Ellie's 75 - My first for 2011!

Welcome everyone! And welcome to 2011 and a whole new year - nay, a whole new DECADE - of happy reading! For anyone that doesn't already know me, here's my intro post.

And a few of my favourite books of 2010:

Persuasion by Jane Austen
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Bedlam: London and Its Mad by Catharine Arnold
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Lion Children by Angus, Travers and Maisie McNeice
The Island by Victoria Hislop
Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
Eating for England: The Delights of Eccentricities of the British at Table by Nigel Slater
Wesley: The Story of a Remarkable Owl by Stacey O'Brien
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

As always, you can also catch up on a load of general chatter and bookshop news over my blog, Musings of a Bookshop Girl... I'm doing a couple of challenges over there this year too, as well as trying for a better result on the LT Books off the Shelf Challenge for 2011. Wish me luck!

And finally, here's this year's ticker:

I won't use touchstones in the Master List (!) - too much hassle to keep loading and correcting them - but I'll add the message number of each review/comment for quick reference.

BOOKS READ 2011

Thread 1:
1) Blacklands - Belinda Bauer (message 156)
2) The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld 1) - Gena Showalter (message 175)
3) The Chrysalids - John Wyndham (message 225)

drive-by *smooch*

taking a seat, waiting patiently... (I hope I don't start to snore or drool, this is a comfy seat)

Hello dearest, got your thread starred. I'd type more but my fingertips hurt already. =P Hope you have lots of time next year and get to read half a bazillion books! *Mwah*

Hi Ellie, Stephen's fingers hurt and my face hurts from smiling so much. This is like the coolest party ever greeting old friends and looking forward to more good times.

Hi Ellie This is one of my favorite places on LT even if I don't post here much. I love reading about your life. It's like a novel in serial form.

*blushes and has a feeling 2011 is going to be an awesome year!*

Hi Ellie!

Welcome back!

I'm looking forward to Forbidden becoming available in North America; I've heard so many good things about it from you Brits!

8: Agreed!

Hi Ellie!

Hey Ellie! Hope you have a great reading year! I'll try to stop by more often.

Hello Dearie! Gotcha starred, and am looking forward to our little readathon in a few weeks. Wait ... is it still on? I hope so! Perhaps I'll wander over to the 2010 Group and/or your blog to check for an update.

Hope you're staying warm and cozy, Ellie!

Just checking in, Ellie!

I followed your threads in 2010 and look forward to your stories and reads in 2011.

Can't wait for more stories in the new year!

Here yer are! I gotta get my thread up and running soonish although I still haven't got straight in my head what reading challenges (on the blog) I'm gonna be doing next year :S
*plonks star on Ellie's Nose*

I loved your threads in 2010, so I'm getting you starred ready for your 2011 reads. Apparently around half your favourite 2010 reads are on my wishlist. How did that happen? ;-)

Hey all! Rach - I know! I don't know whether to do challenges there or whether just to stick to my LT challenges and sort of transfer them over. I need to do some scouring round the blogosphere after Christmas and see what I can find...

ArcheryGirl - Hey, my sister just took up archery! Mad keen longbow lass now... And yeah, funny how these things happen isn't it, books showing up COMPLETELY UNEXPECTEDLY on your wishlist... *wanders away, whistling innocently*

This year I'm going to try to keep up with your thread- I especially love your bookshop stories!!

I've been lurking silently in your 2010 threads (which sounds a lot more sinister than it is) and thought that this was probably the time to emerge and say hello! I've decided to join the challenge too this year. Look forward to seeing what you read.

Honestly, I had no idea this many people even READ my thread! Welcome all, I know we haven't kicked off properly yet but it's nice to know there's such a nice party waiting for me come January 1!

As if you need an Intro...

I have you **Starred* and am checking in for the duration

;-}

Hi Ellie, I lost you somewhere in 2010. but hey, new year, new beginning.

Hello there Ellie ... I can't wait for more Bakewell and kitty stories in 2011... in addition to seeing what you're reading of course.

Hey Ellie....gotcha STARRED and can't wait for the New Year!

;-}

Hello, lovely ladies! Please make yourself comfortable - you've got a couple of weeks' wait so you might as well!

*Sits down with everyone else*

Wait wait wait...a couple weeks' wait...with a room full of ladies? Oh dear oh dear oh dear... *Glances around nervously noting potential escape routes just in case*

Hi Ellie!

Stephen - just put your Santa hat on and they'll be so busy swooning everywhere you won't have to worry about actually interacting with them!

I don't know, the bright red of the santa hat my draw everyone's attention to me...how horrifying!

And is he sat under the mistletoe?

35: Oh dear! This just keep getting worse. Wahhh, RUN AWAY!

Can I sit on Santa's knee? *waits for Stephen to run back again*

*Comes rushing back*

Just promise me you won't get back up until after everyone else has left...or atleast give me a pillow to set in my lap.

*snuggles in for the long haul and grins apologetically at everyone else who was waiting their turn*

Oh, and don't be alarmed...I promise that is just a yule log in my pocket.

Kel_light walks in....sneaks out again.

Kel_light walks in....sneaks out again.

Look Ellie, I think you just scared away your first visitor. Congratulations! *smooch*

I believe that you should check your facts, Stephen. Ahem.

Well, it's on Ellie's thread, at least. :P

hello Ellie! Just dropping in to let you know I've found you and your starred :)

peeking in to see if there are new photos of the kittens .....

I love this thread...

Me too Angela. I think it's all the sophisticated converstaion that makes Ellie's thread so attractive.

*Reads thread again*

Oh dear...ooops, errr, sorry Ellie!

She's back...........

Hi Ellie!! I have you starred.

I love reading your threads, Ellie. I'm so glad I found you again.

Hi Ellie

I lost your thread in 2010...but have you starred and hope to keep up this year. Happy New Year!

BELVA! Awwww, it's so good to have you around here again!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I just spent the last ten minutes singing along to Auld Lang Syne on Jules Holland, then standing outside watching three different sets of fireworks along the valley and pondering a batch of those little floating lanterns as they drifted over... Happy reading for the new year and the new decade, people! :-)

Happy New Year!

Oh, I should probably catch everybody up! I'm currently reading a motley bunch of library and other books, including Blacklands by Belinda Bauer, Awkward Situations for Men by Danny Wallace, The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha, Seasons of Life by Russell Foster and Leon Kreitzman, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain... Gets me off to a good start for the new year, anyway!

And just for the record, I'm also sitting in my PJs drinking cold white hot chocolate and watching Father Ted at nearly 1am. I'm all tired out from the dancing along to Jools Holland and standing in the cold watching all the fireworks in the valley... :-)

I used to love Squeeze...Jools Holland and Paul Carrack's band. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Ellie!

Happy New Year and best wishes for a great 2011!! See you around. : )

So how bad is your hangover? :P

ETA: Sorry! I just haven't done anything to deserve a whack from The Encyclopedia in a long time...just trying to start the new year proper. :)

Happy new year! I forgot to sing Auld Lang Syne! Well, I didn't forget, I was up the bell tower of a church in Belper, it wasn't a conducive environment for singing. Looking forward to reading in 2011!

Happy 2011! Hope it's a good one with nothing but kind customers at the bookshop. :-)

Happy 2011! Following you again.

Hi Ellie! I enjoy reading your threads, even though I don't post on them. Looking forward to more great stories and reviews in 2011! Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Ellie! It's 2011 and here I am--could not possibly miss your "Bookshop Tales"--I look forward to them so much.

Happy New Year Ellie!

Happy New Year Ellie .... can't wait to read about the Bakewell adventures in 2011.

Happy New Year! I note above that you were drinking, er... cold white hot chocolate? Wouldn't that just be 'cold chocolate' and also disgusting? Haha.

Hey Ellie, Happy New Year!
Everytime you mention your mom has made pasties, my mouth starts watering. I don't think I have actually had a pastie, but it sure sounds like something I would like. Any chance, your mom is willing to share a basic recipe? I might just try to make them myself.

*smooch*

Hi Ellie -- Happy New Year!

Happy New Year all! *toasts everyone with current mug of cold coffee and wonders if her New Year's resolution should be to try and drink things at the appropriate temperature*

Yeah, the cold-hot choccy wasn't so great by that point. Normally it's not so bad, because it basically just becomes chocolate milkshake, but the white version isn't so yummy cold... And thank you STEPHEN, I did NOT have a hangover. The only drink I had was a Baileys-spiked milkshake earlier in the afternoon, and that was only to use up some of the bloody stuff! I did have an atrocious headache yesterday though... But it wasn't a hangover, I swear! *sigh*

>70 jmaloney17: Ummmm, let's see. We used ready-rolled puff pastry which made things easier. We cut it into rectangles and laid each one on a well-oiled baking tray. The filling was leftover turkey, sweetcorn, and a good dose of dried sage, dried thyme and onion salt (we used stuffing last year but didn't have any left this time), all mixed into a basic white sauce. Dollop the filling onto one half of each rectangle, brush right round the outside with milk, then fold the empty half over, press down around the filling and crimp the edges to turn it into a parcel. Prick holes in the top with a fork, then brush the whole thing with more milk, and bake it. I think we made about six decent-size square pastries this time, but you can also use circular pastry shapes to make a 'traditional' semi-circle pasty, or use shortcrust pastry instead, or make little pastries instead of big ones. Whatever floats your boat! I had one the other day and it was yummy - I'll be retrieving another from the freezer for the Tuesday stretch of the read-a-thon I think...

ty for the recipe, I saved it to try sometime :)

Oh sure, Ellie, and by 'Baileys-spiked milkshake' you mean you put a spoonful of ice cream into the it so you could justify drinking it straight from the bottle? :P

Errr, Ellie wait! Before you hit met let me say that, errrr, I'm looking forward to your readathon and I'm sure you will perform excellently! ^_^

Ok, now let fly the heavy object...

Hi Ellie! Happy New Year! Starred your thread!

~75 You need an excuse to drink Baileys straight from the bottle?

Happy new year, Ellie!

Honestly, I don't drink Baileys any more. IBS and all - a mix of alcohol and cream isn't usually a fun beverage for long. All of which I did tell my dad before Christmas - but working in Libya until Christmas Eve, he had about three hours to shop and forgot, so Baileys it is! Well, spiked milkshake just seemed like a good way to get rid of some of it. Alternatively... *aims at Stephen's head poking above the parapet and very carefully aims the large, heavy Bailey's bottle*

Hi Ellie! I lost you last year. But that nice Wiki will fix that problem :)

Oh, and I think you're better off using the encyclopedia instead of Bailey's. . . . It's liable to go into the wounds and get him drunk, numbing the pain. (Sorry Stephen, had to point that out)

*Watches as the EMPTY bottle smashes against the wall behind him* Ellie, errr...I think your aim is compromised when you're plastered. :P

I've never been plastered in my life. Except the time the bathroom ceiling crumbled, and even then I didn't do it myself... ;-)

I used to love a spot of Baileys with my espresso at the end of the day.... It's been a number of years since I've had that.... I don't even remember when I stopped .... oh yes, probably around the time I started getting insomnia if I drank espresso too late at night.

82 messages on your thread already! Happy New Year to you and all good wishes for a wonderful year of reading.

Hi, Ellie! *waves* Have a great reading year!

Hi Ellie. I completely missed out on your threads for the last part of 2010, but now I'm back to follow your reading. Have a great reading year!

81: Haha...well, I suppose that shouldn't count. Otherwise I've been stoned with gravel thrown by a weed eater. o.o

Happy New Year, Ellie. Don't you just love those Father Teds?

Happy read-a-thon, anyone who's participating! We're one hour in now and I'm getting on okay. I've got pizza and juice ready to go for the second hour, and I've settled back into my book nicely. Hopefully I'll be finished with it in a couple of hours and moving onto my next read!

Second hour down, woohoo! Reading well, pizza and white hot chocolate consumed, slight niggly headache but hoping it'll go away now I've had a drink. Onwards!

Three hours in! Steaming towards the climax of Blacklands and starting to wonder what to read next... I'm getting a teeny bit sleepy (it's 11pm here) but since I stay up far later than this on an average night I'm trying to pull myself together and not succumb to the temptation to nap so soon! :-)

Hey Ellie! Yep, it's post-6pm here which is usually about the time your late night sleepy posts start showing up! No sleepiness, I say! Banish it to...errr, SleepLandPlace...of banishment-ivity... ... . . .

Geez, it's only 6pm here and I think I'm typing up a late-night post just now. Hmmm, well, don't be discouraged! Just think of all the pages you will amass while I'm not reading!

GO ELLIE! *Dances around the thread chanting Ellie's name*

Ok, that's probably just distracting... *cheers more quietly*

I've almost finished Blacklands now, yay, and my on-the-hour alarm has gone off at the absolute climax of the book... but hey, delayed gratification and all that... It's midnight now so really, it's the next five or six hours that will be tricky. Once you hit 5, maybe 6am, it starts to feel legitimate to be awake again, and the birds start singing, and the sky starts to lighten for a new day... well, let's just see how I get on, shall we? I'll aim for a really exciting book next!

Good luck with your read-a-thon!

I wish I could have read more today, but I will join you for an hour when I read before bed. I hope to finish Bonk tonight.

Good luck reading through the night. My eyes would be needing toothpicks to hold them open around 2 am; you're a tougher reader than me!

It's 1am now and I'm still going! Actually, Blacklands has been so gripping that I'd forgotten how sleepy I was getting. And only about 10 pages left to go so I'm due a bit of a wander round and a wake-up blast of music or something after that. I'm dreading the 3-5am kind of time, it's always the danger zone for falling asleep, but I'll do my best for an hour or two yet before I let myself start having the odd half-hour snooze...

2am, and I finally finished Blacklands - that's book number one of 2011 finished and awaiting review! I've started The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter to get me through a few hours tonight, and I've had a rather refreshing singing-along-to-music break while I chose my next read, which was very welcome. Onwards towards 3am, where it starts getting really tricky!

Go Ellie!!! 3am was always the toughest part of the night for me when I used to write papers on all-nighters, haha. You can do it!

Yay! You're a reading machine! It's only 8:20 here. I'm feeling a mixture of sleepy eyes and hyperness bubbling just beneath the surface. Not actually tired, mind you, just that odd mixture when you sit too long in one place. I may need a short video game break before my next book to kick awake those eyes ;P

Go Ellie - thanks for visiting, I'm enjoying my afternoon here so no worries about staying awake yet. Time for you to pick a racy read that you just can't put down!

Well, I'm still awake! The eyes are definitely burning but the last hour has flown by again, so that's good. The 3-4am slot was one of the hardest last time though, so I'll see what I can do to keep going. I think I ended up napping at 3:30 last time. Reading Gena Showalter, with her undoubtedly hot Lords of the Underworld, is probably racy enough to keep me going a while longer! ;-)

Just dropped by to add my support. Go, Ellie! Looking forward to your review of Blacklands.

You're doing really well, easy for me as the afternoon is starting to draw to a close. I'm slowly getting through my planned 50pgs of Les Mis, but this will be my 'hardest' read of the day, even lifting the book up is a strain! Time for a coffee and a move outside to the garden swing, I have to spray on the repellant though as the mozzies are biting at the moment.

You can do it, Ellie! I didn't have a chance to participate on this one--this was my husband's day off and I needed to do stuff with him, but I'll catch another one of these days.

HELLO! Very very tired but still awake. My stepdad came up to visit just as I was getting to my sleepiest so I'm a little more alert than I was. And I've just about stopped yawning, which is good. Still going! Drinking grape juice, reading about hunky demon men, and wondering when it would be acceptable to make coffee and start thinking of it as morning... Might nap soon, depends if I can still read without the words swimming...

My eyes are feeling your pain...

Still awake, still reading (slowly)... my eyes and my head are just swimming now, rather than burning. I'm fairly sure it won't be too long before I have to crawl onto my chair for half an hour and sleep. I'm sitting in the middle of the floor right now so I don't get too comfy, but the chair's looking more and more delicious as the night goes on! Not doing bad though, well into The Darkest Night now and it seems the perfect brain candy for middle-of-the-night reading, so on we go!

Hopefully you'll make it!!

Okay, so I read two pages then had a nap for 35 minutes instead... My trusty hourly alarm woke me up again as planned, so it's all good. Now I just need to eat/drink something, maybe make a morning coffee at last, so this icky 'just woken up' feeling doesn't drag me under for too long more before sunrise...

Oohhh, coffee! Nomnomnom. I wish Caribou was 24 hr, they have muchly delicious espresso drinks :)

Okay, so I managed another hour without coffee or sleep. NOW I'm making coffee. And maybe a muffin. Regular breakfast rules don't apply when you haven't even gone to bed, right? Choc chip muffin and coffee it is then! At least I'm still in the land of the living, reading and everything, and feeling significantly less crappy than I did when I fell back out of my peaceful slumber onto my cold floor... :-)

I think you are doing really well, I'm not managing much at present with dinner on the go etc. Only 20 odd pages in the last hour. Anyway I've promised my daughter we'll watch Coraline together, hopefully I can read a little while it's on.

Awww, that's sweet! I'm only reading about 20 pages an hour at the moment anyway - maybe it's the book, maybe it's the sleepiness, who knows? But still going... And the daylight is slowly creeping back to the sky, and Graham's been back to the patio doors again (this time on his way to feed the chickens and the ducks, rather than just for the hell of it!), so I think the worst of the night is over. And I have a muffin, yay! And coffee! Small mercies... :-)

Another hour down! Feeling proper icky now though - kinda woozy - so I'm thinking another nap might be on the cards before the next hour's out. I've only had 30 minutes so far so that's not bad going considering we're over halfway there, right? Still reading The Darkest Night, of course, but making good headway and rather liking this houseful of godlike blokes... kinda like how men feel about the 'America's Next Top Model' house, maybe? ;-)

#113: I took one 15 minute nap too, Ellie, so I do not think you are doing badly at all, considering you have been at this longer than I have!

Okay, I was going for a nice 40-minute nap, round off the hour, get rid of the ickiness, but Dad texted just as I finally dropped off properly and I just ended up with that pounding-heart hit-the-ceiling thing going on so I got up again... I did point out the irony that he managed to text during the one of the 45 minutes out of the WHOLE THING I've spent resting so far... *sigh*

Back to the reading I guess, and maybe try for another nap next time I feel like I might fall over!

It's almost midnight here and I'm having to pick up a book with a large font or else I won't get through the next couple of hours!
Cat napping is good, but the waking up part....!

I know! I just roll off the chair, sit very still for a minute, then take a few swigs of juice and eat something little and sugary. A few M'n'Ms or something. Kicks the system out of that revolting wake-up feeling.

I really neeeeed another nap but Mum turned up during this hour with her coffee for a quick check-in so I didn't bother. *gazes around blearily* Still read a bit but the page tally's steadily decreasing each hour! *I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...'

Well, I finally had a nap that didn't involve being woken up by a text, which was nice! Though I think there's some furniture being moved around outside at the moment - we're having a one-sofa-out one-sofa-in day down in the main house - so there was the occasional van noise penetrating my sleepy moments. Still going! I really want to finish this book if I can, get started on another before I crash for the day later. Eight hours to go!

Thus far, I have only taken one 15-minute cat nap, but I suspect I will be taking another in the next couple of hours. Glad to hear you finally got a decent one in, Ellie!

Go Ellie! I've caught up on your blog and late-night posts! Ummm, do put down that book if you really do start growing a moustache, ok? :P

Ye gods, it's 7:30! Ack, I need to get to reading now...

Happy reading, Ellie dear!

Aha! He's awake! Welcome back darling. The moustache hasn't appeared, thank heavens. I'm over halfway through the book and the girl's stepped up with some feisty womanliness to balance the macho thing, so I think I'm safe...

Enjoy your nap, Stasia! Oh, how wonderful it feels to drift off for a few minutes...

It's been a much better hour, thank heavens - wide awake, reading for 45 minutes, more pages under my belt and feeling a little less like I've been run over by a bulldozer. Yay!

Not ready for a nap just yet, Ellie, but I would imagine I will be in the next hour or so.

Feeling better? Good! You go, girl!

Hi Ellie, just dropping in to wish you well for the last few hours. Wish I could have joined you for more of them. Sounds like you have been doing really well.

Another hour of reading and not sleeping. And I've stopped wanting to choke on every morsel of food I put in my mouth, which is refreshing. I wonder how long it'll last... Last time I bombed out at about 4pm, but I HAD eaten a ridiculously large dinner which would have sent anyone off to sleep. *fingers crossed* Hoping to finish the Showalter fairly soon too, I think it's gearing up for the finale so maybe my speed will increase if it gets exciting!

Hey Ellie! Womanly balancing is always good! Just read your blog...I'm not sure what the "big event" in a book like that might be but I hope it helps keep you awake! It seems like you are reading well again after the late-night slowness, nice! Yep, I think you can totally make it this time! And if it helps, I'm intentionally finishing every sentence I type here with exclamation points to make it more...EXCITING! I wonder what happens when I say something boring and it still has an exlamation at the end...!!!

Oh, and I wanted to say I know what it's like reading a book with more words per page, I'm reading and 'oversized' big paperback thing that has quite a lot of words and it's feeling a bit slow! We'll see what happens if I decide to read that myster novel next!

...EXCLAMATION POINT!

Yay Ellie! Keep going! Funny thing--big dinners make me hyper. . . maybe that's what I should've done last night. :P

Go Ellie go!

Kate, I'm going to make a list of things that make you hyper, just for kicks. Hyper you reminds me of late-night-rambling me, it's wonderful! *giggles hysterically*

Thanks Luxx! AND THANK YOU STEPHEN!!!!

Oh dear, Ellie. That list may be longer than you expect it will be

Hallo Ellie - just checking in so that I don't lose your thread - will catch up properly shortly, but in the meantime, Happy New Year!

Hi Fliss - Happy New Year to you too!

I fell asleep again, unexpectedly this time... I only got on the swizzly sofachair of dreams to read, I swear (clue's in the name, I guess) - and the next thing, I was waking up with my forehead on the arm and my book on my knee. I only slept 15 minutes though... *phew* Good job I've got this alarm on every hour or I might not have woken up til everyone had finished! I'm going to go make something caffeinated and sweet for the 4 o'clock sugar slump...

Hey Ellie. You MUST complete the readathon, you simply have to. C'mon, whats a few more hours right? And think about how satisfying it'll be when you can say you read for a full day!.

Even if you only read a few pages per hour, it still counts, so GO ELLIE! :)

Okay, okay! I read this hour, so I guess as long as I have time to finish the *ahem* Amazon order I want delivered tomorrow, in the next couple of hours or so, I could read until 8 o'clock, right? *grins*

Go me!

You can do it, Ellie! (just stay out of the swizzly sofachair)

2 hours! 2 hours! And nearly finished my book, so I might get chance to start one more after all... :-)

Oh, you guys would be so PROUD of me right now... I was going to do a big Amazon order to be delivered overnight, one post-Christmas blow-out before I start attempting to behave myself, okay? And you know what? I looked through all twenty or so items in that basket, and thought, 'I don't need all this right now!' I took every single book out, and some other stuff, and just ordered three DVDs to come to the shop in their own sweet time. *pats self on the back* Sometimes I surprise myself.

One hour to go, and I think I'll finish the book despite the Amazon messing about of the last hour. ALMOST THERE!

Good for you, Ellie!

That's very good. Hope the last hour flies by!

Yay self control! I've been having trouble with reading this past while and all I can think about is going to HPB to get more books /facepalm

I'm very impressed with your self-control, Ellie!

Wow, congratulations on such an impressive display of bookish restraint. It's only four days into the new year and already I've acquired six more books than I've read.

Holy crumpets, it's over... For another few months anyway! ;-)

Finished the Showalter so I now have two books under my belt in 2011, waiting for review when I can think straight. Oh, but I did have to go back to Amazon and order Henrietta Lacks for a measly £3.99 when I realised that I started it as my third read-a-thon book, but it's due back at the library NOW and it won't let me renew it. Holds on it, so that's that. But hey, I'll be partway through it by the time I actually get it back to Bakewell on Thursday, so I figured it won't really count as a 'going onto my shelf to gather dust' book, will it?

Farewell all, that's my online presence over for the day I think! Thanks for reading along, it was lovely having such a lovely group to read with as the hours went by. Laters! xx

Wow Ellie, you finished the readathon and prevented an Amazon mishap. I'm proud of you.

Now, get some sleep sweety, and try not to dream about reading. :)

Congratulations on completing the full 24 hours.

Well done, Ellie!

Congratulations on finishing 24 hours of reading. Have a good rest tonight!

Wow, I am in awe of you and all the others who participated. Next time I would like to try and see how far I could get.

Ellie, excellent job, my dear! And way to go for staying awake as long as you did. The 3 -5 a.m. bit is always the worst, feels like even the criminals are at home sleeping, so good on you for getting through it!

So, when's the next one? *dodges heavy things thrown in my general direction*

Laura, no need to dodge things. We're all to tired to pick anything up.

>136 elliepotten: - Brava! I admire your restraint.

Congratulations, Ellie .. you're my heroine! I had to bail on the read-athon at midnight because I needed to sleep so I could go to the office today and actually do some work. I was halfway through my second book for the read-athon. I did have fun though .. so thanks for coordinating this one.

Congratulations on a successful readathon!

Sounds like a productive readathon Ellie! Looking forward to the next one (hopefully I can take part this time and just say NO to people)

Ellie!
1) Congrats on completing the read-a-thon.
2) Thank you for the recipe. It sounds simple enough. But ... what is "basic white sauce." To me, white sauce is alfredo sauce.
3) Ummm... I love the hunky Lords of the Underworld too. Yummy. *giggle*

Wow, ta very much everybody! Needless to say, I did very little online/book related stuff yesterday. I sat in my PJs drinking hot chocolate and watching Gilmore Girls instead... :-)

Back at work today, not very busy but there's all that first-day-back stuff going on, taking down Christmas stuff, cleaning things down, getting everything back on track. On the plus side, we get two days off a week for the next few weeks, which gives me more reading time... Maybe even time for another *cough* 24-hourer one Monday-Tuesday? I'd start after work on Monday and still have Wednesday to recover! *feels a little faint at the very idea*

Now I just have to write those reviews... *yawns*

Jess - join in Friday-Saturday, it's more informal this time so people are just dropping by the thread any time and reading when they can. There's a link from the main read-a-thon thread... somewhere...

Jennifer - white sauce... is... milk, flour, butter... ?? Dunno, sad to say but given the leftover status of the food we just used a packet! :-) Sooooo, which of the sexy demon men is your fave?

Hooray, my first review of the year! Well, not hooray, because I'm having a royal case of reviewer 'can't be bothered', but still, it means books down! And it only took 155 posts and a read-a-thon to do it... :-)

1) Blacklands by Belinda Bauer



I picked this book up from the library on a whim, after seeing it on the list of TV Book Club choices a series or two ago. I'm glad I did, because I'd have missed out on a brilliant novel! It's a rather sinister book, and not one you could say you enjoyed, as such, but it's a fascinating read.

Steven Lamb is a young boy living in a broken family. Not broken in the traditional sense, perhaps, but definitely not whole. His grandmother is haunted by the unresolved murder of his uncle Billy, snatched by a serial killer as a child but never found. Every day she stands by the window waiting for her son to return home. Every day she shows her resentment of her grandson, and every day her daughter Lettie, Steven's mother, feels guilty that the resemblance between Steven and Billy has caused her, in turn, to love her younger son Davey more. And so Steven has spent the last few years digging. Every day he walks up onto Exmoor, where the bodies of several other children were found, and digs methodically, searching for his uncle.

But his hope and patience are wearing thin. The moors are vast and in three years he has found nothing. So he wonders if there is another way. He sits down and writes a letter to Arnold Avery, the man who was convicted of the murders all that time ago, asking him for Billy's location. Avery is fascinated by this blunt question from the mysterious SL, and begins a correspondence that quickly turns into a disturbing game from which neither can extract themselves...

For the most part the novel wasn't fast-paced exactly, but it was certainly absorbing. Bauer writes some sections from Steven's point of view, and others from Avery's. Steven has a naivety and innocence about him, despite his difficult circumstances, but it is Avery's sections that are sickenly compulsive. To see through the mind of this paedophile and killer, to see his thought processes and devious nature, is to see right into an abyss of evil insanity. It's extremely well written and creepy as hell. Of course, things were going to go wrong for Steven at some point, and when the climax started to build I couldn't stop reading. It was exciting, horrifying and terrifyingly plausible.

An excellent book, and one I'd highly recommend even to people who aren't huge fans of the crime/thriller genre. I think it's different enough to appeal more widely as a work of fiction, and as a debut novel it is an outstanding achievement well deserving of the attention heaped upon it after its TV spotlight. A great start to a new reading year!

She's alive! I thought you read yourself into a permanent book-induced slumber. And a great review to boot. Thumbs and hugs! :)

154 jmaloney17 - The recipe I use for a basic white sauce is really easy - melt two tablespoons of margarine in a small saucepan over low heat, add two tablespoons of flour and a pinch of salt. Slowly add a cup of milk, stirring constantly. Turn the heat up to medium and keep stirring until it thickens.

Ellie, that pasty recipe sounds really good, I'm going to have to try it sometime! I usually make crepes with leftover chicken (also using the white sauce, actually :) but variety is good.

>158 bluesalamanders: - Ah! My lifesaver! Thanks... *looks suitably ashamed* To be fair, we were only making the pasties because I'd been going on and on about having one for the read-a-thon (I had it as a late tea when I was done, in the end), so packet sauce worked, but I'll save your recipe in my messages in case I fancy making it PROPERLY next time!

Stephen, dearest, the DVDs are far more guilty of inducing sleepiness... Go check your profile messages, I'm back!

Ellie: Yes yes, I saw it. I'm, errr, still typing... *blushes* Sorry! You might have another readathon ahead of you. :P

LOL... I just perused your thread and saw Gena Showalter. She is recommended to me often by others. I read a lot of paranormal. What's your opinion?

I may never find this thread again, as I am new... feel free to find me under profile.
DD

Glad to help :D I'm sure a packet sauce is fine, but nothing beats home-made. I think of it as my dad's recipe, but it's actually from the More-With-Less Cookbook. We used it as a macaroni and cheese sauce too (though sadly I can't eat cheese anymore), just grate 3-4 oz of cheese and add after it's thickened. It takes 10 minutes, max, and is one of my favorite recipes.

Pasties. Yum.

Okay I have a question. What read a thon main thread? I might want to participate on a Friday - Saturday one. I know I can't do a Monday - Tuesday unless I am off from work. Thanks!!

Great job on reading for that long!!!

#156: Nice review, Ellie. I have had that one in the BlackHole for a while now. I really need to bump it up!

Hi Monica! The main readathon thread is here (sorry, feeling html-lazy today):
http://www.librarything.com/topic/105085

From there you can find links to the one we just did, see what we got up to, and Ilana's one for tomorrow/Saturday. Which, in further html-lazy language, but entirely for your convenience, is here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/106718

I'm using it more as a drop-in centre this time but I can get showered and ready before 9pm, read a bit, read a bit more at work, then read AGAIN when I get home on Saturday. Sounds good. I really need to discipline myself to read when I come home, instead of putting on the TV and/or laptop and then realising I've just lost six hours inexplicably. Weird...

ETA: Thanks Stasia! Have you read Notes on a Scandal? I only read it a couple of weeks ago but in some ways the Avery bits of Blacklands reminded me of Barbara. Not that she's a serial killer, obviously (!) but the way that kind of creepy mindset and obsessive personality is portrayed, it was excellent...

No, I have not read Notes on a Scandal yet. It has been in the BlackHole pretty much since it came out, but my local library does not have it yet.

Hi Ellie

Just saw that you are watching Gilmore Girls. The character Rory was a big reader and someone on here started listing all of the books mentioned on the show on this profile page:



I don't know how up to date it is, but I found it kinda interesting.

168: That is so cool! I too am a GG fan.

Ellie:
I think Maddox and Ashlyn's story in the first book is my favorite. But I really like Doubt's story too. I am really excited for Paris's story and Torin's. I am curious how they will deal with Torin since he cannot touch anyone. Of course I love Anika. I am also curious about Amun (secrets).
Amun and Strider's stories are slated for 2011.
Which do you prefer?
I am not sure if you have the same covers in the UK, but those guys are so hot. I just want pet them or something like that. Oh, and the turmoil and the struggle they must endure.

Thank you bluesalamanders for the white sauce info.

Great review! I would have added it to the list . . . but it's there already!

>168 jayde1599: - Thanks Jess! I love her, she's so book crazy it almost makes me look normal! Okay, that might be taking it a bit far... My sister likes it too, and my auntie just got a new kitten and called it Rory! Apparently I share 35 books with her (so far), I'm off to check out her 'library'...

Jennifer - Hmmmm... I do like the covers, I must admit - that's what pulled me to them in the first place. They were on a '2 for £5' deal on a market stall so I bought the first four. I've only read the first one so far, but I'd like to read more about Torin and Paris, definitely. Watch this space...

I'm at the shop right now but we had a pretty dicey journey this morning. We ricocheted all the way down the hill in the snow, like we were in a pinball game, narrowly avoiding squishing a man and his dog and managing to squeak to one side as a car tried to get up the other way. None of the roads had been gritted, even the main road, despite the warning having been in place for days. And it's still snowing. I have to keep telling Mum not to make jokes about sleeping here tonight or walking home, because my inner agoraphobic is panicking already! :-(

#172: Wow, Ellie! Sounds like some kind of trip into the shop for you today! I hope that the roads get treated some time soon.

#168 – Wauw, that is awesome! I looove GG! Now I need to make a new category in my reading.. Rory's books.

Stasia - Yeah, it wasn't fun. I think it's almost stopped snowing now, so we'll just have to wait and see if the gritters finally come out - or maybe it'll turn to sleet or something, thaw itself away again.

Tanja - Isn't it just?! I'd considered the same thing. I'm only on season 1, maybe I should start making my own book list now...

Now, my second book review before I get on with reading The Chrysalids:

2) The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter



I'd been looking at this series for a while before finally succumbing to the scrummy covers and buying the first four books. This was my first Showalter and while it won't be my last, it wasn't as good as I thought it would be, based on her reputation as a paranormal romance writer.

The Lords of the Underworld are a group of big, strong men, created as warriors to the gods. After a terrible crime - opening Pandora's box and releasing the horrors inside - each has had a demon fused into their very being: Violence, Disease, Promiscuity, Pain, Wrath and more. This first novel mainly concentrates on Maddox, who has to live with Violence.

He is a tormented, brooding, muscular alpha male (so far, so good, right?) condemned to die every night and burn in hell until morning, after a further misdemeanour in which Violence took over and he killed Pandora herself. He is sent out of their Budapest castle one night when intruders are spotted on the hillside. Besides a new batch of Hunters, the men who have plagued the Lords through history, he discovers Ashlyn, a young woman who can hear every conversation ever held in every place she visits and who desperately seeks answers from the 'angels' on the hill. Against every instinct he possesses, Maddox manages to swallow his inner rage and takes her home to the castle, in a move that will turn all of their worlds upside down...

It's a little complicated, and this is where Showalter does well. The mythology she creates - ancient gods, Pandora's box, deadly sins, tormented keepers - is fascinating and well plotted. The way each Lord copes with their burden is distinct and sympathetic, and the 'back story' is revealed in gradual stages, with plenty of room for expansion as the series progresses.

The big disappointment for me, sadly, was the romance aspect of the novel. I just didn't feel the chemistry between Maddox and Ashlyn! Every instinct whispered that the romantic scenes were meant to be steamy and exciting - but they weren't. Perhaps it was because Maddox seemed to feel an inexplicable urge to bed Ashlyn every time he came within ten feet of her, creating a wave of testosterone akin to that of a teenage boy in a porn shop. Perhaps it was because when they were together, too much was told instead of implied. Who knows? All I know is, this paranormal romance would probably have been a lot less disappointing and a lot more exciting WITHOUT so much romance.

That said, it was a good little 'brain candy' read and I'll still be continuing with the series. Each book will deal with a different Lord, so perhaps I'll find a sin that's more my style later on!

Nice review, Ellie. I have one of Showalter's books on my night stand at home waiting for me to read it. Maybe next time I am in the mood for some BC I will get to it.

Take it easy going home tonight!

I loved that review, Ellie!

so perhaps I'll find a sin that's more my style later on!

Haha!

Thumbs-upped your review, Ellie, you Hot Reviewer Quayne, yew!

Moi? It's your name that's up there twice, my good sir! Well, now I'm all done and reviewed I just need to get, y'know, reading...

I can't believe it, the so-called 'best friend' that my sister keeps admonishing me for ignoring (as tends to happen, we've grown apart rather rapidly since I went to uni, and now she's moved away anyway) has just sent me a very belated reply to a recent message, cheerfully asking me about our brand new kittens and how Pippa feels about it... Those'd be the kittens we've had for about four months, and Pippa who's been dead for at least one, then... *sigh*

Clinging to old associations is a very human thing to do. There really isn't a good way to break up with friends, since no one wants to admit there's ever a need to do it.

Left up to me, it would be okay to say, "You know, our friendship has meant so much to me over the years, and I thank you for the many good memories! You and I have fallen out of regular touch, so you didn't know about X and Y...it's inevitable though, since we're now on such different life-tracks. Hope you and yours are well. Bye now!"

When I tried it once, I was roundly excoriated, and the friendship ended as ungracefully as you, in your capacity as Major General of the Richard's Ill-Wishers Brigade, could ever have asked for. It still makes me sad more than 12 years later. I do NOT get why it should be impossible to say as gracious a farewell as one can muster and move on with good feelings.

>180 richardderus: - Sometimes you do just need to go separate ways. I have two best friends who I've had since I was 12/13, and they're likely lifers. We can go weeks and weeks without talking, and then mesh perfectly. We have very similar eccentricities, and we all prefer to stay home and hang with our partners when we have the time, so we don't begrudge each other that. I think we've found a lovely balance.

And then there are friends I haven't spoken to since I was 16, and who swear we're still friends. Sorry, if I haven't spoken to you in ten years we're not really "friends." And if we lost touch for so long, there's probably a reason, either purposeful or natural.

I'm sorry the "best" friend has fallen through, Ellie, but I for one think there's no fault in growing apart. Different lives lead to different paths, as Richard suggests.

The Darkest Night sounds like my kind of brain candy, and I've just run out of junky romance novels, so I'm going to have to give it a look. Thanks!

Oh, we needed to part ways about five years ago, believe me. We were mainly friends because we lived so close together. I didn't like her other friends, and I didn't go out with her, but we had some nice evenings watching movies or days sitting in the garden. She pulled the strings a bit, in hindsight. When I went away to uni my friend stayed home and commuted to her course, so she started meeting up with my sister instead. When I came home with agoraphobia she leapt on me for about two weeks when her boyfriend dumped her, then immediately forgot I existed when another bloke came along. I learned to say 'no' while I was away, and I don't think she liked it much. Plus I think she got bored of me being scared to go anywhere.

Anyway, I'd be quite happy to just Let It Go, especially now she's moved further away, but every time I try, my sister invites her up or promises to go and see her, and it rakes everything back up again! And so things turn sour. I'm just waiting for things to fizzle out really, and hope my sis doesn't keep pursuing it - or making me into the bad guy for not wanting to leap at her every command any more! *sigh*

Richard, sweets, I don't want to be in that brigade, can I go back to the Ricardo Cheerleading Squad where I belong?

Luxx - Definitely give it a try - just maybe don't buy four at once like I did! On reflection, since each book is about a different guy, it may have been better to read #1 then pick and choose the stories about the ones I liked... Though I might have missed plotlines in the middle, I suppose. Ah well, they're there, I'll read 'em, and this one got me through the night on Monday so I'm grateful really!

Ellie my darling, you have carte blanche to go where thou wilt, as you perfectly well know.

Make it clear to sis that Squiddykins is now *her* friend. My First Great Love told his mother, "you're better friends with Rich than I am, so I guess he's yours now." And you know what? We were better friends then, and remained so all her life. (Can't stand him now, he's such a Babbitty little snob.) (Well, not so little, he's 55 and stout.) (But I still think he's little inside.)

Thanks Ellie for the links. Avataikh was very nice in messaging me the links earlier and I signed up to particpate in this one for later today (Friday). I just never realized this group did such things. This will definitely help me with reading books faster then normal. I have no one (except my son) to talk to me or disturb me like I did before, or complain that I had my head in a book instead of some where else....

I look forward to seeing how everyone does during this read a thon. I hope to read for a good bit of time. I won't be able to post for awhile since I will be at my son's swim meet (and I will be reading), for a few hours. When I get home I will post about how I am doing on the reading.

Have a great day and now I have to go and read your review. (I always skim them first.)

>183 richardderus: - Ah yes, that's the same spirit I exude whenever my sister utters the words, 'Oh, and by the way, A's coming up tomorrow'... :-)

>184 crazy4reading: - I'm doing tonight's one for a while as well. A couple of hours before bed, maybe some before work tomorrow if I can drag myself out of bed early enough, plus reading at work and then more when I get home, until the 9pm finish... I should be able to read a little more of my various current reads, and maybe get a good chunk of The Chrysalids under my belt.

I don't think this group ever held its own read-a-thons before, we just had the occasional one hosted by LT at large, where people would sign up for one hour each across the 24 hours. More of a relay read-a-thon, really. I just wanted to do another one like the Dewey one, for fun and for a bit of reading focus, and threw it out there to see if anyone else wanted to join in. For it to be picked up as a good idea and for people to be so enthusiastic about a regular slot is wonderful!

Hhmmm, I think we should have a read-a-thon on Mother's Day so I can participate! There are a couple days a year when my partner takes over all childcare duties, and that's one. ;)

See Ellie? You made some fun late-night posts during your original readathon and look what you've started! Now everyone wants to do it.

...there is a Richard's Ill-Wishers Brigade? What for? :(

Re: The Darkest Night

Ellie: I think you might like the other stories better if that is the reason you did not care for the book. I think. It is hard for me to remember exactly since it has been a while since I read them.

I think you will particularly like the next book which is Lucien (Death) and Anya. She is the goddess of anarchy.

And the fourth book has harpies in it. They are fun too.

Oh Stephen, I know! Except this one is way more... organised. Like a homework club. There's bold lettering and a committee and everything. :-)

>188 jmaloney17:. I think I'm going to like Anya. Like Tinkerbell on crack. Love it. Perhaps Paris's story will have that chemistry Maddox was missing?! *ahem*

189> Paris's story better have the chemistry!

15 pages of The Chrysalids down. I wouldn't say I'm going into this read-a-thon with a half-assed approach, but it doesn't feel anywhere near as 'sit down and concentrate!' as that last one, knowing I'm going to bed in the middle of it! I just wish tomorrow was Sunday so we'd have a slightly later start and I could stay up a bit longer. Still, I'll be able to read a bit at work I think, customers permitting, and I've got a good run when I get home until the end. Maybe three, three and a half hours. And I could always carry on a bit after because the next day WILL be Sunday. I'm confused.

Hope you do manage some good reading time around the other commitments, Ellie. Don't be confused, just read when you can :).

14 more pages this hour. I think I'll go for one more hour, until midnight, then I'll go to bed. Maybe try and get up early tomorrow and read a little more over breakfast, instead of rolling out of bed at the last minute like I did this morning. (To be fair, I did try, but it was one of those mornings where you're dreaming and warm and cosy and the bed's just so darn COMFY.) So I've read a whopping 29 pages of The Chrysalids thus far. I think I'll stick with this book tonight, I don't think my 11pm brain can focus on biology but sticking with ONE of my library books would be a good plan! Laters...

24 pages this hour, woohoo! And coffee and a muffin, and all ready for bed. I kinda wish I could just carry on reading but I really shouldn't! Saturday might be a busier day, it's our first weekend open again after the holidays and if the snow's thawed... Well, it's given some rain and windy weather, I think. Maybe it'll be quiet enough for me to have a good read at the shop. Maybe I can distract Mum enough for her to leave me to have a good read at the shop. Recommend something for her to watch online, maybe. Hmmm.

Okay, so to sum up for the night, I'm up to 53 pages in sort-of three hours, except I didn't read a full hour for any of them. Not too bad. See y'all tomorrow!

Felt I should put this here, rather than the read-a-thon thread, less distracting for those diligently participating, unlike myself who hasn't started :P

"she looks like one of those rap guy's girlfriends"
LOL! I'm guessing he never heard the rule of ringtones: only what you want your boss, teacher and grandma to hear.

I'm back in the game, people! 28 pages before work this morning, 81 pages altogether this read-a-thon, and now I'm settled in at work so I might get some more read. If Mum'd stop wandering out, looking around and saying, 'maybe you could, y'know, dust something instead of sitting reading...' *snorts*

Sounds to me like your priorities are in the right place! You can dust any time, right?

Book - left hand. Duster - right hand. Or vice versa?

Stasia - absolutely!

Poke! I can't read and dust at the same time, woman! It'd be, like, sacrilege or something. And anyway, when it comes to bookshop dust, it's Pledge spray in one hand, duster in the other, a bit of choking and a fair amount of shame when the duster comes up black. Again. But bookshops are SUPPOSED to be dusty, right?

I've read another 18 pages, bringing my total to 99 pages - a feeble amount I know but it's Saturday, the shop's not at its quietest, and I've got the stomach ache from hell for some completely unknown reason. Possibly I'm just hungry, but maybe I've gone past the feeling hungry stage to the part where you just feel icky. Ah well. That's what this little pile of cookies is for! *gestures sweepingly and sticks nose back in book*

Another 15 pages - not much, but the shop's really busy (hallelujah!) so I'm quite impressed with myself for managing to concentrate on a book without resorting to playing online instead! Soooo, I'm up to 114 pages. Not too shabby I guess.

The good news is that for a few blissful weeks I have TWO days off a week, Tuesday and Wednesday, so I should be able to get LOTS of reading done then too. And I'll probably pull at least one more 24 hour-er properly, Monday night to Tuesday, before we go back to six days a week at the shop. Let us all raise our hands and give a toast to the joy of off-season working hours!

Hey, considering I've only read about 20-30 pages since the readathon I say 114 pages is pretty good! :)

12 more pages - but then, we've been chatting away to James, and the shop's been really busy. Hallelujah! We really need it after the dire December we had. It's 3:40 and I'm on 126 pages altogether, which isn't too bad really for a working Saturday. And I'm hoping for a good run when I get home, maybe even extend it beyond 9 o'clock since my participation over the actual 24 hours will have been so patchy...

Stephen, get reading! You need to be warming up for next time I host another 24-hourer! I've got until February half term with 2 days off a week, so I want to run at least one more Monday-Tuesday blowout before then. I might have a handful more 2-days-off weeks again after the work-all-week half term (following this?) but I'm not sure yet. And even when there's NOT a read-a-thon, I've got TWO WHOLE DAYS A WEEK to snuggle down and read! Oh, it's going to be so WONDERFUL! Okay, back to my book...

#200: So, am I understanding that you are hosting another Readathon next week? I am in, if you are :)

But Ellie, I have a terrific excuse. I'm reading *gulp* Christian fiction! It wasn't terrible at first but it's getting there. Poor nonbeliever is being converted! *sniff sniff* No one told me it was going to be a Tragedy.

#204: *snork!*

Ellie, oh Ellie, when is the next readathon? I can't do a late-nighter like I did last night due to having an ordinary 9-5 Mon-Fri job, but I would definitely like to at least try a few hours!

Poke! Always nice to see your pretty face around here. I was CONSIDERING launching another 24 hour-er on Monday/Tuesday again, while I have the luxury of Wednesdays off to recuperate. Sleepless nights can be a bit dodgy with the whole bipolar thing but I came off the last one thrilled with my reading and used it as a wonderful excuse to spend Wednesday in my PJs knocking back cups of tea and watching telly.... :-)

Not sure if I'll manage to read for all 24 hours, 2 weeks in a row, but... You think I should? Do ya, do ya, do ya? It would be nice to get a another book or two under my belt... *looks conflicted but knows full well she'll probably be wheedled into it with a couple of flirty glances her way and a compliment or two*

Anyway, on the LAST read-a-thon which ended tonight, I read a further 52 pages after my last update, part of them while leaning precariously over a plate of spaghetti swimming in bolognese sauce, trying to eat without flicking tomatoes everywhere. And I finished The Chrysalids, hooray! I'll have to find one of his other books now, it was great! Review coming tomorrow, probably. So, my total was 178 pages, one book finished, and two other books sampled. And like a total wuss, I fell asleep for 45 minutes afterwards even though I hadn't been participating properly anyway... :-)

Congratulations! I got through about 300 pages, didn't try very hard though I must admit!

Yes, yes, yes, do it this coming Monday, yes yes yes! Have I ever told you how lovely you are? (Not wheedling, just being polite and returning your compliment!) :-)

#207: I will not be able to do the whole 24 hours, Ellie, but I would join in around 10pm my time until the following afternoon, so if you do it, I will be there! Do it! :) No pressure or anything. . .

I'm up for another one. I have so many library books to get through before I can concentrate on my own books and anything that helps that... One of things I like about the readathons is the focus on only one thread on LT so I spend less time on the computer and more time actually reading, but I'm constantly amazed at how much of each hour disappears on doing nothing of note.

Get yourselves over to the read-a-thon thread and VOTE then. But okay. :-)

Kerry - I KNOW! I got 16 books out of the library before Christmas because I had the opportunity to go to the BIG local one instead of the teensy REALLY local ones... and most of them are non-fiction but I really want to read them all... and I've already renewed them twice... WHERE IS THE TIME GOING? Good plan.

What Poke said! Sorry, I'm no good at wheedling, flirty glances, or compliments. :(

THIS Monday/Tuesday? I'm a bit wiped out on readathons, but if you are hosting it...maybe I can manage it. ;)

(Ok ok, so maybe I'm better than I thought.)

Could it be that I never posted to your thread before? In any case I did come in and lurk before as I was 'only' 40-ish posts behind! I'll be seeing you around my friend. Which reminds me...

Stephen.. No good at wheedling? Not sure about that..
and I know that you are good at needling..

Have fun readathoning..

Aha! Welcome Ilana, to the mad house... :-)

Stephen, yes, this week... *mops brow*... well, I DID say I wanted to make the most of these double days off, did I not? If I burn out after two weeks in a row I'll just have to hand the baton to someone else for a week or two! Or sneak away and sleep for a few hours in the middle. See, I know I can do that, but if I'm not even at work it just feels like cheating! *pats inner perfectionist on the head and hopes for the best*

#212: but if you are hosting it...maybe I can manage it.

What is that supposed to mean, huh? (stomps off sulking)

What he MEANS is, he's trying to stay in my good books so I don't drag him to England through a scary airport, throw encyclopedias at him on the plane while he can't escape, and turn him into my caged man slave for all eternity. It's nothing personal... :-)

Roll up, roll up, for another 24 hour read-a-thon! Call me a stickler for punishment, but I'm liking the way those pages are mounting up, so I'm doing it again! Monday to Tuesday, kick-off 8pm GMT, come join us at the new thread!

#217: and turn him into my caged man slave for all eternity
LMAO!

#218: I've starred it already.

Ilana: What Ellie said, because she's all-knowing and always-right. ;)

I think I'll do the same as I did with your last readathon and take a dip during the first day and take a real dive during the 2nd. Unless you time it differently.

Darkest Night was just what I needed for a relaxing afternoon - thanks again for the review!

#211: I voted, honest!

Hello, came over here to rad your thread from the last readathon, hope you don't mind XD Sadly, I think another readathon tomorow might kill me, I've not planned all next week's lessons yet and Monday is my most intensive teaching day, but I'll stop by and try cheerleading for those who are reading!

Haha, Emma - it might kill ME as well, but I'm hoping for the best... :-)

Stephen - same timing, 3-3 for you, so drop by any time!

Luxx - you read it already?! Very impressive... I don't think a book bullet of mine has ever toppled anyone within a week before!

Another book down, yippee! Thanks to Ilana's read-a-thon, I actually knuckled down at work and in the evening and finished another library book. It was a good one too!

3) The Chrysalids by John Wyndham



This was my first John Wyndham novel and I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't even sure what it was about! I needn't have worried, because it entirely lived up to Wyndham's reputation as a classic science fiction writer.

The plot revolves around a group of children living in a dystopian society obsessed with 'God's True Image'. Anyone and anything that is seen to be 'wrong' is immediately stamped out as an agent of the devil. If a field of crops is less than perfect, it is burned. If a cow is malformed in some way, it is killed. And any human found to be different is stripped, sterilized and sent out into the 'Fringes', an area filled with exiled deviants, to live or die as they will. By taking these measures, the people of Labrador hope to appease God and rebuild the incredible society that existed before the Tribulation that turned the Badlands to deadly black lakes of burnt land and wiped out the 'Old People'. These children, who can communicate with a kind of advanced form of telepathy, know it's only a matter of time before their secret deviation is discovered and they'll have to fight for their lives...

I found this novel to be beautifully written and deeply thought-provoking. The obsession with the 'right' attributes that make someone human reminded me of the Nazi Aryan race, and was quite disturbing to read. There were elements of religion and philosophy, with characters musing on life and spirituality, and the real meaning of humanity. There were messages of tolerance, friendship and love. And behind all this there was a cracking good post-nuclear-apocalypse science-fiction story. With writing this good and plots this fascinating, this certainly won't be my last Wyndham - I think I might have to loan my houseplants out to someone and read The Day of the Triffids next!

Shoot, thanks to my Kindle love I had it in hand within an hour. ;)

>222 alcottacre: - :-*

#225: I still need to read that one. I really enjoyed Day of the Triffids.

That sounds pretty amazing, I might have to add it to my wishlist. I get the feeling my wishlist is going to get a lot longer now that I'm doing 75 books and interacting with other librarything users more...

Adding The Chrysalids to my wishlist - sounds good!

Emma - oh yes. Brace yourself, batten down the hatches and prepare for the onslaught!

*looks down at two broken LT-ers and blows across top of smoking book gun with great satisfaction*

I have no inclination to read The Chrysalids, but that was a cracking review, Ellie.

#225 Nice review Ellie and congratulations on completing the readathon. I read Day of the Triffids last year and thought it was good and I have a couple of other Wyndham's on my bookshelves which I'm hoping to get to at some point...

You're tempting me to dig out the Wyndham's for a re-read ... glad you enjoyed it and you've got some good reading ahead of you.

I've started a new thread early, since the read-a-thon's starting tomorrow and I don't really want to start a new one mid-24 hours!

Do feel free to chat here a few messages longer, then join me over there...
http://www.librarything.com/topic/107030