Fourth hour

Reading Snuff, trying not to get distracted by my husband playing Arkham City. Book is good so far.

Pages read this hour: 61
Pages read in total: 429
Books read: 1

Read-a-thon: First three hours

So the third hour of Read-a-thon is almost over. I must, in all honesty confess, that I did my first three hours of reading from 10am to 1pm (or 10 to 13, for those who understand that sort of thing), because I had to go to the gym today and do my zumba class. Yeah, if you'd told Malin of a year ago that she'd actually schedule reading around EXERCISE she would have laughed disbelievingly at you. But Malin of this year is a new and healthier person. Besides, my Saturday zumba class is the only exercise I've ever found that I actually find fun, so I wasn't going to give up on it, but I also didn't want to miss out on 3 hours of reading. The three hours, obviously, to get to the gym, do an hour of exercise, shower, run to the shops to stock up on snacks, and make dip.

I've finished my first book, the delightful Chime by Franny Billingsley. I absolutely loved it. Full review of all the books I read today will follow, along with a few books I've read in the weeks previously. Yes, I'm behind on my blogging. That's nothing new.

I'm just about to start Snuff by Terry Pratchett.

Pages read so far: 368 pages
Books completed so far: 1

Coming next Saturday: Participating in Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-thon

While I know I still read a lot more than the average person (at least I'm frequently told that I do), I generally feel that since I started work again in August, I've had less time and energy to read, and this time last year, I'd read so much more. As my husband keeps pointing out that I should challenge myself more, I have decided to participate in a reading challenge - inspired by Raych on Books I Done Read (whose blog I love). Next Saturday, the 22nd of October, starting at 2pm (or 14:00, for those who use a 24 hour clock) I will take part in a 24 hour Read-a-thon, and devote as much of those 24 hours to reading as I can, while still not falling too far behind on sleep, as I do have work the following week, and can't really do all-nighters anymore without feeling seriously bad afterwards.

I'm in the process of compiling a list of books to read, and hoping to get through at least two or three in the assigned time, and still get some sleep in. I'm sure it comes as a surprise to no one that there will be fantasy and romance, we'll see what else catches my fancy.

Edited to add:

So far, I'm forcing myself to save these books until Saturday:
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Unclaimed by Courtney Milan
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (if I've been able to get it by then)

I doubt I'll be able to read more than five books, but if I do, it's not like I don't have a huge shelf full of books I've yet to read.

So watch this space, I will update as the challenge goes on.

CBR3 Book 79: "The Wild Rose" by Jennifer Donnelly

Publisher: Hyperion
Page count: 640 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: October 2nd, 2011
Date finished: October 8th, 2011

The Wild Rose is the third book in Jennifer Donnelly's Rose trilogy, and while it can be read independently of the other two, it will be best appreciated if the reader has read the other two novels in the series, The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose, first. As these two books are among my absolute favourite books of all time, I advise everyone to run out and read them, then come back and read this review.

On the eve of the First World War, Seamus "Seamie" Finnegan is a famous polar explorer, and the toast of the Royal Geographical Society. He's been on expeditions with Shackleton and Amundsen, and his sister Fiona wonders when he will finally settle down. Yet Seamie can't seem to forget the woman he loved, and lost eight years earlier, when they attempted to climb Kilimanjaro together. Willa Alden, little sister to his best friend, nearly died, and ended up losing one leg just below the knee. She disappeared shortly after, and he believes she's never forgiven him for having her leg amputated. When he meets the charming and kind minister's daughter, Jennie Wilcott, who attends suffragette's marches with his sister, Seamie convinces himself that he loves her, and that she's the right person to finally make him forget Willa.

Willa is numbing the her physical and emotional pain with morphine in a little village at the foot of Mount Everest, dreaming of climbing it, and taking spectacular photographs of the landscape that she sends back to the RGS. She supports herself by guiding European explorers in the area, and tries to forget her old life as best she can. When she finally gets a pile of letters letting her know her father is dying, she has no choice but to return to England, and facing the family and the man she left.

The Wild Rose concludes the trilogy about the Finnegan siblings, begun in The Tea Rose. As well as the story of Seamus and Willa, the book features Seamie's older siblings Fiona and Sid, and their families, and chronicles their lives in the period just before, during and after the First World War. The main story line concerns Willa, Seamie and the German playboy and industrialist Max von Brandt, who also loves Willa. Seamie becomes a captain in the Navy, and Willa travels through Egypt and North Africa with Tom Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia.

To say that this book was eagerly anticipated by me would be an understatement. I absolutely adored the two previous novels in the series, and waited for years for this concluding volume to be released. The two previous books, especially The Winter Rose, engrossed me so much I would forego food and sleep to get through them, I loved the story and the characters so much. The Wild Rose was not quite so gripping, but it was still a very comforting read, and Donnelly is a wonderful writer. While I found Seamie's story the least exciting of the three Finnegan siblings, it was very nice to be able to see how the lives of Fiona and Sid and their families had progressed, and I'm glad the story was concluded in a satisfying manner. Like the previous novels, the book depicts life in working class London at the turn of the century excellently, and Donnelly clearly does excellent research, with her strong, capable heroines travelling to a number of exotic locations and living adventurous and interesting lives.

CBR3 Book 78: "Heat Rises" by Richard Castle

Publisher: Hyperion
Page count: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: September 25th, 2011
Date finished: September 30th, 2011

NYPD Detective Nikki Heat is trying to figure out why a parish priest was brutally tortured and killed in a New York bondage club. Her investigation takes her into the path of South American guerilla freedom fighters/terrorists, drug dealers, vicious CIA contractors, and also seems to piss off her Captain, who is clearly troubled by some of her discoveries. Having taken the lieutenant's exam, and clearly done very well on it, there may be a promotion in her future, if only she can survive the hired thugs sent to kill her.

There are further deaths, and as the trail suggests involvement from the highest levels of the NYPD, Nikki finds herself stripped of her badge, and left out in the cold. Luckily, she has help from her boyfriend, the successful investigative reporter Jameson Rook, and together they're determined to crack the case, solve the crime and get Nikki her badge back.

This is the third novel by Richard Castle, protagonist of ABC's weekly drama Castle. No where on the internet does it seem to reveal who actually writes these novels, which is a shame, because I would totally buy more of that author's works. The Nikki Heat books are frothy, entertaining and fun, with some violence and grittiness thrown in, just like in the TV show, and they're quick, exciting reads. I was especially interested in the ending of this one, which takes the characters in an intriguing direction. I hope that there will be a fourth one coming out around the time of Castle's fourth season, cause I'm well and truly hooked.

CBR3 Book 77: "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton

Publisher: Pan Books
Page count: 645 pages
Date begun: September 17th, 2011
Date finished: September 24th, 2011

In 1913, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship from England to Australia. All she has with her is a little suitcase and a beautifully illustrated book of fairy tales, and she remembers that a pretty lady called the Authoress told her to hide on the ship, but otherwise she has no recollection of who she is. In 1975, the little girl has a daughter and a grandmother of her own, but travels to Cornwall to discover the truth about her identity. In 2005, Nell's granddaughter Cassandra is devastated by the death of Nell, and surprised to discover that among the effects left to her in Nell's will is the deed to  a small cottage in England. She too travels to England to figure out why the cottage is significant.

The Forgotten Garden is the story of three generations and four women - Nell, her granddaughter Cassandra, and Eliza Makepeace, the mysterious Authoress and her beautiful cousin Rose Mountrachet. The points of view alter between Eliza, Nell and Cassandra, whilst the reader gets to know Rose through her letters, diary entries and through Eliza's eyes. Who is Nell really? Why was she abandoned on the ship to Australia? What was the significance of the book of fairy tales? What did Nell discover in England in 1975? Why did she leave the cottage in Cornwall to Cassandra?

Like in The House at Riverton, Morton deftly describes the lives of women spanning nearly a century and lives plagued with mysteries and secrets and melodramatic events. I still think this is the better book, though, and the alternating points of view as well as the interconnected time lines, interspersed with Eliza's fairy tales (I would give a lot to get a hold of a copy of the whole fairy tale collection, it's clearly marvellous), letters, diary entries and the like, really add to the story and kept me gripped. Had not my massive work load kept me from reading constantly, I suspect I would have finished the book in about two days. I'm very much looking forward to checking out Morton's next novel, The Distant Hours, when it's published in paperback.

CBR3 Book 76: "The Glass Demon" by Helen Grant

Publisher: Puffin
Page count: 416 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Date begun: September 15th, 2011
Date finished: September 25th, 2011

Lin Fox and her family are moving to Germany for a year. Her father is a history lecturer who dreams of a glamorous TV career, and is taking his family with him on a sabbatical year in Germany after he was passed over for a promotion. While driving to the village they're to live in for the next year, Lin and her family come across a dead body. An old man is lying in an orchard, with a head wound, surrounded by broken glass. Lin's father and stepmother are not interested in being questioned by the police, so bundles Lin and her sister into the car and drive off, letting someone else report the death.

Lin's father is in Germany to find a set of legendary and rumoured to be nearly priceless stained glass windows, made by an artist in the Middle Ages. However, the Allerheiligen glass is also rumoured to be haunted by a demon, and anyone connected to them dies horribly. If Doctor Fox can actually locate the glass in rural Germany, his reputation would be guaranteed, and his career secured. Most people seem to think the glass was destroyed centuries ago, though, and the German historian who contacted Lin's dad is dead, drowned in the bath shortly before they arrived in the village.

Most of the villagers are generally hostile towards the English family, and while Lin seems to have made an admirer, Michel, who offers to drive her to school, even he seems to think that Doctor Fox' quest for the glass is a wild goose chase. As more people turn up dead under mysterious circumstances, all surrounded by broken glass, Lin's sister seems to get more withdrawn and insecure, multiple attempts are made to scare the family away, Lin starts wondering if the stories about the demon's curse are actually true.

My enjoyment of heroine's name notwithstanding (as a history buff it amused me greatly, but I can see why she insists on going by simply Lin), I was about halfway into this novel before I realized that it was a mystery novel, and not a paranormal fantasy. Both the title of the novel, and the blurb of the book seemed to suggest that there were paranormal elements to the story. So when they didn't appear, I was puzzled and I suspect it's part of why I may not have been as taken with this story as I could have been. The publishers should possibly have marketed this book differently, as if you're expecting paranormal fantasy, straight forward mystery is not really the same thing, and seemed like a bit of a let down, really. Approaching this book with actual knowledge of the specific genre might add to the reader's enjoyment. The ending of the book was also a bit ambiguous, I'm unsure if the author is setting up for a sequel, or whether the story is complete the way it is written. Either way, I don't know if I'm eager to read anymore about these characters.