Anyone who is actually paying attention to what I’m posting about reading will have to have been scratching their heads yesterday when I posted that I had completed seven books. You see, I’ve only blogged about six to date.

My seventh book wasn’t really a book – it was a short story that Zoe posted on her site for others to read and critique. Finishing a review of the work-in-progress counts as another book read for anyone participating in the contest. It actually makes a lot of sense to ask for feedback on a book while people are in the mood to read and comment. I read and sent my feedback a few days ago, but hadn’t mentioned it here before.

I’m tracking all of the books I’ve completed on my Shelfari reading list. As of this morning, I have 9 books on my completed list with the story counting as #10. Yesterday I spent the day reading Alesia Holliday’s American Idle. It’s a quick and fun read. I spent half of the time giggling away to myself while eagerly flipping pages. The only downside to the book is that it relies very heavily on current pop culture references. While the book is a hilarious read in 2006, I’m not sure it would have the same impact 20 years from now. In fact, I’m not sure American Idle would translate well outside of North America (and possibly Western Europe).

Books eight and nine were read in the middle of the night while I waited for Santa to arrive. Each weighed in at under 200 pages and were written a personable tone.

Jennifer L. Shawne’s Baby NOT on Board is a quick read and focus’ on a welcome topic for those of us who don’t have children. Rather than leaving the impression that there’s something wrong with a woman (and couple by extension) that doesn’t follow the traditional family path (2.4 kids), Ms. Shawne highlights all the good points of being childfree. It’s not for everyone, I’m sure a lot of parents would be less than impressed with this book, but I quite enjoyed it.

Madelyn Cain’s The Childless Revolution examines the recent movement towards childfreedom and childlessness. Ms. Cain is careful to separate out those who have consciously chosen not to have children (childfree) with those that wanted children but have been unable to have children (childless). She reviews the increasing number of women who are not becoming mothers and the way they are viewed in society. This book is more accessible for others. Ms. Cain herself is a parent and uses her own connection with infertility issues and the experiences of friends and family to build a connection with a wider readership base.

What’s next? No idea. I’m anxiously awaiting the wakening of the rest of the house so I can determine if any new books have made it into the house. I think I hear some 2 footed mice stirring…

Technorati Tags: Read-a-ton, reading, books, childfree, childless

*whew* Finally I can put away Grisham’s A Time to Kill. I finished it off a few days ago, but haven’t had time to update my blog with my latest reading pursuits. I much preferred the book to the movie, despite the million years it seems to have taken to complete the book. I liked the fact that the movie’s saccharine sweet ending was a Hollywood invention. Sure, all ended well – but it wasn’t all due to the great actions and abilities of Jake Brigance.

My lack of reading this past week boils down to a scheduling conflict – not a lack of interest. Since I’ve managed to finish two new books in the last two days, I think I’ll be back on track soon. Figures, I go on vacation and finally have time to sit down and do some quality reading.

As for those two new books, I read Jay Russell’s Blood and John Grogan’s Marley & Me.

Russell’s Blood was a disappointment. The dialog was a filled with foul language and crazed ranting that may have fit the author’s mental picture of the characters but really made for difficult reading on my part. Some of the time I spent trying to figure out what the expression was supposed to mean and I found of a lot of it seemed more poised for shock value than developed to move the story forward. It certainly wasn’t the edge-of-your-seat thrill ride crime & horror novel that was advertised in the book reviews.

Grogan’s Marley & Me is a different story entirely (pardon the pun). A friend offered me her copy of this book about a week ago and her description its contents immediately drew my attention. As she put it “Marley was a really bad dog. He probably makes your dogs look like angels.” It’s hard to imagine that there might be worse behaved dogs out there than mine, but after reading Marley & Me I’m happy to report that Grogan’s dog Marley does make mine look like well behaved sweethearts. Grogan’s writing is open, heartfelt, and has a healthy dose of humour. Dog owners will love spending a few hours reading this book.

I’ve updated my Shelfari reading list to list all the books I’ve read so far – a dismal 7 to date. Hopefully I’ll manage to get a bunch more complete in the week I have off between Christmas and New Years.

Technorati Tags: read-a-ton, book, reading, John Grisham, John Grogan, Jay Russell

I’m pretty disappointed with myself. Normally I read 5-6 books a week but this past week I’ve been struggling to finish a single book. Over the first few days of the read-a-ton I managed to finish off 3 books and I thought it would be smooth sailing after that – apparently my brain, body and work schedules had different ideas.

I’ve got about 100 pages left to finish in A Time to Kill and then I think I’ll put John Grisham aside for a while. I haven’t decided what to read next – I had a stack of Kathy Reich’s books on my bedside table – but I have so much to choose from that the decision shouldn’t be difficult. I’ll update my shelf on Shelfari as soon as I decide.

Technorati Tags: read-a-ton, John Grisham, Kathy Reichs, Shelfari, books, reading

I didn’t get a lot of reading done this past weekend for Zoe’s Read-a-ton contest. We had our diversity dinner at work on Friday and by the time I arrived home I was too bagged to try and read. Saturday was also a complete write off due to a planned Christmas party. Sunday was “mad fluff and stuff” day as we cleaned the house in preparation for Mom’s arrival on Tuesday night.

I did manage to start Grisham’s A Time to Kill but I’ve only made it through about 150 pages so far. The plan tonight is to sit back with the book and get at least another 200 pages finished before closing my eyes and heading off to sleep. I’ll be starting as soon as I post this since I have to be up at 5am to head to work *shudder*.

Wish me luck!

Technorati Tags: read-a-ton, reading, books, A Time to Kill, John Grisham

Today should be my last split update. I finished off The Last Juror last night and am ready to move on to A Time to Kill. I must say, I wasn’t expecting the ending, but in hindsight I should have known it was coming. There was enough foreshadowing of the event that anyone who’d been paying closer attention probably wouldn’t have been as surprised.

I’ve also finished off Mager’s Preparing Instructional Objectives. It was a quick read and I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a quick review of how to develop effective instructional objectives.

I got notice from Chapters that Pedagogy of the Oppressed and The Non-Designers Design Book both shipped today.

I expect they’ll arrive just after Christmas.

Technorati Tags: shelfari, read-a-ton, john grisham, robert mager