SIS Read-a-Thon, hosted by Enna Isilee at Squeaky Books

So originally I had planned to just do friday, and try to put in as many hours as I could before I got to Vancouver, but I'm going to count today too. I'm pretty sure I read more today anyway.

Update: I really wish I had gotten more time, because it's kind of sad how little I read.
Total books read: 2/3 of a book.
Total pages read: 400 (the book has 600 pages so this explains why I didn't even finish one book)
Total time read: 4 hours
How I'm currently feeling: wishing I could have had more time to read, but I went to a wedding today, so that makes up for it! Maybe next time I'll be able to read more.

And now for report #2, since I'm too late for the first one.

1.First of all, give us an end-of-read-a-thon status update. Books read, pages read, you know the drill!
Since this is all in one post, I've already listed it above.
2. What is your favorite book you read during the read-a-thon?
Ha, only read one book, and didn't even finish it.
3. Did you participate in any mini-challenges? Which ones?
Yes, challenges 1, 6-8, and 11.
4. Which mini-challenge was your favorite?
I think 6 was my favourite, because it's always interesting to think how two characters would get along.
5. What has been your favorite thing about the read-a-thon?
Just trying to find the time to read. I haven't been reading as much as I normally do lately.
6. Are you satisfied with how much reading you got done? Did you do more than you expected? Less?
I am not satisfied with how much reading i got done, but I think it would have been different if I had today free to just read.
7. What did you think of the updates? Too close together? Didn't like the time limit?
I think if I had been doing the read-a-thon normally, just at home, I would have enjoyed posting updates.
8. If you could change one thing about the read-a-thon, what would it be?
Maybe the time limit for the updates, but I'm only saying that because I wasn't at home for the whole thing.
9. Would you participate in another read-a-thon hosted by Squeaky Books? Why or why not? (Again, I won't cry if you say "no")
Yep, I definitely would, and I'd probably get a lot more read a second time. If you actually end up reading this Enna Isilee, I really hope you do another one!
10. Any last comments on the read-a-thon?
Good job on your first read-a-thon! I think you organized it really well and the updates with the mini-challenges are a fun idea.

Enna Isilee had us do a a bunch of updates and mini-challenges, but since I've only just gotten home, I thought I'd do them all in one post. Plus nobody reads this blog anyway, so I can do whatever I want. I'm in Canada, so I can't win anything now, but I figure it's fun to do anyway.

Mini-challenge #1:
Favourite and least favourite movie adaptation of a book. Sadly my answers are super similar to Enna's. Apparently we read similar books. But I'd say Harry Potter has been my favourite movie adaptation. They've been really faithful to the books, especially with splitting the last book into two movies. There was too much in that last book to capture in one, so I'm glad it got split up.
And my least favourite adaptation is Ella Enchanted. I loved that book growing up, and originally I was excited about the movie. However, the movie was not faithful to the book, tried to add in modern pop culture references, and added a lame villain. It disappointed me in so many ways. And it gave the book a bad name! I thought it was terrible.
Oh and another favorite movie adaptation was Howl's Moving Castle, because it is awesome.

Mini-challenge #6 (because it's my blog, so I choose which ones to do!): Choose 2 characters from a book and why they go well together.
Going to say Eugenides from The Thief, and Bartimaeus from The Amulet of Samarkand (I'm currently reading the sequel). I feel like they would get along really well, because they're both clever, cheeky, and sneaky. I think they could be friends easily.

Mini-challenge #7: Pick a book that should be taught in school
I am an admitidly biased fan of The Queen's Thief series, but I think it should be taught in class. MWT's books are so clever, they make people smarter. And the first book is so great for middle school ages. I think it could be good in high school too. Good thing I'm going to become a teacher!
I also think that Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" series should be taught. It's a really important subject for many young girls, and it addresses their concerns about looks. Plus I think dystopians are awesome and should always be taught.

Mini-challenge #8: If I had bookshelves full of my favourite books, how would I organize them? This is kind of a boring question for me. The same as I organize them now: alphabetically, and within series.

Mini-challenge #11: If you could live in the world of one book, which would it be?
So first up dystopians are off the list. Probably a book based off of a fairy tale. Because obviously I'd either be a princess, or become one :) Is it cheap for me to just say the world of Grimm's Fairy Tales? I have their complete collection after all.

The Seer and the Sword-Victoria Hanley

This book was a surprise to me. I found it while browsing at the library, which I don't do very often. Usually I request books online rather than getting them on a whim. But I'm so glad I did! This book was so not what I thought it was going to be. It was inventive, and surprised me. This book is apparently Victoria Hanley's first YA novel, and I think she did very well.
The book is about Princess Torina, and her friend Landen, prince of Bellandra, a kingdom Torina's father has conquered. So going in I had some ideas about what the book would be like, what would happen, but I was totally wrong, and glad for it. The author creates believable twists to the story. The book is well written, and very believable. It's a story about two people who have everything taken away from them, and their slow paths to redemption. And about two people who take years to reunite.
I'm so glad I picked up this book. I think this one is a definite re-read in the future. It's a very complex story, but because it's a YA novel and not an adult novel, it's easier to read.
I'll stop the review here so I don't go gushing about how awesome some of the characters develop to be.
Going to give this one 4.5 stars, for being awesome.

Squeaky Books's Read-A-Thon!

This post is to announce to the world that I'm participating in the Spring into Summer read-a-thon hosted by Enna Isilee of Squeaky Books!

This read-a-thon is going to be so great! It's two days where you try do NOTHING but read. It's a great chance to get rid of some of those books that have been sitting on your TBR pile forever.

But that's not all! There will also be awesome mini-challenges and a TON of giveaways! In fact, just for signing up you are entered to win a $25 gift card to Amazon! SO GO SIGN UP! And if you say that Clairedelune sent you, you'll get 5 extra entries to win that gift card! CLICK HERE to enter to win, and know all there is to know about the read-a-thon.

Here's my goal:

I plan to participate on: FRIDAY ONLY
I plan to read:3 books or 600 pages
I hope to read: The Druid's Tune, the Book Thief, and the Seer and the Sword.

Well, have you signed up yet? DO IT NOW!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Edit: had to change two of the books I'm hoping to read. I had to return one of them to the library without reading it, so I can't read the next one either.

My views of ebooks

So I recently began trying out ebooks, because a year ago for Christmas my parents gave me an ereader. I've been getting books from netGalley, but I'm finding it kind of hard to actually read ebooks. I much prefer solid books that I can physically turn the pages of. I'm going to give it another shot though, because the one book I have from netGalley at the moment, C. S. Lakin's Wolf of Tebron, sounds really good. It's just hard for me to get into a book when I have to stare at a screen to read it. If I do end up reading this book, I don't think I'll try any more ebooks for a while. Especially not when I have eleven books on my floor waiting to be read.

The Princess and the Snowbird-Mette Ivie Harrison

So this book was a bit of a lucky find. I happened to chance upon it when I was browsing the library. I had heard about it, but I hadn't known our library had it, so I was very pleased. I saw some reviews for it on Goodreads, and what really puzzles me is that there are so many negative reviews! I don't really understand why people didn't like it, but I guess people are just different in their tastes. As for me, I loved this book. It read like a dream, had no lulls, and was very engaging. I really liked both the main characters, and I really enjoyed reading it. I've read both the two books before this one, and I found myself liking it as much or even more than the previous book. Harrison's writing style is marvellous. The book feels a bit like a fairy tale, only with more substance. I really got into the book. There were definitely a few parts where I was so engrossed, that some of the more dangerous scenes for the characters had me very anxious for them! All in all, I thought this book was great, and it comes highly recommended, especially if you read the previous two books and enjoyed them. 4 stars