Wednesday 30 April 2014

Readathon Hour 4



This book is so good! It's kicking me in the feels, but that's a good thing and I love the illustrations.


Currently reading: Why we broke up
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 20!
Running total of pages read: 79
Amount of time spent reading: 15
Running total of time spent reading: 55
Snacks: coffee, glorious coffee!

Back to the reading, I'm almost on a roll!!

Until the next update, happy reading :)

C.

Sunday 27 April 2014

Bout of Books 10


Bout of Books

I, Cataluna6, of sound mind and body declare that Dewey's 24 hour readathon was not enough!  I'm going once more into the breach and signing up for Bout of Books!!  This will be my second time around and I had so much fun last time that I'm doing it all again.

I wanted to sign up now, but I'll add more to this post when I'm slightly less addle brained :)  NOTE: I don't know if my brain has improved any, but I've fixed my post:) - well almost, I still need to add my TBR!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

C.

Readathon Hour 24 - Final Update

 
We did it!!  Go us!  I'm always amazed by the awesomeness of readers :)  Can I just say - I'm already excited for October.  I missed the mid way meme, so here's the End of Event meme:
  1. Which hour was most daunting for you?   About 3am in the morning - that's where I ended up passing out!
  2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?  I thought Why we broke up was pretty awesome, it kicked me in the feels, but it was so easy to read and I love books with illustrations.  I think mixing up graphic novels with print books is a good idea, I think anything that you're excited to read is the perfect thing to bring to a readathon :)
  3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? My brain has nothing?  I thought you guys did an awesome job :)
  4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The Cheerleading :) it was organised so well.
  5. How many books did you read? 1 and a half.
  6. What were the names of the books you read? Why we broke up by Daniel Handler and half of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins and 26 pages of The Book Thief (a reread that was still in the car CD player).
  7. Which book did you enjoy most? I enjoyed them both, maybe Why we broke up - Im on a contempory kick at the moment
  8. Which did you enjoy least? I loved them both!
  9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Prepare, Prepare, Prepare, if you're reading and cheering, listen to audios, it means that you can listen while youre tweeting :)  Get snacks ready and don't forget the coffee :)
  10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?  I am definitely going to participate again, I loved cheering, looking forward to October.  I wouldn't mind cheering again, but I'd also love more time for reading - anyone with idea, hit me up!  And I'm kinda bummed I didn't make time for any of the challenge on other blogs, that is part of the fun, getting to visit other readers, although I did find some awesome new people on twitter :)
So here's some more stats for the end of the readathon:

Currently reading: Mockingjay.  I finished the readathon on Chapter 12 and ended up tweeting for another chapter :)
Books finished: Why we broke up by Daniel Handler and I half finished Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Total of pages read: 603!!
Total of time spent reading: Not really sure, I had a 7 hour nap in the middle, but apart from that I was either reading or cheering.

Until the next readathon, which by the way is in May!!  Bout of Books 10 kicks off 12-18 May and I'm super excited.  I'm also participating in the #yearathon which runs the first week of year month and Finishing a series is on the agenda for May.  I'm getting a jump on it with Mockinjay, but I'll be posting my TBR for that soon.

Happy Reading and apologies if this isn't 100% coherent and I haven't added links where I usually do - see vague ;), I'll try get back and fix it later, right now I'm all jacked up on coffee and Tim Tams :)

C.

Readathon Hour 23



With just over an hour left of the readathon, I thought I'd do a very quick update, I finished why we broke up earlier.  I had to go into work for an hour, so rather than miss out on reading, I started listening to Mockingjay on playaway.  I also listened to some of The Book Thief in the car, driving there and back.  And since I wanted to show some cheer love to my fellow readers, I kept listening rather than starting to read The 100 like planned.  Go Team Bronte!!  I'm really enjoying Mockingjay so far and the tiny bit of The Book Thief - Rudy ;) ...do I need to say more?

Currently reading: Mockingjay & The Book Thief
Books finished: Why we broke up
Pages read: 135 - MJ, THB - 26
Running total of pages read: 515
Amount of time spent reading:  ??
Running total of time spent reading: ??
Snacks: Coffee, fruit, coffee, chocolate, coffee, chips and I'm about to breakout the Tim Tams - it's getting serious up in here!!  And did I mention the coffee?! O.O

Until the final update, happy reading, keep going y'all can do it!!

C.

Readathon Hour 3



Just a quick update, not much else has changed!


Currently reading: Why we broke up
Books finished: 0 :( Le sigh.
Pages read:10
Running total of pages read: 59
Amount of time spent reading: 10 min
Running total of time spent reading: 40
Snacks: 0

Until the next hour, happy reading

C.

Readathon Hour 2



The next update is already here and I don't have much to show for it.  Already 15 min into the next hour and I haven't done any reading.  NOTE FOR NEXT TIME:  Set up all your templates etc before hand and having internet that's faster a turtle is a must!  To try and make up some time I'm going to keep my updates fairly generic and try to stay off of Twitter for the next half hour!

But onto the update!  I'm going to try and get some solid reading in for the rest of the hour.


Currently reading: Why We Broke Up
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 14
Running total of pages read: 49
Amount of time spent reading: 10 very interrupted min
Running total of time spent reading: 35
Snacks: 0

So until the next hour, happy reading.

C.


Saturday 26 April 2014

Readathon Hour 1



One hour, gone already!  So fast, unlike my damn interwebs :/  Because it's so slow, I'm not going to add photos etc. until later.

I started with 'Why we Broke Up', so far it's great, but my eyes were feeling scratchy, so I stopped at the 35 page mark, to do some cheer leading Go #TeamBronte.  So the tally so far:

Currently reading: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 35
Running total of pages read:
Amount of time spent reading: 20 mins
Running total of time spent reading:
Snacks: 0

So that's it on the blog until the next hour, as my nets so slow I'm only going to do hourly update posts on the blog, but I'll be around on Twitter if you want to say hi too.  Leave me a link and I'll stop by and give you a cheer!!

Until hour 2, happy reading.

C.

Readathon Hour 0


Readathon start meme:

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

Australia. 

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

The 100 by Kass Morgan  (in my official stack), but I've got major book lust going for Half Bad by Sally Green. 

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Tim Tams!  I also have homemade relish. 

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! 

I'm slightly book mad :) I've been posting on my blog for 7 or so years now, I started my booktube channel Dec last year, after lurking for about 7 years also!  I still post mainly to my blog, but I'd love to find the perfect balance with both. 

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?

This is my first time participating, I'm looking forward to getting to know all the awesome people participating, reading some great books. And let's not forget the Tim Tams!

Good luck to everyone participating!

C. 

Dewey's 24hr Read-A-Thon!



Less than 12 hours until we start, I've just finished work and I'm going to start getting organised with drinks & snacks, the interwebs (templates etc).  So excited!!

I'm with the #TeamBronte cheerleaders - I can't wait to start cheering :)  Are you participating?  It's not too late to register!!  Join in the fun :)

Until later, rest up, we're about to get our reading on :)

C.

Thursday 24 April 2014

Dewey's 24 Hour-Read-A-Thon


http://24hourreadathon.com/

I saw Catriona from Little Book Owl tweet about this the other day, so I thought I would participate, it will be a nice lead into the Bout of Books 10 read-a-thon which is on in May and it will also give me a chance to finish all the books I was supposed to read in April!  I've had a weird reading month so far and have pretty much managed to read all the books bar the one I had for my April TBR o.O

Head to the Dewey's website to find out all the info on signing up, it's easy as, they have an FAQ and there are links to YouTube videos that give you more info on the readathon.

I'm going to be pretty open with what I read for it, if there's something I'd like to start...I'm looking at you Half Bad <3>

I would also like to finish any of these:

~ Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
~ Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler & Maira Kelman
~ The 100 by Kass Morgan
~ Deeper Than Need by Shiloh Walker

I was also supposed to read The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, but apparently I've put it in a safe place and for the life of me I can find it!

I do love a read a thon, it brings back warm fuzzies from the ones I used to participate in school.  Any one else participating?  I'll be happy to cheer you on if you are!  Let me know in the comments below.

Happy reading,

C.

Wednesday 23 April 2014

No One Lives - DVD Review


A gang of ruthless highway killers kidnap a wealthy couple traveling cross country only to shockingly discover that things are not what they seem.

Here is the link for the IMDb page.

I knew nothing going in to this movie, all I knew was that it had Luke Evans in it, I didn't read the blurb, he is lovely, so I got it.  Was I in for an eye opener!  I kinda figured that maybe Mr. Evans was a not so nice guy, he is after all, holding a crossbow on the cover.  And I guessed correctly, as the short blurb from IMDb says, things are not what they seem.

I would like to point out - if gore and violence are not your thing, I suggest that you skip this.  There is quite a bit of blood, stabby bid'ness and a rather jaw dropping "ARE YOU FRACKING KIDDING ME!!" scene - you will know it when you get to it.  I wouldn't call this a horror, it's more of a cross between a gorno and a psychological thriller.  But as a fan of this genre, (I *know* who would of thought that 'nice library lady' would like blood and guts!), this was big, blood drenched fun.  As a side note, in the special features they talk about how they made this film using old techniques, rather than CGI, and I found it interesting to learn about.  Also, I may want a pool filled with fake blood to potter around in.

This is essentially a revenge film and it's hard to go into too much of the story as I don't want to give anything away, I think it was more enjoyable not knowing much back story.  But Driver, after watching his lady love die, swears bloody revenge and vows that "No one lives."  I liked this more than the endless Hostel and Saw movies that have come out, (barring the first Saw - I thought that was very well done).  Yes, there is killing out the wahzoo , but I don't feel like it's lazy storytelling.  Whereas in the other movies, once they're strapped to a chair, that's it, no more story, it's just how many different ways can we slice and dice.

It's fast paced, the beginning is suspenseful, you think the movie will unfold a certain way, but things get twisted around and the movie becomes something different.  I thought the acting was good, Evans does menacing well, apart from a couple of faces, most of the cast was unknown to me.  Azumi is the only other movie I've seen by Ryuhei Kitamura, but apparently Versus is very good, so I'll be checking that out also.

What about you, watched anything good lately?

C.


Tuesday 22 April 2014

Possession by A. S. Byatt

PossessionPossession by A.S. Byatt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this, it is my second Byatt for the year, (I read The Children's Book in Feb).  But this, this I LOVE.  I like how Byatt tells a story, she has stories within stories, fables, poems, letters and I'm sure I'm not the first person to use the word 'faction', but I enjoy reading about the history of things, be it people, places, etc., in a fiction setting.  It tends to peak my interest more than a straight text book.

For me the parts which focus on the Victoria era, (with Randolph and Christabel), are my favorite, it should be noted - both of these poets are fictional, but have been said to have been based on Robert Browning and Christina Rossetti.  It was also written in response to John Fowles's 'The French Lieutenants Woman', which I haven't read yet.  Along with our secret lovebirds we have Roland and Maud, who are two academics in present day London, researching the connection between the poets.

I'd seen the movie adaption of this a long time ago, so I had preset ideas from that, and while I do like the movie,(I thought Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle as Ash & LaMotte were perfect), the book was so much better.  There was more to it, or maybe my experience was more engrossing than watching the movie.  And after reading the book I'm not sure why they decided to change Roland to an American rather than English.

The letters between Ash and LaMotte were wonderfully written, from the first very formal and proper contact to the later letters where you can just feel everything come off the page.  The letters where he declares his love for her and her reply - gah! THE FEELS!!  My favorite line from the whole thing is from Christabel's reply - although her whole reply is freaking awesome.  She still calls him Sir, which I love.  And the way she writes of him consuming her, that their love for each other will burn them up, totally swoon worthy.

"No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed."

And that is the beauty of Byatt's writing, it is so perfect that you believe that it is all real.  It's gorgeous and captivating and you get a real sense of the the characters.  This is probably the only time I have ever felt for a couple that had a relationship outside of marriage.  Ash is married and has a devoted wife, but the marriage was never consummated, although they did love each other.  With Christabel he found a passionate relationship, although that isn't to say that their relationship didn't hurt anybody.  You don't meet her often, but Blanche, who was Christabel's companion, is devastated by their relationship.  Ash's wife knew about them, but accepted the relationship.

In the present day, there is also infidelity to deal with, Roland is in a long term relationship which is affected by the discovery of the letters.  I'm trying to not give too much away, but I don't think either Roland or his partner, (who's name escapes me), minded much about their relationship continuing. I find this aspect interesting, because usually I'm very anti cheating.

I would love to see this remade into a miniseries and the story be given the full attention that a 1 1/2 hour movie couldn't do justice to.  Until then, I'll be keeping Possession on my reread pile.

I could wax lyrical about this all day, but rather than faffing on, I'll just tell you to read it!  Possession is well worth it.



View all my reviews



Have you read Possession yet?  Let me know in the comments, I'd love to keep chatting about it.  Or anything else you may have read over Easter break.

Until next time, happy reading :)


C.

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