Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Mid-Event Survey and Progress

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo 2. How many books have you read so far?
I have completed 1 middle-grade paranormal (Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise), 1 clean adult romance novella (A December Bride, Denise Hunter), and one YA graphic novel (Lola by J. Torres and Elbert Or) and I am 3/4 finished with The Tiger Rising, a middle-grade book.  I also DNF a YA graphic novel (Orcs: Forged for War by Stan Nichoils and Joe Flood) after reading 62 pages. 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I am not sure what I am going to read yet.  I am pretty excited to finish the book that I am currently reading though. 4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
I have taken breaks and had a few interuptions, but I just get back to reading afterwards and do not worry about the time I didn't spend reading or cheering. 5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
It surprises me how much time I have spent on Twitter.  I have really enjoyed Tweeting and cheering for others.

It is the half way mark of the read-a-thon and I have read for a total of 4 hours and 6 minutes.  I have also cheered and read others blogs when I was not reading.  I have not spent much of my time today doing things that were not read-a-thon related.  I have read a total of 523 pages so far.

How have you done on the read-a-thon?  Are you having fun?  I'd love to read your comments below :)
 

Dewey's Read-A-Thon: Opening Meme

Opening Meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
The wonderful state of Georgia in the USA
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
I am looking forward to...all of them!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I do not really have snacks planned out, but I will most likely have my favorite snack: yogurt.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I am a Christian who loves to read fantasy, clean romance stories, and any other clean novel that I can get my hands on :)
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 my first Dewey's read-a-thon and I am really looking forward to cheering! Go #TeamBronte!

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon: Grab Pile (TBR pile)

It's time for another post about DEWEY'S 24 HOUR READ-A-THON! Can you tell I am excited?

Today's post is about my reading goals.  In case you missed it, I already discussed my overall goals for this read-a-thon and my reading goals.













As for my TBR pile, I have a list of books that I might read during the read-a-thon.  I like to have a number of books that I can choose from, so I have a large pile.  I do not expect to read all of these books during the read-a-thon.  My current TBR list can be found on my Goodreads shelf.  Here are the books that I am picking from for this read-a-thon:

Graphic Novels:

Christian Fantasy (received from author for review):

Clean romance novellas (from Netgalley):

Christian Nonfiction (from Netgalley):

Children's Fiction (from Netgalley):

Fantasy (Escape was given to me from the author for review):

Other:

Book Recommendations for Readathons

In honor of Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon this weekend, this post is all about book recommendations that are perfect for read-a-thons.  I have not participated in a 24 hour read-a-thon before, but I have participated in several week (or longer) read-a-thons.

All of the graphic novels based on Ted Dekker books are amazing!  I gave an average of 4.3 to the The Circle graphic novel series (3 volumes) and an average of 4.25 to The Lost Books graphic novel series (4 volumes).  They are all very fast paced Christian fantasy/scifi novels.  Although they are Christian novels, these would be great for fantasy lovers also.

If you love children's fiction, you should check out the Eve Hallows series!  I gave 5 stars to all of these books!  They are a fun addition to your Halloween reads.  Eve has lived in Gravesville (with all the monsters) but has to move to the human world as part of her parent's job relocation and she is not happy.  She has to find a way to adjust to the happiness of the human world and the unusual behaviors that they have.

If you love YA contemporary novels, you should check out Appaloosa Summer.  I gave this book a 5/5 stars.  This was the cutest novel that I have read is a while.  The main character is Meg who is 16 and loves riding horses.  Her horse dies during a show and she has to learn how to deal with the grief.  She tries to escape her grief by working at a B&B over the summer where she meets Jared Strickland who is also grieving from the loss of his father.

A Ripple Effect Romance novella series would be a great choice if you love clean adult romance novels!  Although they can be a little cheesy and predictable, all of these novellas left me with a warm fussy feeling.  They are also great because they are quick reads at around 100-150 pages each.  The first novella is currently free on Amazon and the complete series is $7.99 on Amazon (all e-books).  I gave this 6 book series an average of  4.5/5 stars.

If you are looking for a Christian fiction novel, I would recommend either of William Sirls novels,  The Reason or The Sinner's Garden.  They are both fast-paced and emotion-provoking.  I gave both of these stand-alones 5/5 stars.

Finally, if you enjoy YA paranormal with lots of action packed fighting, I would recommend The Unbounded series!  I have read the first book and I am in the middle of the second one.  I gave the first one 4/5 stars.  These are a little lengthly (over 300 pages) but well worth it!  It is a quick read due to how much action is in the series.

Are you signed up for Dewey's Read-a-Thon?  It is next Saturday (Oct. 18), so there is still plenty of time to sign-up! If you are not signed up and wish to do so, visit the reader's sign-up page. If you are signed up for the read-a-thon, what are your goals?  I would love to hear about your read-a-thon progress during and after the read-a-thon!

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon (Saturday, October 18th): Reading Goals

It's time for another post about DEWEY'S 24 HOUR READ-A-THON! Can you tell I am excited?

Today's post is about my reading goals.  In case you missed it, I already discussed my overall goals for this read-a-thon.

 My reading goals are not going to be too detailed this go around because I have never participated in a 24 hour read-a-thon before.  I have done a few weekly ones (Bout of Books and such) and also a two week readathon, but never a 24 hour one.  Therefore, I am keeping my goals light this time in order to make sure that I don't push my self beyond my limits and instead let myself have a little fun!

Without further delay, here are my reading goals:

1. Read one graphic novel
2. Read one book that I have received for review
3. Read one novella

That is it!  What do you think?  What are your reading goals for this readathon?  What books would you suggest that I read?  I am hoping to read short-ish books and/or books that are fast paced.
Are you signed up for Dewey's Read-a-Thon?  It is next Saturday (Oct. 18), so there is still plenty of time to sign-up! If you are not signed up and wish to do so, visit the reader's sign-up page. If you are interested in being a cheerleader, please visit this page.  If you are signed up for the read-a-thon, what are your goals?  I would love to hear about your read-a-thon progress during and after the read-a-thon!

If you would like to know my TBR before the read-a-thon, check back on Friday (Oct. 17th).

Children's Book Review Tuesdays: Rhoda's Rock Hunt

Book Title: Rhoda's Rock Hunt

Author:  Molly Beth Griffin

Illustrator: Jennifer Bell

Publish Date: October 2014

 Why I Read this Book: I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from Edelweiss.  This in no way influenced my review.

 

 

 

 

 

Review

I can really relate to this book.  Rhoda is a girl who loves to collect rocks, but finds herself wanting to keep too many of them.  She cannot take all of them home because they are too heavy, so what does she decide to do?  Read this cute book filled with beautifully colorful illustrations and a wonderfully crafted story to find out.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 4/5

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Discussion (SPOILERS)

This is a discussion post about Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone which contains SPOILERS.  If you would like to read my spoiler free review, please follow this link.

The last time that I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from start to finish was probably in third grade (about 13 years ago, right after this first movie came out).  Since then, I have read segments of the book several times. I love the puzzles and the final scene with Dumbledore, so I have read those scenes numerous times.  Does anyone else do this with books that you love? I enjoy re-reading my favorite scenes without going back and re-reading the whole book.

Upon re-reading the first book, there was one thing that I really noticed.  I had always thought of the Harry Potter series as more of a young adult series rather than a middle grade series because of the dark themes in the last few books, but when I was reading the first book again I realized that the writing style towards the beginning of the series is definitely more like a middle grade book.  This is when I realized an amazing thing that J.K. Rowling has done with the Harry Potter series, whether intentional or unintentional I am not sure.  The Harry Potter series was not only a series that many people grew up with, but the series grows with its audience too.  The writing style starts off as more of a middle grade series and then progresses to a young adult series.  The last two books may even be compared to an adult fantasy series.  ( I will have to analyze this further after I have re-read the whole series.   It has been about 7ish years since I read the 7th book).  Has anyone else noticed this too?  What are your thoughts about this?

Another amazing aspect of this series is the characters.  They are so well developed.  My favorite characters for this book would have to be Hagrid and Dumbledore.  Hagrid has always been one of my favorites because of his jolly attitude and his love for others.  He will stand up for those that he cares about (for instance when the Hagrid finds out that Harry does not know anything about the wizarding world).  Dumbledore's intelligence and wisdom have always put him at the top of my list of favorite characters.  As I said before, I love the scene at the end of the first book with Dumbledore after Harry wakes up in the hospital wing at Hogwarts.

I am going to end this post with a few of my favorite quotes from book 1 (taken from Goodreads).  What are some of your favorite quotes?  What is your favorite part of this series? Please comment with your thoughts below.


Dumbledore: “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry: "And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?”
Ron: “Throw it away and punch him on the nose.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Dumbledore: “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”
― J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone  

“No thanks,’ said Harry. ‘The poor toilet’s never had anything as horrible as your head down it – it might be sick.’ Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he’d said.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone  

Dumbledore: “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 

Dumbledore: “What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally the whole school knows.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone