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Cross Country by James Patterson

April 16, 2010 by

James Patterson’s Cross Country is full of action, conspiracies, and danger.  Detective Dr. Alex Cross is called to the scene of a horrific murder of an entire family when Cross realizes that Ellie Cox was his first love in college.  Her death and that of her family tug at his heartstrings and strengthen his resolve to find her killers.

As he investigates the crime, he discovers a gang of boys led by a man calling himself the Tiger is behind the murders and much more.

“The boy was eleven years old and fearless as a crocodile in a muddy river.  He raised his pistol much larger than his own hand and fired it into the shivering father’s forehead.”  (Page 5)

Through short chapters and quick action scenes, Patterson builds the tension in Cross Country, leaving readers on the edge of their chairs as Cross hunts down another vile criminal who recruits boys as young as ten who have been orphaned in a number of African nations to become killers.  Traveling to Nigeria, where it is clear Cross has not seen as much horror as he thought he had, the detective lands in hot water with local police and a swath of criminals.

“I shook off whoever was on my right arm and swung at whoever had my left.  None of them was stronger than me, but collectively they were like fly paper covering every inch of my body.  I fought even harder, fighting for my life, I knew.”  (Page 183)

Patterson is an excellent story teller, and Cross Country has more violence in it than the previous Cross novels.  Readers may be disturbed by the sexual violence and blatant murders committed by the criminals in this novel.  Additionally, the resolution of this novel comes about more because of luck or circumstance than because of Dr. Cross’s deductive skills, which readers traditionally look forward to in these novels.  However, those looking for a great police procedural with a mix of nearly impossible overseas intrigue, Cross Country is for them.

For another take on Cross Country, visit my mom’s review. Also take a look at Washington, D.C., and my Alex Cross poem.  Check out the other bloggers posting for Detectives Around the World Week.  Thanks to Hachette Books for providing me with a free review copy.

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Also don’t forget about today’s stops on the National Poetry Month Blog Tour at the life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object, her giveaway, and Evelyn Alfred.

This is my 5th book for the 2010 Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge.


Filed Under: 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge, Detectives Around the World 2010, fiction, Hachette Books, Read in 2010, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Winner of Read, Remember, Recommend

April 15, 2010 by

Out of more than 30 entrants, Random.org selected #22

And the winner of Read, Remember, Recommend is

Heidi V.

Congrats to Heidi, and Thanks to all who entered!

Filed Under: winners

Alex Cross’s Washington, D.C.

April 15, 2010 by

James Patterson‘s detective series featuring Alex Cross is set in the hub of government and intrigue — Washington, D.C.  I’ve lived in the area for nearly 10 years, and the most anyone ever sees of the city is The National Mall and the Smithsonian museums.

Alex Cross sees the underbelly of city as a cop, but he also enjoys his community near his home on 5th St. SE.  His kids have attended the Sojourner Truth School, and he volunteers at St. Anthony’s Soup Kitchen, which I believe is mirrored on a number of soup kitchens in the area.

When multiple homicides occur, Cross often is briefed at the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in the Henry J. Daly Building, which was named after Sgt. Henry “Hank” Daly. He also often runs into the FBI at Quantico and elsewhere.  Cross has crisscrossed the United States a number of times, but now he’s even traversed the ocean.

In Cross Country, Cross leaves his home base to catch a serial killer in Lagos, Nigeria the hub of corruption and crime.  Information is traded for American dollars or other currency in market stalls.  Meanwhile, a corridor exists between Nigeria and Sierra Leone where diamonds are traded for oil and gas — at least in Cross’s world.  Check out the Getty Image below of Lagos.

After reading a number of these novels, I think Washington, D.C., is an excellent location to have as a home base.  The city has a high crime rate and is the home of espionage and more, but in Cross Country, Cross experiences a few African nations that are even more horrifying and lawless.

I’m going to leave you with a little interview from James Patterson, and you can look forward to my review of Cross Country tomorrow.  Also, check out the other bloggers for Detectives Around the World Week.


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Don’t forget about the next stops on the National Poetry Month Blog tour at KCBooks and Author Amok.

Filed Under: Detectives Around the World 2010 Tagged With: , ,

Cara Black’s Off the Beaten Path in Paris

April 14, 2010 by

If you missed me on That’s How I Blog with Nicole of Linus’s Blanket, I’ve got a treat for you . . . just listen below.

I hope you’re enjoying Detectives Around the World week hosted by Jen’s Book Thoughts.  If you missed my poem about Alex Cross, feel free to check it out.

Today, we have a special guest, Author Cara Black who has a vivid mystery series set in Paris, France. Please give her a warm welcome; she’s a lovely woman, whom I had a chance to chat with briefly at Book Expo America in 2009.

I think a crime novel is the perfect genre to explore the darker side of the City of Light. To visit off the beaten track Paris, not the beret and baguette stereotype. In writing my Aimée Leduc Investigation series, I go to Paris to research. Over the years I’ve built up contacts, nourished by wine and meals in bistros, with several of the city’s private detectives and police chiefs. My contacts have enabled me to build my stories, one for each arrondissement in Paris and ten books so far, with inspiration from real-life cases.

Leduc Detective (Aimée, my protagonist’s Detective agency) is indeed based on the real Duluc Detective agency. This happened one day years ago when I was at the bus stop on Rue du Louvre. Across from me on the street was the wonderful neon thirties sign of Duluc and I’d been interviewing female detectives in Paris and thought why not this agency? I crossed the street, met Madame Duluc who inherited this agency from her father who himself had inherited it from his grandfather who’d started in the Suréte. She was very gracious and told me the history, the cases they work on and much more. I used the agency as a template for Leduc Detective; Aimée had a grandfather who’d started the agency and went from there. But when my publisher suggested we use another name for legal reasons I agreed.

I’ve loved Georges Simenon’s Inspector Maigret and Leo Malet’s Detective Nestor Burma series for a long time. I wanted to see something contemporary set in Paris and wasn’t finding it. Though I’m not French I grew up in a Francophile family in California, my father loved good food and wine, my uncle had studied painting under Georges Braques in the 50’s and life in our house was very much of French appreciation. I went to a Catholic school with French nuns who taught us archaic French and felt a bond, some strange familiarity with all things French as I grew up. That’s partly why Aimée Leduc, my detective is half-American half-French because I knew I couldn’t write as a French woman. I can’t even tie my scarf properly.

People ask me why write about Paris? The history maybe? For me, that’s a big part. My research gives me the chance and a nice excuse to go to Paris and scratch the surface. Dig deep and deeper to understand the quartier, the people who live there, the origins of the quartier such as Bastille with its old furniture making and artisanal roots. Paris holds so many secrets and stories that I want to keep discovering.

For me it’s about the place in Paris; capturing the ambiance, the streets, the rhythm and the flavor that makes it unique. Each part of Paris was once a village and that’s what I’m looking for. I talk with cafe owners, police, people at the Archives, research photos at the Carnavalet museum, take people out for wine and get them to talk. Talk about growing up in the district, or their mother who was born there. I’ve joined the Marais historic society and the Historic society of the 10th arrondissement and met people who share so kindly with me about the place, the way the things are and used to be. Often I’ve gotten lost and that’s the best because then I discover a corner of Paris, an alley, a place I’ve never been before and that becomes part of a book.

Thanks, Cara, for sharing your research, your reverence for Paris, and your inspiration.

Please check out the rest of the festivities this week, here and the schedule at Jen’s Book Thoughts.

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Also, don’t forget about today’s tour stops for the National Poetry Month blog tour at SMS Book Reviews and Author Ru Freeman’s blog.

Filed Under: Detectives Around the World 2010, guest post Tagged With: , ,

Your Ten Favorite Words by Reb Livingston (That’s How I Blog)

April 13, 2010 by

When I was asked by Nicole at Linus’s Blanket to join her on That’s How I Blog on BlogTalk Radio, I knew I wanted my book club selection to be a volume of poetry, especially since I would be on the show during National Poetry Month.  So Nicole and I agreed on Your Ten Favorite Words by Reb Livingston.

I hope everyone will join me and Nicole at 6:30 PM EST this evening in the chat room and on the phone for the show and the book club discussion. OK, this is me begging! 🙂

Reb Livingston’s Your Ten Favorite Words is a collection of poems that examines the battle between the sexes in a new way, creating caricatures of men and women.  Livingston has a way with imagery, alliteration, and riddles.  A number of poems roll into a rhythm, twist the tongue, and require readers to assess each line carefully.

The collection is broken down into three parts:  Our Rascal Asses; Unsweet and Looking for a Fix; Burgers and Pitchforks.  Readers are introduced to three caricatures Smitten Girl, The Man With the Pretty Chin, and The Heart Specter.  And each section begins with a mini-conversation or set of statements between the characters.  These set up each section, allowing them to unfold.

“The Smitten Girl [to The Man with the Pretty Chin]:  Will you be using your charm for good or injury?

The Heart Specter [murmuring]: (C)harm for G(o)od!” (Page 8 )

Livingston’s collection turns conventional expectations about female perspectives on relationships with men upside down.  Each narrator celebrates female sexuality and desire, but also questions the confusion that comes with that base emotion and need.  At the same time, there is a sense of the comedic in these lines, which pokes fun at the awkwardness of sex and interactions and expectations between men and women.

“He was dark brilliance and moans

(his moans, girlish and dusk, yet I gushed)”  (From Almost Took a Lover Once, page 12)

Livingston’s Your Ten Favorite Words is a collection with a title that will cause confusion among readers and leave them scratching their heads.  The title’s meaning and purpose to the collection could remain obscure for some time, but this is a collection readers will want to return to again and again to unravel the riddles and relish the inner truth of these frank discussions.

About the Poet:

Reb Livingston is a poet and editor of No Tell Books, a press devoted to poetry, and No Tell Motel, an online poetry magazine.  She also is the author of Your Ten Favorite Words (Coconut Books, October 2007) and Pterodactyls Soar Again (Whole Coconut Chapbook Series, 2006). Her poems have appeared in Best American Poetry 2006 and literary magazines.

This is my 26th book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.

This is my 15th book for the contemporary poetry challenge.


This is my 3rd book for the Clover Bee & Reverie Poetry Challenge.

Since Reb Livingston is a local D.C. area poet, this is a great look at her work as part of The Literary Road Trip, which has moved to Jenn’s Bookshelves from GalleySmith.

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Please don’t forget to check out the next stop on the National Poetry Month Blog Tour Life Is a Patchwork Quilt.

Filed Under: 2009-10 Valparaiso Poetry Review, 2010 Clover Bee and Reverie Poetry Challenge, New Authors Challenge, poetry, purchased, Read in 2010, reviews, The Literary Road Trip Tagged With: , ,

Tatjana Soli’s Writing Space

April 12, 2010 by

Earlier today, I reviewed The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli (check her out on Twitter), and the author was gracious enough to share a sneak peek into her writing space.  Please give her a warm welcome.

Years ago when I first decided to start writing I bought a large, rolltop style desk. It was a big purchase for me, fresh out of college, but I needed to have something that made me feel like a writer. I bought it on layaway, payments that took a year to finish. But I needed to create a physical place that I would occupy hours a day, as a writer. For me, temporary writing places — a couch, or dining room table — made it too easy to ignore writing when life got in the way.

Ten years ago when we moved into our current home, it had a perfect writing room on the second story, with large windows that looked out over the treetops to the faraway hills. A perfect writing space… except for the narrow hallway leading to it, too narrow to get my big desk through. I was heartbroken. My mom gave me two tables that she no longer wanted, and I installed these in my writing room instead — one for my computer, one for handling correspondence, bill paying, all the other stuff.

My theory is to make the room as welcoming and comfortable as possible, to trick myself into working longer hours! Above one desk, I have a painting by my husband that I love, “Tree of Life,” all greens and golds. That big mound of paper on the corner of the desk is a draft of my second novel. I feel guilty looking at it every day that I don’t get back to it. My computer desk has a stand for my handwritten first drafts. I learned long ago that buying expensive moleskin notebooks made me feel like I couldn’t make mistakes, so I have a closet of cheap notepads to write on. The shades are usually half drawn since the light is bright in this room, but I love to look out while I’m thinking. There’s a big sour cherry tree outside, and this time of year wild parrots, green with a single big red spot on their heads, descend on it, bouncing on the branches and squawking as they eat the fruit.

The desk that I imagined I needed in order to write sits dusty at the end of the hallway. I realize that one doesn’t need the perfect room, paper, or pen to be a writer, one only needs to show up and do the work. For the years it takes. But if possible, why not surround oneself with things that remind one of the important things in life, the things, hopefully, that are leading one to write in the first place?

Thanks, Tatjana, for sharing your space with us.

I know I’ve always thought about writing at a rolltop desk, but then I smartened up and realized I love to move around too much.  What do you think about Tatjana’s writing space?

Giveaway information for 1 copy (US/Canada, No P.O. Boxes):

1.  Comment on guest post about what you think about Tatjana’s writing space.

2.  Leave a comment on my review of The Lotus Eaters.

3.  Tweet, Facebook, or blog about the giveaway and leave me a link.

Deadline April 20, 2010 at 11:59PM EST

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Please also remember to check out the next stops on the National Poetry Month Blog Tour at Monniblog and Ernie Wormwood.

Filed Under: giveaway, guest post Tagged With: ,

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

April 12, 2010 by

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli takes place in Vietnam between 1963 and 1975 and becomes a journal of Helen Adams’ evolution into a photojournalist from a young woman chasing the ghosts of her father and brother.  The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial in American history, and journalists were on the front lines of the battles — political and physical.

“When they were fired on, the advisers called down airpower, but it dropped short, falling on them and civilians.  A free-for-all clusterfuck.  The SVA panicked and started firing on their own people, on civilians instead of the enemy, who had probably long retreated.”  (Page 55 of ARC)

The Vietnam War thrust Americans in Asia at a time when Communism was considered one of the biggest threats to democracy.  Americans entered the war following the failure of the French to colonize Vietnam and keep Ho Chi Minh out.  Journalists flooded the nation, took some of the most raw and vivid shots of death, life, and struggle, but many of these were men.  Women were not expected to last long in country, particularly with the SVA, corruption, American bungling in the jungle, and the NVA.  Helen tags along with Sam Darrow to learn the ropes, but quickly finds that he’s not a mentor but a kindred soul.  They connect on more than one level, but the war has ravaged him, leaving a shell of man who is unable to reconcile his role in the war with the ideals he once held about changing the world.

“Helen’s Saigon had always been about selling — chickens, information, or lovely young women — it didn’t matter.  It had once been called the Pearl of the Orient, but by people who had not been there in a very long time.  Saigon had never been Paris, but now it was a garrison town, unlovely, a stinking refugee shantyville filled with the angry, the betrayed, the dispossessed, but she made it her home, and she couldn’t bear that soon she would have to leave.”  (Page 4 of the ARC)

Soli’s multi-layered tale unveils not only the horrors of war and the toll they take on individuals and the nation, but on the relationships cultivated in the most dire circumstances.  Linh, Darrow’s photography assistant and ex-NVA and ex-SVA soldier, adds another complication to the mix when he falls for Helen, but seeks to protect her from harm in honor of his friend, Darrow.

“Darrow moved forward with the rest of the men, entering the waist-high marsh.  She saw him as if for the first time, the truest image she would ever have:  a dozen men moving out single file, visible only from the waist up, only packs, helmets, and upraised weapons to identify them; a lone bare head, an upraised camera.”  (Page 91 of ARC)

Soli has a gift; she crafts a scene filled with heavy, conflicted emotion like a painter uses oil on canvas.  Her characters are multi-faceted, evolving, and devolving at the same time, and like the lotus eaters in the Homer quote at the beginning of the novel, they lose sight of their home, their pasts, and themselves as they are absorbed by the beauty and the terror of the Vietnamese and their nation.  The Lotus Eaters is an excellent selection for readers interested in the Vietnam War and a perspective beyond that of the soldiers.  Another book for the best of list this year.

About the Author:

Tatjana Soli is a novelist and short story writer. Born in Salzburg, Austria, she attended Stanford University and the Warren Wilson MFA Program.

Her work has been twice listed in the 100 Distinguished Stories in Best American Short Stories and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She was awarded the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Prize, teh Dana Award, finalist for the Bellwether Prize, and received scholarships to the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.

She lives with her husband in Orange County, California, and teaches through the Gotham Writers’ Workshop. @TatjanaSoli


Check out the rest of the TLC Book Tour.


This is my 25th book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.


This is my first book for the 2010 Vietnam War Reading Challenge.

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Please also remember to check out the next stops on the National Poetry Month Blog Tour at Monniblog and Ernie Wormwood.

FTC Disclosure: Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for sending me a free copy of The Lotus Eaters for review.

Filed Under: ARC, historical fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2010, reviews, St. Martin's Press, tlc book tours, Vietnam War Challenge 2010 Tagged With: ,

Mailbox Monday #77

April 11, 2010 by

Wow, the read-a-thon was crazy, especially since I headed over to the Germantown Library sale.  I got some great books this week through my own purchases and in the mail.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the National Poetry Month Blog Tour; If you haven’t checked out the schedule or the posts, go here.  Today’s stop is Tea Leaves.

Marcia at The Printed Page and Kristi of The Story Siren both sponsor memes in which bloggers share what books they’ve received in the past week.  I’m going to continue calling these Mailbox Mondays, but The Story Siren also has In My Mailbox.  Just be warned that these posts can increase your TBR piles and wish lists.

Here’s what I received in the mail:

1.  On Folly Beach by Karen White from the publisher for a TLC Book Tour in May.

2.  Still Missing by Chevy Stevens from Shelf Awareness

3.  Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth from Shelf Awareness

4.  Letter to my Daughter by George Bishop, which I received from the author for the end-of year Vietnam War Reading Challenge giveaway, though this one came soaked to the house and the signature was smeared.

5.  Wake Up (audio) by Jack Kerouac, which I won at Bibliofreak.

What I picked up at the library sale:

6.  The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, two copies for the Vietnam War Reading Challenge giveaway.

7.  A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler for a giveaway in the Vietnam War Reading Challenge.

8.  In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien for a giveaway in the Vietnam War Reading Challenge.

9.  Accordian Crimes by E. Annie Proulx

10.  The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett; I thought I would give her another try since I didn’t like Run.

11.  The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, which I have on my iPod, but I think that it will lend itself better to reading.

12.  The Lazy Environmentalist by Josh Dorfman

13.  The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

14.  Night by Elie Wiesel because my copy is missing in action somewhere.

15.  Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck because this copy is also missing.

16.  Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake for a National Poetry Month Giveaway.

17.  Wounded in the House of a Friend by Sonia Sanchez for a National Poetry Month Giveaway.

18.  Blessing the Boats by Lucille Clifton for a National Poetry Month Giveaway.

19.  Except by Nature by Sandra Alcosser for a National Poetry Month Giveaway.

What did you get in your mailbox?

Filed Under: mailbox monday

Welcome to Detectives Around the World Week (April 11-17)

April 11, 2010 by

I agree months ago to be a part of the Detectives Around the World Week, sponsored by Jen of Jen’s Book Thoughts.  It runs between April 11 through April 17.  Don’t forget to go an vote for the best detective in the world, and check out the complete schedule.

For my part, I’ll be sharing a bit about Alex Cross with you from James Patterson‘s long-running series of novels.  You may have heard of Alex Cross if you’ve watched the movies Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls with Morgan Freeman. LOVED THOSE MOVIES AND FREEMAN IS ALEX CROSS — at least in my mind.

Here’s a bit about the character:

Alex Cross is in his fifties and has lived on Fifth Street in southeast Washington, D.C., for a long time and has been a detective on the D.C. police force as well as a psychologist and FBI Senior Agent.  His partner on the D.C. force is a giant man named Sampson, and his current main squeeze is Bree Stone.  Cross is a busy man professionally and personally, particularly being a single father to Damon, Jannie, and little Alex and living with his feisty grandmother, Nana Mama.

As part of my introduction, I thought I would spice up the detective week with a National Poetry Month twist.

Alex Cross is on the prowl

using his mind to uncover motive,

intent, crime.

Stalking the streets with a giant,

Sampson with the blue light special

at his side and the boxing fists.

More than cops, a duo of brawn and brain

ready to take on the criminally insane.

But there are empty holes to fill

a family to protect, and wife to mourn

even as life goes on.

Here’s what you can expect from me this week:

April 14: Guest Post from Author Cara Black with a focus on France

April 15: Washington, D.C. Setting Post

April 16: Review of Cross Country by James Patterson

April 17: Review of Alex Cross’s Trial by James Patterson

I hope you have a great week checking out all the wonderful detectives from across the globe. My selection just happens to be from my part of the world, and what better place to have a detective than the hub of government.

Filed Under: Detectives Around the World 2010 Tagged With: ,

Read-a-Thon, the Updates, & Mini-Challenges

April 10, 2010 by

I have commenced reading The Lotus Eaters, which I have to post on Monday for a tour.

Hour 1: pages read 80

Mini-challenge #1:

Reading from my apartment with Anna and The Girl

Facts about me: I’ve got wet hair, I’m wearing slippers, and I am in my new favorite reading chair.

# of books 9

Goal: finish The Lotus Eaters.

Advice: read in small doses, get up and walk around with your books for exercise to keep those muscles from atrophy, and have some snacks handy…and a husband or friend to cook for you is always helpful.

Hour #2:

I just want to say that I haven’t read much between 9-10am because I went to the library sale, and boy did I buy too many books and 4 books for the Vietnam War reading challenge giveaway!  I also picked up some great poetry books for the end of month giveaway for National Poetry Month.

OK Gals and Guys, back to reading…have a great time.

Hour 3:

We have our official participants: Anna and The Girl

And we have an unofficial participant:  Anna’s Husband!

Mini-Challenge, Hour 5:

From The Lotus Eaters, page 106–

“During the main course of sauteed sole and julienned vegetables, they discussed the logistics of surviving as a Western woman in Saigon — how to find feminine products and the chronic shortage of hair spray, where to have one’s hair styled, where to buy clothes, where it was safe to go along, what kind of culture there was, how to handle the number of soldiers all around.

Demitasses of espresso and sliced mango with sticky rice were served. . .”


Are you hungry yet?

Hour 6:

Just a few notes.  I’ve read more of The Lotus Eaters and read about 30 pages of Cross Country by James Patterson.

The Girl is taking a break and napping in the bedroom, and we had some orange chicken meal, which I found wanting — frozen Chinese food is not the same as fresh made Chinese…that’s for sure.

Hour 8:

Not much progress going on.  I’ve read about 140 pages in two different books.  I haven’t finished one solid book, but I’ve eaten jelly beans, cheese, crackers, drank 2 cups of coffee, 1 cup of cranberry ginger ale, and has some really bad frozen orange chicken.

I’ve also cheered almost everyone on my list, but I will get to the blogs in letter T soon!  Ok, back to reading.

Here’s some fun for everyone in Hour 11:

If the Cover Fits Challenge:

Vibrant:

Scary:

Disturbing:

Beautiful:

Moving:

Thanks to The Girl for her contribution!
Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now? The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
2. How many books have you read so far? I have not completed one.  I’m reading two off and on.  I’ve read 233 pages so far though…which is good for me.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Your Ten Favorite Words by Reb Livingston
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? No
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? There were interruptions, which is why I began reading Cross Country by James Patterson because its a lighter read and I don’t have to concentrate as hard.  I also took a few breaks to walk the dog and cut up some cheese for snacks and eat lunch and dinner.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Read-a-Thon has been a flourish of activity and reading and the time just flies by.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No suggestions here.  Just wish there were more mini-challenges that weren’t repeated from previous years.  And that the sentence from book titles challenge was a vote that included all the entrants.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Cheerleading is tough work, and though I signed up for only 1 hour, I’ve completed that hour and will probably do some more later on as part of a break.
9. Are you getting tired yet? Not at all surprisingly.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? I love when cheerleaders visit the blog to cheer me on with their little rhymes, etc.
Hour 14:
Anna and The Girl have headed home for the evening, and I hope to finish up The Lotus Eaters.  I’ve also got an audio book on stand by should my eyes get tired.  My husband is asleep on the couch — poor guy worked this morning really early.  I hope everyone is having a great time.
I’ve been cheering, but I’ve met the one hour commitment, but you never know, I could stop by your blog to cheer you on some more.  You’ve been warned.
Pages read:  265
Hour 15:
Ok, I’m really getting sleepy, so its off to bed for sleep or maybe just a nap…we’ll see but I wanted to leave you with my parting cheer: (and a page count)
Some of you may have seen this already, but here it is in case you haven’t:
Looks like you are making great headway
Keep up the reading, don’t let that head sway
Eyes on the page and coffee in hand
You’ll be entering a new land.

GO READER!

Pages read:  331
I’m going to rest my eyes for a bit and listen to my audiobook.  Keep up the good work!

Hour # 23:
I listened to Shutter Island for a while, but feel into a nap, but I’m back now reading Cross country and The Lotus Eaters.  I’ve dropped by some blogs on my list to cheer them on in these wee hours of the read-a-thon.  Keep up the good work everyone…here’s my cheer in case you’re curious:
Don’t let those eyes droop
head out on the stoop
get some fresh air
before heading back to that chair
pick up your book
take another look
read, read, read
Ok, onto the Cliffhanger Mini-Challenge at Alicia Blade:
I think the biggest cliffhanger for me happened in Suzanne Collins Catching Fire, and I am still waiting for the resolution to the revolution!  Yes, that book ends with a big reveal of behind the scenes political activity, and I want to know what happens.  Will Katniss grasp her destiny with both hands and challenge the Capitol…what will happen to Peta, what is up with Gale, and who are these underground revoluntionaries?  I cannot wait to get the next in the series, MockingJay.
Wrap-Up:
Time read: 17 hours
Pages read: 391
Audio Chapters: 4

End-of-read-a-thon Questions:
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Hour 15 was a beast
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
The Lotus Eaters is a really absorbing read.  Cross Country isn’t a bad choice either, the chapters are nice and short.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
No suggestions other than some tweaks to the mini-challenges.  I think the book title sentence challenge should include all entrants in the final vote.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I really liked the cheer teams and the division of blogs to cheer for.
5. How many books did you read?
I didn’t finish 1, but I’m nearly finished with The Lotus Eaters, about halfway through Cross Country, and just at the beginning of Shutter Island on Audio.
6. What were the names of the books you read?
The Lotus Eaters, Cross Country, and Shutter Island
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
I enjoyed them all.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
None
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I think it would be fun to have some premade cheers for those unable to make up their own, but then again maybe people just want to cheer in their own way. No other advice, but I did like the shout out to National Poetry Month with the cheerleading team names.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I’ll probably read and cheer again next year, though cheering is addicting and took time away from my reading.
Have a great Sunday everyone!  Keep reading!
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