December Read-A-Thon | Wrap Up!

I’m always both sad to see a Readathon end…and a bit relieved. Sad, because Readathons are FUN! Everyone reads as much as they possibly can, we put aside everything else and go into marathon reading mode. Many of us forgo all TV and any other activities and plow through as many books we possibly can. There are reading sprints, friendly competitions. I always keep track of how much I’m reading each day and try to beat my numbers.

But, by the end of it, I’m usually ready for a TV day. My brain is worn OUT. It doesn’t help that I’m in the middle of rereading Game of Thrones right now, either!

So, how’d I do?

Books Read:

A Feast for Crows by George RR Martin

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The Suicide Index by Joan Wickersham

Before I Go by Colleen Oakley

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo (Page 1-57)

Backpacks and Brastraps by Savannah Grace

A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin (Up to Page 408)

Plus a short story per day, usually 3-7 pages.

Pages Read:  2,900

 

I did all but one of the challenges. Sorry Saturday…I just am not graphically inclined enough to recreate a book cover!

 

I skipped over The Iliad, which technically was on my TBR list before most of these, but that would have sucked up the whole challenge time. I will read that soon, I promise. I also am overdue on an ARC, but it’s only readable on my tablet, which died right before the Readathon started. Yikes! Other than that, I think I did pretty well. I would have been able to read a higher number of books if I hadn’t been reading Martin, but I got through a lot of actual pages, so I’m happy with the turnout.

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WWW Wednesday 12/10/2014

 

 

What are you currently reading?

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

 

What did you just finish reading?

Breeder by KB Hoyle

The Suicide Index by Joan Wickersham

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

Before I Go by Colleen Oakley

Backpacks and Brastraps by Savannah Grace

A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin

I am also overdue to read The Iliad, but I am saving that until after the readathon. I’ll be hitting that up as soon as this week is over, so we’ll see how many books I get though! I keep putting it off, and I need to get to it!

All the Light We Cannot See

Between the Goodreads Awards and National Book Awards, I’ve had quite a few new acclaimed reads get added to my list in the past month. Not only did Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See make both of those award nomination lists, but my book club is reading him for Wednesday’s meeting!

I really thought I’d like this book–it was based on WWII, and it was one of those stories about two people in two different situations who would meet up in some kismet way because of the war. I love those type of stories, and I love historical fiction.

Unfortunately, Doerr’s writing structure just hit me in the wrong way right off the bat. The chapters are bang-bang-bang. You flip back and forth between Warner and Marie-Laure (along with a few others) so fast that you can hardly catch your breath, and I just never really felt settled into either person. And not only did you flip between characters, but you also flipped between time periods–not even a big time gap–only a few years, so it’s just really awkward.

The idea is good, but for me it was just a miss. I wanted much more from both the characters and the plot, and so much was missing that I felt lost. Very disappointing, since it’s been in the forefront so much lately.