April 2010 Read-a-thon update!

Hour 2 : Have been busy today and so have been able to start my read-a-thon only at the start of hour two. It is really difficult to decide which book to start first. I want to start a book, which I can quickly finish. I am tempted to start ‘The Arrival’ but I want to save it for later – I want to read it slowly and savour the pictures. So, I am starting one of the Agatha Christie books – ‘Murder in Mesopotamia’.

Hour 8 : Have got sidetracked by other things – some errands and domestic crisis situation at home and some not-to-be-missed sport on TV – and so have not been able to read as much as I wanted during the first 3rd of the read-a-thon. But managed to finish one Agatha Christie graphic novel – ‘Murder in Mesopotamia’. It was the first Christie that I ever read and I liked it very much when I read it, but unfortunately, the graphic novel version doesn’t stack up to the original. Scenes shift a bit too abruptly and I didn’t like the way Poirot was depicted. But ‘Death on the Nile’ which I am hoping to read later, seems to have better artwork. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Thanks to all cheerleaders and blogging friends for stopping by and cheering me

It is late night in my place now, and so I will take a nap for a few hours and come back re-energized and try to do some serious reading during the home stretch.

Hour 20 : Back to reading during the homestretch of the read-a-thon. Have not been having a good read-a-thon till now, but hoping to remedy that a little bit during the homestretch. Starting ‘The Arrival’ now. I initially thought that it is a book which can be read quickly, because it is a graphic novel without dialogues, but when I looked at the first few pages, I felt like I was looking at pictures in an art book. The pictures need the reader’s attention, time, curiosity and affection. Maybe I will read it quickly now and slowly again a bit later to savour the pleasure better.

Thanks to all the cheerleaders and my blogging friends for dropping by and cheering me!

Hour 23 : Just finished Shaun Tan’s ‘The Arrival’. An awesome book! It is also an awesome work of art! I thought I will read it quickly, but I couldn’t and didn’t want to. So looked at the pictures for a while and turned the pages slowly – it was such a wonderful reading (if I may call it ‘reading’) experience! Hope this book wins a few awards. I think I will read it again before writing a review of it. Now I am wondering what to do next, as probably only around an hour is left for the read-a-thon – should I start a new book or should I go around and cheer fellow read-a-thon participants? I am leaning more towards the second one

Thanks to all the cheerleaders and my friends and blogging friends for dropping by and cheering me!

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It’s Read-a-thon time!

This weekend is Read-a-thon time The twice-a-year Dewey’s 24-hour Read-a-thon is back in April. I participated in the Read-a-thon in October and had an awesome time! It was also wonderful to get in touch with book readers across the world and be cheered by them and also cheer them to the finish. So, I thought I will participate in the read-a-thon this year too.

One of my friends (and if I may add, philosopher and guide), who is a personal coach, says that we should explore extremes in life to discover what fits our concept of balance in life. Last year, I selected a few regular books to read during the read-a-thon, but could finish reading only one of them and half of another. So this year, taking my friend’s advice, I have decided to explore the other extreme, and will try to do my own ‘graphic novel reading fest’ during the read-a-thon. I think it will be consistent with the spirit of my graphic-novel-reading-spree recently It will also give me enough time to find out what others are doing during the read-a-thon and cheer other readers in this reading adventure.

So, here is the list of books, from which I will be reading some, during the read-a-thon.

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker (adapted by Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano) – I have many versions of ‘Dracula’ in my bookshelf – one full version, one which is part of an omnibus, one comic version, one abridged illustrated classic version and this one, the graphic novel version. The art is awesome in this book. If I were an Australian cricket commentator, I would call the art ‘sensational’
2. The Discworld Graphic Novels (The Colour Magic and The Light Fantastic) by Terry Pratchett
3. The Arrival by Shaun Tan - One of my dear friends sent this to me as a Christmas present. Have been waiting for the right time to read it. This book is an innovation even for the graphic novel form. Will write more about it after I read it.
4. Colossus by Mark Andrews
5. The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics (edited by Paul Gravett) – has stories by Ed McBain, Alan Moore, Will Eisner, Mickey Spillane, Dashiell Hammett, Neil Gaiman – enough to whet my appetite!
6. The Agatha Christie classics (graphic novel versions)
   1. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – my most favourite Christie novel. Looking forward to seeing how it is in the graphic novel version
   2. And Then There Were None – my second most favourite Christie novel. Have read the play version and seen the movie version. Have seen a Tamil movie inspired by this book too.
   3. Murder On The Links
   4. The Man In The Brown Suit
   5. Murder in Mesopotamia – the first Christie / Hercule Poirot novel that I ever read.
   6. The Big Four
   7. Death On The Nile – haven’t read the book. But saw the movie version after my trip to Egypt. The movie is wonderful just for showing many of Egypt’s wonderful treasures – the story is a bonus.
      
   8. Endless Night
   9. The Mystery Of The Blue Train
   10. The Secret Of Chimneys
   11. The Secret Adversary
   12. Murder At The Vicarage
   13. Murder On The Orient Express – haven’t read the book. But have seen the movie version which has a star cast.

Please wish me well

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Read-a-thon update!

The Read-a-thon day has started beautifully! This is the first time that I am doing the Read-a-thon and it is very exciting! It was tempting for me to change my planned book-list for the read-a-thon and include a YA book, a thriller and a graphic novel I resisted the temptation though and stayed with my original list.

4.30 PM (GMT) / 10.00 PM (IST)

I stared Ursula Le Guin’s ‘The Lathe of Heaven’ because it is the shortest book on my list (184 pages). Have finished a little bit more than half of it (110 pages).

Hoping to update this post periodically and also cheer other friends and book bloggers who are participating in the Read-a-thon today

8.00 PM (GMT) / 1.30 AM (IST)

Finished 150 pages of Ursula Le Guin’s ‘The Lathe of Heaven’. Wanted to finish the book by now, but have got distracted by a few things It was heartening to see many cheerleaders stop by here! It has really boosted my morale and confidence for the rest of the day I also went and cheered a few participants of the read-a-thon. The internet is buzzing with read-a-thon related discussions, cheering and mini-challenges! Am loving it!

Have to take a nap now and get up after a few hours and continue with my reading

5.30 AM (GMT) / 11.00 AM (IST)

Finished my first book – Ursula Le Guin’s ‘The Lathe of Heaven’. Even though it was short (184 pages), it took its time But I am glad that I have finished my first book. In my happiness scale, I am ‘satisfied‘   Am thinking whether I should start a second book or whether I should cheer fellow readers who are awake late at night and continuing on the read-a-thon. I will probably browse for a while and do a bit of cheering and see whether there is any mini-challenge I would like to enter. Then maybe I will start a new book – a shorter one that I can finish, possibly a graphic novel

Thanks to all the cheerleaders for leaving comments and cheering me and keeping me going!

8.45 AM (GMT) / 2.15 PM (IST)

Participated in two mini-challenges. Cheered a few fellow read-a-thon participants. Starting ‘The Wit of Cricket’ (by Barry Johnston). Don’t think I can complete this one. But hoping to come close to that as it is a light book.

For the mini-challenge hosted by Dana, the 4 favourite books are :

(1) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

(2) Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse

(3) Beyond a Boundary by CLR James

(4) The Amulet of Samarkhand by Jonathan Stroud

12.00 Noon (GMT) / 5.30 PM (IST)

Finished 187 pages (out of 274 pages) of ‘TheWit of Cricket’ (compiled by Barry Johnston). It is the last few minutes of the read-a-thon. Thought I will check in and see how others are doing Listened to Beatles ‘It’s been a hard day’s night’ post in the read-a-thon site It really has been!

My stats for this read-a-thon have been like this :

(1) Number of books finished = 1 (+ 70% of the second book)

(2) Number of mini-challenges participated in = 2

Would have been happier if I had been able to finish the second book

Thanks to all the cheerleaders and friends and everyone else who dropped in and cheered me till the finish!

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24-hour Read-a-thon on the 24th!

My fellow book bloggers Michelle and Emily are participating in the Read-a-thon this year. I decided that I will do that too. It is scheduled for the coming Saturday (Oct 24). There seems to be a symmetry to it – a 24-hour read-a-thon on the 24th I don’t know whether I will be able to read for 24 hours straight. I have not done an all-nighter in years. I will probably get up early and read till late, have lots of coffee in between, and have a short lunch and dinner and lock myself up in my room for the whole day and avoid all distractions. I don’t know whether it will work, but I am going to try. While I am reading, I will try to post my favourite lines from the book I am reading. I will also try to cheer fellow bloggers as they embark on this read-a-thon. The following are the books that I have chosen to read during the read-a-thon. 

Read-A-Thon Book Covers

Read-A-Thon Book Spines

1. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin
   • (Note : Heard about Ursula Le Guin when I saw the movie version of ‘The Jane Austen Book Club’. She seems to be an interesting science fiction writer)
2. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
   • (Note : A swashbuckling adventure story with pirates and gold in the Alexander Dumas tradition! Have been wanting to read it for years, but could get hold of a copy only now)
3. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain De Botton
   • (Note : Alain De Botton is an interesting commentator on contemporary life. Looking forward to reading what he says about work).
4. And God Created Cricket by Simon Hughes
   • (Note : A history of cricket written in an easy conversational style).
5. Being a Scot by Sean Connery 
   • (Note : Sean Connery’s biography + his take on Scottish culture and history)

I will probably start with Ursula Le Guin’s ‘The Lathe of Heaven’ (it is the thinnest) and then read Simon Hughes’ ‘And God Created Cricket’ (I am hoping that it will be an easy read ) If I still have time after this, I am planning to tackle one of the other three.

If I finish

• One book – I will be satisfied
• Two books – I will be happy
• Three books – I will be thrilled
• 3+ books – I will be <insert all superlatives of thrilled here>

Please pray for me

If you want to participate in the read-a-thon, you can register here.

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