Read-a-Thon Reads

225. Down in Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky by Kathi Appelt & Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer

I knew nothing about these amazing women until I came across this book. During the Great Depression, the WPA funded a program where woman would travel by horse and deliver books in places where there were no paved roads. These women traveled through snow, rain, the cold, and through the mountains and streams to get books to people who had no access to libraries or books. I am trying to imagine how many lives were changed with this program. Incredible.

226. In a Blue Velvet Dress by Catherine Sefton

Jane Reid (appropriate last name) is an avid reader. She is sent to stay with her aunt and uncle while her parents travel. By mistake, her suitcase and her father’s suitcase are switched and Jane ends up with nothing to read. She is in despair until she finds someone is leaving books for her each night. Who is this mysterious someone? Jane begins to try to figure out who is leaving the books and it becomes clear that it is not a human being. Very fun book.

227. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

Love is such a silly game; this play makes that very clear. A woman is in love with a man her father disapproves of…a woman loves a man who does not love her…and then the fairies interfere, with crazy consequences. Fun, fun, fun.

228. Miss Zukas and the Library Murders by Jo Dereske

Miss Zukas is a very proper librarian who is astounded to discover a dead body has been found in her library. And in the fiction section! She must use all her powers of reasoning and deduction to find the murderer.

229. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

I’ve been reading on this book since before school began and the read-a-thon finally gave me a chance to finish it. I see why so many people have read this book and loved it over the years. Action. Adventure. Pirates. Treasure. A deserted island. A bad guy who is not all bad and a hero who is full of courage and conviction despite being a boy. Great story.

230. When Will There Be Good News? By Kate Atkinson

Don’t read this book if you are looking for a sweet story with a happy ending. Nobody has any luck in this story. Anything bad that can happen will happen. In all honesty, I found it a bit much to imagine that a girl who had her entire family killed would grow up to have herself and her child kidnapped. A little too much bad fortune. A good plot, good characters, nevertheless

 

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24-Hour Read-a-Thon

Do I seem a little groggy today? Trust me. I am.

I took part in my first ever twenty-four hour read-a-thon, complete with prizes and mini-challenges. Great fun, even though I didn’t win anything.

So this will be a first time (and last?) I read eight books in the single day.

Here they are:

169. The Archivist by Martha Cooley

 

I’m participating in a twenty-four hour read-a-thon. I chose this as my first read (or half-read, as I was already up to page 175 when I started the read-a-thon).

 

Thoughts about the book: This book reminds me in many ways of one of my all-time favorite reads, Possession. The novel has several storylines: Matt and Judith, Roberta and her boyfriend, Roberta’s parents, Judith’s parents, and Eliot and his wife and Emily Hale.

 

As a librarian, I was intrigued with the idea of saving or not saving written work. In some fashion, Matt blamed Judith’s fall into insanity on his destruction of her survivor files and her poems. Judith had relied on Matt to keep these, but he felt their presence was exacerbating her illness. The saving of Eliot’s letters to Emily went against Eliot’s wishes, and the novel concludes with Matt’s thoughtful destruction of the letters.

 

The other theme of the book was Judaism vs. Christianity. All the characters of the novel wrestled with religion. Several converted from Judaism to Christianity. Christianity was a refuge for those who had suffered as Jews. However, it caused great suffering for those who later learned of the conversions.

 

I’ve had this book for over three and a half years. I’m happy to have finished it.

 

170. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney

 

The Peppers are horribly poor, too poor for the children to go to school, too poor to celebrate Christmas, too poor to even buy an envelope to mail a letter in. Then the Peppers meet Jasper and their lives do a complete turnaround.

 

Five years I’ve had the Five Little Peppers. I’ve finally completed it!

 

171. Beasts by Joyce Carol Oates

 

If Beasts were a movie, it would be rated R, R for raunchy and revealing and reviling and revengeful. The story centers on a young college student who falls in love with her writing professor and his wife. The professor reads poetry from D. H. Lawrence and exorts his students to go for the jugular, seducing every girl in the class with his voice and his eyes. Gillian, like the others, falls for his charms. When the professor and his wife head off to Europe for Christmas break, Gillian discovers photographs that reveal the identities of others the two have used and discarded. The professor and his wife have wielded the power of their bohemian lifestyle on the innocents of the college to suit their own purposes. Gillian responds with fury and gets her revenge.

 

172. Pippa Passes by Rumer Godden

 

Pippa is startled to find herself chosen to dance with her ballet company on an international tour. While in Venice, she is selected to dance a special part designed with her in mind. She meets a handsome gondolier who hears her beautiful voice and decides she is perfect for his band.

 

A delightful lark of a story.

 

And I’ve had this book for a mere two years.

 

173. Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

 

Farley Mowat heads off into the Canadian wilderness in search of wolves. He knows everything people have learned about wolves and everything he knows is wrong.

 

I wasn’t expecting this to be such a clever and funny book. Highly recommended.

 

174. The Mammy by Brendan O’Carroll

 

The Mammy has sat here on my bookshelf for almost four years. I finally picked it up and read it today.

 

What a crazy story! Agnes Browne and her heap of seven children. Her husband dead. Agnes never quite getting it.

 

A hoot!

 

175. Rascal by Sterling North

 

I’d anticipated spending the full twenty-four hours reading Newbery Honor books, but somehow this is the only one I have managed to finish today.

 

Rascal is a raccoon who befriends a young Sterling North. Together with Sterling’s indulgent father, the raccoon and boy traverse the wilds of Wisconsin, camp near lakes, and watch wild deer and mink. It’s a small book that draws beautiful pictures of life in America during the latter part of World War I.

 

176. Underground by Haruki Murakami

 

You know how Hakuri Murakami is wacky and zany and nutso? Well, not in Underground. He’s a Serious Journalist. I was like a third grader in the last hour of the day; I could hardly keep my seat.

 

But plug away I did, as Murakami interviewed victim after victim. And so on and so on.

 

Good news: I’m finished with one more dusty BookCrossing book.

 

 

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