Keep Your Hand Moving

Last weekend, I read for twenty-four hours straight.

I didn't read this weekend.

I wrote.

All day Saturday.

I went to Develop a Writing Practice Workshop. It was in Austin at Casa de Luz.

I showed my husband pictures of Casa de Luz and tried to talk him into making our backyard like it.

Here are the things I did this weekend that I've never done before:
1. Ate vegan.
2. Did sitting meditation.
3. Went to a bookstore three times and didn't buy a single book.

I am going to write every day now. I might do more sitting meditation. I hope I never eat vegan again.

A beautiful day. Except for the vegan. Except for the not-reading.

Readathon Meme

(Pictured: Grumpy Bird, who I suspect I may resemble today, after almost no sleep!)

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
This last one.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Streetcar Named Desire
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Breakfast at Tiffany's

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Everything was very good just as it was.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I especially liked the list of posts from bloggers.

5. How many books did you read?
17 (many of these I started earlier in the week)

6. What were the names of the books you read?
Goodbye, Mr. Chips; Breakfast at Tiffany's; Member of the Wedding; Death in Venice; Joey Fly, Private Eye; Tales from Outer Suburbia; The Great Fire; Years of Dust; The Black Pearl; Amelia's Notebook; Boyology; The Upstairs Room; The Old Man and the Sea; That Night; Poetry in Motion; Streetcar Named Desire; Afternoon of the Elves

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
Streetcar Named Desire

8. Which did you enjoy least?
I liked all of them.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
N/A

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
Reader, most likely.

Hour 23: More Books

Link to mini-challenge: Join BookCrossing!

I finished several books in the last hours and I feel compelled to post a little about each:

The Old Man and the Sea was possibly the worse choice I've ever made for a read-a-thon. The old man spends most of the book fighting the fish, weary, exhausted, tired. I'm not at all interested in fish but Hemingway is a writer I like, spare and lean.

The Great Fire is a look at the Chicago Fire. It moved fast and, because of a series of errors, spread over much of the city. Jim Murphy knows how to write nonfiction.

Years of Dust examines the Dust Bowl years, the causes, the problems, the way things resolved themselves. It could happen again.

The Black Pearl is the story of a boy who seeks a big pearl and finds it. The boy's father is lost at sea and the boy feels certain he must set things to rights with the pearl.

Afternoon of the Elves is the story of a friendship between Sara-Kate and Hillary. Sara-Kate unexpectedly shows Hillary an elf village in her backyard and Hillary becomes intrigued. The story is quite mysterious. Love the ending.

Hour 22: Limerick

Link to mini-challenge: Join BookCrossing!



Reading's made my eyes go bleary,
Twenty-four hours of reading...I'm weary.
I thought I could do it,
I've nearly read through it,
Completing the read-a-thon...I'm teary.

Hour 21: Dewey

Link to mini-challenge: Join BookCrossing!

I decided to jump into book blogging when I signed up for an online work-at-your-own-pace inservice called 23 Things last summer. Though I posted quite regularly to my blog, it was hit-or-miss (mostly miss) with comments posted to my blog. Comments were rare.

Then I learned about the Read-a-Thon. What a wonderful carnival of fun Dewey put together! Suddenly I saw there were book bloggers all over the place, and I wanted to join in.

Dewey taught me the importance of connection and fun. I am very glad to have met her here at Read-a-Thon.

From Dewey's blog: "Birth, life, and death -- each took place on the hidden side of a leaf." Toni Morrison

Hour 20: Worst Choice

Link to mini-challenge: Join BookCrossing!



There is no doubt I lost my mind when I decided to read The Old Man and the Sea for the Read-a-Thon.

And in the last hours of the Read-a-Thon, when I am struggling to stay awake....

What was I thinking?

I'm at the point of the story where the old man is struggling with the fish. He says, "I'm tireder than I have ever been...."

I, too, am struggling with the fish, Mr. Hemingway. The fish is winning.

Hour 19: Two More Books

Link to mini-challenge: Join BookCrossing!

I'm getting lots of books finished since the challenges and the read-a-thon is quieter now. Some read-a-thon-ers are probably sleeping. I'd really like to go to sleep.

Instead, I'll review the two books I finished.

Poetry in Motion from Coast to Coast is a book of short poems that were originally written on subways all across America. Some of my favorite poems were in this book including This is Just to Say.

The Upstairs Room is the fictionalized memoir of a Jewish girl who was kept hidden with her sister in an attic room for over two years during WWII in the Netherlands. Reiss originally wrote the story to explain what had happened to her two daughters. Very sad.

Why did I choose so many sad books? I could use a happy little story right now.

Hour 17 and 18: Rereading and That Night

Link to mini-challenge: Join BookCrossing!



I almost never reread. I can only think of a few books I've reread. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is one.

I wish I reread more.

Two more reviews:

Amelia's Notebook by Marissa Moss. A little children's book, written in the form of a notebook. The notebook format is perfect for such a close look inside the life of a child.

That Night by Alice McDermott. A masterpiece. I wish I'd read this book this morning when I was still able to write coherently instead of midnight when I'm in the last seven hours of a twenty-four hour read-a-thon.

I loved the way the author switches from first person singular narrator to first person plural narrator in the story. I also loved the way the author provides little glimpses of the future for the characters who pop into the narrative. These give the story a big vision both broad and yet full of disappointment.

Hour 14 and 15: Death in Venice and Joey Fly

Link to mini-challenge: Join BookCrossing!










Two more books completed in this read-a-thon. Could there be two more dissimilar books?

First, Joey Fly: Private Eye in Creepy Crawly Crime. Written in a comic book format, this thin book is charactered with insects, arachnids, and worms. The dialogue is clever, filled with bug-populated similes. Will kids get the humor? A bit, I think. Kids will just like the silly detectives trying to solve the mystery of the missing pencil box.

Second, Death in Venice. I liked and disliked this book. Mann has his character, Aschenbach, preach a little more than I like, preaching his thoughts about beauty and writing and control. That's what I disliked. For the first third of the book, I could barely force myself to keep reading.

Then Aschenbach falls in love and begins to tail the object of his affection all over Venice. The story takes a different turn and the writing moves from a rant about virtue to a real story. Venice is beautifully depicted and Aschenbach becomes a real, brilliant, tortured human being. That's what I liked.

I gave both books a 6/10. I feel scared to rate both books the same, almost as if I could be barred from the world of books if I do so, but the truth is that I liked both about the same.

Hour 13: Boyology

Mini-Challenge to Join BookCrossing Continues....



Boyology was my toughest read of the Read-a-Thon. I'm 52 and I've been married almost 31 years, so it was hard to read through page after page of how to flirt and how to kiss. :-) I can see it would be very, very useful for a teen girl. And fun.

Another book ready to pass on to a read-a-thon-er....