Yes, yes, another read-a-thon, I know, I know! But actually, I'll be read-a-thonning for the forseeable future as there are three running almost back-to-back, starting with this one! Even if I don't read as much as my fellow read-a-thonners, I still find that having it in the back of my mind helps me focus. It gently pushes me back to my reading after work instead of watching TV, and encourages me to ignore the customers browsing in the shop and read, instead of giving up and playing online. It all helps - and I really enjoy it to boot! All that social reading, blog hopping and slightly competitive page counting, I love it!
So, the High Summer Read-a-Thon. For all the information you need, and to sign up, head over and say hi to Michelle at Seasons of Reading, our host for the week! The read-a-thon runs from Monday to Sunday, and there are currently two informal mini-challenges/giveaways to take part in should you so choose. Since I don't expect to fit too much reading OR blogging in this week (I'm working for six days and attending my sister's graduation in Liverpool on Tuesday) I'll keep all my blog-based updates here, and I'll also be updating and chatting on Twitter. My handle is @Bookshop_Girl and the read-a-thon hashtag to follow is #HSreadathon. Come say hi and cheer me on!
WHAT I HOPE TO READ
Well, I guess the most obvious thing would be to aim to finish my two current reads, both of which are also my books for July's Random Reads. So top of my list are Diana by Sarah Bradford and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson.
After that pretty much anything goes, though I DO have a few reads at the very top of Mount TBR at the moment. These include a reread of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (because I have a crush on Logan Lerman and I want to watch the movie), We Need to Talk About Kevin (because I have a crush on Ezra Miller and I want to watch the movie) and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (because in case you didn't get that, I have a crush on Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller and when 2013 comes around I WANT TO WATCH THE MOVIE!). Yeah, I might be a tad hormonal right now... ;)
And should I change my mind, or drift off, or need something really light and easy because I'm swamped at work - well, then I have the entire of Mount TBR to choose from, don't I? I'm never going to be short of options!
Monday
What I've been reading: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Books
finished: None yet!
Total
number of books finished: 0
Number of
pages today: 58
Total
number of pages: 58
The Menu: Choc chip muffins, soya caramel mocha, bananas, Options white hot chocolate (nearly wrote shite hot chocolate there, hehe), Ovaltine Light Original, Hula Hoops, chocolate crackle, lemon and raisin pancakes, coffee
Today
#insixwords: Not bad for a busy day!
Thoughts for the day: Not a bad start, I reckon! It's been a busy day - quite a few folks around the shop wanting to chat, plus showering/trying on outfits and generally getting ready for my sister's university graduation tomorrow. But I've made a concerted effort to keep returning to my book, and it's been great! I was a bit worried at the start that I wouldn't take to its slightly bizarre, drug-fuelled style, but now I'm used to it I'm finding it really funny and even quite poignant in places. Hopefully I might manage to squeeze in a few pages tomorrow, we'll see...
Tuesday
What I've been reading: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Books finished: None yet!
Total number of books finished: 0
Number of pages today: 28
Total number of pages: 86
The Menu: Ovaltine Light Chocolate, choc chip muffin, all the trappings of a day out - McDonalds chicken sandwich and fries, water, Coke, spaghetti and meatballs, pannacotta and glazed peaches... :P
Today #insixwords: The day my beautiful sister graduated!
Thoughts for the day: Today was definitely about something other than reading. That said, I did read a chunk of The Angel Experiment this morning, because I was nervous and wanted some distraction before it was time to get ready! I think I might give this book straight to the shop now - it's clearly written for the lower end of the YA market and for James Patterson, revered king of the crime novel, it's pretty badly written... The rest of today I was in Liverpool two hours away, taking eight bajillion photos, weeping (there was a lot of weeping), stuffing my face with a celebratory Italian meal, and snoozing in the car. Congratulations Hannah, I'm the proudest big sister ever! :)
Page 99 Mini-Challenge
Hosted by My Seryniti
I picked up The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, since not only is it on my 'maybe TBR this week' pile, but it's also had so many comments on this post! And awwwww, page 99 is super-sweet! Innocent and adorable and absolutely charming. I think I'm going to like this book a LOT...
"The exciting part is that I'm going to drive to the Big Boy by myself. My dad said I couldn't drive until the weather cleared up, and it finally did a little bit yesterday. I made a mix tape for the occasion. It is called "The First Time I Drove." Maybe I'm being too sentimental, but I like to think that when I'm old, I will be able to look at all these tapes and remember those drives."
Seriously cute, you guys! :)
Wednesday
What I've been reading: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson; Diana by Sarah Bradford
Books finished: None yet!
Total number of books finished: 0
Number of pages today: 39
Total number of pages: 125
The Menu: Choc chip muffins, coffee, soya caramel mocha, banana, Options white hot chocolate, Ovaltine Light Original, Hula Hoops, lemon and raisin pancakes
Today #insixwords: Graduation recovery: not just for graduates.
Thoughts for the day: It's been a REALLY tough day for reading today. I woke up with the headache from hell after the long day we had yesterday - a hangover without the fun booze part, oops - and when I managed to get rid of that, I realised I still felt crap because I'd cricked my neck sleeping funny in the car and it was making me queasy. So that was nice. I warmed up a bit later on at work, but AFTER work we had a house viewing so my sister and I just sat out the way and chatted through that. I've actually done most of my reading in the middle of the night! I tried to go to bed early but woke up at about 11pm hungry and wide awake, so I've been up and reading Diana for well over an hour. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!
Thursday
What I've been reading: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Books finished: None yet!
Total number of books finished: 0
Number of pages today: 63
Total number of pages: 188
The Menu: Choc chip muffins, coffee, soya caramel mocha, banana, Ovaltine Light, Options white hot chocolate, Hula Hoops, chocolate crackle
Today #insixwords: Keep drifting back to that book!
Thoughts for the day: I feel like I've had a much better reading day today! The shop's been fairly busy but I've been hunkered down behind the counter and returning to Fear and Loathing at every available moment. I also got in a little reading after work, though by about half eight I was in my PJs and snuggled up watching Afterschool in bed. AMAZING movie - so uncomfortable to watch because it leaves you with so many questions about yourself that you'd maybe rather not answer. I'll write a post about it at some point, hopefully. So yeah, good read-a-thon day, nicely balanced with a brilliant film, what more could a girl ask for?
Illustration Mini-Challenge
Hosted by Laura at Book Snob
Take one aspect of your book and show an illustration/picture/photo for it.
Then explain it briefly so we know the connection to the book you are
reading.
I'm reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. In Part 2 of the book the two tripped-out protagonists are back in Las Vegas and planning to gatecrash the National District Attorneys' Conference on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, held at the Dunes Hotel. As late sign-ups the pair are staying across the street at the Flamingo... and here it is!
Wow. I've never been to Las Vegas and I have no idea how I'd cope! I reckon I'd either be all a-goggle, drinking it all in and feeling on top of the world, or I'd end up curled up in a ball in my hotel room rocking and wishing I'd gone somewhere quieter and more peaceful. Like the third circle of hell. :)
Friday
What I've been reading: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson; The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Books finished: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Total number of books finished: 1
Number of pages today: 85
Total number of pages: 273
The Menu: Choc chip muffin, coffee, crispy bacon roll, soya caramel mocha, Ovaltine Light Original, Options white hot chocolate, banana, fajita chicken and pepper pizza
Today #insixwords: Falling in love with a wallflower
Thoughts for the day: My last day of freedom before the SUMMER HOLIDAYS, noooooo! From tomorrow it's six weeks of noise, rudeness, headaches, haggling, damage and trying to keep my murderous impulses at least 95% under control at all times. So I was determined to make the most of it! I snuggled down behind the desk again and finished Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by closing time (interspersed with giveaway blog hopping, which becomes a bit of a day-long project once I've started). It was funny, irreverant and full of drug-fuelled mayhem, which I thoroughly enjoyed, mostly because I didn't have to clean up afterwards. After work I made pizza, threw my sister out of my bedroom (eventually) and settled in to The Perks of Being a Wallflower... and I fell in love. With Charlie, with Sam, with Patrick, with the book. Maybe tomorrow won't be so bad after all. :)
Saturday
What I've been reading: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Books finished: None today...
Total number of books finished: 1
Number of pages today: 25
Total number of pages: 298
The Menu: Choc chip muffin, coffee, Hula Hoops, soya caramel mocha, Options white hot chocolate, Ovaltine Light Original, tea, hash browns with fried eggs and beans
Today #insixwords: The summer holidays start here, unfortunately...
Thoughts for the day: So, today went to hell in a handbasket. I thought it might - first day of the school holidays, first sunny day in weeks etc etc - but even so I wasn't prepared for how many people were out and about. I read a little before work (and fell even more in love with the central trio in Perks), tried for a while during the morning, but after that I gave up and just played about online instead. By the time the shop closed I was exhausted and headachy so I just ate dinner and ended up watching The Mummy on ITV2. It's been YEARS since I saw it so actually I really enjoyed watching it again - much more so than if I'd sat and struggled through a few more pages, I think. Oh well, c'est la vie - still one more day to go!
Sunday
What I've been reading: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Books finished: None today!
Total number of books finished: 1
Number of pages today: 34
Total number of pages: 332
The Menu: Choc chip muffin, coffee, Ovaltine Light Original, Options white hot chocolate, Hula Hoops, sausage roll, chocolate crackle, Pimms, minced beef and mushroom stroganoff with rice (my favourite!)
Today #insixwords: The end of an exhausting week...
Thoughts for the day: Well, I did better than yesterday! The shop was a little quieter early on so I managed to read a bit then, but I woke up with a headache this morning and ended up watching Scrubs instead, and AFTER work I had a few things to do and didn't want to miss the last episode of Wallander either. What can I say, it's been a long week... But The Perks of Being a Wallflower is wonderful so to be honest, it's been lovely to just be able to drift back to that in between everything else that's going off!
FINAL THOUGHTS/WRAP UP
Well, another read-a-thon is over, and as usual it's mostly been an exercise in proving to myself just how slowly I really read these days... Nah, to be fair I've been at work for six of the seven days, and in Liverpool for my sister's graduation on the seventh, so I wasn't expecting to fit in too much reading along the way. It's just been nice to be able to drift away into a book when the shop got too hectic, and maybe squeeze in a few pages sat in the middle of my bedroom floor before work...
So, what HAVE I achieved this week? Well, I hoped to finish Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for my Random Reads in July, and I did, and it was manic and funny and I've immediately ordered the movie (naturally). I also hoped to finish Diana but in hindsight that just wasn't going to happen during such a busy week. It's too in-depth and soundly written to be a quick read, but I did devour a chunk of it one night when I woke up and couldn't sleep. I started Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment on Tuesday morning but gave it straight to the shop when I realised we just weren't going to get along. I moved on to The Perks of Being a Wallflower and now totally get why the mere mention of it prompted so many comments on this blog post - there is a LOT of love out there for this book and everyone wanted me to start reading it, so I did! I'm about halfway through and it's so bittersweet and beautiful and charming and funny - how did I not read it before?!
So, I managed to read 332 pages in total (which ironically, is less than last week - but I didn't have my usual day off, I guess), watched some great movies and feature-length telly (The Mummy, Afterschool, Wallander), met some new bloggers, stalked the read-a-thon Twitter feed, kicked my agoraphobia's butt by behaving myself through an entire tiring emotional day out, AND managed to incorporate an Ezra Miller photo hat trick into this post. Well done me! I'll play out this read-a-thon with the new Perks of Being a Wallflower movie trailer, which makes me smile SO MUCH, and ask all my fellow High Summer readers:
HOW DID YOU FARE THIS READ-A-THON? Was there any special book you read this week that I need to wishlist immediately? ;)
Perks of Being a Wallflower is fairly high up on my TBR too. I bought it a few months ago and I want to write a post thing about the film. Did I mention I really dislike Emma Watson? :|
ReplyDeleteI need to read Fear and Loathing too. Lewis has it, so I might read it when I'm at his, but then I also have six of my library books over there too... There's not enough time in the day, damn it! :p
What else? Oh, Percy Jackson! The new film is out next year I think too. I really liked the first one, even if Annabeth is a little old. Another one I need to reread! My reread pile is getting as big as my TBR here!
I don't know... I like Emma Watson very much in some ways, and I don't like her in others. I wish she didn't remind me so much of a prissy public schoolgirl in interviews, I think! Definitely going to be reading the book soon though, and heading to the cinema for the movie next year!
DeleteAnd YES, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters hits cinemas in 2013 too - though whose idea was it to replace Pierce Brosnan with Anthony Head as Chiron?! I just can't imagine being able to watch it without thinking, "Huh, there's Giles from Buffy. With a horse's ass." :P
Ooh, raisin and lemon pancakes! :)
DeleteI wouldn't mind if she acted like a pissy schoolgirl in interviews if she didn't turn round and do skanky photoshoots the next day. Such a hypocrite. Grr, she genuinely annoys me.
What!? They have!? Oh no. I mean, I like Anthony Head, but Pierce Brosnan was perfect somehow.
Oh and I like your 'Pages Read Last Week' thingy :)
DeletePancakes dripping with butter, yup... I have lots of stuff like that for this week, so I don't have to waste time cooking! :)
DeletePierce Brosnan looked pretty darn hot racing around with his bronzed muscles on show, even if he did hold his arms funny. He'll always be Chiron in my head now, I think.
Pages read last week, yes... well, you know how I like an obsessive statistic or two, and I thought it might be encouraging for me to see how much I'm reading on a bigger scale, for better or worse! :D
Good luck Ellie! Perks has been on my TBR for years now and with the movie coming out I really want to get round to reading it too, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of it :)
ReplyDeleteI've heard nothing but great 'BEST BOOK EVER'-type things about it, so I have seriously high hopes! It's sitting on my windowsill in my room, ready and waiting! :)
DeleteI just picked up Perks of Being a Wallflower from the library. I am really excited to read it!
ReplyDeleteYay for the new wave of PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER happy reading! I love it when a book suddenly takes off again, it's always strangely exciting! :)
DeleteGreat reading list! Perks has been in my TBR for a while. Should catch up with it before the movie comes out. Looking out for your thoughts on it. Happy Reading!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who's somehow managed not to read this book until now! I'm hoping for a lovely bookish week, particularly once my sister's graduation is over tomorrow and I can relax again! (Agoraphobia and all that, I can't wait to see her graduate but I'm terrified too!). Happy reading!
DeleteI'm pretty jealous that you have a copy of We Need To Talk About Kevin- I reserved one at the library literally MONTHS ago, and it still hasn't come in! *sigh*. Also, oh maaaan, Perks is amaaaaazing! Seriously.
ReplyDeleteps High Summer? PAH! :)
I think the general message I can take from these comments is 'READ PERKS ALREADY, YOU FOOL!' I bought a copy of KEVIN as soon as the film tie-in came out and I could lust after Ezra Miller instead of wanting to smack that smug-looking pudgy brat on the original cover... (seriously - it may be shallow, but I HATED that cover!)
DeleteAlso, MY COPY OF THE WOMAN IN WHITE ARRIVED AND I LOVE YOU FOREVER! Pretty pretty Vintage Classics... can't wait to read that one, I've tucked your gift note inside it and everything. THANK YOU! :D
Good luck! I've been wanting to read Perks of Being a Wallflower for a while; hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYup, the consensus is clear - I need to read Perks of Being a Wallflower already... *quietly boosts it even further up the pile* :P
DeleteAnd yes, I did remove my first comment because I'd misspelt 'consensus' and I couldn't bear to let it slide... :)
DeleteAnd thanks for stopping by the blog! :)
ReplyDeleteYou have a good list here, too! I'll head over to twitter in a bit and give you a follow. Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteYou too! I do love me a good read-a-thon, so I'm hoping to have a lot of fun this week despite all the other stuff going off! :D
DeleteI love your menu! I have actually been thinking about adding a mocha coffee to mine as well. You have a fantastic list of books, have a great time read-a-thoning!
ReplyDeleteThanks Whitney! Yup, I don't know why but having a menu just seems an integral part of a read-a-thon... I like an update that makes me hungry! :P
DeleteGreat List!!!! I loved Perks when I read it years ago. And of course, my boys and I loved the Percy Jackson series. We're currently reading the second series (Heroes of Olympus). It's funny, I've never read Fear and Loathing. I really should add that to my TBR list. And reading your post makes me want a chocolate chip muffin and a mocha. Sigh!
ReplyDeleteHaha, sorry... think this post has prompted a few cravings this week already! I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the Percy Jackson books, then moving onto Heroes of Olympus - plus more movies on the side, hopefully!
DeleteHi Ellie! :) Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm reading Rot & Ruin right now, and I'm loving it. Yay for Percy Jackson! My husband talking me into reading the Lightning Thief a couple years ago (he raved and raved about the series), and I read it then and thought "eh." However, I reread it this spring and wrote a middle grade unit plan revolving around Greek mythology & included it...LOVED it the second time around! I haven't read any of the others on your list, but Perks of Being a Wallflower and We Need to Talk About Kevin are both on my neverending TBR. Gogogo! ;)
ReplyDeleteAaaah yes, the neverending TBR... I know it well. I love the mix of old-school mythology and modern teen action in the Percy Jackson books, I think it's a great way to get kids interested in the Ancient Greek gods! I know I did a fair amount of Googling to refresh my memory of some of the mythology along the way!
DeletePercy's got me interested in reading some of the new YA mythology-based books that are coming out. I'm loving the trend!
DeleteIt is clear to me that I must read Perks of Being a Wallflower! Congrats on the reading this week! I've had a wonderful time. I got 6 books started & finished this readathon - though I didn't have much going on in the way of real-life stuff this week. :) You should definitely add This is Not a Test and My Life Next Door to your list! They're both new favorites.
Love the list! I've had Perks of Being a Wallflower recommended to me about 1,000 times too :) Totally drooling over the menu (well, except for the shite hot chocolate). Good luck w/your reading!
ReplyDeleteI like the hot chocolate - just a typing error, not a psychological slip, I swear! :)
DeleteAlso, me too with PERKS... I don't why I haven't read it sooner, really!
"And I want to watch the movie!" Love it! Dropping by from the read-a-thon but also following you now as well. Best of luck on your reading goals!
ReplyDelete*WATCHES ALL THE MOVIES* Thanks for the new follow - that's one of the nicest things about read-a-thons I think, finding new blogs that have been hiding out there just out of reach until now! :)
DeleteWelcome to the read-a-thon, Ellie! Sorry I didn't stop by sooner. I was working today and just had a chance to start visiting everyone. Looks like you had a pretty good first day. I hope you enjoy yourself this week. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michelle, it's Friday morning now and I'm having a lovely week! :)
DeleteNo idea why i haven't commented on your post yet-hang on i do because i'm being so ill at the start of this readathon :( When i looked on my kindle i have read about 15pages yesterday-so i did something lol I love your updates, they always make me smile :) The snack part is just so different to add to a book update too haha. We could read together because we enjoy the same snacks by the looks. Totally get what you say about the options white choc-such a let down,it is horrid! Even though i have a phobia of oranges (don't ask lol) the options orange is fricking AMAZING!! and the options coconut is too, delicious! My fav 2 flavours by far.
ReplyDeleteOh and onto books, 'We need to talk about Kevin', an absolutely fantastic read! Once you get used to Shrivers way of writing then you'll be fine, such an intense read. It got recommended to me by a friend at work, ages before the film was out and now i can't bear to watch the film incase it ruins what the book was...if you know what i mean. I'm weird, but the book left a lasting impression, we'll have to talk about it when you have read it.
Sorry this is soooo long xx happy reading xx
Hi Beckie! I actually love Options white hot chocolate, it was just a typo... I have IBS so when I'm at work I'm pretty much drinking Ovaltine and hot chocolate all day so I don't have to have loads of milk and caffeine. No wonder I'm always sleepy by closing! :)
DeleteOriginally my sister read KEVIN at school and warned me away, but it has a strange pull for me and now I can't wait to read it. I guess I want to see how much I like Kevin. I was a seriously screwed up teenager - not a murderous one, obviously! - so it'll be interesting to see how much of him I sympathise with and how much I condemn. And the movie... well, let's just say it's ready and waiting for the day I finish the book!
You know, that's a great idea, choosing books that are also movies for a RAT, especially for a week-long event like this one. Love it! I'm trying to narrow down a stack of library books, but I get easily distracted this time of year, so we'll see how it turns out at the end of the week.
ReplyDeleteI've finally taken my last library books back after about 6 months of pretty much entirely neglecting my own shelves, so now it's like, "I'M FREEEEEEE!" I always prefer to read then watch, and there are so many movies where I've got the book AND the movie waiting for me on my shelves right now. 127 Hours, An Education, Kevin, Julie and Julia... Plus all the movies coming out this year where I've got the book already and I might want to see them at the cinema! So many books, so little time, and all that jazz... :)
DeleteI'm going to join the general The Perks of Being a Wallflower happy parade. I haven't read it myself yet, but I've wanted to for aaaaaages and then I was wandering around a charity shop the other week and there it was. So obviously I had to buy it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, We Need to Talk About Kevin is great. I read it ages and ages ago and I keep feeling like I should re-read, but with the whole being pregnant thing it's not the most cheerful of subjects... Mother has no relationship with son, son is a bit of a psycho... :-/ Hmmmm. Anyway! I'm sure I'll get back to it one of these days!
Oooh and congrats to your sister on the graduating!! :-)
Nah, I've heard that pregnant ladies should pretty much stay the hell away from KEVIN. If 50 Shades of Grey is Mummy Porn, Kevin's surely the polar opposite... Stick with nice Charlie and his growing-up exploits! :)
DeleteAlso, THANK YOU! I think Hannah had an amazing day, I was so proud - and so happy that I'd conquered my agoraphobia enough to get there and see her big moment!
I like your book-movie tie ins. I've already read The Lightning Thief and have seen the movie. But both of the other books on the "you should really read this book" list around here. Today I'm catching up with the rest of the avid reading population and making progress in The Hunger Games. I'm enjoying reading your posts about #HSreadathon. I put up a cursory update yesterday (or was it Tuesday?) and need to put some more substantial thoughts together and update my blog.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm a big fan of buying/reading the book then immediately rushing out and buying the DVD. I have so many book-movie pairs waiting on my shelves right now, it's ridiculous! I've only read book 1 of THE HUNGER GAMES so far, but bloody hell it was brilliant. I might try and read it again this summer and go straight onto #2 and #3 this time. So little time off at this time of year, it's so frustrating! I don't think I could read them at the shop, being constantly interrupted - I'd be all "Hey Katniss, this dude's going to come and ask yet another stupid question... I know this is a crucial moment, but just lend me that bow and arrow a sec, will you?" ;)
DeleteCONGRATULATIONS on finishing your book!!! *cheers, claps and whoops like a mad woman* I'm so proud of us! :)
ReplyDeleteI read Kevin years ago and really enjoyed it. I seem to remember being cleverly written, with a perfectly malevolent atmosphere. The film, however? Not so much. I persuaded Boyfriend to watch it with me on the basis that I loved the book but it was almost too dark, which is a strange thing to say considering the subject matter. There was none of the tension and very little of the nature v. nurture questions that makes the book so fascinating. Instead I was just staring in horror at a TREMENDOUSLY creepy child...but I promise that the books brilliant!
I'm already convinced that I should read PERKS. Your tweets have convinced me more than I already was.
Oh, and do you know how badly I want a crispy bacon roll now? Very badly, indeed.
Cheers m'dears! Yup, still looking forward to KEVIN... Did I mention how much I adore Ezra Miller? I reckon he's the new Ben Whishaw - he makes even the most dysfunctional characters more sympathetic, nails every role perfectly and steals every movie he's in. Just like Ben Whishaw in Perfume, and The Hour, and Brideshead, and Richard II, and everything else I've ever seen him in. I never thought I'd fall a little bit in love with creepy Grenouille in Perfume, for example, but BOOM, I totally did. I cried over the end of that movie. GENIUS.
DeletePERKS... I'm totally in character-love with a sweetheart called Charlie. I'm underlining things because I already know it's a keeper. I've welled up once and smiled more. I've got a new book recommendation and a Smiths song to check out. And I'm only on page 30. :)
P.S. You could totally have had my crispy bacon roll. I ate all the bacon but the roll went smushy so I threw it away. Bleurgh, eyes bigger than my stomach, as usual... *eyes last piece of pizza thoughtfully*
You're making good progress. I do like your #insixwords summary for each day. I may adopt that when I do Bout-of-Books in August.
ReplyDeleteI think I might have nicked it from Bout of Books actually... or was it Dewey?... can't remember. Either way I like it, even if I HAVE continually forgotten to actually post it on Twitter where the hashtag came from! :)
DeleteI'm curious to know if you've found the time to start The Age of Miracles yet? I'm dying to know what you think of it :)
ReplyDeleteNot yet! I'm still in the middle of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER - but never fear, it's perched on the very top of a ramshackle tower next to the wardrobe... Clearly I read slower than I think because I'd really hoped to start it this week, oops! ;)
DeleteNow I think I need to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower! I really enjoyed most of the books that I read or started this week for the read-a-thon. One of my favorites was The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan. Enjoy your week.
ReplyDeleteHey, I was just over at your blog! Spooky... Yep, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER is wonderful - more bittersweet now, it's getting quite poignant, but it's as beautiful as ever. I'm looking forward to THE BRIDES OF ROLLROCK ISLAND - it's in a box under my bed so I think I'll have to dig it out in the very near future. Anything to distract me and get me through the holidays in relative calm! ;)
DeleteIt sounds like you had a busy week for trying to read-a-thon too, but maybe you did actually end up reading more than you would have, if you hadn't had that additional incentive to finish with Thompson at least. All your choc chip muffins and mochas have me thinking about The Power of Habit, my current audiobook - hee hee; chocolate chip muffins are my favourite too, if I'm baking, but there are others that I enjoy even more, when someone else is baking! Good luck with your reading this week!
ReplyDeleteYup, I think the read-a-thon definitely helped. I'm more likely to squeeze in a couple of extra pages at random times, and stick my nose determinedly in my book at the shop... Less copping out, more tuning in! :)
DeleteP.S. ALL HAIL THE CHOC CHIP MUFFIN! *bows deeply*
I think you did well, especially considering working and all. You know, I have not read Perks of Being a Wallflower. I think I need to get my hands on that one. I also love Diana so would like to read that book as well. =O)
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining me and I hope you will be with us again for FrightFall in October.
Wow, I hit you with two out of two, huh?! DIANA is fascinating so far, very well written and deeply researched, very balanced... And PERKS is getting rather darker now, but still funny and beautiful and with the most lovely protagonist ever. Perfect. :D
DeleteI had no idea that The Perks of Being a Wallflower was coming to the theatres next year! I have to read that one as well.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your accomplishments! I got a kick out of your menu for each day. I seriously hope that isn't ALL that you eat!!
Yup, add it to the list! I always think I'll read the book in time to watch the movie at the cinema, but then I get behind! There are a couple of book-to-movie titles this year that I REALLY want to see on the big screen though, so I'm making the extra effort to get ahead of myself over the summer...
DeleteAnd THANK YOU! Yes, reading over my menu for the week is fairly horrific. Normally there'd be more fresh fruit and proper meals in there, but I do eat pretty badly - I don't eat much at work, for example, and breakfast every morning is a muffin because it fills me up and doesn't aggravate my IBS. My family call me the Muffin Queen! :D
Wow! I'd say you did marvelously!
ReplyDeleteCheers m'dears! :)
DeleteYou did a great job. I am going to have to read Perks of Being a Wallflower. I saw your tweets on it and it sounds amazing.
ReplyDeleteSo far so wonderful - I'm about 2/3 of the way through and although it's darker and more complicated now (as Charlie inevitably starts to lose his innocence and grow up) it's still funny, charming and beautifully written.
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