Best Books of 2015

I know we're not quite at the end of the year yet, so there's still time to be proven wrong, but here are what I'm assuming will be the best books of 2015! It's been more difficult to chose than normal (fortunately!) so rather than limit myself to 10, I'm going to do categories. Why? Because I can! :-D And even so I still had a hard time deciding on some of the categories, as I didn't want to make them too narrow. "Best historical graphic memoir" seemed a tad too specific to be entirely fair ;) (BTW, it's "The Complete Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi, in case you were wondering ;) )

Best books of 2015
Best YA
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone. I've raved so much about this book so that can hardly come as a surprise to anybody. I found this as a random netgalley pick - I knew nothing about it, but liked the cover - so came to it completely without expectations and it just blew me away. This is definitely one of the books I want to own as a physical book as well as an ebook - it belongs in my library! So I was thrilled when I found it under the Christmas tree. Thank you, Rebekka + family! :)


Best Christian Fiction
Where Are the Lions? by Claus Tondering. Some might claim I'm slightly biased, but I don't care ;) I really, really love this book, and am fascinated by the ideas set forth in it about Heaven. Some of them seem so blatantly obvious to me now that I can't understand why I'd never thought of it before. God gave us our hopes, dreams, interests and passions for a reason - why assume we won't use them in Heaven as well? Fascinating book that I've read three times already :)


Best Sci-Fi
The Martian by Andy Weir. One of the first books I read this year. I immediately claimed it the best book of the year... and I still think I might have been right. I love when I can dive right into a book, and feel absolutely delighted by each turning of the page, and "The Martian" was such a book to me. The kind of book I'd love to read more of.

Fortunately the movie didn't disappoint either :)


Best Childrens Book
Wonder by R.J. Palacio. This is either old children or young young adult, so by claiming it as the former I could add a new category and include it on the list! ;) Another semi-random discover. It suddenly turned up on podcasts everywhere, so when I found it at a library on our roadtrip, I thought I'd give it a shot. I couldn't put it down and found it incredibly moving and poignant.


Best Christian Non-Fiction
Cupid is a Procrastinator by Kate Hurley. I was surprised by how much I liked this book, and especially by how relateable I found it. As an "old married woman" one could perhaps claim that I am not the intended target audience of this book, but even so I discovered that Kate Hurley had words of wisdom for me as well, and I found myself highlighting passages all over the place. Because in the end, Kate Hurley's book is about "hope deferred" (Proverbs 13:12). For Kate Hurley, Cupid turned out to be a procrastinator. Others may be waiting on the stork, better health, a house, a job or any other milestone event. The "hopes" are different, but the way we can chose to respond and react really isn't, in the end.


Best Book in Retrospect
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I wasn't entirely sure what I thought of it while I read it, and parts of it were a real slog to get through, but when I thought back on it afterwards, I realized how brilliant it actually was, and that I'd probably want to reread it. It's not often that I like a book better in retrospect than when I actually read it (usually it's the other way around), and that charmed me.


Best Travelogue
A Dip in the Ocean by Sarah Outen. And thus began my love affair/fascination with Sarah Outen. I can't remember how I first heard about her, but this book has been standing on my shelves for ages. At the spring read-a-thon I finally got around to reading it, and I immediately found myself wanting to know more, more, more! Fortunately she has a strong presence online, so I was able to find her blog, and follow her then-current attempt at travelling around the world under her own steam -- another book in the making, I am sure, and one I know I'll buy as soon as it's published. She's an amazing and inspiring woman.


Best Graphic Memoir
Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto. I had three possible contenders for this category, but at the end of the day, I think Cancer Vixen wins. It's a touching account of the author's fight with cancer. I was very moved by it, and would recommend it to anybody who's been affected by cancer - either directly or by proxy.


Best Surprise
S. by J.J. Abrams. This is one of those books I'd never have picked up if it hadn't been for a) it being recommended in one of my favourite podcasts. b) the bookstore having a store example to browse through. It was absolutely fascinating and I loved how the story was told through all sorts of different medias. It did have some unanswered questions near the end, but was definitely an instant love affair and a great surprise.

Best Fanfic
Nothing Lost by Drayton. A "Blackout / All Clear" fanfic. I love "Blackout" and "All Clear" by Connie Willis, but it has always frustrated me a bit by the things that are only hinted at, but never explained. I'm simply just not good enough at reading between the lines, and besides - I want to know! Not just guess.

This fanfic is the story of Colin during the events of those two books and did a great job at both catching Connie Willis' writing style, as well as answering pretty much all the questions those two books left me with. A great read that I'd highly recommend :)


Best Memoir/Autobiography
Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I've wanted to read this ever since I first heard of it. Ive always known that the "Little House" series wasn't 100% accurate, and have been intrigued by what actually happened. This provided me with just that, and included heaps of extra details to boot. Funny to see how some parts of Laura's story were described exactly as they happened, and others were changed beyond recognition.

Booking Through Thursday

This week's question from Booking Through Thursday is about audiobooks:
For me, “reading” means using my eyes, not my ears. As much as I acknowledge their usefulness while doing chores or using your hands, I only ever use audiobooks for the rare long drive–listening, no matter how pleasant, is not READING, yet people persist in telling me they like to read and that audio books are their favorites. Am I the only one to feel that’s just not the same thing?

For once I disagree vehemently with the author, but I think part of this may be semantics.

To me, "reading" means two things. There's the physical act of moving your eyes (or fingers, in the case of Braille) along the markings on a page and translating these markings into letters and words. With that definition, no, you obviously can't "read" audiobooks.

However, the more common meaning of "reading" is to take in the written word and gain a meaning from it. Whether that be from reading it yourself, or hearing it either in the form of audiobooks or having somebody present read it aloud to you, makes no difference. It's all reading.

And it sits wrong with me to deny one meaning of the word in favour of the other.

Ten Bookish Gifts to Give for Christmas

Not sure what to buy a friend for Christmas? Or want an idea of what to stuff in your own stocking? Here are Ten Books to Give For Christmas. Links go to Goodreads.

For the Man Who Knows Everything
What If? or Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe. The author of the xkcd web-comic has written two books. I actually haven't read TE myself yet, but I read "What If" earlier this year and absolutely loved it! It's laugh out loud funny and educational at the same time.

For the Self-Acclaimed Science Geek
The Martian by Andy Weir. A book where the main character's survival depends on him being able to "science the shit out of things". Non-science geeks are likely to enjoy this as well though.

For the Tender-Hearted
Wonder by R.J. Palacio. While probably too twee for some, this will touch the heart-strings of most people who read it.

For Fans of YA
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone. Without a doubt the best YA I've read in a long time. Not the least because it handles an unusual topic seldom seen in YA.

For Fanfic Readers
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Even as somebody just peripherally involved with the Harry Potter fandom, I recognized a lot of aspects of that fandom in this book. Fun and relatable.

For the Christian Reader
Where Are the Lions? by Claus Tondering. Best thing - this one is free (donwnload link on goodreads)! A thought-provoking account of what life in the New Jerusalem might be like. Really served to make me look forward to eternal life in a way I never have before.

For the LIW Expert
Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Filled with footnotes, drawings and photographs, this is one of the most comprehensive accounts of LIW's life I've ever read - all based around her own original memoir that later spawned(sp?) the Little House series.

For the 80s Child/Teen
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Chockablock full of 80s movies, music, and games references. Pure nostalgia for any kid who spent hours after school at the local arcade.

For the Knitter in Your Life
The Knit Princess by Allison Sarnoff. A web-comic-turned-book that knitters will find only too relateable. I haven't read the book yet, but loved the web-comic!

For the Reluctant Pack-Rat / Fledgling Fly-Baby
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Please note the 'reluctant' - I don't think you'd want to give this to a self-acclaimed hoarder. While I don't agree with every part of the KonMari method (and actually found myself smirking at some), I do think she makes enough good points to make this book very worth while.

Readathon wrapup

Books read:
"Auggie & Me" - R.J. Palacio
"Destiny's Song" - Audrey Faye
"Veronica Decides to Die" - Paulo Coelho
"Cancer Vixen"
most of "Stray" - Andrea K. Höst

Dewey's Read-a-thon 2015-2

Noon (T - 2 hrs) Mum and my sisters will arrive in about an hour, so I figured it was time to get this progress report started. As per usual, I'll keep all my updates in one post in order not to spam you more than necessary :)

I've gotten my pre-readathon workout sorted, and will go get dinner started as soon as I finish writing this post (gotta love my crock-pot!) so everything is ready by the time the others arrive. I've even picked out all the books, and as usual the table is groaning:

I usually get somewhere between 4-6 books read, but like having a selection to choose from rather than decide on all my reading in advance, so I'm still making up my mind which book to pick first, but I've just received a new ARC from one of my favourite authors (Audrey Faye), so I'm thinking that may feature high on my list.

See you on the flip side!

Semi-hourly progress
T-10 minutes: People have arrived, and the table is groaning even more than before! Candy, fruit, chips and BOOKS!!! We've mostly chosen our first books, and are ready to start!

Pre-Readathon Survey
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Copenhagen, Denmark.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Maria: "Auggie & Me" by R.J. Palacio. The companion novel to "Wonder" which I was just given as a birthday present and absolutely can't wait to read.
Mum: "Don't Hex With Tex" - the fourth book in a series Mum really enjoys.
Mixi: Don't know if I'll get through more than "Enchanted Inc."
Rebekka: Oh I don't know!!! Too many to choose between! Artemis Fowl perhaps?
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Maria: Rebekka made some awesome cakes (Napoleons hatte to my fellow Danes).
Mixi: Napoleons Hatte!
Mum: YES!
Rebekka: Yes, me too.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
It's become a family tradition to do the read-a-thon together. As Rebekka stated last year, it's become a tradition we need a really good reason to break! This is our third time reading together in some capacity.
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?
Maria: This is my 10th - I've much got it down. But I do love reading with my family instead of alone.
Rebekka: Nothing different. This seems to work :)
Mixi: Actually being here from the start, as I only halfway participated last time.
Mum: Sit closer to the goodies? Although perhaps it's just as well...


Hour 2: "Auggie and Me" is turning out to be a superquick read - I'm halfway already, and loving it. It totally lives up to my expectations :) Mixi and I convinced Rebekka she should pick "Wonder" as her first book, so I hope she'll like it as much as we do.

This hour's challenge is Cover Escape - pick a cover you'd like to disappear into. Genre, plot etc. doesn't matter, this is purely judging a book by its cover.

Well, I know I'm outing myself here, but this is my choice:
.
At this time of year, a nice, warm, sunny beach sounds like just the thing to me!


Hour 3: Still reading "Auggie and Me", but I only have 70 pages to go, so should finish within half an hour or so. It's three short stories from people in the Wonder-universe, so not as much about Auggie as about his friends. I'm really enjoying it :) The difficult thing will be to make up my mind what to read next!
The others are still reading their first books as well. Mum keeps laughing on a regular basis, so I'm glad I've started reading that series as well - sounds like it's a good one.


Hour 4: Finished A&M half an hour ago - loved it! Awesome first book for the readathon :) I picked up "The Ocean at the end of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman as my second book, but just wasn't feeling it at all, so after a mere 10 pages, I decided it wasn't readathon material and put it aside. I've never been a Neil Gaiman fan, but was told this was "Neil Gaiman for people who don't like Neil Gaiman", so was hoping I'd like it. I still may - just not right now.

Instead I picked up "Destiny's Song" by Audrey Faye, which is the ARC I mentioned earlier. I'm only 23 pages into it so far, but it seems intriguing. Definitely shades of "Crystal Singer" by Anne McCaffrey.

Mixi hogged A&M almost as soon as I finished it. She's read and loved "Wonder" as well, so wanted to read more... obviously don't blame her, considering I was exactly the same.


Hour 5: "Destiny's Song" is completely different from all of Audrey Faye​'s other books, but I'm loving it! Not quite half way yet, so it doesn't look like I'll finish before dinner.

The challenge for this hour is the "Ugly Cover Challenge" - pick the book with the ugliest cover ever, and explain why one should look past the cover and read it anyway.

My pick is "Seeing Me Naked" by Liza Palmer. The published cover isn't too bad, but the cover of the ebook as well as of the ARC that I was sent? Oh my... I actually found myself NOT wanting to read that in public.



However, it is one of the most delightful chick-lits I've read in a long time, as it combines the usual romance which the intriguing insights into the life of a pastry chef. I LOVE books that take place in the kitchens of restaurants, bakeries etc., so this book was a true gem.... once I got past the cover, that is :)


Hour 7: I'm back! After an hour long break for dinner, talking and a Bailey for dessert. Yum :) I still have 30 pages to go of "Destiny's Song" and am absolutely loving it! It's probably the best (most polished anyway) think she's written under that pseudonym :-)

The challenge for this hour is one of my favourite - Top Ten Things About Dewey's Read-a-thon!
In no specific order...
1. Uninterrupted reading time
2. Guilt-free snacking
3. Company while reading - taking a solitary act and making it social.
4. "Hygge" - the wonderful Danish word that is untranslatable but can be googled ;)
5. 'Permission' to turn down other invitations for reading.
6. Reading books I had never thought of. (Rebekka)
7. Reading for a longer period of time than I had ever thought of. (Mixi)
8. A new family tradition.
9. A twice-a-year event to look forward to.
10. Having somebody to discuss books with and get book recommendations from.


Hour 9: Finished "Destiny's Song" shortly after 9pm. Such a good book! I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series. I wasn't really feeling any of the other books I'd been considering, so picked up "Veronika Decides to Die" which Rebekka had brought along. Can't really make up my mind what I think about it yet - probably too early to say.

Mum and Rebekka have finished their books as well, so Rebekka has picked up "The Giver" and Mum's reading "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?". I believe Mixi has fallen asleep... the perils of silence and reading when one has a small child who doesn't sleep through the night ;)


Hour 10: 11pm, and all my partners in crime have left. On the other hand, Lars has just returned home, so I'm not completely alone :) I'm still reading "Veronika Decides to Die" - have another 75 pages to go I think. Still can't figure out what I think of it, but then I had much the same reaction when I read "The Alchemist", so perhaps it's just the way Paulo Coelho's books are.


Hour 11: Finished "Veronika..." 2 minutes ago. Rebekka did say the end would make or break it for me, and I think she's right. I don't yet know exactly what I think of it, but I'm glad I've read it.

It's almost midnight now though, and I'm beginning to feel the struggle ;) I'll have to pick something really good for my next book, or I'll have to admit defeat and head off to bed soon.


Hour 12: I had a text conversation with Rebekka shortly after my last update, and she told me she was powering through to finish her book, so I figured I'd attempt to stay awake with her. Taking the later hour into consideration (I'm such a party animal :-P ) I decided to pick up "Cancer Vixen" which I'd bought earlier this week specifically for the readathon. I'm just over half-way through and can't put it down! So while I may head off and finish it in bed, I'll definitely finish it before I throw in the towel for tonight.

And - as per usual in hour 12 - the mid-event survey
1. What are you reading right now? "Cancer Vixen" - a graphic memoir.
2. How many books have you read so far? I've finished 3.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? No clue... I haven't decided past my current book.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? No, just those of my own making, dinner and seeing my family off.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Not much any longer. It's exactly as I expect it to be, and I love it!


Hour 24: Yet another readathon is over. It's been a good one, with some amazing books read. None that I'd rate below 3 stars, and three 4.5-5 star books! Awesome! I sat up reading until 2am finishing "Cancer Vixen" (so good!) then slept for 7 hours and was back at reading shortly after 9am. Didn't feel like booting up my computer before now though, which explains the lack of updates from me. I'm currently reading "Stray" by Andrea K. Höst, and enjoying it a lot, but unfortunately I'm only about 75% through. Should finish it later today though, and then I can get started on all my reviews! I've had a terrific time, and as always, turning it into a family tradition has just made it so much more awesome!

Currently Reading: "Stray"
Books Read: "Auggie and Me" - R.J. Palacio (380), "Destiny's Song" by Audrey Faye (223), "Veronika Decides to Die" - Paulo Coelho (210), "Cancer Vixen" by Marisa Acocella Marchetto (224)
Pages Read: 1234

October 17th-18th

Yes, it's that time of year again :) Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon is just around the corner! October 17th-18th to be exact. Can't remember if the starting time has been announced yet, but it's usually noon UTC, so that's what I'm going with.

Of course I will be participating again - it's one of my favourite events :)

Once again, I will be joined by my Mum and two sisters. This year Rebekka's sister-in-law will be coming along as well. It's her first time participating in the read-a-thon, so I hope it'll be as good an experience for her as it has been for the rest of us. It'll be the tenth (I think) time I participate at all, and the third time I'll be reading with company - it's a LOT cozier with company :)

So I'll be spending the next almost-month brainstorming ideas for books to read (not sure what it says about me that I already have about 20 possibilities) and snacks to buy/bake. As per usual I'll spend the morning doing something active (to counteract all the sitting and eating I'll be doing for the rest of the day) and getting the crock-pot ready with something delicious for dinner, so we won't have to spend time preparing that once the reading has started.

It'll be awesome!

If you have suggestions of short'ish books / quick reads you'd recommend, I'm always very interested :)

Dewey's Read-a-thon - April 2015 edition (#9)

T-2 I'm all set and ready to go :) I have spent the morning being active (always good when you intend to be stationary for the rest of the day), getting dinner ready in the crockpot, picking out books, and shopping for the last snacks. Everything is now ready, so I'm just waiting for the clock to turn 14:00 so I can start reading :)


A lot of these books are suggestions for Mum and Rebekka. I've made a vidcast about the books I'll be reading here.

As always, I'll keep my updates in just one post, so you can skip at will. Leave me a comment if you're reading along too, and a link if you have a progress post. I'd love to come cheer you on :)

Hour 0: Mum and Bekka arrived half an hour ago and we've been busy getting snacks ready and talking about all the books we want to read :) As always, we have faar to many books and far too many snacks - it's all good :)

Opening Meme:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Copenhagen, Denmark.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Maria: Probably "An Age of License" by Lucy Knisley I think, as I've wanted to read this for quite awhile.
Rebekka: None of those in my stack, but I have found a BUNCH of Maria's books that I need to borrow.
Mum: "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Mum: Rebekka's homemade raspberry cookies!
Maria: YES!
Rebekka: Yes, me too :)

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
This is the second time the three of us will be reading together - it's an awesome way to take a solitary event and make it social.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?
Maria: Nothing - this is my 9th read-a-thon, I've pretty much got it sorted.
Rebekka: Shorter books! I'm a slow reader and want to finish more books.
Mum: Nothing.


Hour 2: Rebekka finished a book after 40 minutes! Granted, it was "The Strange Library" by Murakami which is only 77 pages long, but still :)
I'm reading "A Dip in the Ocean" and am 132 pages into. It is really, really, REALLY good so far, so I'm pleased I chose that as my first book.
Mum is reading an old favourite childrens book, and looks to be about halfway


Hour 4: Not much new has happened, which is why I didn't update at hour 3. I'm still reading "A Dip in the Ocean" and really enjoy it! Have another 50 pages to go now, so should finish soon.
Rebekka's reading "Singularity" by William Sleator and Mum's reading "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray - both my recommendations, so I hope they like them. But Mum's giggled a couple of times already, so I take that as a good sign.


Hour 5: I finished my book right as the clock struck 6pm! It was really, really good so I'm glad to chose that as my first book. However, it also took almost 4 hours to read, so I'm ready for something fast now. Possibly the graphic novel of "Coraline" that I loaded onto my iPad yesterday :)

We've also sent DH off to pick up my youngest sister, so further company will be arriving shortly :)


Hour 7: Mixi arrived about 6:30pm with my 4-month-old niece, so obviously that proved a bit of a happy distraction ;) We've also had a break for dinner, but I've still managed to finish "Coraline" since my last update. It doesn't take long when it's a graphic novel :) I've now started "The Strange Library" as Rebekka's main comment was "That's really, really weird!" -- and I got curious! Besides, it's only 77 pages - will be a quick read.


Hour 8: Really, really weird indeed! And not in a good way - mostly just as if it was weird for the sake of being weird. I didn't care much for it at all. At least it was short.

So now I've started an old teenhood favourite, "The Shadow of a Cloud". It's been 15-20 years since I read it last, so I remember next to nothing of it but I loved it back then, so I'm hoping it'll stand the test of time.


Hour 10: Everybody's left within the last hour, so I'm all alone with my books now. I've always enjoyed participating in the read-a-thons, but I absolutely LOVE it now that Mum and Bekka are part of it too (and Mixi for the last few hours :) ). I'm glad they want to and love sharing it with them. I do tend to be less active with the mini-challenges when they're here though... perhaps because I no longer feel the same need for online interaction during the read-a-thon, because I have the interaction IRL instead?

Anyway, I've just finished book #4. It wasn't quite as good as I seemed to remember, but good enough. It had an interesting development that I'd mostly forgotten, but which slowly came back to me as I got further through the book.

Now to decide what to read next. I'm not sure how much longer I'll last, so it should probably either be a reread or a read by an author I know can keep me captivated... or I may just decide to head off to bed soon, as I know Lars will wake me early tomorrow morning, so I can continue reading then instead.


Hour 11: Picked up "The Book of You" which I bought in London. It's about a woman being stalked and is utterly horrifying and unputdownable. Bed will have to wait awhile yet. Not entirely sure it's a good thing to be reading this while home alone...

The minichallenge this hour is a fun one, so I have to do it :) It's from The Girl Who Loved To Read where "the girl" asks which 3 books, published since 1990, will be considered classics in 2100 and why.

My three choices:
The Book Thief by Mark Zusak. Full disclosure - I didn't care much for this book myself, but I am so very obviously in the minority here. Everybody else seems to adore it, and find it very well written. Besides, it focuses on a different aspect of World War 2 than most books (and approaches it from a different angle) which will keep it relevant.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. This book - or series in fact - already reminds me a lot in style of the old classics like "The Count of Monte Cristo". I think it will stand the test of time well, and continue to fascinate readers.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer. Again it reminds me of a book that is a classic already - "84 Charing Cross Road" by Helene Hanff - which just strengthens my view that this will become a classic too. An epistolary novel about World War 2? It's a shoe-in.


Hour 12: Uhm... not entirely sure "The Book of You" was a good choice for this time of night. It's keeping me awake to be sure - but the problem is that it's so scary that it's keeping me TOO awake! However, I'm still only 1/3 of the way through, and as I stand a very good chance of being woken up at 7am I'd better start seeing about getting some shut-eye.

So the Mid-Event Survey... and then to bed!
Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? "The Book of You" by Claire Kendal. A total nail-biter.
2. How many books have you read so far? 4 where one was a graphic novel
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? One of Lucy Knisley's graphic memoirs.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? We had an unexpected visit from my youngest sister and her 4-month-old daughter. A very welcome distraction :)
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How much MORE fun it is when I have people over to read with me :)


Hour 20: Fortunately sleep wasn't a problem :) And fortunately, I'd misremembered when Lars was coming home, so he didn't wake me up until 7:40! Woohoo :) Of course I got right back into reading, and am now half-way with "The Book of You". BTW, Claire Kendal responded to my tweet about her book last night!!! Woooo :D She was happy I liked her book, and sorry to scare me ;) Worth it!


Hour 21: A book is less scary when read at 10am instead of at 1pm, that's for sure! Still, "The Book of You" is a hard read, especially as I don't even think it's all that exaggerated an account of a stalker. I still have another 150 pages to go, so a lot can happen yet.

The mini-challenge this hour is to tell of that moment when you fall in love with a book.
It's happened twice to me this year that I read a book that just blew me away, and that I wanted everybody to know about.

The first time was "The Martian" by Andy Weir. I'd expected pretty run-of-the-mill sci-fi, and instead discovered a book I just couldn't put down and that left me speechless. I'd read it as an e-book and immediately went out to buy a physical copy, as I knew I wanted this standing on my shelves. Sure, it has its weaknesses, but as a whole, it is an amazing book.

The second time it happened was just earlier this month, when I fell over a random Netgalley. The cover intrigued me, so I sent in a request and was happy to have it approved. This was "Every Last Word" by Tamara Ireland Stone. I started it the following day, and pretty much didn't come up for air until I'd finished it. One of the best YA books I've read - very true and poignant, and the end had tears - good tears - running down my cheeks. It hasn't been published yet, but I can't wait for everybody to read it once it is. I'll absolutely be purchasing a physical copy of this as well!


Hour 23: Just two hours left to go now! And I just finished "The Book of You" a couple of minutes ago. I don't know... I loved it up until the last 30 pages, and now I don't know any longer. What I DO know is that I definitely have to find a happier book for my next read! Probably my last one, unless I find a really short one.


Hour 25: And done! My final book was "An Age of License" by Lucy Knisley which I finished with time to spare, putting my total at 6 books and 1327 pages! Slightly less impressive when you know that two of those were graphic works ;) I had an awesome time as always - made even better by having company yesterday! I'm going to be totally book-hungover for the rest of the day though!


Progress:
Currently Reading: None
Pages read: 1327
Books read: "A Dip in the Ocean" - Sarah Outen (310), "Coraline" - Neil Gaiman (186), "The Strange Library" - Haruki Murakami (77), "Skyggen af en Sky" - Taru Väyrynen (207), "The Book of You" - Claire Kendal, "An Age of License" by Lucy Knisley (186)

It's that time of year again....!

I have just signed up for the April 2015 Read-a-Thon on April 25th :) I don't know if I'll be able to dedicate the entire day to it (last year Rebekka had the audacity of inviting us to Emil's birthday party the day of the read-a-thon ;) ), but even abbreviated read-a-thons are a ton of fun :)

I already have some books in mind for the read-a-thon - some were even bought specifically with this day in mind ;) No, I'm not obsessed or anything ;)

Possible contenders...