Hour 7

Lucky Number 7.

I have just finished the second book of the day "A School for Unusual Girls" by Kathleen Baldwin.

Set between Napoleon's exile to Elba and his attempt to reclaim the continent Georgiana Fitzwilliam finds herself trying to develop a truly invisible ink to help the British in maintaining peace.

A cast set with 4 girls and their teacher Ms. Stranje this school is far more than meets the eye. Each girl having their own special talents they train to be able to enter the world of espionage.

My Thoughts:
This is definitely for a younger crowd than my last read. Shinn is more for college and beyond whereas this felt more high school. Not that I didn't enjoy it but it definitely felt younger. Several of the characters and some of the dialogue felt flat - and the action a little rushed. I found myself thinking - ah yes, here is the "oh my he touched me and I can still feel it even though we just met and I'm sure he hates me" cliche.

I do recognize that it's an extremely specific cliche but when you think about it - you know I'm right...it happens a lot.

It was fun - it did veer off of the history path which is always fun. Revised Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres and I think I will find myself seeking out the sequel and reading it with pleasure.

Hour 3 update

I have finished my first book from today's Read-a-thon. It is one that I was coming back to reread.  Royal Airs by Sharon Shinn.

I love this series. I love Sharon Shinn, she is one of my favorite writers and I can't wait for the final installment of this series to come out...Any word on that Sharon??

Hers is a world based on the classic 5 elements and their human counterparts (I have already shared my feelings about Troubled Waters and deeper feelings on Royal Airs read deeper if you so desire) and it is one I love going back to. The next Chapters Jeweled Fire and Unquiet Land are just as jam-packed of adventure, with well rounded characters and I love them dearly.

They are actually one of the few series I own that is in hard back. Because I know that I will read them over and over.

I have a habit of signing and dating my books every time I finish them. (just the ones I own, not the ones borrowed from either library or friends.) I find that it's great to go back and to see when the last time I read it was. And think how much I have changed since my last reading

Anyway. I have already taken a shower break and I really don't know how but I'm already a little drowsy....ok I do know how - not nearly enough sleep last night...oops.

Check in with everyone later.

Hour 0 Prep/Getting to Know Me.

Good Morning Happy People.

The sun is not out yet, the birds are singing and it is earlier than I would ever consider waking up under normal circumstances 



...but these are not normal circumstances and I am so happy to be doing this.  

So to answer a couple of get to know me questions:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Salt Lake City, Utah
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Toss up between "The Accidental Empress" by Allison Pataki or "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell"

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I didn't go all out on the snack front this year, just popcorn, swedish fish, little spearmints to get me going. So I'm pretty chill.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I'm living with a couple of roommates who aren't huge readers but who are wonderfully supportive of the read-a-thon plans. I really shouldn't be doing this this week as I'm going to Europe with a couple of friends on Tuesday...so I should be prepping for that...
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
This is not my first rodeo. I have done at least 4 other read-a-thons in the past. This time I will be a little more lax in the timing and probably will end up taking a nap somewhere between the 8-12 hour mark (not the whole time but for a bit) so that I can stay awake longer. I really do want to participate in as much as I can so I figured that for me this was the best way to go.


Anyway. Happy Reading everyone!