Mid-Event Survey
We now interrupt the regular scheduled reading for this announcement 🙂
1. What are you reading right now? I am just getting ready to pick up The Help by Katherine Stockett
2. How many books have you read so far? 3
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-Thon? The Help is the book I was holding off on as it is a big read and I really have been looking forward to this one for a long time.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? It actually worked out well on its own. My hubby worked until 4 then came home and watched an hour of tv. I ate dinner with him but he was tired and went to bed early. I have been alone most of the day and nothing really pressing that couldnt wait until tomorrow or Monday to do. 🙂
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Nothing really – a freind stopped by this morning to drop off a malaria pill in prep for our trip next week. We talked for about 5 minutes and she was gone. The phone has been quiet too. Excellent day!
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Since this is my first I guess I have had a lot of surprises. The challenges are fantastic… I didnt think they would be so detailed and I didnt think I would be posting today at all (ha ha as you scroll through my many posts!) but I really love it. The cheerleaders are awesome. I have had newbies at my blog today – quite a few actually that I look forward to visiting back in the next couple of days. Everyone has been just great!
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I really dont. I was just thinking earlier that a lot of planning went into this and it is running as far as I can see – very well. Kudos to the hard working people behind the Read A Thon. This is really a blast.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Now that I know a little more on how it works I would definately want to donate a prize or two for one thing. I think I would also love to have my name thrown in to host a challenge. I just think that is fun! Otherwise – nothing really different. I couldnt have had a more laid back day.
9. Are you getting tired yet? Actually no. I have walked around the house a bit and have taken little breaks here and there to put the laundry in the dryer or grab some water.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? I hope that most of the readers are also getting involved in at least some of the challenges. I have discovered new blogs today by doing them and have had new visitors as well. I think it is a great community builder so I would highly recommend take the breaks and enjoy the challenges! 🙂
Music to Read By….. (Mini Challenge)
Holy mini challenges batman! This being my first time doing the Read A Thon I have to say I LOVE IT! The challenges are fun and exciting. I had no idea I would be posting so much today!
This challenge by Fizzy Thought is to 1) post music that reminds me of the challenge
Here is my Read A Thon theme song….
Seriously; cant you picture it…. the slow soothing rhythm… it starts out so slow like when we all got out of bed this morning. Imagine us rubbing our eyes, considering the shower and thinking nah… we are not going anywhere. Now picture the coffee pot brewing and we are standing in front or our selections to read (the camera would slowly span the wide variety of choices)…
Now you have selected your read and filled your cup with your favorite morning brew. The beat picks up as you open that first read and continues to poor out beautifully as you get more into the book, turning the pages faster and faster, first laughing then crying…. and finally you reach the end and slowly reach for another.
Thank you. Thank you very much. 😉
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF)
This mini challenge is at Joystory where we are asked to post about children reading or being read to.
This picture is of my friend Julie and one of the girls we know in Honduras, Saritta. Saritta was abandoned by her mom and left on the streets. Julie is working with her here with reading and writing.
Honduras children have a special place in my heart. Given the right tools, these kids are so willing to learn and incredibly bright.
Stop by the RIF website and learn more about what RIF is and what we can do.
24 Hour Read A Thon Mini Challenge
I cant pass this one up. The challenge at Under The Boardwalk is to show a picture of who keeps me company while I read.
This is Elmo. He is my 12 year old Shih – tsu. He is usually curled up in this chair with me while I read and insists that I share my popcorn.
Eat To Read Mini Challenge
I am doing the Dewey’s 24 Hour read A Thon today (my first ever!) and one of the mini challenges put on by Beth Fish Reads is to tell about what we snack on while we read.
Well today as I am in hour 7 I had started my day with a bowl of Fiber One Cereal (Delicious!)
Of Course I have had lots and lots of coffee
As noon approached (hour 4 for me) I had a Key Lime Pie Fiber One Yogurt (Also super yummy if you have not tried them!)
My normal snacking for reading has to be what I am about to have next – the tried and true bowl of popcorn (Salty!) with a diet Pepsi (Sweet!)
How about you? What do you snack on?
Book Carnival: Books About Africa
If you have hung around the book blogs for any amount of time you are sure to have heard us bloggers joking about our TBR (To Be Read) piles (hills, mountains, whatever…). I often look at the books on my shelf that I are on my TBR radar and think, “ok, that’s it. No more books until you make a dent here!”
Yeah right.
I really do mean well but unless I lose my ability to read – I will always be seeing more and more books that I want to read. Today, I popped in to see what Natasha was reviewing over at Maw Books and found a feast of new titles in her Bookworm Carnival post that made me weak in the knees. As I scrolled through these wonderful books I knew I had to post about this and I also needed pen and paper to start writing titles down.
Natasha has asked a few questions that I am happy to answer:
Do you read a lot of books that have an African focus? If so, why do you enjoy them?
Loving this question as my current read is Love Has A Face by Michelle Perry. This is an African based book about 
Michelle Perry opening up a home for orphans in war torn Sudan, a country in northeastern Africa. Yes, these style of books I do really enjoy. I enjoy them because I have worked with street kids in Honduras since 2004. I have made a trip there at least once a year to assist in building homes, helping with schooling, and feeding those who have no where to go. I read these books because I am well aware that orphaned children and street kids are not limited to Honduras. I like to read book about people such as this author, Michelle Perry who feels called to make a difference. Sadly, I have not read ass many as I would like to – but thanks to the post at Maw Books that has introduced me to many that look wonderful, I will be reading more.
Have you reviewed any books with an African theme?
I do not think at this time that I have. I read The Poisonwood Bible but it was pre blogging….Looking through my titles on my shelf I have done a few with a Vietnam theme, Honduras, Pakistan, and other area.
What are you looking forward to reading next? Anything on your radar?
I leave for Honduras next Friday and I am taking with me Jantzens Gift (Vietnam children), Children Of Dust (written about growing up in Pakistan). I just found out yesterday that Julie from Faithfulgirl is sending me a book off my wishlist,Monique And The Mango Rains and that one is set in Africa.
If you haven’t read a lot of books with an African focus, what are some books that you’d like to read? Are there any book titles showcased in this carnival that sounds interesting to you or that you’ve read?
Ooh – thank you for asking this one. From the books I seen listed at Maw Books, I would be very interested in reading:
- The View From Garden City – Carolyn Baugh
- Burn my Heart by Beverly Naidoo
- When God Says GO by Lorry Lutz
- Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimanamda Ngozi Adichie
- As We Forgive by Catherine Claire Larson
- A Long Way Gone by Ishmael beah
- The Bite Of The Mango by Mariatu Kamara
- Tear Of The Desert by Halima Bashir
- The Translator by Daoud Hari
- Slave by Mende Nazar
- The Boy Next Doot by Irene Sabatini
- Another Mans War by Sam Childers
- Say You’re One Of Them by Uwen Akpan
I know… I cant help it. I love books like this.
Deweys Read A Thon Mini Challenge!
Ok posting this quickly…. this is one of the challenges today for the Read A Thon (I LOVE CHALLENGES!!!)
At Bart’s Bookshelf there is a challenge to take 3 or 4 books off our shelves and combine them to make a new title. If you go to Bart’s Bookshelf you can see his. Here is mine:
While I Was Away For One More Day A Ship Possessed A Beautiful Mind
Breathtaking isnt it? I am sure it is the heartbreaking story of a man who while away on business, his wife loses her mind because of a haunted ship. Yup…. I am waiting for movie producers to start knocking down my door with offers. 😉
Morning Meanderings!
Morning all you super book readers! 🙂 I am in the midst of the Dewey’s 24 Hour Read a Thon… more on that 
throughout the day. 🙂
What I want to talk about this morning is the Haunted Acres I went to last night in St Cloud with three of my friends! My friends Cindy and Heidi both have birthdays in October. We do monthly get togetheres so we dont grow apart (we all used to work together – heidi, Cindy, Sara, and myself). We each have a month we are responsible for to plan something. It can be anything – a dinner, bike ride, movie, dancing, whatever.
October was my pick and I wanted to do something really fun so we went to St Cloud and had dinner at Mongo’s. We love that place! Then we shopped a little bit (I got some great boots!) and then we went to Moliter’s haunted Acres! This is something we have wanted to do for a couple of years and it was really fun and really scary!
The first thing we do is go on a hay ride where we are on this trailer pulled by a tractor through these woods. We have to all sit still and we are not allowed to take pictures. Every spooky dude you can imagine jumps out at us throughout this ride – Freddy Krueger, Jason, Chucky (Chucky really creeps me out!)… we even have a headless horse man come down the trail on a beautiful white horse…. all glowing like.
After the ride we go through a series of buildings like a mine shaft, a maze, butchers house, and a field of corn… this was pretty scary and we ran through a lot of it. Not sure I have screamed so much in my life. It was a BLAST! Then as we were leaving, the Ghostbusters pulled up and of course being the 80’s girls that we are we jumped right on that and had pictures taken with the car and even a Ghostbuster (who we could have used as an escort earlier to keep the scary bad guys away…LOL).
Overall a fantastically fun evening! Ok… Back to the challenge…. 😉
Over The Holidays by Sandra Harper
OVER THE HOLIDAYS is newest warm-hearted tale from Sandra Harper, author of High Tea. Vanessa Channing, a dutiful wife and mother, goes in search of a simpler, more meaningful holiday. But her good intentions quickly go comically awry. Throw in a chronically irresponsible sister, a wacky mother and a temptingly hot new colleague, and you have the makings of one complicated, hectic, and ultimately incredibly rewarding holiday.
About the Author
Sandra Harper is the author of the play, Magpie’s Tea Room, which enjoyed a 
successful run in Los Angeles at The Ventura Court Theatre. She has written a cooking column, “The California Cook” for the newspaper, Skirt. A script reader for Pathe Studios and Springcreek Productions, she also wrote and produced fashion and rock videos for Elvis Costello, Chaka Khan and Vidal Sassoon, among others. Ms. Harper received her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Southern California and has completed a children’s book, The Witches Club.
I am excited to receive my review copy of this book from Pocket Books! It should be here any day and if it arrives today or tomorrow I can add it to my 24 Hour reading Challenge! 🙂
Here are the other tour spots:
Rundpinne: http://www.rundpinne.blogspot.com
Frugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com/
The Life (And Lies) of an Inanimate Flying Object: http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/
Drey’s Library: http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/
Wendi’s Book Corner: http://wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com/
Opinionated? Me? : http://readingwatchingliving.blogspot.com/
Me, My Book and the Couch: http://memybookandthecouch.blogspot.com/
Libby’s Library News: http://www.libslibrary.blogspot.com/
Bookin’ With Bingo: http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/
Books, Movies, and Chinese Food: http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/
Psychotic State: http://www.psychoticstate.blogspot.com/
Readaholic: http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
That’s A Novel Idea: http://thatsanovelidea.blogspot.com
All About {N}: http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/
Starting Fresh: http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
A Sea of Books: http://aseaofbooks.blogspot.com/
Just Another New Blog: http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/
Blog Business World: http://www.blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com
My Friend Amy: http://www.myfriendamysblog.com
Cheryl’s Book Nook: http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/
One Person’s Journey Through A World of Books: https://bookjourney.wordpress.com/
I Read: http://sumanam.wordpress.com/
So Many Books, So Little Time: http://purplg8r-somanybooks.blogspot.com/
Keep on Booking: http://keeponbooking.blogspot.com
Reading at the Beach: http://ilratb.blogspot.com/
Found Not Lost: http://jmomfinds.amoores.com/
Brizmus Blogs Books: http://brizmusblogsbooks.blogspot.com/
Book Reviews by Buuklvr81: http://www.buuklvr81.blogspot.com/
Nine Things Nathan Noticed at Night by Christy Baldwin
Night skies and little eyes… a book of soft words and pictures with comforting scriptures for the little ones in your life. ~ Sheila
Nine great things happen when the sun sets for the evening. Each page includes a statement about what is happening and then some fun facts and information about that event. Written from a Christian perspective, the story describes how God made things when He created the Earth. While the story was written specifically for ages 3-8, children of all ages will enjoy this book. Even adults can admire the beautiful watercolor artwork.
My Thoughts:
This book for young children is just a sweet read. It is small with great night pictures and short sentences and scriptures that will hold a young childs attention. I can almost picture a little 3 year olds eyes getting big at the latge moon and desriptions of the sounds of the crickets as they chirp you to a peaceful sleep.
I think this is just the perfect length for the little ones. The pictures have a water color look to them that compliments the authors words….
I received this book as an e read from Tribute Books
Book Journey 