Stats: 31 pages read in 00:40:15
It's that time of year again when over 350 of us readers get together over the internet to read for 24 hours straight. If you are one of the readathoners, people might say, "Why would you want to read for 24 hours? That's crazy!" But, if we have to explain it to you, you won't get it. Don't make any mistake, it will be grueling. It's worth it though; the thrill of finishing is definitely worth it.
I have my big pile o' books sitting next to my reading chair. I have plenty of caffeine, I mean tea, and a willing attitude. I tried to get a good night's sleep last night, but I'm a light sleeper and my wife snores. (What can you do?) But I'm ready!
Before we start, I want to wish all my fellow readers good luck. To all the cheerleaders, thank you in advance. When it's dark and the house is silent, your encouragement keeps me going. See you all at the finish line!
We’re moving in a couple weeks (the first time since I was 9 years old), and I’ve been going through my library of 3000+ books, choosing the books that I could bear to part with and NOT have to pack to move. Which made me wonder…
When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?
Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)
And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?
I purged my library once in my life. When I got married and moved out of my parent's house, I gave away or sold many of the books that I had collected through high school and college. To this day I regret having done so. I have repurchased some of the books I got rid of and vow to never purge again.
For more answers to this question and others, check out Booking Through Thursday.
I have had a long time interest in Hellenistic Philosophy. I admire the Epicureans, the Stoics, and the Sceptics. Over the last few years, I have read several to learn more about them. I looked forward to reading A. A. Long's survey of Hellenistic Philosophy for some time. So, I was highly disappointed when I found it nearly unreadable.
I am sure that for someone with more technical knowledge of philosophy this book is an excellent overview of Hellenistic Philosophy. However, I don't have that technical knowledge. I was looking for a book written for the lay audience. Hellenistic Philosophy is not that book. So, unless you are ready for a slog through a dizzying array of technical topics on Hellenistic philosophy, find another book to read.
1.0/5
