Blurg. I am so behind on posts! After the readathon, I think I was just blogged out. I have 14 books and a couple of short stories to post about!!! Yikes. So...expect some sort of post of mini-reviews soon because some of the books weren't worth a full a review and I don't want to dig myself too deep a whole. I may just skip a couple of them too. I also haven't commented on anyone's blogs all week, although I have been reading them and marked a few to go back and comment on later because I just wasn't in the mood at the time. But on to the topic at hand - Clarissa.
As April began, I was still totally frustrated with Clarissa. It was still repetitive. Then I read Delaisse's post where she mentions loving it, and I went back and read her original post about it and she raves about it and this may be what sparked a sudden interest in this from the blogosphere. She promised that something would happen soon. And it finally did - although I'm pretty sure we're still not to the BIG something happening yet.
At this point, Clarissa finally does something other than whine and write letters. She runs off with Lovelace! She does this as someone seeking assistance and rescue, not as a lover. For now. At that point, my reading sped up and I actually finished the April reading a week early! I was shocked! I was also SHOCKED that Richardson actually skips including some of Lovelace's letters because they would repeat what was in some of Clarissa's??? Seriously dude? You do that but you felt compelled to write 297 other letters of Clarissa repeating herself? What's up with that?
And oh, Clarissa, you somehow make running off with a man boring. I do appreciate what Richardson is trying to show. Women had very limited options. Clarissa is faced with two options: be imprisoned by her family and forced to marry an older man she does not love or run off with a possible rake and ruin her reputation whether or not she actually sleeps with him. Not much of a choice. What's frustrating to me is that this should be a compelling story! That sounds like a good plot, right? Something to keep you interested in finding out what happens to her? Instead it feels like Richardson is working hard to make the reader miserable.
Wait! One more good thing I almost forgot about. We start learning more about Lovelace in April and he's definitely not that great. He knocked up a poor girl and abandoned her, and implies this isn't the only time. It appears Clarissa might get off easier since he does seem to want to marry her (probably for her money), but he's so not prince charming, and Clarissa is realizing that. Hopefully that will make May a bit more interesting.
Overall though, I just do not care for Richardson's writing style. Or, more accurately, his lack of a good editor. I have a feeling I'm going to want to reach for some Hemingway when I'm done with this mess. You can check out the other posts linked on JoAnn's page this month.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Readathon Update 5 - Final!
Good morning/afternoon/night to everyone! I went to bed a while ago and am getting up bright and early to head to an all-day concert, but wanted to share my final update with you. I'm pleased with my progress yesterday and the amount of time I spent commenting - I read a lot most Saturdays so it's nice to do it with other people now and then! If you participated, I hope you had a great readathon!
Pages read: 956 of The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier, The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherin Paterson, Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare and Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
Books finished: 4 The Bridge to Terabithia, The Virgin Blue, The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Big Stone Gap
Time spent reading: 9 hours and 30 minutes
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 4 hours (I think)
Mini-challenges: 9 - Introductory Meme, Reading and Translation, Book Puzzle, Turn to Page 32, Find a Poem, Book Appetit, Noumena's Reading Survey, Favorite Troublemaker, Mid-Event Survey
Food/drink since the last update: Baked potato
Distractions since the last update: Sleeping!
Pages read: 956 of The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier, The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherin Paterson, Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare and Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
Books finished: 4 The Bridge to Terabithia, The Virgin Blue, The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Big Stone Gap
Time spent reading: 9 hours and 30 minutes
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 4 hours (I think)
Mini-challenges: 9 - Introductory Meme, Reading and Translation, Book Puzzle, Turn to Page 32, Find a Poem, Book Appetit, Noumena's Reading Survey, Favorite Troublemaker, Mid-Event Survey
Food/drink since the last update: Baked potato
Distractions since the last update: Sleeping!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Readathon Update 4
Whew! I'm still doing good, but my eyes are starting to get tired and I've started losing track of how much time I'm spending on stuff. I'm felt a bit meh about my choices so far. It's probably good that I'm powering through them for the readathon. They were all good enough to finish, but not good enough to keep me from picking up other options on a normal day. I'm about to take a break to eat dinner and then I hope to finish another book and maybe make a dent in another before heading to bed. I definitely won't be staying up all night and participating for the whole 24 hours!
Pages read: 703 of The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier, The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherin Paterson and Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Books finished: 3 The Bridge to Terabithia, The Virgin Blue, Big Stone Gap
Time spent reading: 7 hours
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 3 hours and 15 minutes (I think...I'm losing track)
Mini-challenges: 9 - Introductory Meme, Reading and Translation, Book Puzzle, Turn to Page 32, Find a Poem, Book Appetit, Noumena's Reading Survey, Favorite Troublemaker, Mid-Event Survey
Food/drink since the last update: None
Distractions since the last update: My husband watching hockey and talking to him, printing concert tickets for tomorrow, checking email and Facebook, cuddling with Optimus Prime (one of my cats)
Pages read: 703 of The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier, The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherin Paterson and Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Books finished: 3 The Bridge to Terabithia, The Virgin Blue, Big Stone Gap
Time spent reading: 7 hours
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 3 hours and 15 minutes (I think...I'm losing track)
Mini-challenges: 9 - Introductory Meme, Reading and Translation, Book Puzzle, Turn to Page 32, Find a Poem, Book Appetit, Noumena's Reading Survey, Favorite Troublemaker, Mid-Event Survey
Food/drink since the last update: None
Distractions since the last update: My husband watching hockey and talking to him, printing concert tickets for tomorrow, checking email and Facebook, cuddling with Optimus Prime (one of my cats)
Readathon Update 3
I'm starting to almost get tired of my lighter reads for the day. I may actually break out Clarissa and read a bit of that...nah, probably not. :) It does feel good to start getting more books off my TBR shelves though. I hope your reading is going well if you're participating today!
Pages read: 542 of The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier, The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherin Paterson and Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Books finished: 2 The Bridge to Terabithia and Big Stone Gap
Time spent reading: 5 hours and 30 minutes
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 2 hours and 45 minutes
Mini-challenges: 6 - Introductory Meme, Reading and Translation, Book Puzzle, Turn to Page 32, Find a Poem, Book Appetit
Food/drink since the last update: ham and turkey sandwich, carrots and celery dipped in low-fat Italian dressing, water
Distractions since the last update: Fixing a late lunch, my husband watching hockey and talking to him
Pages read: 542 of The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier, The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherin Paterson and Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Books finished: 2 The Bridge to Terabithia and Big Stone Gap
Time spent reading: 5 hours and 30 minutes
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 2 hours and 45 minutes
Mini-challenges: 6 - Introductory Meme, Reading and Translation, Book Puzzle, Turn to Page 32, Find a Poem, Book Appetit
Food/drink since the last update: ham and turkey sandwich, carrots and celery dipped in low-fat Italian dressing, water
Distractions since the last update: Fixing a late lunch, my husband watching hockey and talking to him
Readathon Update 2
Pages read: 362 of The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier and The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherin Paterson
Books finished: 1 The Bridge to Terabithia
Time spent reading: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 2 hours
Mini-challenges: 6 - Introductory Meme, Reading and Translation, Book Puzzle, Turn to Page 32, Find a Poem, Book Appetit (see below)
Food/drink since the last update: Cheese and all natural wheat thins - yum!
Distractions since the last update: Lots: making my snack, showering, trying to transfer files from my iPod to my iPhone for our road trip tomorrow (why is that Apple is good at almost everything but iTunes sucks???), breaking up cat fights, talking to the husband
Book Appetit mini-challenge hosted by Book Journey
I just finished up Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Paterson. Not a lot of food references, but it did mention ham sandwiches, so I'd serve those, plus warm milk fresh from Miss Bessie (ewww). I'd also serve a salad made with fresh ingredients from the farm - lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions. And I bet we could scrape up enough stuff for an apple pie. Okay, now I'm hungry.
Books finished: 1 The Bridge to Terabithia
Time spent reading: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 2 hours
Mini-challenges: 6 - Introductory Meme, Reading and Translation, Book Puzzle, Turn to Page 32, Find a Poem, Book Appetit (see below)
Food/drink since the last update: Cheese and all natural wheat thins - yum!
Distractions since the last update: Lots: making my snack, showering, trying to transfer files from my iPod to my iPhone for our road trip tomorrow (why is that Apple is good at almost everything but iTunes sucks???), breaking up cat fights, talking to the husband
Book Appetit mini-challenge hosted by Book Journey
I just finished up Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Paterson. Not a lot of food references, but it did mention ham sandwiches, so I'd serve those, plus warm milk fresh from Miss Bessie (ewww). I'd also serve a salad made with fresh ingredients from the farm - lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions. And I bet we could scrape up enough stuff for an apple pie. Okay, now I'm hungry.
Readathon Update 1
Pages read: 225 of The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier and The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherin Paterson
Books finished: 0
Time spent reading: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 1 hour 15 minutes
Mini-challenges: 4 - Introductory Meme, Reading and Translation (see below), Book Puzzle (see below) and Turn to Page 32 (see below)
Food/drink since the last update: A slice of whole wheat toast with local honey - trying to see if this helps prevent allergy flare ups for me
Distractions since the last update: Just making my snack
Reading in Translation mini-challenge hosted by Reading Through Life:
Librarian's Book Reviews is hosting a Book Puzzle challenge. You make a puzzle out of a book title. I just looked at one of the books in my TBR stack and game up with this:
Reflections of a Bookaholic is hosting a mini-challenge called Turn to Page 32. You fill in this phrase with something from page 32 of your current read. "I would rather read than ________ any day!"
"I would rather read than parachute jump any day!" From The Virgin Blue
I also liked these possibilities from The Bridge to Terabithia:"I would rather read than farm it and think about what's important any day!""I would rather read than go to Washington to work any day!"
Books finished: 0
Time spent reading: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 1 hour 15 minutes
Mini-challenges: 4 - Introductory Meme, Reading and Translation (see below), Book Puzzle (see below) and Turn to Page 32 (see below)
Food/drink since the last update: A slice of whole wheat toast with local honey - trying to see if this helps prevent allergy flare ups for me
Distractions since the last update: Just making my snack
Reading in Translation mini-challenge hosted by Reading Through Life:
- If you could read any book that’s been translated into English in its ORIGINAL language, what would it be? War and Peace - The Russians are masters of the novel and I'd love to be able to read Russian.
- Include the original book’s cover if possible; if you want, also post the English cover for comparison. It's not the cover, but here's the original title page in Russian.
- Optional imaginary bonus points: post a sentence from the book in its original language.
Living Anna Pavlovna started slowly filled. She came to know the highest Petersburg, people are most diverse in age and character, but at the same society in which they lived, came to Prince Vasili's daughter, the beautiful Helene, came for his father to go with him on the feast of the messenger. She was a cipher and a ball gown.
Librarian's Book Reviews is hosting a Book Puzzle challenge. You make a puzzle out of a book title. I just looked at one of the books in my TBR stack and game up with this:
Reflections of a Bookaholic is hosting a mini-challenge called Turn to Page 32. You fill in this phrase with something from page 32 of your current read. "I would rather read than ________ any day!"
"I would rather read than parachute jump any day!" From The Virgin Blue
I also liked these possibilities from The Bridge to Terabithia:"I would rather read than farm it and think about what's important any day!""I would rather read than go to Washington to work any day!"
Happy Readathon Day!
It's time for Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon! As usual, I won't make it the whole 24 hours. I'll just read as much as I can. I'm trying to stick with reading books I own, and making it through several that I think will be fast reads but that I might put off reading at other times due to shiny new books. Happy reading everyone!
8:00 Update
Pages read: 66 of The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
Books finished: 0
Time spent reading: 45 minutes
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 15 - just starting!
Mini-challenges: 1 - see below
Food/drink: Glass of almond milk and some water
Distractions: Two cuddly cats - Lucy has been in my lap so far, but Optimus Prime just took her place.
Introductory questionnaire:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?My red reading chaise lounge, my living room, Oklahoma City, OK
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Hmmm...maybe Smart Women by Judy Blume. Or The Secrets of a Fire King by Kim Edwards. My stack leans more toward commercial fiction for today - taking a break from classics and literary fiction for the readathon!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Cheese and crackers
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I'm a PR specialist by day, reader by night/nearly every other free moment. I love hockey and am afraid I may get distracted by playoff games later today, although at least my team - the Pittsburgh Penguins - aren't playing today. I love to travel and can't wait to go back to London, explore the rest of the UK and visit continental Europe at some point.
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?
I'm focusing on books from my own shelves today and hope to make a dent in my TBR stacks (mountains really). I'm also focusing on commercial fiction - I usually have a classic I want to make progress on or some literary fiction or project books I read on readathon day, but today is all about light reading. A bit of fluff is good now and then, and I've had a crazy busy time at work lately and planning to read some lighter stuff today made me happy.
If you're stopping by and participating in the readathon, good luck to you and have fun!
8:00 Update
Pages read: 66 of The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
Books finished: 0
Time spent reading: 45 minutes
Time spent blogging/commenting/tweeting: 15 - just starting!
Mini-challenges: 1 - see below
Food/drink: Glass of almond milk and some water
Distractions: Two cuddly cats - Lucy has been in my lap so far, but Optimus Prime just took her place.
Introductory questionnaire:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?My red reading chaise lounge, my living room, Oklahoma City, OK
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Hmmm...maybe Smart Women by Judy Blume. Or The Secrets of a Fire King by Kim Edwards. My stack leans more toward commercial fiction for today - taking a break from classics and literary fiction for the readathon!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Cheese and crackers
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I'm a PR specialist by day, reader by night/nearly every other free moment. I love hockey and am afraid I may get distracted by playoff games later today, although at least my team - the Pittsburgh Penguins - aren't playing today. I love to travel and can't wait to go back to London, explore the rest of the UK and visit continental Europe at some point.
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?
I'm focusing on books from my own shelves today and hope to make a dent in my TBR stacks (mountains really). I'm also focusing on commercial fiction - I usually have a classic I want to make progress on or some literary fiction or project books I read on readathon day, but today is all about light reading. A bit of fluff is good now and then, and I've had a crazy busy time at work lately and planning to read some lighter stuff today made me happy.
If you're stopping by and participating in the readathon, good luck to you and have fun!
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