Wrapping Up

Another ReverseReadathon has come to an end. I really love doing things, but boy am I exhausted.

 

That's about where I'm at right now.

But here's the final count:
Books read: 4
Pages read: 1196

I didn't catch up entirely in what I wanted to do for my reading list (I'm still 5 books behind schedule apparently), but I would say that reading 4 books over 24 hours, with sleeping and working for about 10 of those hours is no mean feat. 

Closing Survey:

How would you assess your reading overall? It was just how I wanted it to be. I wish I had some better books in the pipeline I think, but hey they can't all be winners. 
Did you have a stategy, and if so, did you stick to it? I had zero strategy and it worked out pretty decently this time around.
What was your favorite snack? I had some delectable garlic triscuts that really seemed to hit the spot. 
Wanna volunteer for our next event? Definitely! I was a moderator in a past readathon and would love to do that again in the future. Especially now that I am officially done with school!

We did it guys! Can't wait to join you all again at the next Dewey's 24 hour Readathon!

Fourth and Final

So while yes there still is 30 more minutes of the Reverse Readathon left, I know I won't be finishing a book in that time frame so this is my last review from the readathon and I can honestly say last the best of all the game.

The Sisters Mederos 

By: Patrice Sarath

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

Rating: 4.5 stars

Summary:

House Mederos was once the wealthiest merchant family in Port Saint Frey. Now the family is disgraced, impoverished, and humbled by the powerful Merchants Guild. Daughters Yvienne and Tesara Mederos are determined to uncover who was behind their family's downfall and get revenge. But Tesara has a secret - could it have been her wild magic that caused the storm that destroyed the family's merchant fleet? The sisters' schemes quickly get out of hand - gambling is one thing, but robbing people is another...

Together the sisters must trust each another to keep their secrets and save their family.

My Thoughts:

This was so much fun! It was well paced, characters well developed, and the build up to the end had me wishing I could read so much faster.

What I greatly enjoyed was having two such very different sisters working together to bring their family some of their previous prestige. Tesara, broken hands but still deft with cards - she is quiet, she is calculating and she learns to control her magic.  Yvienne grows cold, cunning and can't seem to quit the game as the notorious robber. 

I loved my growing suspense as I read it. Reading it in 2 sittings was great. Lots of thoughts of "don't trust them - don't do it" or "calm down! Quit while you're ahead!" Books that getting me to physically root for a character make me happy and this was one of those books. 

Points I would have liked more of - Is magic a common thing or at least a known thing in this particular world? What exactly was the fallout at the end? It did feel just a titch rushed as they were trying to tie everything up with enough bows that I was happy with it, simultaneously leaving enough loose ends that I want a sequel.

Points I would have liked less of - THE PARENTS ARE THE WORST! like I get they are broken and whatnot from what happened to them, but they seem to have no redemptive qualities. ZERO. They snipe at each other and their daughters and for all Mama goes on about bettering the house, she doesn't seem to be doing much does she? They felt a little bit one dimensional and more like plot devices rather than characters.

All in all this was a fun read and one that I can't wait to follow up on. 

Finished Book 3!

And I'm still at work, but I finished listening to this one. I have another one lined up until I can get home and start reading.

The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted 

By: Bridget Asher

Genre: Women's Fiction

Rating: 4.5  stars.

Summary: 

Every good love story has another love hiding within it.”

 
Brokenhearted and still mourning the loss of her husband, Heidi travels with Abbott, her obsessive-compulsive seven-year-old son, and Charlotte, her jaded sixteen-year-old niece, to the small village of Puyloubier in the south of France, where a crumbling stone house may be responsible for mending hearts since before World War II.

There, Charlotte confesses a shocking secret, and Heidi learns the truth about her mother’s “lost summer” when Heidi was a child. As three generations collide with one another, with the neighbor who seems to know all of their family skeletons, and with an enigmatic Frenchman, Heidi, Charlotte, and Abbot journey through love, loss, and healing amid the vineyards, warm winds and delicious food of Provence. Can the magic of the house heal Heidi’s heart, too?

My Thoughts:

This was another one I listened to and the reading was just as good as the writing. You  have to have a good reader when you're listening, otherwise it could be the most beautiful book and the world and you will still hate it. 

This was a beautiful slower paced novel. And the second one this summer I've read about a newly widowed mother who is trying to come to terms with her grief. Granted at the start of the story it has been 2 years since her husband has passed away, but who can put a timeline on grief, who am I to say when one should have "moved on." Heidi felt real, raw. She wasn't perfect - she yelled, blamed others at times and honestly is no good in an emergency. I loved her.

Charlotte was another character who I loved. She is your standard 16 year old girl, wanting to be punk and fight against the corporate system, but also with the childlike vulnerability that teens try so hard to hide. Unlike Heidi - she IS good in an emergency and a good balance to the emotional fragility that is presented in Heidi. 

The descriptions of France - the country side, the food, little snippets of French coming here and there -really made me want to go back and lock down my French better and then go and visit and stay in a little bed and breakfast in the south of France.

Asher did a wonderful job creating this world that I would give anything to step into grief and all. 

And We're Back

So guess what, I woke up pretty easy! So maybe there is something to the whole self affirmation thing from the book yesterday.

Anyway, sadly I had to come into work today.

So I will be typing away while listening to The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted.

Hour 9 means Nap Time!

I used to say that sleep was for the weak. Then I turned 25 and realized that maybe it was a good thing to have around.

So since I've been awake for way, WAY too many hours I'm going to take a break for some sleep and come back in the morning!

Thankfully I finally picked a pretty dang good book - The Sisters Mederos. I was kind sad the first two were "meh". But hey we read and learn right. So now I'm going to practice some of that positive thinking I learned from The Miracle Morning and tell myself "I will wake up refreshed and ready to go. I will wake up refreshed and ready to go." Let's see if this works....

Hour 7 and Book 2

I'm starting to flag. I wish I hadn't had to go to work today - then I could have napped and prepped better for this - but it is what it is.

For my second book, I chose a short one that had been recommended to me during my MBA program - WHICH I'M ALL DONE WITH - called The Miracle Morning. 

The Miracle Morning

By: Hal Elrod

Genre: Self-Help

Rating: 3.5

Summary:

What if you could miraculously wake up tomorrow and any—or every area of your life was transformed? What would be different? Would you be happier? Healthier? More successful? In better shape? Would you have more energy? Less Stress? More Money? Better relationships? Which of your problems would be solved?

What if I told you that there is a "not-so-obvious" secret that is guaranteed to transform any—or literally every area of your life, faster than you ever thought possible? What if I told you it would only take 6 minutes a day?

Enter The Miracle Morning. What’s now being practiced by thousands of people around the world could perhaps be the simplest approach to creating the life you’ve always wanted. It’s been right there in front of us, but this book has finally brought it to life.

Are you ready? The next chapter of your life—the most extraordinary life you've ever imagined—is about to begin.

YOU DESERVE AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE. IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP TO YOUR FULL POTENTIAL.

My Thoughts:

So, I don't do a lot of self-help books, the most I have read were some for my management classes for my MBA - the ones I have read weren't try to sell me something nearly as hard as this book was. Goodness, every single page was telling me to go to his website, download this program, get his special journal. Crap man, you are presenting some pretty good ideas here, stop it with the selling! 

It ticked me off.

But it didn't tick me off enough that I'm not going to try this. Granted I find it funny that I came across this when I'm doing a 24 hour readathon and so my sleep schedule is going to be whack for a couple of days, though I feel I can implement his ideas to improve my life.

Things I'm excited to try: 

• Going to bed thinking that I will wake up just fine. He says that if I do this it doesn't matter how much sleep I get, if my mind thinks I got enough sleep then I will be able to get up in the morning.
• A daily affirmation. I'm going to try this with the write down something 15 times to make it true thing that my friends got me started on.
• Visualization - I have forgotten the future I want to have and so feel like the wheel is spinning but the hamster is dead. I'm hoping taking the time to conscientiously picture my ideal future will give me purpose.

Things I'm not excited to try:

• Going to his website.
• Getting an accountability buddy.
• Sharing this book as though it was gospel.

Am I going to try this? Yes - on my own terms. Will you ever know about how it turned out?...probably not because well that's not how I roll. All in all it was a fine book. Definitely short and I think he added in all the self-promotion in order to get more pages out of it. Though I'm hoping it will at least add a little value to my life. 

Book one is done

Alrighty, so we are heading into hour 4 and I have finished my first book.
Finding Anne de Bourgh 

By: Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen

Genre: Fiction, Women's Fiction

Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary:

As heiress of Rosings Park, Anne de Bourgh’s health is of utmost importance to her mother, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Thus, following the shock of a recent fire at Rosings Park, the young woman is spirited away to Brighton to take the cure. While her domineering mother is bent on healing her daughter’s sickly constitution to secure her a suitable match, Anne herself is far more concerned with sketching the flora and fauna of the lovely sea town. It is in pursuit of artistic inspiration among the flowers that Anne becomes acquainted with Mr. Owen Talbot, a charming man with whom Anne feels an immediate connection, notwithstanding their differing stations.

But despite their growing esteem for one another, the couple faces an insurmountable problem: Lady Catherine has set her sights on a rich, well-connected man for her daughter, and Mr. Talbot is simply too common. With their love in jeopardy, the couple soon faces far graver problems. There has been a murder in Brighton, and Anne is innocently drawn into an amateur investigation that ultimately traces its roots to her own family. With a frightening foreshadowing regarding the de Bourghs, Anne begins to question whom she can truly trust.

My thoughts:

So this was one that I did thoroughly enjoy the concept of. Anne was never a character I gave much thought to in Pride and Prejudice. To me she was just another obstacle to Darcy and Elizabeth and nothing more. Hinrichsen follows the Austen formula while creating her own characters.

With Anne being so sickly, her mother has determined to bring her to Brighton in order to restore some health before going to London in the hopes of scraping together a match for her. As Anne gains not just physical strength but also inner strength to begin to defy her mother and live life at least somewhat on her terms. Over time she begins to make more decisions to her daily routine and even gasp what unsuitable gentleman she keeps company with.

I liked seeing her gain her voice. My favorite quote from the book is "Be assertive. Follow your heart. Be the woman you want to be." That is some good empowerment right there. She didn't turn into a domineering shrew, she simply became who she was meant to be. A daughter of the great Lady Catherine de Bourgh was NOT meant to be a doormat - not even for her mother. I am so very glad she came to herself and found some backbone. 

My critisims come with spoilers - if you would like them simply highlight between the *** We knew right off the bat who the bad guy was. He has his own chapters trying to explain his motive and we know there is a plot against Anne. I feel like this would have been a MUCH stronger novel had we not known. Let Mr. Lambert b e a Willoughby or a Wickham - someone who at first seems charming but then suddenly is not at all who we thought he was. We did get to see him change sides because of his daughter, but seriously that would have been amazing to have us feel the same betrayal as Anne. Bad editor for not catching and fixing this. Yes there was a little bit of rug pulling with Mrs. Webb but honestly not nearly enough and I was left unsatisfied.***

If you enjoy Austen for the funny wit and biting commentary, this isn't the book for you. If you enjoy Austen for sweet romance and want a light little read, this definitely does the job. I will most likely read something else of Hinrichsen if I come across it. 

Reverse Readathon! Hours 1/2

Hello all!

Oh how I love the Dewey Readathons. The fact that this is a reverse one - more relaxed, and more on my time table (I'm a night owl after all) really makes me happy. I have been listening to The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted for the first couple of hours. I didn't get off work until right when this started.

I haven't prepared for this nearly as well as I have for the past readathons, I don't have snacks, I don't have a stack of specific books to read, I don't know what this is exactly going to look like. I do know that I need to plan a lesson for my church meeting on Sunday and that I will be missing the last hour because I will be picking my parents up from the airport. But this is what I love about the Reverse 'Thons - they are relaxed.

These next couple of hours will have me finishing Finding Anne de Bourgh, The Sisters Mederos...and from there I don't know. I'm currently 8 books behind my goal of reading 75 books this year, so I would say that my biggest goal is to catch up. I also know I will be sleeping on this one. But I'm so happy that I have the chance to set aside some time to just read.

The Get to Know you Questions:

1)What fine part of the world are you reading from today? And what time is it where you are?

I'm reading from SLC UT - It's currently 7:40 PM

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

As my stack doesn't have many books actually planned I don't really know. But I do think I'm going to reread my favorite Dragon Singer and I love that one. 

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? 

GARDEN SALSA SUNCHIPS!!!!

4) Do you have a #reversereadathon plan of attack? 

Nope

5) Are you doing the readathon solo or with others? 

Riding Solo, I've never been able to get this organized with friends I know in person. 

Let's get this going!