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I’ve joined this month’s 24-hour Read-a-Thon challenge, just because I’m crazy like that. For 24 hours, from 8pm this day to 8pm tomorrow, all I’ll ever do is read books, read books, and — yes — read books. Of course, that’s fairly impossible for me to do; I’m actually more than 2 hours late because I just came home from a meeting for the upcoming Philippine Web Designers Conference. =B

First, let me present you with the books I’m planning to read for the read-a-thon. Actually, they were at the bottom of the to-be-read list, but I figured now’s as good time as any to read them already. I still don’t know in what order I’m going to read them though. I’m fairly sure I won’t be able to finish them all, but what the heck, at least I have them in mind.

Read-a-Thon Pile

• Bass Ackwards and Belly Up by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain

  Harper Waddle, Sophie Bushell, and Kate Foster are about to commit the ultimate suburban sin—bailing on college to each pursue their dreams. Middlebury-bound Becca Winsberg is convinced her friends have gone insane…until they remind her she just might have a dream of her own. So what if their lives are bass-ackwards and belly up? They’ll always have each other.

• Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs

  Augusten Burroughs was just twelve years old when his mother gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who lived in a world in which rules were unheard of and pedophile resided in a backyard shed. Running with Scissors is Burroughs’s painfully funny and unforgettable account of his outlaw childhood—now the basis of a major motion picture.

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

  Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can’t resist—books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever they are to be found.

  With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

• Final Edge by Robert W. Walker

  The body of a young woman is found—piece by piece. The ghastly mementos are being delivered to Detective Lucas Stonecoat and psychiatrist Dr. Meredyth Sanger, signaling the beginning of a gruesome game. But who’s playing it? Why? And how far will it go next?

  Arthur and Lauralie are an average couple—in every way but one. In the privacy of their isolated farm, they share a taste for the macabre. Utterly devoted to each other, they’ll do anything—to anyone—to keep their love alive. Now they’re engaging another couple in love to play along…

  But how close to the edge of madness are Lucas and Meredyth willing to go survive?

• From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth

  When Marines enter an abandoned house in Fallujah, Iraq, and hear a suspicious noise, they clench their weapons, edge around the corner, and prepare to open fire.

  What they find during the U.S.–led attack on the “most dangerous city on Earth,” however, is not an insurgent bent on revenge, but a tiny puppy left behind when most of the city’s population fled before the bombing. Despite military law that forbids the keeping of pets, the Marines de-flea the pup with kerosene, de-worm him with chewing tobacco, and fill him up on Meals Ready to Eat.

  Thus begins the dramatic rescue attempt of a dog named Lava and Lava’s rescue of at least one Marine, Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman, from the emotional ravages of war.

  From hardened Marines to war-time journalists to endangered Iraqi citizens, From Baghdad, With Love tells an unforgettable true story of an unlikely band of heroes who learn unexpected lessons about life, death, and war from a mangy little flea-ridden refugee.

• Burning Bones by Christopher Golden and Rick Hautala

  Two people burst into flame, burned alive in front of plenty of eyewitnesses with no obvious cause. Spontaneous human combustion is a bizarre phenomenon, but according to published accounts, it happens. Could that be what occurred here? Or is it murder?

  As Jenna Blake turns nineteen, she is getting over a recent breakup and is rekindling an old flame. Between her personal life and college, she has enough on her hands. The last thing she needs is another nasty little puzzle.

  But the burn victims’ clothes weren’t flammable, the crime scenes reveal no evidence of arson, and nome of the various witnesses can provide anything resembling a clue. In fact, she and Slick are just beginning to re-evaluate their faith in rational, scientific explanation when the fire claims another victim, and an incredible explanation presents itself. Even as they struggle with their discovery, the danger hits far too close to home…

• Two Suns in the Sky by Miriam Bat-Ami

  Summer, 1944. World War II is raging in Europe. Fifteen-year-old Adam, a Yugoslavian Jew, has escaped, along with his mother and younger sister, to the safety of a refugee camp in Upstate New York. Christine, whose house is near the camp, sees in Adam’s past all of the excitement and drama missing from her own life. The moment the two first see each other, they know they are meant to be together. Their parents refuse to even accept the possibility. Will their love prevail over the narrow-mindedness of the adults around them?

Frequent updates on this post for the whole [remaining] 21 hours, maybe.

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Introduction Meme

Where are you reading from today?
The Philippines. In the room I share with my brother and mother.

3 facts about me

• It’s the first time ever I’ve participated in an activity involving books.
• I’m starting about 3 hours late because I just came home from a meeting.
• I like romantic comedies and medical thrillers.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
I have 7 so far.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
To get through the first read-a-thon I’ve ever joined. Is that a goal enough for you?

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
I’m a first-timer, but I guess my advice would be not to pressure themselves much and just have fun. And get as much sleep as they can before read-a-thon starts.

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Update: Hour 4

Such a slowpoke I am. I’ve just done 3 chapters of Two Suns in the Sky. That’s 54 pages so far. It’s slowly turning out to be interesting. Adam and his family (minus the brother and father) were approved to be moved to a New York camp which was near Chris’ house. They were to return back to their homeland after the war.

Ate a can of sardines, gata style. I was starved!

Now, to continue this book.

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Update: Hour 8

I’ve just finished my first book, Two Suns in the Sky by Miriam Bat-Ami. In a word, it is bittersweet. I must admit I felt that it was a bit dragging in the middle. Perhaps because I really never studied the second World War closely, or because I’m not American, or because I’m really insensitive like that. Discrimination, intolerance, religious hypocrisy, cultural differences, and forbidden love may very well sum up all points in the book. I find it rather amusing that it provoked anger (the female protagonist’s father is infuriating) and sadness (the ending of the book leaves you feeling regretful and a bit, well, sad) from me.

Seriously though, it really isn’t a good book to start off the read-a-thon. So I think the next book should have a feel-good story to somehow lighten me up and lift up my spirit…From Baghdad, With Love.

Title of book(s) read: Two Suns in the Sky
Number of books read since you started: 1
Pages read: 223
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 3 hours, 50 minutes

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Update: Hour 17

Such a headsmack moment this is. Had a terrible migraine attack so I napped…for 5 hours. I’m still on my way to finishing my second book.

Title of book(s) read since last update: Two Suns in the Sky, and From Baghdad, With Love
Number of books read since you started: 1 and 3/4
Pages read since last update: 150
Running total of pages read since you started: 373
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 5 hours, 35 minutes

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Update: Hour 17 and a Half

Done! From Baghdad, With Love is such an amazing story of how the collective efforts of people saved a little puppy from certain death during the war in Iraq. It had me chuckling at the first few pages. It was an easy read; no complicated words, just plain story-telling of what really happened. It appealed to the dog lover in me, and it almost brought tears to my eyes to know that Lava (the dog), after many attempts for him to be shipped to the US, finally made it through. Soldiers are forbidden to keep pets because of the attachment, but here’s one Marines who broke the rules to save a dog. Maybe in all actuality, it was bad judgment. After all, Jay is a soldier of the people, and thus, is expected to save people’s lives, not puppies’. But even if these war machines are trained to kill before think, they’re still humans who are capable of being compassionate and loving. A dog is like a breath of fresh air for them; a creature that keeps them in check and make them keep their sanity.

More than the story of Lava and Jay is the reality of the war in Iraq. It’s a bit scary to read a firsthand perspective of the going-ons, the bombings, and the deaths. Nothing graphic, really, but you realize there’s a struggle where so many lives are being wasted.

The book has not been written to attract the smart literates who think Shakespeare is a god for using complicated words with a more complicated flow, but to tell an honest-to-goodness story. The prose can be crude at times, and I’ve a few peeves myself (the frequent use of “like,” like, like this, for example). But what I like about it is that, while it is not written well, it looks as if I’m just having a conversation with the author. It’s like he’s just speaking, talking with me, so I don’t have to squint to know what he means. It’s something that you take at face value, no reading between the lines involved. It’s a true story, and a moving one at that.

Title of book(s) read since last update: From Baghdad, With Love
Number of books read since you started: 2
Pages read since last update: 30
Running total of pages read since you started: 423
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 18 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 5 hours, 53 minutes

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Update: Hour 20

Burning Bones is another interesting book from the Body of Evidence series by Christopher Golden. I haven’t read one for a very long time, and I only have about 3 of the books. I felt a little off when I started because I didn’t know what happened on the previous 2 books in the series, but I was able to understand bits and pieces of the minor stuff.

It’s Jenna Blake’s 19th birthday and the only other thing that people say to her besides the greeting is, “Are you okay?” Turns out, she has broken up with Damon Harris and is pretty badly shaken up about it. With her keen eye for detail, Jenna, who works as a denier with Dr. Slikowski, is more involved in this case as ever. Two bodies are burned to death, plus another one in another county. Problem is, there’s no evidence of foul play, so they toy with the idea of spontaneous human combustion. Jenna comes up with another possibility that many people laugh at: pyrokinesis. However, as the case progresses, it becomes less of a grasping-at-straws theory and more a reality, as detective Danny Mariano, who shares an attraction with Jenna despite the 12 year age gap, suddenly finds himself burning after being touched by the police’s prime suspect.

I have to admit that I was a little put out by the involvement of an author I’ve never heard of, but the Christopher Golden genius does not wane at all in this collaboration with Rick Hautala. There’s still the same old genius touch of Golden that won’t leave any Body of Evidence fan disappointed. I know I wasn’t.

Title of book(s) read since last update: Burning Bones
Number of books read since you started: 3
Pages read since last update: 222
Running total of pages read since you started: 645
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 7 hours, 43 minutes

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Update: Hour 22 and a Half

Taking a 30-minute break from reading. I’m halfway through Running with Scissors, and, much as I’d like to read another one, it may very well be my last book for Read-a-Thon.

This hour’s mini-challenge is Bart’s Read-a-Thon Giveaway. I checked the books he’s giving away on Amazon, and I must say I’d love to have all of them. Hah! I know, that’s very *coughs*greedy*coughs* on my part. But I’m enjoying this activity, and maybe I’ll hold my own personal read-a-thon in the near future. :dance:

Title of book(s) read since last update: Running with Scissors
Number of books read since you started: 3 and a half
Pages read since last update: 158
Running total of pages read since you started: 803
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 9 hours, 3 minutes

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Update: Hour 24 and a Half

I have to admit, while I’ve enjoyed Running with Scissors and it does have a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, it just didn’t move fast enough for me. The flow felt a little off. I haven’t watched the movie so I couldn’t make a comparison (but for me, the book is almost always better than the movie, so there yah go). Running with Scissors is about the author’s very bizarre childhood experience with the family of his mother’s psychiatrist. It is disturbingly hilarious and entertaining, but if you’re too conservative or two much of a prude, beware of the graphic first sexual encounter of Augusten. It’s twisted and it’s fun and it’s crazy (hell, the characters are crazy), but if this is a play and I was an audience, there would be a lot of dead air. I can’t believe that I didn’t completely enjoyed reading the book when I thought I would. Maybe I expected too much from it that I felt sorely disappointed. I wouldn’t say it’s trash, though. It’s just…okay.

Title of book(s) read since last update: Running with Scissors
Number of books read since you started: 4
Pages read since last update: 173
Running total of pages read since you started: 976
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour, 48 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 10 hours, 51 minutes

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End of the Event Meme

Which hour was most daunting for you?
Probably hour 12, because a very nasty migraine worked its way to my head, and I had no choice but to nap for a while. I lost precious time, but at least I woke up feeling better.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Anything by Janet Evanovich. Easy and light read, and the humor certainly makes her books keepers.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I have nothing, really. I enjoyed the whole thing.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
The highly enjoyable mini-challenges! But then, I have nothing to compare them with, since it’s my first time.

How many books did you read?
I first planned on 5, then 7, then had to limit myself at 4. So, yeah, 4.

What were the names of the books you read?
Two Suns in the Sky; From Baghdad, With Love; Burning Bones; Running with Scissors

Which book did you enjoy most?
Burning Bones. I’ve been a fan of the Body of Evidence series since I was in high school, and the book is as good as the previous ones I read.

Which did you enjoy least?
Two Suns in the Sky is a very good novel, but I just didn’t think it should have come first. I was really down because it was such a sad book.

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
not applicable

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I’ll definitely join again. Still a reader. I like *that* kind of challenge.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by! :yay: