Tuesday, April 14, 2009

my read-a-thon book pile...

weeded down slightly with your help:
(the ones in bold are the ones you chose for me)

1. This is my story about what happened to me last year when Mum got ill and Dad and I had to go and stay at Aunt Nan's and I had my weird dream.--Mirrormask by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean (so sad this one didn't make the cut)

2. This is a story that took place long ago...in a faraway place...in the land of Koriyo.--Legend of Chun Hyang by CLAMP

3. They came at night...because they knew we were among them.--A Midnight Opera Vol. 1 by Hans Steinbach

4. Cheer up, Amber.--The Dreaming by Queenie Chan

5. Still no sign of the townspeople.--Bone by Jeff Smith

6. It was so weird.--Black Hole by Charles Burns

7. I'm off to school, Ma.--The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess (another one I'm sad didn't make the cut)

8. Yes, it's "once upon a time" time again.--Fables: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham

9. Once there was a king who dreamed of war.--Strange Roads by Peter S. Beagle

10. I once believed that life was a gift.--Green Angel by Alice Hoffman

11. The brain is soft.--Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside by Katrina Firlik

12. Like many fathers, mine could occasionally be prevailed upon for a spot of "airplane."--Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel (hmmm...maybe I shouldn't have played this game after all)

13. "Let's get this party started, already!" Sabrina complained under her breath as she rubbed the charley horse in her leg.--The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects by Michael Buckley

14. Midsummer: The long days begin in bright, rising mist and never end.--Go With Me by Castle Freeman Jr.

15. The stench in his daughter's darkened room nearly brought Len to his knees.--Inside Out Girl by Tish Cohen

16. Crime was out there.--What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn

17. Everything you think you know about the world isn't true.--The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak

18. "Dive, dive, dive!" shouted Suzy as she clutched the old Chevy's cracked red-and-white steering wheel, jerking it back and forth in her hands, yanking hard on the turn signal lever to bring the ship down.--Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon

19. If standing alone on the back doorstep, Tom allowed himself to weep tears, they were tears of anger.--Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce

20. "Once there was a beautiful garden."--The Garden of Eve by K.L. Going

21. "Skulls," said Lady Lamorna.--The Robe of Skulls by Vivian French

22. Once there was a Castle, high on a hill,
and a King who longed for a nap
and a Queen who yearned for solitude
and a Prince who loved poetry
and a Princess who loved herself
and a Spare Prince who loved his sword
and a Hermit who was wise.--The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech

23. After a year of hunting, I finally caught up with Sarah.--PEEPS by Scott Westerfeld

24. There are days that start off just fine.--Freak Show by James St. James

25. This is how things look:
Shady Pines Apartments, four shabby buildings tucked off the road near the highway.--Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

26. Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a rabbit who was made almost entirely of china.--The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

27. Imo set out one day to catch some fish, but there was no sea.--Nation by Terry Pratchett

28. When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.--The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

29. Long ago, when earth and sky were still covered in darkness, a great bird with wings like curtains of night came to rest on the cold earth.--A Taste of Earth and Other Legends of Vietnam by Thich Nhat Hanh

30. Pay attention.--The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursa

Man, wouldn't it be great if you could just make a huge pile like this and then ignore all other responsibilities until you'd read them all?!! You know, I once had a dream about something similar. In the dream, Rich told me that I wasn't allowed out of bed until I'd read all the books on this little bookcase we used to have in our bedroom (probably would have been about 100 or so books) and all I was allowed to eat until I finished was Skor candy bars. Now obviously, I would have died of malnutrition before I managed to finish the books, but in the dream I seemed pretty happy about it all.

Anyway, thank you to all who helped me to ever-so-slightly weed down my pile!

14 comments:

Ana S. said...

wow, how did I miss Nation? *slaps self*

If you're sad that some didn't make the cut, just ignore us! Mirrormask and Black Hole in particular would make great read-a-thon books. Be a rebel! Add them to the pile! :P

lol! I love your dream.

Megan said...

LOL! That's a great dream about the books and the Skor bars. I think I could do it, but they'd probably have to come and take my roof off and airlift me out of the house because I could no longer walk/fit throug my doorways after devouring Skor bars for such an extended amount of time. I'm a slow reader, ya know? ;-)

Amanda said...

Wow. I managed to choose one of the only Scott Westerfeld books I had yet to read, haha! That rocks.

On the other hand, I didn't pick Fun Home or The Hunger Games, both of which are in the top four of my book list for this Read-a-thon (as well as Peeps).

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this followup! I will be excited to cheer you on and read the reviews. And wow- what a dream!

Eva said...

We didn't help narrow it down much did we?! lol

I loved Freak Show-and it's a really fast read. And that brain surgeon memoir sounds so cool!

Love your dream. :D

chrisa511 said...

Well I feel like a dumb ass for not recognizing Mirrormask or The Book of Ballads...can we add those to the list anyway :p

You should have a lot of fun with this Debi! I started last year's readathon with Nation and it was fantastic...though it is pretty long for the readathon. It took me about half the day to read it..I think. Don't remember exactly..but I'm a slow reader!

P.S. Love that dream ;) Do you know I've never had a Skor? I've seen them though...what is it exactly?

Thoughts of Joy said...

Now that I know the titles - The Hunger Games is a must read! :)

Melody said...

Yikes! I can't believe I didn't recognize the sentence from Living Dead Girl!

Wow, sounds like you'll have a wonderful reading journey ahead! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on them, Debi!!

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Interesting dream--I love Skor bars. :) I dreamt last night that I woke up two hours late for the read-a-thon. Guess I've got that lingering in the back of my head. Must set alarm!!

I really want to read Black Hole, but I didn't realize how long it was. I'm going to try and get to Fun Home on Saturday, though.

Kim L said...

Haha, I'm sure its hard to predict exactly what books you'll want to read on the day of. Now you've got plenty of choices!!

Literary Feline said...

I love that idea! Why can't we do that? Just stay in bed until our immediate TBR books were all read. My boss, animals and husband might not like it though . . .

Kailana said...

I love that I totally was oblivious to the fact that I have read several of the books you mentioned!

A Midnight Opera isn't available at the library... Your review will determine if I buy at a later date or not...
I LOVED The Black Hole. It's so different...
And, well, duh on me loving Fables. I did glance at that and think it looked familiar, but my mind was elsewhere...
I have Green Angel on request from the library.
Fun Home was good, but I didn't like it as much as other people.
I am determined to read Chris Barzak soon. I have been carrying his book around with me since I got it and still haven't cracked it!
I have Tom's Midnight Garden out from the library...
And, someone talked me into getting The Garden of Eve... I picked it up today. Expect your point later this week. :) And, well, the next couple books are on my request list at the library too. I need to stop reading blogs. lol
Peeps was good, glad you might get to it! Have you read Westerfeld before?

You know, I can easily have made the same list. I think we are influenced by the same people. lol I have the DiCamillo on request at the library, Nation out from the library, and I am on the waiting list of the eternity for The Hunger Games.

I write long comments, huh?

Carl V. Anderson said...

This is weeding it down?!?! ;) Mirrormask is a fun, quick read that would have made a fun one for the read-a-thon. Sorry we didn't pick it. Fun to see some graphic novels in there. It will be interesting to see how you weed it down further, unless you are planning to read a chapter of each.

That is one great dream!

kreed said...

Looks like you will have some good stuff to read - you and Annie will have a blast!

You HAVE to read Hunger Games...I think it is my favorite book of the past few years (although The Glass Castle and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan run a close second and third...)