Dewey’s 24Hours Readathon – The After Hour Post

Tags

Books, Dewey's 24hour Readathon, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, Non Fiction, Novels, Readathon, Reading, Reading Adventures, Reading Challenge

Another readathon has come to an end and I must say I will miss it!! Once more I had a brilliant, fun filled time   with loads of discussion, laughter and more book added to my TBR. My best readathon so far in terms of both my social interactions as as well as the books read. I managed to complete 3.5 novels and that is something of an achievement, considering I slept off for full 6 hours!! It was an incredible time hosting Hour 6 on GoodReads and then participating in all the varied and mind challenging question that come through the 24 hours discussion hours. A big big thank you to all our hosts and moderators for once again hosting one of the largest and best Readathon’s ever!

Finally, to end this brilliant, stimulating 24 hrs, the final set of questions –

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

4:30 AM IST……I was beginning and really beginning to feel really really sleepy and despite my valient efforts, I lost the battle and slept for 6 straight hours

2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read!

• Lady Susan by Jane Austen
• The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough
• Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
• Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell (Halfway mark)

3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners

• Lady Susan by Jane Austen
• The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough

4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you smile

Maybe do a readathon once in a quater instead of a twice a year (I know! I know! I am pushing it)
5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep?

Of course I will participate again and Yes, me shall volunteer more next time!

Again to end, a  big shout out to the entire awesome team that put up the event and all my tribe of fellow readers, who read through the event!

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Dewey’s 24 Hrs Readathon – Updates

Tags

#AusReadingMonth, Books, Dewey's 24hour Readathon, Fiction, Friendships, Fun, Historical Fiction, History, Non Fiction, Novels, Read Alongs, Readathon, Reading, Reading Challenge

Update 1 –  17:00 hrs (30 mins before the Challenge starts )

Here we go again, I am all set to party at the Dewey’s 24 hrs Readathon as all preps fall into place-

• House Cleaned – Check
• Fridge Stocked – Check
• Kindle Charged – Check
• Power Nap – Check
• Friends and Family notified about the next 24hrs DND Policy – Check
• And finally the book pile 🙂

I think we are finally all sorted here! I am now ready to READ, especially considering I have not read the whole morning and it is nearly 17:00 hrs here in part of the world. I will do a every 4hrs update but we will see how things go! Besides this blog, you can find me at the following places twirling around –

Twitter – @cirtnecce (https://twitter.com/cirtnecce)

Instagram – jayantichakraborty (https://www.instagram.com/jayantichakraborty/?hl=en)

GoodReads – cirtnecce (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7832287-cirtnecce)

Now can we please get going??!!

Opening Meme Update –

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Delhi, India

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

The Ladies of Missalonghi  by Colleen McCullough

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Not snack but dinner – my sister is cooking some awesome Indian style mutton! (Happy Dance)

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

Sister, Friend, Daughter, Project Leader, Reader, Traveler, Reader, Writer, Cook….er…did I mention Reader??!

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?

Keep the first few books short and sweet to get the rhythm going. Also drink and I mean DRINK plenty of water!

Update 2 – 20:00 (2.5 hrs since we started)

Book Update – Finished Lady Susan by Jane Austen

Snack Update – Tea

Take on Book – A much awaited re-read; one of the earliest works of Jane Austen, where you can see the promise of P&P or Emma or Persuasuion. Lady Susan is a scheming, artificial, flirtatious and materialistic woman, who is forced to visit her brother-in-law in the country, following a scandal in the family in Longford with whom she had been staying. She looks forward to the visit with little interest and only to bide time, but the arrival of her sister-in-law’s brother, Reginal De Courcy makes thing interesting for her as she is determined to make a conquest of him despite his very apparent dislike for her. More confusion is added when Fredrica, Lady Susan’s much neglected but excellent daughter joins her to add another complication in Lady Susan’s grand scheme.  Austen at her usual in the best possible representation of the society of her time. While she remains absolute in her support for good understanding and correct moral behavior, she nevertheless knows how to have fun at all that was frivolous and foolish in her contemporary society. The best thing that I like about the book is she makes no apology or explanations for the conduct of Lady Susan and in her, we find a full veined conniving vamp, who does not suffer and die, but lives moderately happily till the end!

Update 3 – 23:00 (6.5 hrs since we started)

Book Update – The Ladies of Missalonghi  by Colleen McCullough

Snack Update –  Dinner – Mutton cooked by my flatmate with Naan 🙂

Take on Book – It’s a wonderful read so far. Australia comes alive in the hands of  Ms. McCullough. I had read that this novel had courted major plagiarism controversy on its publication as it seemed to resonate closely with The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. However, so far into the first odd 40 pages, it seems to have as close resemblance to The Blue Castle as do all books of similar nature to Cinderella.

Also I am moderating the Discussion for this hour over at GoodReads, so hop over and let me know your thoughts!

Update 4 – 4:00 (10.5 hrs since we started)

Book Update – Finished The Ladies of Missalonghi  by Colleen McCullough and started on Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (This is where I go rouge on my planned Readathon TBR)

Snack Update –  Dark Chocolate

Take on Book – Shy and quiet, Missy Wright has lived all her 33 years under the direction of her mother and aunt, working hard and long everyday to etch out a living on the Missalonghi. Her only pleasure is reading, and the recent assistant to the Library, Una has opened her literary pleasure to a whole new world of novels of romance and adventure. But as a new stranger enters the town of Byron, long held to be the domain of Hurlingford family, of whom Missy’s mother and aunt belong too, things begin to change. Suddenly Missy is not quiet ready to accept her quiet wall power life anymore and when shares of the Byron Bottling Company start to go out of the control of Hurlingsfords and of which her aunt and mother own some shares. its time for Missy to start thinking big! The Blue Mountains come alive in this novel by Ms. McCullough. Never have I yearned to visit Australia so badly as I have in the last few hours!! The characters are wonderfully drawn out and I really liked how Missy and Dursialla’s characters evolved and the mother and daughter came to a closer and better understanding. I am have certain mixed feelings about some of the “otherworldy” interventions, which made me waver between a 4 or 5 rating on GoodReads, but despite that, the book is wonderful read!!

Starting to feel really really sleepy!!

Update 5 – 10:30 (16 hrs since we started)

Book Update – Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Snack Update –  COFFEE!

Take on the Book – Not much to say as sleep claimed me after the initial 50 pages and I woke up after 5 hours. Still groggy! Why is it on days without the Readathons, I can read through the night and still be fresh as daisy in the morning??!!! But woe is me when the Readathon happens and I succumb to sleep!!! Arrrgggghh!

Update 6 – 1:30 (21hrs since we started)

Book Update – Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Snack Update –  Water! Had toast and tea earlier fro Breakfast!

Take on the Book – On page 142 and so far, ho hum! The children in the book come across as 10 times smarter than the adults. The modern day protagonist is a 45 year old American journalist, Julie who has been living in Paris for last 25 years; married to a French architect (how very original!) who is “charming” which is a good enough reason for Julie to be married to him for 16 years. He treats her like a peice of shit including cheating on her and all she does is act like a wet rag. Why a woman of independent means with a strong support system will put up with such a marriage is beyond me and I am out patience with Julie going about how charming Bertrand is!!! The modern day narrative is so flat that I can see the plot twist 10 pages into the book. The only thing keeping me going is the actual history of  Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup of Jews in German-occupied Paris in 1942 and the plot line around the little girl who escapes from the camp in 1942.

Update 7 – 16:30 (23 hrs since we started)

Book Update – Finished Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay; Started Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell

Snack Update –  More Tea and chicken cutlets

Take on the Book – I cannot honestly say I enjoyed Sarah’s Key. The heroine remained a wet rag who needed validation of worth from her 10 year old daughter (how screwed is that??!!) She flies all the way to Italy to tell a stranger something that will tear his life apart and until she has actually told him everything, she did not realize how much damage she can do to an innocent person – and this is 45 year old woman. The characters were all flat and many of them completely unnecessary! The only important thing about the book because of which I ended up giving it a 3 star was it highlighted one of the most horrific and overlooked history of World War II , where the French Police let more than 11000 Jewish children first get separated from their parents and then letting them die. The history was well researched and reminded/educated many modern readers about Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup of Jews in German-occupied Paris in 1942

Wild Strawberries is so far reading like a mad adventure into the life and times of the Leslie family, who lived in the idyllic setting of English countryside in-between the war years!

Dewey’s 24 Hours Readathon – October 2017

Tags

Adventure, Books, Classics, Dewey's 24hour Readathon, English Literature, Fiction, Friends, Fun, Historical Fiction, History, Literature, Non Fiction, Novels, Readathon, Reading

Exactly a year ago, while meandering over the book blogs of my friends, I wandered over to see what Brona was upto and accidentally discovered what was to be one of the most enriching and rewarding reading events – Dewey’s 24hrs Reading Marathon! Since that fateful day, I have been devoted to the cause of readathon and have been looking forward to it with much anticipation!

This year is especially important as I am volunteering as a host for the first time every – for hour 6. I am nervous about the whole thing and keep thinking I will blotch it up, but I  have great experts to fall back on and therefore hope I will avoid making too much of a fracas. But I am very happy to be part of the league of the brilliant volunteers who keep this event going with such enthusiasm and generosity of time and spirit!

Now comes the agony and the ecstasy part – what to read and what not to read, that is the QUESTION!! I am sure I will not be able to read all of them, but I need a variety to keep me going and this exhaustive list, on which I have been ruminating over the best part of the month, would do that at the very least if not more. So here goes –

1. Lady Susan by Jane Austen – The wise veteran souls of the Readathon tell me and correctly so, that we must start with short books of novella variety to get us going for the long reading hours; Austen is my all-time favorite feminist and Lady Susan brings this too combination beautifully! I was planning to re-read this for a while and October seems to be a perfect date!
2. The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough – I was planning to read this with Brona for her #AusReadingMonth; but the book arrived early and I excitement anymore!
3. Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery – I have been re-reading through the Anne series and I hope to make a significant progress on this one.
4. The Semi-Attached Couple by Emily Eden – I randomly started reading The Semi-Detached House and am enjoying it immensely. I am hoping to finish it by today and it makes sense to include the sequel in the Readathon
5. Land between the Two Rivers by Nitish Dasgupta – A History of Bengal, the region of East India where I ethnically belong from and whose History keeps fascinating me.
6. The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman –This wonderful collection brings together ideas on arts, politics, culture and everything under the sun by one of the wittiest and insightful writers of our times. I had started reading this sometime back and hope to make substantial progress through the Readathon
7. The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Through The Window and Disappeared by Jonas Johnson – Much before this book became a much hyped best seller with all the razzmatazz of a Hollywood adaptation, my flatmate had given me a enthusiastic review of the novel, recommending strongly that I read it. Somehow I never managed to do that but I am determined to let this Readathon pass, without atleast starting on this one!
8. Open Book – Any bookworm worth his or her book will tell you that we readers like exploring and despite all reading plans, there will be that one odd book that we will pick up randomly and suddenly get completely absorbed in. I leave this slot open in the expectation of exactly such event!

So there is my list and I hope and I really hope that I am able to make some significant movement in my reading plans for this year. As most of you know this has been yet another crazy busy year with very limited reading time, but I hope to make most of it for these 24hrs.

As always, I will keep a running update post, sharing my insights and my reading progress and what I believe to be one of the best part of the readathon – food updates. Besides this I will be on Hour 6 with all the activity and abounding enthusiasm over at Dewey’s. Finally I am hoping, my longtime partner in all kinds of reading adventure, Cleo will be able to join me this time, for what promises to be a joyride!!

Thus, without further ado, let’s hop on when the ride arrives!! 29 hrs more to go!!!

Finally, The Wonderful October!

Tags

Anne of Green Gables, Books, Classics, Crime Fiction, Fall, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, Jane Austen, Mystery, Non Fiction, October, Pride and Prejudice, Readathon, Reading, Reading Challenge

In the words, of L.M. Montgomery, via Anne of Green Gables “I‘m so glad I live in a world where there are October“. I cannot think of a more perfect way to show gratitude for the month of October…fall is here and winter is on its way. It means relief for the searing heat of Indian Summer, wood fire smokes, festivals and celebration and finally a year end, where for the mad year of 2017, I can slow down a bit and take a breathe to read and write! Needless to say, I am overjoyed that October is HERE!

From a bookish perspective, I am hoping to finally get going and pick the pace up! As I write this, I am conscious of the fact that every time I have made a statement like that this year, it has turned into an unmitigated disaster! So I am keeping all my toes and fingers crossed for this month and hoping things will go as planned! To begin with, I am coming at a near close of The Pickwick Paper by Charles Dickens Read Along, organized by O. It was the longest read along ever and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved this book on this revisit! I will also finish the much delayed The Raj at War by Yasmin Khan and I really have to stop procrastinating and finish Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol. In terms of new books to read, a whim took over me couple of weeks back and I started re-read the Anne of Green Gables series by the brilliant L.M. Montgomery. I am currently on Book 3 – Anne of the Island and I hope to finish the series between October and November. I am also re-reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I have no reason to re-read this novel that I have read 1236 times, except you never need a reason to re-read an Austen! Speaking of re-reads, I was looking over O’s blog and I saw she was planning to re-read The Brother Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky again; I loved the book when I read it more than a year back with Cleo and Ruth’s more recent review was making me itch to back and read it again. Therefore I re-read The Brother Karamazov again, only this time, I take my time to ponder over many instances of brilliance of Dostoevsky, something I did not do fully, the last time in my haste to reach the end! I do not see myself getting around to it till end of the month and will probably take the whole of winter to finish it!

To end, in other reading adventures, the October round of Dewey’s 24hrsReadathon is coming up – 21st October is the date. I have been having so much fun since I joined up last October, that there is no way I am passing this one up! I have yet to decide what books I will read for the event, but I am sure, I will have PLENTY to choose from! I know for a fact that The Rector by Margaret Oliphant, recommended by Jane and pending from September will for sure be on the Reading Plan, but I have yet to decide on others! This is the 10th anniversary of the event, and the hosts are running a 30 days short challenge to celebrate the occasion and you can find the details here. Finally, there are also hosting the short run up weekend challenges to the main event – this weekend (Oct 6-7), they are asking you to read a book that has been on your TBR for more than a year – considering I have endless number of books in that category, it took me some time to narrow it down and finally I decided to ease into it with a fun mystery – The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers. I loved her when I read Busman’s Honeymoon and I am hoping to enjoy this to a T! Also for the October event, in a departure from my usual Reader only participation, I have offered my self as a host for a couple of hours, so that I can help the hosts in a small way as a show of thanks for the awesome event they have been hosting for years now!

That’s that for the month folks! Happy October and lets be thankful that we live in a world with October 😉

The End of the 2nd Madness….

Tags

Books, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, Non Fiction, Novels, Readathon, Reading, Reading Adventures, Reading Challenge

How much I had looked forward to the Dewey’s 24hour Readathon and now, its all over! Like always, it was a brilliant, exhilarating experience of reading non stop and bonding with a tribe that slept, ate and dream books! I call them my tribe, because only spirits that felt so closely to books could have participated and enjoyed this mad rush of 24 hours of reading and more reading and yet more reading! I know so many who remained sleep deprived and many who had to change their personal life schedules and routines to be a part of the event and yet many others, who though they tried hard, could not join because of some pressing commitment!This tribe of bookworms, brings such a wonderful sense of belonging, of being a part of larger geekdom and just being ok about being passionately fond of books! The Dewey’s 24hour Readathon epitomizes this sense of bonding of book readers across continents and oceans!

So how did I do? Well I still finished 2.5 books, the same as last time, a cumulative of 800+pages. But unlike last time, I loved all my 3 selections  – Bones of the Hills by Conn Iggulden, Men at Arms by Terry Pratchet and The Histories by Herodotus. The first two I finished and the latter, well I am still trying! I unfortunately could not make any headway into either Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol or The Instance of the Fingerpost by Ian Pears, but there are more weekends ahead and I hope to conquer more! I loved all the three that I read. Conn Iggulden made History of Mongolia come alive and made the historical characters, humane with deep insights into the culture and the history, that went into making the Mongol Horde. Terry Pratchett is Terry Pratchett; Captain Vimes is off to become a gentleman, but he cannot stop being a Copper when there are murders and lost kings of Ankh-Morpork to be found. With deep understanding of human nature. and dwarfs and trolls and an amazing sense of humor, Sir Terry wove another tale of brilliance and satire! Herodotus continues blending History and myth to take us across to ancient Greece, Persia and introduce us to long lost races like Scythian’s and Phoenicians!

Needless to say I had awesome fun in this April Readathon. I was really looking forward to it and now wait with bated breath for October! I want to take a moment and give a shoutout to our amazing hostess at Dewey’s @estellasrevenge and @capriciousreadr for your energy, encouragement and sense of fun!! Thank You guys and the entire team of Deweys! Look forward to chatting with you all again, come October!

The Return of the Maddness – Updates on 24 hours of Non-Stop Binge Reading

Tags

Books, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, Mystery, Non Fiction, Novels, Readathon, Reading, Reading Adventures, Reading Challenge

Here we go –

Update 1

Hour 1  –  05:27 PM IST

The Pile –

Let’s Start!!

Opening Survey from Dewey’s 24hour Readathon

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

India

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Toss up between Bones of the Hills by Conn Iggulden & Men at Arms by Sir Terry Pratchett

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Something I make myself – Chocolate Fool; a concoction of Greek Yogurt, Cream and Chocolate
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

Full Time Project Manager, Part Time Writer (wish it was in reverse) constant reader, frequent traveler, occassional cook, daughter/sister/friend and trying everyday to be a decent person
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?

I participated in the 2016 October Readathon. The one thing I did do differently was while I still have a motely crew of books, I kept the number of books in the list on lower side, so as to not confuse myself and lose precious time in deciding what  to read next!

Update 2

Hour 4 – 08:49 PM IST

Books – Switching between Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett (Page 70) and The Histories by Herodotus (Page 255)

Take on the Books –  Herodotus is brilliant as he takes on a sweeping narrative, part history and part derived from myths, across ancient Greece, Persia, Libiya and India. I am fascinated with the descriptions of the Scythians and think they may be closely related to present day Mongols. Will look it up later. In Men at Arms, Lance Corporal Detritus (Troll), Lance Corporal Cuddy (Dwarf) and Lance Corporal Angua (Werewolf) join Vimes, Carrot, Fred and Nobby to find out what really happened the Assassins Guild! Brilliant, funny and idealistically real, Sir Terry as always takes my breathe away – I am still laughing aloud at head honchetta/honcharina/honchessa!!

Snacks Update – Dinner – Tuscany Chicken & Pasta Salad

Update 3

Hour 8 – 00:36 AM IST

Books – Bones of the Hill – #3 The Conquerer Series by Conn Iggulden (Page 106)

Take on the Books –  One of my all time favorites! I love this entire series that Mr. Iggulden has written about the rise of Chengez Khan and his dynasty. Stripping away commonly held myths, with deep research, this historical fiction constitutes everything that a good historical fiction must have – powerful narrative that mixes easily with the time it was set in, with great story telling and accurate history! This volume is an especial favourite – the first that I ever read, and was mesmerised by he brilliant writing as I rode with Chengez Khan to conquer Persia and Europe. It also has one of my biggest book crushes of all time – Subutai is right up there is my pantheon of bestest bookboyfriends, along with Fritz William Darcy, Captain Alex Randall and Ari Ben Cannon!

Snacks Update – Water & now Coffee

Update 4

Hour 12 – 04:31 AM IST

Books – Bones of the Hill – #3 The Conquerer Series by Conn Iggulden (Page 249)

Take on the Books –  Still loving the read. Though the change in the character of Changez Khan from a far seeing ruler to someone blinded by personal prejudice is a bit difficult to digest, but then sometimes success does change a person completely. The narrative is still brilliant and I who usually skip battle scenes, is hooked on page to page. Subutai still rocks!

Snacks Update – Sandwich and Rose Tea to fight of slight onset of sluggishness!

Mid-Event Survey!  
1. What are you reading right now?

Bones of the Hill by Conn Iggulden

2. How many books have you read so far?

Half way through two different books

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Reading till the end with minimum or no sleep…can my body do it? that’s the question!

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Some, but good interruptions; using them as breaks!

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

How much I still enjoy the event! Also trying to keep up on social media can be a tad taxing!

Update 5

Hour 19 – 11:46 AM IST

Books – Bones of the Hill – #3 The Conquerer Series by Conn Iggulden (Page 260)

Miscellaneous Note – no traction as fell off to sleep for 5 hours! 😦

Snacks Update – Masala Tea to get the day going!

Update 6

Hour 23 – 04:01 PM IST

Books – Bones of the Hill – #3 The Conqueror Series by Conn Iggulden (Completed) Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett (Page 107)

Take on the Book – As always, Bones of the Hill leaves me speechless. The rise and the betrayal are overwhelming and it leaves much to ponder over, especially when one cannot really dismiss the thoughts under the guise of fiction. The rise of the Mongols did happen and what the great Khan went through despite all the negative history surrounding him, cannot be evaded Mr. Iggulden tries to give Subutai the due he deserves in the books of history – unfortunately, the Mongols produced a host of brilliant men 800 years ago and giving space to all of them is an ask. Despite the author manages to etch out the great General’s character and bring in the more humane side of him, especially when he leaves for his final command under Chengez Khan; your heart torn as you see one of the best General’s is history of warfare struggle to keep his loyalty to the Man who had raised him and to the boy who looked up to him. One of the best pieces of historical fiction, where Mongols, come alive and you can hear the war cries assaulting you from the pages of the book!

Snacks Update – Lunch – Traditional Indian Dal (Legumes) Rice & Saag baji (Spinach fry)

Update 7

Hour 24 – 05: 28 PM IST

Books –  Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett (Page 213)& The Histories by Herodotus (Page 321)

Take on the Book – Brilliant, intuitive, kind and hilarious – simply put. vintage Terry Pratchet

Snacks Update – Tea

Closing Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Early morning – around 6:00 AM

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a reader engaged for next year?

• Historical Fiction – The Conquerer Series by Conn Iggulden
• Fantasy/Humor – The Discworld Series, especially the Vimes & The Witches novels by Terry Pratchet

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?

I think you guys are just perfect! Though I think the Goodreads page could be simplified instead of multiple threads!

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

I think the Mini Challenges were awesome!

5. How many books did you read?

2.5

6. What were the names of the books you read?

• Bones of the Hills by Conn Iggulden
• Men at Arms by Terry Pratchet
• The Histories by Herodotus

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

Bones of the Hills by Conn Iggulden

8. Which did you enjoy least?

NA…I chose well this year! I loved everything I read!

9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I repeat, once again, on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest, I would say 20! Role would be a Reader, maybe even a host!

The Return of the 24 Hour Madness….

Tags

Books, English Literature, Fiction, Friends, Fun, Historical Fiction, History, Joy, Mystery, Non Fiction, Novels, Readathon, Reading, Reading Adventures, Reading Challenge, Russian Literature

I have not been keeping well for sometime now, sleepless nights due to sever bronchial asthma. The biggest project of my career goes live on May 1st and it could set me up for next 3 years or make me look up other jobs! Minor domestic crisis continue to plague me. Life can hardly be called a bed of roses; but do I care? Am I really worried that my life is falling apart?!?!?! Nope…the only thing I give a damm about at this point is that the Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is BACK!!! April 29th, 8:00 AM EDT the non-stop reading binge starts!!! Wooohooooo……I CANNOT wait!

My first Readathon was last year in October when I stumbled on Brona’s post on her Readathon prep. This is exactly why you need friends…..to drag you and tempt you into madcap adventures! Of course, not that I really need tempting to read a new book or participate in reading events! Anyhow, I attempted it last year and had a ball! Scratch that, I had a ball time 10! There is no way I was passing the April event up, even if it meant working late into the night to ensure Project launch on Monday goes smooth and I have the weekend to READ!!!

Now to proceed to matters, of actual importance – what do we read??!!! That, delicate and difficult question, that haunts each reader’s life; such a wonderful pain! I have my list all set, though again, I am not really sure, if I will be able to cover all or some or even in the end, throw up all the careful planning, to re-read Harry Potter, but for now this is what it looks like

1. The Histories by Herodotus – Many of you are aware that I am reading this with Cleo and Ruth as part Reading The Histories for The Well Educated Mind Reading Challenge. Both Ruth and Cleo have finished while I lag woefully behind. Having said that, I am loving this narrative and I hope to cover some significant portion, through the Readathon
2. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol  – This comic satire of Russian feudalism and bureaucracy set in 19th century is an absolutely wonder to read. Again, this is something I am reading with Cleo and again while my progress is slow, I hope, seriously hope to make some progress over the weekend!
3. An Incident of the Fingerpost by Ian Pears – A whodunit is a must to break the monotony, especially if it’s a whodunit set in medieval England! Really looking forward to this one!
4. Bones of the Hills – #3 The Great Conquer by Conn Iggulden – Can I possibly do any reading event, without atleast on hardcore Historical Fiction. The answer naturally is a big NO!!! This time I revisit and re-read an old favorite; Conn Iggulden’s marvelously researched tale of Chengiz Khan and his army is a fascinating read, away from all incorrect myths and gory descriptions. I finished Part 1 & 2 over this last week and now move on to part 3.
5. Men at Arms by Sir Terry Pratchett – Could I possibly consider any reading event as complete, without one homage to a comic and humane narrative of mankind and its his frivolousness? Nope!! We go “detectoring” with Commander Vimes and his crew in the greatest city of Discworld, Ankh-Morpork!

My update style will remain same! I will have a 24 hour open blog update which I will try and update every 3 odd hours. I will also try to be more diligent and in fact use the Twitter and Goodreads pages for well needed breaks!

My cheering squad, I look at the same two – Brona & Cleo – some serious cheering required!!

This should be yet another restful weekend, which  should ensure I am all ready for the big launch come Monday! However, Monday is still far and for now, LET’S READ! Counting down the last few hours!

And Now for April….

Tags

Books, Classics, English Literature, Historical Fiction, History, Novels, Readathon, Reading

While my friends in the Northern Hemisphere rejoice the Spring, here’s the sweltering unrelenting heat of the Indian Summers are beginning to be felt. It is already miserably hot and I shudder to think of the next couple of months that lay ahead of us! And while the future does seem bleak – I mean it’s summer; what can one expect? And work (I know I have been cribbing a lot lately about it) is getting even more horrific by the minute, I will take solace, that are plenty of books to keep me company and one day, there will be no summer and long vacation, at the end of this trial!

Reading Plans as we all know have been a bit haywire lately, thanks to all the long work hours. I have receded to light reads and mostly Sir Terry Pratchet’s work to make some retain some hold on my sanity  (Yes! My alternative sanity is much more interesting than most people’s reality!) I did manage to procure a couple of reads over the last couple of days and I hope to get some reading time in-between to really do some justice to these books. To begin with I have the extremely intriguing, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, by David Mitchel. The story is set in end of 18th century Japan and that is enough to get me hooked! I then have a Restoration period who-done-it, An Incident of the Fingerpost by Ian Pears. I also  yet another historical thriller in The Alienist by Caleb Carr. If reading historical fiction was not enough, I also have started reading Land of Two Rivers – History of Bengal by Nitish Sengupta. Dr. Sengupta narrates an interesting history of Eastern India, the land I ethnically belonged to and naturally I am curious to say the least. I also think I am reading Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol, if I can push myself to push Cleo. Again thanks to Cleo, I came across Amanda at Simpler Pastimes Classic Children’s Literature Event, and will be reading, rather re-reading Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol. Finally I am making slow but steady progress with Herdotus’s The Histories with Cleo and Ruth, both of whom have finished the book, while I am plodding through Book 3 only!. I am also having oodles of fun reading the monthly installments of The Pickwick Paper by Charles Dickens. Finally I hope to complete, The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper that I started in March.

And while that’s is the plan for now, but there there is Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon coming up this month, April 28th to be exact and since I had a blast, the last time around, no way in the world I am giving this one up. I just have to sort out chores and work and other such inconsequential details before that so that for 24 hours I can read in peace!

So here’s to some interesting reads, this April!

Reading Non-Stop

Tags

Books, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, Non Fiction, Novel, Readathon, Reading, Reading Adventures, Reading Challenge

Whoever it was coined that “Ask and you shall receive” really knew what they were talking about. (I am really not sure that God made such an injunction, I do not quite think he/she works in pithy saying, but then one never knows!)  Anyhow, my point, there is a lot of truth in that statement, though instances often belie us! But then there are times when you actually get what you wished and then you kick yourself wondering why the hell did you not wish for that million dollars that you need? But still one must be grateful for that one instance being gratified and keep their fingers crossed, in more such events coming true.

Now I am sure what this looooooong prologue  entail? Never fear; enlightenment cometh thy way! (You have to allow me the joy of being a drama queen). Like I had mentioned in my previous posts, the work hours are getting longer and longer with no end in sight, and in fact will not be in sight for next several months to come.Add to that there are domestic complications, including the electric fuse which blew and the wiring of my apartment needed to be re-wired. Top if off, I am in midst of personal quandary, the solution to which is completely unbeknownst to me; let alone unbeknownst, I do not even know where to begin to find the pathway to the answers! Needless, to say, I am not in a happy place; atleast not in a peaceful place and I need a break – the kind of break that i really thrive on – the escape to the bookland variety! Considering there are quite a few things crowding in my mind and diverting me from focusing on the books I want to read, I thought a readathon like event would set the stage and motivate me to get going and gain some momentum on my reading and take my mind of the sundry! So I trawled the internet and after same lame ducks, I hit jackpot.

Season’s Reading is hosting a two week long Readathon, from Jan 16th to Jan 29th called A Winter’s Respite. It starts at 12:00 am Monday the 16th, and ending at 11:59 pm on Sunday the 29th. The great part about this Readathon is you can join up anytime during this period and there are no mandatory reading requirement, as long as you read and have some fun along the way.

This is just what the doctor ordered, some company for focused, albeit relaxed reading! So I sign up with joy and list below some of the books, I am planning to make significant headway with, before Monday takes over –

1. The Histories by Herodotus – I am reading this with Cleo and Ruth and many others, as part of The Well Educated Reading List for Histories and I am SIGNIFICANTLY behind!
2. The Hindus by Wendy Doniger – Yet another History and this one controversial at that. Banned in India, I bought the copy well before all the fire and fury was raked up and then because of the uber hype, I gave it up for a later read! (Everybody was pretending to read the book, without actually any idea of what Dr. Doniger was saying and it was “cool” to support or refute on very shallow understanding of the subject!!) Now is a good time to rev-visit the book finally and I look forward to the this pioneering and exploratory work on the Ancient Hindu culture!
3. The Curse of Mohenjodaro by Maha Khan Philips – Since I am reading ancient Indian History, it made sense to mix it up with a easy historical read and vary the pace a bit. Based off recommendation from a friend, I am going to see what the author makes about a civilization, which remains a mystery!
4. Politics and The English Language by George Orwell – This is not a book but an essay by George Orwell on the politics of using English as a primary language. I have Cleo to thank for this one!!
5. Lucky Jim by Kinsley Amis – Just because I need some laughter among all the serious reading!

That’s the plan for now! I bid all of thee adieu with promises of updates every few hours!

The End of the Madness

Tags

Books, Fiction, History, India, Non Fiction, Novels, Readathon, Reading, Reading Adventures, Reading Challenge, Victorian Literature

Finally, we are at the end of the Madness, aka,Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon. I cannot believe that 24 hours are over already! To say I will miss it is an understatement and I will count days until the April event comes along! This was MAGNIFICENT and so very unique, that I am still in a kind of awe of it! Don’t get me wrong, I have read through the nights many times, but this rush was something out of the world. This sense of so many readers all over the world reading together,different time zones, different genres, but united by books is so out of the world that it takes one’s breathe away!One of the most memorable events of virtual reading/blogging lives.

Now for the closing survey –

1.Which hour was most daunting for you?

Afternoon! Nights I can manage, but Sunday afternoon after a good lunch is always a snooze time

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Depending on the interest of the readers, I would recommend,the following

• History – The Wonder that was India by AL Basham
• Literary – The Book of Snobs by WM Thackeray
• Historical Fiction – The Source by James Michener
• Chick Lit – Kissing Toads by Jemma Harvey

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?

I think you all are doing an awesome job! Just perfect!

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

This is my first readathon, so cannot say much, but your tips on preparing for the readathon really really helped in keeping me going

5.How many books did you read?

2.5 😀

6.What were the names of the books you read?

• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• Land of the Seven Rivers by Sanjeev Sanyal
• Halfway through – The Book of Snobs by WM Thackeray

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

Toss up between Land of Seven Rivers and the Book of Snobs

8. Which did you enjoy least?

Least is a reletive term, but I felt The Girl on the Train was kind of cliched

9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest chance of participation, I would say 20!! Since I am still kind of new to the game, I would say, I will stick to being a participant reader for now!

Like I said, this is the end my friend! However before I close this post, a big thank you to Cleo and Brona for keeping me going and cheering me on! Finally, to the bestest hostesses in the world at Dewey’s @estellasrevenge and @capriciousreadr for your innovation, energy and passion! You guys seriously rock!!