Fall Into Reading Question 3

Do you eat/drink while reading? If so, do you have some favorite reading snacks?

I don't usually eat while I'm reading. Read-a-thons are the exception :), I stuff myself full of treats then. Drinking though, I do a lot. My normal reading mode is curled up on the couch with a book in one hand and a cup of tea in the other one.

24 Hour Read-A-Thon (formerly a sticky post)

I'm currently reading for 24 hours. Hence the weird posts that pop up every hour. Don't worry, the blog will be back to normal after these 24 hours are up.

End of Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour 20, my mind kept being distracted and my book couldn't keep my attention.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Nope

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

The mini-challenge schedule given in advance.

5. How many books did you read?

5 books, 1 short story and about 40 pages of another book.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)
The Runaway Quilt
Dancing at Midnight
The Tale of Holly How (40 pages)

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

Probably Percy Jackson and the Last Olympians.

8. Which did you enjoy least?

The Tale of Holly How, I couldn't get into it, probably because I was so tired.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

Not a cheerleader. Thankful for them though!

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

If I have the time, yes, definitely! As a reader, of course. Should that not be possible, I'll be a cheerleader and possibly a mini-challenge host.

Hour 24 Final Update

Currently reading: The Tale of Holly How

Pages read: 75
Running total of pages read since I started: 1941

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 20 hours 15 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)
The Runaway Quilt
Dancing at Midnight

Comments about this hour: I’ve finished! Of course, now that the 24 hours are over, I’m fairly awake. No matter, I’ll probably crash in an hour or two. I had so much fun this year! I got a lot of reading done, made my goal of finishing the Percy Jackson series, read two long awaited books. Until next time!

Hour 23 Update

Currently reading: Dancing at Midnight

Pages read: 107
Running total of pages read since I started: 1866

Amount of time spent reading: 50 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 19 hours 20 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)
The Runaway Quilt

Books started, but discarded:
The Tale of Holly How (20 pages)

Comments about this hour: Still cold, but greatly enjoying my book. I’m nearing the end, so it seems I’ll have to pick up another one before the read-a-thon ends. Perhaps I’ll try The Tale of Holly How again.

Hour 22 Update

Currently reading: Dancing at Midnight

Pages read: 102
Running total of pages read since I started: 1759

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 18 hours 30 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)
The Runaway Quilt

Books started, but discarded:
The Tale of Holly How (20 pages)

Comments about this hour: My mind is still awake, but my body is definitely sending me signals its exceptionally tired. I’m very, very cold and huddled under a blanket, and that’s purely tiredness. But I’m still having fun and my book is great.

Hour 21 Update

Currently reading: Dancing at Midnight

Pages read: 93
Running total of pages read since I started: 1657

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 17 hours 35 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)
The Runaway Quilt

Books started, but discarded:
The Tale of Holly How (20 pages)

Comments about this hour: I’m very much enjoying my book. The chemistry between the main characters is great.

Hour 20 Update

Currently reading: Dancing at Midnight

Pages read: 46
Running total of pages read since I started: 1564

Amount of time spent reading: 50 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 16 hours 40 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)
The Runaway Quilt

Books started, but discarded:
The Tale of Holly How (20 pages)

Comments about this hour: The Tale of Holly How didn’t hold my attention at all. I guess I need to be more awake for a mystery. So I’ve switched to a romance, Dancing at Midnight. This did manage to grab my attention, but still, my pages read has reached an all-time low this hour. Ah well, let’s just keep on reading.

Hour 19 Update

Currently reading: The Tale of Holly How

Pages read: 73
Running total of pages read since I started: 1518

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 15 hours 50 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)
The Runaway Quilt

Comments about this hour: Finished the Runaway Quilt and decided to read The Tale of Holly How next. Perhaps this light-hearted mystery will keep me awake for the final hours?

Hour 18 Update

Currently reading: The Runaway Quilt

Pages read: 56
Running total of pages read since I started: 1445

Amount of time spent reading: 50 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 14 hours 55 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)

Comments about this hour: It’s light outside now. Funny how much more awake that makes me. My book is still good and I’m nearing the end. I’m not sure yet which book I’ll grab next…

Hour 17 Update

Currently reading: The Runaway Quilt

Pages read: 58
Running total of pages read since I started: 1389

Amount of time spent reading: 50 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 14 hours 5 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)

Comments about this hour: And the plot thickens…. Still dark outside, can’t wait for sunrise. Also can’t believe there are only seven more hours remaining. How fast time goes, even when you don’t sleep.

Hour 16 Update

Currently reading: The Runaway Quilt

Pages read: 59
Running total of pages read since I started: 1331

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 13 hours 15 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)

Comments about this hour: My book is really intriguing and certainly enough to keep me awake, although I know I’m more tired than I feel, as my reading tempo is quite low in comparison to the first hours of the read-a-thon.

Hour 15 Update

Currently reading: The Runaway Quilt

Pages read: 51
Running total of pages read since I started: 1272

Amount of time spent reading: 50 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 12 hours 20 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)

Comments about this hour: Family secrets yet to be uncovered, and also the warm flow of words that make up the Runaway Quilt make it a pleasure to read in the dead of night. No trouble staying awake with this book!

Hour 14 Update

Currently reading: The Runaway Quilt

Pages read: 127
Running total of pages read since I started: 1221

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 11 hours 30 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Forest Fruit

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Cleopatra’s Daughter
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (short story)

Comments about this hour: Finished Cleopatra’s Daughter, finished the Sword of Hades and have just begun The Runaway Quilt. It combines history, a good story and quilting, what more can I want?

Hour 13 Update

Currently reading: Cleopatra’s Daughter

Pages read: 59
Running total of pages read since I started: 1094

Amount of time spent reading: 50 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 10 hours 35 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Forest Fruit

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Comments about this hour: Only a few more pages left in my book. The neighbors are quit now. I’m still awake, obviously. Tired though, which is probably why I’m rambling. :)

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?

Cleopatra's Daughter

2. How many books have you read so far?

2

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Probably The Runaway Quilt, although it's hard to choose.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Nope.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Nope, I make sure everyone leaves me alone all day :)

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

The fact that the neighbors are staying up so late ;)

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

No suggestions, everything is going great!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Nothing, I like how it's going so far.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

A bit, but I know from experience I'll get over it once it starts to become light outside again in a few hours.

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?

When you start to become tired, try a sports drink like Aquarius, it works great to keep your body balanced so it's easier to fight the fatigue.

Hour 12 Update

Currently reading: Cleopatra’s Daughter

Pages read: 69
Running total of pages read since I started: 1035

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 10 hours 45 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Forest Fruit

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Comments about this hour: Whoohoo, I reached 1000 words! I’m also almost done with my current book and I think I’ll opt for something light next. Perhaps the short story I still have from Rick Riordan.

Hour 11 Update

Currently reading: Cleopatra’s Daughter

Pages read: 76
Running total of pages read since I started: 966

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 9 hours 50 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Forest Fruit

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Comments about this hour: Picking up the pace now the pace of the book is also picking up. We’re coming up to the half-way mark as hour 12 is commencing and the neighbors are still going strong :) I’ve broken out the sports drink, my secret to getting through the night.

Hour 10 Update

Currently reading: Cleopatra’s Daughter

Pages read: 61
Running total of pages read since I started: 890

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 8 hours 55 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Forest Fruit

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Comments about this hour: The plot thickens and it looks like Selene is finally using her brains. It’s midnight here, yet the neighbors are still awake and loud. At least I’m not feeling alone :)

Hour 9 Update

Currently reading: Cleopatra’s Daughter

Pages read: 65
Running total of pages read since I started: 829

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 8 hours

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Forest Fruit

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Comments about this hour: Cleopatra’s Daughter is shaping up to be a good book. Selene’s pity for herself and anger at the Romans is getting a bit annoying, she’d be better of trying to figure out a way to get back to Egypt, but then again, it’s also understandable.

Hour 8 Update

Currently reading: Cleopatra’s Daughter

Pages read: 61
Running total of pages read since I started: 764

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 7 hours 5 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Forest Fruit

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Comments about this hour: Started Cleopatra’s Daughter. It’s more slow going than the Percy Jackson books, but I hadn’t expected anything else. After all, not only have I been reading for eight hours already, this is also a adult, historical book. Much denser reading.
Night has fallen here and the more difficult hours are ahead. I don’t know why, but I always have a much easier time reading when it is light, even when I approach the 24 hour deadline, than when it’s dark.

Hour 7 Update

Currently reading: Cleopatra’s Daughter

Pages read: 122
Running total of pages read since I started: 703

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 6 hour 10 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Comments about this hour: Finished my book! It was really great. I’ve got a feeling I know what the main storyline for Rick Riordan’s newest series is going to be! Off to start Cleopatra’s Daughter now. Hope it’s as good as I expect.

Hour 6 Update

Currently reading: Percy Jackson and the Last Olymian

Pages read: 85
Running total of pages read since I started: 581

Amount of time spent reading: 50 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 5 hour 15 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Comments about this hour: Only about one hundred pages left in my book and I’m seriously wondering if all of the main characters are going to survive. It’s really, really exciting so I’ll get back to reading now…

Hour 5 Update

Currently reading: Percy Jackson and the Last Olymian

Pages read: 93
Running total of pages read since I started: 496

Amount of time spent reading: 50 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 4 hour 25 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: Show Me The Books Challenge
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Comments about this hour: Last book of the Percy Jackson series is really, really good. There’s not as much humor in it as in the other books, but what can you expect when it’s about a battle that might end the world as we know it?

Hour 5 Show Me The Books Challenge

This stack is my Read-A-Thon stack of books. I obviously won't get to all of them, but these are the books I will pick from.

Hour 4 Update

Currently reading: Percy Jackson and the Last Olymian

Pages read: 103
Running total of pages read since I started: 403

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 3 hour 35 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Indian Spices

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Comments about this hour: Finished my first book, on to the sequel and final part of the series. It’s shaping up to be a rather dark book, in comparison to the others, as the final battle arrives.
It’s getting to dinner time here, so I’ll probably end up eating one-handed. Wouldn’t be the first time!

Hour 3 Update

Currently reading: Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Pages read: 110
Running total of pages read since I started: 300

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 2 hour 40 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Caramel

Mini-challenge this hour: none
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started: none

Comments about this hour: Almost finished my book. It’s very, very exciting and I can’t wait to read the next one, where all of it comes together.

Hour 2 Update

Currently reading: Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Pages read: 101
Running total of pages read since I started: 190

Amount of time spent reading: 55 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 1 hour 45 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Caramel

Mini-challenge this hour: Childhood books challenge
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started: none

Hour 2: Back in the Day Childrens Books challenge

When I was a kid, my favorite series of childrens books was The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. I especially liked Five Run Away Together, as they camp out on a deserted island all on their own, hiding from their parents and of course they discover a mystery there!

As an adult, I would have to go with Rick Riordan’s books, both the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as his new Kane Chronicles. The humor he writes with, the amazing work he does by blending mythology (one of my passions) with the modern world, not to mention the fabulous plots! Oh yes, I’m very much in love with these books. No wonder I've got the last two books on my read-a-thon pile!

Hour 1 Update

Currently reading: Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Pages read: 89
Running total of pages read since I started: 89

Amount of time spent reading: 50 min
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 50 min

Tea I’m drinking this hour: Forest Fruit

Mini-challenge this hour: Beginning meme
Prize you’ve won: none

Books completed since I started: none


Comments about this hour:

Ready...Set...Go!

Where are you reading from today?

The Netherlands

3 facts about me …

I'll be joining National Novel Writing Month this november

I have too much hobbies for the amount of spare time I have

My TBR stack seems to be actually shrinking...but my TBR list keeps growing

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

10

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

Finishing the Percy Jackson series (2 full books and a novella/shortstory), other than that, just having fun!

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time?

If a book doesn't grab you, pick another one. Don't forget to eat and drink at regular intervals, it'll keep your energy up. And don’t forget to have fun!

24 Hour Read-A-Thon Prep

Yes, it's that time of the year again, and for the first time since what feels like forever, I'm joining in again! Tomorrow is the start of the 24 Hour Read-A-Thon, and I've been doing prep-work all week.

I've:

*cleaned the house, so I have no worries this weekend
*Caught up on all bookreview, so I won't be even more behind after the read-a-thon
*Compiled my special read-a-thon reading pile
*Bought snacks and drinks to get me through the entire 24 hours
*Dusted off my trusty posting template for during the read-a-thon

Now, did I forget anything?????

Bookreview: The Titan's Curse

Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Young adult
Published: 2007
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 17

When Percy Jackson gets an urgent distress call from his friend Grover, he immediately prepares for battle. He knows he will need his powerful demigod allies at his side, his trusty bronze sword Riptide, and . . . a ride from his mom.

The demigods rush to the rescue to find that Grover has made an important discovery: two powerful half-bloods whose parentage is unknown. But that’s not all that awaits them. The titan lord Kronos has devised his most treacherous plot yet, and the young heroes have just fallen prey.

They’re not the only ones in danger. An ancient monster has arisen — one rumored to be so powerful it could destroy Olympus — and Artemis, the only goddess who might know how to track it, is missing. Now Percy and his friends, along with the Hunters of Artemis, have only a week to find the kidnapped goddess and solve the mystery of the monster she was hunting.

Along the way, they must face their most dangerous challenge yet: the chilling prophecy of the titan’s curse.

This is the third book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It is once again masterfully crafted, with Ancient Greek mythology woven seamless into the modern world. The story if fast-paced, exciting and humorous.

THe plot that has been building up in the first two books is thickening and at the end of this book, the situation is even more complicated, predicting a great ending in the last two books, which I'm greatly looking forward to reading!

I highly recommend this book, but do read the excellent first two books first, or you will probably be a little lost in this book.

Bookreview: The Heretic Queen

Author: Michelle Moran
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 2008
Personal rating: 4/5
Yearly count: 16

In ancient Egypt, a forgotten princess must overcome her family’s past, and remake history.

The winds of change are blowing through Thebes. A devastating palace fire has killed the 18th dynasty’s royal family— all with the exception of Nefertari, niece of the reviled former queen Nefertiti. The girl’s deceased family has been branded as heretical, and no one in Egypt will speak their names. A relic of a previous reign, Nefertari is pushed aside, an unimportant princess left to run wild in the palace. But all of this changes when she is taken under the wing of pharaoh’s aunt, and brought to the Temple of Hathor where she is educated in a manner befitting a future queen.

Soon Nefertari catches the eye of the crown prince, and despite her family’s history, they fall in love and wish to marry. Yet all of Egypt opposes this union between the rising star of a new dynasty and the fading star of an old, heretical one. While political adversity sets the country on edge, Nefertari becomes the wife of Ramesses the Great. Destined to be the most powerful pharaoh in Egypt, he is also the man who must confront the most famous exodus in history.

While technically this could be seen as the sequel to Michelle Moran's first book Nefertiti, it can be read as a stand-alone book. Once again, it is a book filled with delicious historical details, great characters and a good story. However, good as this book was, it couldn't reach the same standard as Nefertiti did. Where Nefertiti was riveting all the way through, this book slowed down at some points. Still, it was a great book and comes highly recommended.

Bookreview: The First Man in Rome

Author: Colleen McCullough
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1990
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 15
Book Around the World Challenge, Western Europe 7/31


Rome. 110 BC. A city filled with passion, splendour and dangerous ambition ...

A city which is home to Gaius Marius, prosperous but lowborn, a proud and disciplined soldier emboldened by his shrewdness and self-made wealth. It is also home to Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a handsome young aristocrat corrupted by poverty, a shameless pleasure-seeker.

Two men of extraordinary vision, men of rithless ambition, both blessed and cursed by the special favour of Fortune. Men fated to lay the foundations of the most awesome empire ever known, and to play out a mighty struggle for power and glory - for Marius and Sulla share a formidable ambition: to become First Man in Rome.

What can I say about this first book in the Masters of Rome series? It's a very, very good book. It's remarkable how Colleen McCullough manages to capture and keep my attention for bearly 900 pages of political intrigue. The cast of this book is pretty vast, but she manages to introduce the characters at such a pace and in such a way that I never got confused as to who she was talking about.

She truly brings to life an era long gone by in this book with great writing that doesn't impose modern views and ideas on the characters nor let them bleed through in the writing. That's one of the hardest things to do as a historical fiction author and she does it magnificently. I can't wait to read the next book!

Bookreview: The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree

Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Genre: Historical Detective
Published: 2010
Personal rating: 4.5/5
Yearly count: 14
Book Around the World Challenge, USA States (and Washington DC) 1/51


The Dahlias are members of a garden club in Darling, Alabama. It's 1930, and while the 1929 stock market crash happened six months ago, there are hard times ahead. But the Dahlias are doing their best to face the future with optimism and brighten their little town with flowers.

The Dahlias have just inherited a new clubhouse—and with it a mystery. Other mysteries are troubling them, too. What's happened to Bunny Scott? What's going on at the bank? Where is the escaped convict? Join Lizzy, Verna, Ophelia, and Myra May as they set out to solve these puzzles.


This first book in a new series by one of my favorite authors went to the top of my to-read list before it even came out. It didn't disappoint. Susan Wittig Albert writes with her normal wit and introduces a whole new cast of wonderful characters. She describes the Great Depression era wonderfully and the plots she weaves are wonderful, intriguing and very realistic.

The book is written in a slightly different style than the ones from her other series, which took a bit of getting used to in the beginning, but once I did, I didn't want to put it down! I'll definitely read the next book in the series!

Fall Into Reading Question 2

What do you think about e-books? Do you engage in e-reading or do you prefer to stick to good ol’ physical books?

I don't mind e-books, but if I have the choice, I will always buy the hardcopy. I buy e-books only when it is the only available publication to me. Now, you might wonder why that is, seeing as that I started out with the statement that I don't mind e-books.

Well, I don't. But the books I buy, the books I plan to keep, I want them to be tangible. I want to be able to hold them in my hands, put them on a shelf, pass them down to my children, well read and well loved. You can't do that with e-books!

So, there it is. Sentimentality is the reason I'll go for a traditional book any time I can. But I wouldn't complain if someone should decide to gift me with a Kindle ;)