36 hour update

Only 12 hours left in the 48 Hour Book Challenge and I'm still going. Last night's break lasted a little too long and made for a slow start this morning but I feel like I can stay up in to the wee hours of the morning as I approach the 9 am finish line.

So far today I read As Easy as Falling Off the Edge of the Earth by Lynne Rae Perkins and The Fire- Eaters by David Almond.

As Easy as Falling Off the Edge of the Earth - hmmmm....Not sure how I feel about this one. I liked so many things about it: the initial scenes were wonderful and I loved the narration. Some times the characters just did the dumbest things and once the narrator goes so far as to let the reader know that it is aware that the characters are being stupid. Perkins also leaves some threads only partially cooked. The dogs seem to be forgotten about almost entirely and the grandfathers scenes all seemed incredibly rushed. In the end I understood what Perkins was doing with coincidence and compounding randomness but for some reason it did not entirely work for me today. I may revisit this one in a few months to see if it has grown on me. There was enough worthwhile stuff in here to merit a reexamination I think.

The Fire-Eaters - Last week I read Almond's Skellig, it was my first David Almond title and I really enjoyed it. Because of this I was excited to read The Fire-Eaters. I was equally impressed here and am now looking forward to getting my hands on Kit's Wilderness. The Fire Eaters was a surprising story that places the reader in a very specific time and place and lets said reader discover the world and in leisurely and thought provoking way. As I read I was constantly making comparisons to Deborah Wiles' Countdown which places very different characters into the same historical crisis. I enjoyed seeing the working class British reaction to the missile crisis, having never thought about how people in "uninvolved" countries (i.e. not US, USSR or Cuba) must have reacted to a global situation in which they where on the sidelines. This one is too fresh in my mind to say much else other than it was an enjoyable read which makes me want to read more of Almond's works.

Today's Log so far. I did a lot of sleeping this morning/afternoon, but once the hangover was overcome I got some good work done.

8:30-9:15 Read 45m

915-1040 slept

10:40 - 1:05 read 2h25m

1:05-1:30 break

1:30- 4:00 read 2h30m

400-410 slept

4:10 - 5:20 read 1h10m

520-545 break

5:45-8:40 read 2h55m

8:40 - 9:15 blog

so far today I've read for 9 hours and 45 minutes which including yesterday's 9 hours gives me 18hours and 45 minutes plus 1 hour 25 minutes of blogging.

If I can go straight through to 9am I can break 30 hours but I'm thinking 25 is a much more likely number.