LAKEREADER

48HBC

2009-06-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

This was the first time I ever did a book challenge, my first time blogging, and I had the best time. I loved chatting to others and seeing what they were reading--but there goes my TBR list multiplying again!! I already listed my stats as: 20 books read, 39 hours reading/blogging, and 4090 pages read. I was very lucky that I had a very supportive family who just let me do my thing this weekend. I had such a great time and I hope to keep in touch with some of you and hope to do this again.

Hours and pages

2009-06-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

So my totals are : 20 books, 4090 pages, and 39 hours

What a weekend!

TIME"S UP!!!

2009-06-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

Just finished my 48 hours--what an experience! I need to blog about my last 6 books:

I read Stargirl and Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinnelli. I am a big Spinelli fan and I had wanted to read both of these, because I knew my 5th and 6th graders have read these or want to read them. Stargirl is such a different teenager--so unique and her relationships with people are heartfelt. The sequel written in letter/journal style was just as entertaining. Written from Stargirl's perspective to Leo.

My Name is Sally Little Soon was read by recommendation and I have to say that I enjoyed this story about slaves escaping to join the Seminole Indians in Florida.

Lost Boy had captivating beginning. This story is about a new kid in town in Wales and how he is fitting in and the visions that he has.

One-Handed Catch is bout a young boy who loves to play baseball, but then he has a terrible accident at his father's store and learns to overcome his disability.

Last, was Rainmaker. This takes place in drought-ridden Florida. Townspeople get together to bring in a rainmaker to save their crops and town. The rainmaker is a little old lady who can't hear and doesn't seem able to help herself, let alone the town.

So my total is 20 books. I need to add pages and time now.

3 more down

2009-06-06T20:57:00.001-07:00

This has been such a great weekend to focus so much time on just reading--all those books that I have wanted to readd, had sitting around, and the ones people suggested to me during the past 2 weeks when I told them I was doing this challenege.

I read Someone Named Eva which was a about a young Czech girl who was turned into one of Aryan nation by the Nazis and is in danger of losing her identity completely. This was very good.

The Sacrifice was about the Salem witch trials, focusing mainly on one family and how they were impacted. This was another good recommendation from our school librarian.

Leepike Ridge is one that I normally wouldn't have read, but I included it in my stack that I was picking up. The cover is quirky and such a great perspective. The story was about a strange house, a mom and son, with the son going missing, and then treasure hunting. A hodgepodge of a story.

Well, back to reading. I hope to knock off 3 more before I go to sleep for a few hours.

2009-06-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

Just finished 3 more--I definitely feel that I am slowing down a bit today after just 3 hrs. of sleep. I also went out to the farmstand to pick up some fresh vegetables and then just had to stop off at Keepsake Quilting's giant tent sale!! Just another obsession of mine!

Anyway, A Mango-Shaped Space was excellent. A young girl sees colors and shapes for sounds and numbers and letters. Again, about relationships and death, I guess I picked several with similar themes, but this book was very different and the first that I've read by wendy Mass.

I found The Mailbox to be very haunting--not scary at all--just a page-turner to see what happens to Gabe after his uncle dies.

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters was definitely fun and had great stories throughout the novel.

Still Going!!

2009-06-06T05:14:00.001-07:00

Took a 3 hr. nap and woke up to finish another book. Sand Dollar Summer by Kimberly Jones was a good summer read about a young girl and how she deals with living and dying.

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis was a quirky story of a bright, young girl trying to handle everyone's problems for them.

Project Mulberry is about a girl and boy doing a science project together amidst American/Korean lifestyles.

Runner by Robert Newton is about a young boy who is running out of the slums for a crime boss to help his mom and brother. Then he decides to run for himself.

time for sleep

2009-06-05T23:46:00.000-07:00

Been reading since 4:10 and just finished 3 more books. Will discuss them in a few hours--need some sleep......

check in time

2009-06-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

I have been reading/blogging since 4:10.

I read Goodbye, Vietnam by Gloria Whelan. I found this story of survival of a young girl and her family on a boat from Vietnam to Hong Kong to be very emotional and so real.

Next, was Witness by Karen Hesse written in poem format by a varied cast of characters living in Vermont in 1924. The story is told from each of the characters and includes involvement with the Ku Klux Klan.

The Ever-After Bird by Ann Rinaldi is a journey from Ohio through the south looking not only for a rare bird, but also to point slaves north during the time of the Underground Railroad.

I just finished Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell which told the story of a young girl (army brat) whose brother is shipped off to Vietnam and how the family looks at war in a whole new light--especially through the film sent home from war.

MotherReader: The Fourth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge: Starting Line

2009-06-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

This is IT!! I am officially in! Can't wait to get going with Book #1.
MotherReader: The Fourth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge: Starting Line

The Challenge Begins!

2009-06-05T13:05:00.001-07:00

Well, I am officially starting the challenge! Hope that everthing posts correctly with this newbie. I am ready and willing, but we'll see if I am able to complete this challenege. Good luck to all and to all a GOOD READ! I am starting with Goodbye, Vietnam by Gloria Whelan.

Blogging Without Training Wheels

2009-06-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

This week is my first attempt at blogging. I am a newbie, a novice, a prospector on the precipice of cyberspace! So many have gone before me, I know, but I am the "Blogger Without Training Wheels"! Can I do this without an instruction manual? Without a tutorial? Without my son or daughter showing me the way? I am someone who has rarely kept a journal--much too fussy for this anal person; and, in many ways, this seems suspiciously like a new age journal, but with comments posted like my conscience speaking to me.

I used to have pen pals (does that date me?} in England and in Canada. I can remember being so excited when I received a letter from one of them (back when postage was very affordable), reading and rereading the letter, saving the colorful stamps for my collection, and immediately writing back. The wait for each letter was interminable, hence the "snail mail" terminology. Blogging seems to be corresponding with innumerable pen pals with letters being received at the speed of light! A million fireflies... blog, blog,blog,blog,blog!

I look forward to hearing from my cyber-consciences, but I am tentative with my typing--afraid that this blogging will join my freecell addiction, and my sudoku addiction, and my reading addiction. Is there a Bloggers Anonymous for obsessive bloggers?

48 Hour Book Challenge

2009-06-01T17:37:00.000-07:00

I am so looking forward to my first book challenge through Mother Reader--the sleepless nights, the crossed eyes, the dirty dishes, but what a great excuse to read all weekend long! I am doing some serious book cramming until the start time. I LOVE mysteries and have been reading my way through Laura Childs Tea Shop Mystery series, plus I just finished Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. I have wanted to Mortenson's story for years and I'm so glad that I finally sat down and devoured it. I was humbled and disturbed by this story--so many mixed emotions, so much humanity, and so much politics!!

I have been honing my list for the challenge, because my list is decades long and I am part of the "so many books, so little time" club. We just had the Scholastic Book Fair at our school and, of course, I had to add more books to my stack next to my bed. I am sooooo far behind on Cooney, Korman, Clements, etc. Where should I start?