Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon: Hours 5-8

 

Welcome to the second post of the April Dewey readathon!  This one will take me through until 9pm here in England; if you want to catch up on all my challenges, updates and photos so far, you can check out my post for Hours 0-4 by clicking HERE.  Onwards!

~ Hour 5 (6pm) ~
I've been reading:  The Suicide Shop by Jean Teulé
Pages read since my last update:  33
Pages read altogether:  158
Mini challenges completed:  3
The menu:  The pizza's a-cookin'!
In six words:  I've finished my first book already!

Thoughts:  Man, I feel so tired already!  It's not even frickin' bedtime yet, but my eyes are so sleepy, I could drop off right now...  On the plus side, I kept reading for a few extra minutes past the hour before I stopped to do this update, and managed to finish my first book!  The Suicide Shop was weird and charming and intriguing, a little detached and offbeat at times, and it ended on a note so unexpected that it'd have floored me if I hadn't accidentally caught a glimpse of the last line as soon as I turned the page (don't you hate it when that happens?).  Glad I finally picked it up - and it was the PERFECT way to feel like I'd had a productive start to the readathon, especially as it looks like I might not be awake for quite as much of it as I'd originally anticipated!  ;)

 

MINI CHALLENGE: Operation: Quotation!

Hosted by Geeky Library

"Life is the way it is.  It's worth what it's worth!  It does its best, within its limitations.  We mustn't ask too much of life, either.  Nor should we want to suppress it!" 
- The Suicide Shop by Jean Teulé

 

~ Hour 6 (7pm) ~
I've been reading:  Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell
Pages read since my last update:  8
Pages read altogether:  166
Mini challenges completed:  3
The menu:  A couple of slices of Goodfellas pepperoni pizza; coffee
In six words:  An hour for doing other things.

Thoughts: This hour's mostly been about finishing cooking the pizza, EATING some of the pizza, and catching up on Instagram, to be honest.  Plus I'd already spilled over into this hour to finish my book from the LAST hour.  Aaaaanyway, a couple of pieces of pizza have been consumed, my mum had a nibble as well because "it smells so gooooood", then Domino (feline readathon buddy) decided SHE needed to investigate, and THEN I managed to get them all to sod off and picked up my next book - Kindred Spirits, the World Book Day mini novella quick read thingy by Rainbow Rowell, about a girl waiting in line for the new Star Wars movie.  It's another of my shortest book choices (oops) but I'm feeling lazy and also like I want something nice to read post-Suicide Shop!

 

 

~ Hour 7 (8pm) ~
I've been reading:  Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell
Pages read since my last update:  25
Pages read altogether:  191
Mini challenges completed:  3
The menu:  The last dregs of my coffee from before
In six words:  Ugh, is it bedtime yet?  #FAIL

Thoughts:  I'm really, genuinely knackered, ugh.  I don't know if it's my new medication, hormonal shittiness (ah, the joys of womanhood), the fact that I've been staring at my books and/or laptop for seven hours solid... WHO KNOWS?  I've read a bit more of Kindred Spirits anyway - very fun, very easy to read, very Rainbow-y - so I'll carry on with that for a bit now and see what happens.  Most of the challenges so far either aren't appealing or aren't actually available for me full stop (like this hour's Facebook one) which is at least freeing up a few extra minutes each hour for other things!  ONWARDS!

Accurate representation of my reading speed.

 

 

~ Hour 8 (9pm) ~
I've been reading:  Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell
Pages read since my last update:  41
Pages read altogether:  232
Mini challenges completed:  4
The menu:  Nothing this hour, that pizza was quite enough!
In six words:  Another book done!  I'M ON FIIIIIRE!

Thoughts:  I finished Kindred Spirits!  And the little teaser extract of a different book in the back, which only served to highlight how good Rainbow Rowell is compared to other YA novelists, haha.  It was really cute anyway, all about Star Wars and fandom and these three people sitting in a non-existent line for the new movie for several days, just for the experience and thrill (or not) of being there.  I loved it, and it's so tiny and quick to read that I'll definitely be keeping hold of it to reread next time I need a little pick-me-up!  Now, I'm off to do a few chores and generally surface for air, so I'll leave you with Victoria Wood, who sadly died this week, and her wonderful Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let's Do It), possibly the most hilarious musical skit of all time ever.  Sometimes mid-readathon you just need a good giggle...




MINI CHALLENGE: SHARE A QUOTE
Hosted by My Life is a Fairytale That Will Never End

"I have never been able to understand why people who come over as all weak and watery are said to be weeds.  Those posh plants with their double-barrelled names and a family tree as long as your arm, with roots that go way back, they don't know they're born.
'My dear, I simply can't cope with this soil - far too acid for my liking.  And look, there's a horrid little stone in the way.  It's just too much.'"

- From A Play on Words by Deric Longden

 

 

And so we come to the end of Hour 8, and this post.  There'll be a new post up for Hours 9-12; by the end of that one it'll be 1am here, when things start getting trippy...

 

Bout of Books 15: Tuesday

*flits into the blogosphere merrily*  Afternoon all!  Yesterday was a really good day for me readathon-wise; I finished my first book of the year, and read more than I have in months.  Today has a couple of distractions mixed into it, but should be another relatively open day for reading, so we'll see how far I get with my next novel by bedtime!

~ TUESDAY ~

Books I've read from:  Knots and Crosses (Rebus 1) by Ian Rankin; 21st Century Dodos: A Collection of Endangered Objects (and Other Stuff) by Steve Stack

Pages read today:  50

Books finished today:  None

Running total:  1 books; 185 pages 

The menu: Blueberry muffin, mixed tinned fruit and coffee; Goodfella's deep pan pepperoni pizza; bran flakes with sultanas; Graze toffee apple punnet; vanilla rooibos tea

Today #insixwords:  A busier day - but reading happened!

11:30am:  HALLELUJAAAAAAH!  I had a dentist's appointment this morning, which always gives me serious anxiety despite the fact that the dentist and his nurse are just lovely, and I WAS OKAAAAAAY.  One very painful but satisfying scale and polish later, and I was set free for another year or so, yaaay!  Anyway, before this appointment I countered my anxiety somewhat by reading over breakfast, and then when I came OUT of my appointment I made the most of the peace in the waiting room to read a bit more while Mum had her checkup.  So far, so productive!

 

1:45pm: PIZZAAAAAAA! Yes, I realise I'm doing a lot of excited shouting in this post, but ssssssh.  I'm definitely enjoying this Rebus novel so far, though the fact that this seasoned policeman doesn't think to so much as tentatively link a massive abduction/murder case in the city with the cryptic letters he's started receiving is kiiiiind of irritating.  I'm only 40 pages in though, so I'm sure he'll catch on soon enough!

 

 

5pm: My reading detoured off a cliff a bit this afternoon, because I was on the radio, wheeee!  Every day on BBC Radio 2 they do a 'non-stop oldies' half hour (during Steve Wright in the Afternoon) where a listener picks the music, and today it was me!  I actually submitted my list a few months ago, so my little bio was a bit out of date, but I still got major household brownie points for mentioning 'my lovely mum'. 

 

They managed to squeeze eight songs into my half hour - you submit about twenty-five for them to choose from - including two I used to sing in the car with my mum (Circle in the Sand by Belinda Carlisle and I Just Can't Stop Loving You by Michael Jackson), one from car trips with my dad (Keep the Customer Satisfied by Simon and Garfunkel), one my mum detests (Jumping Jack Flash by The Rolling Stones), plus four more that have made it onto my favourite songs playlist over the years!  They kicked off with this one, which I first heard in an episode of Dexter.  Season 1, when Dexter, Rita, Rudy and Deb clear his dad's house and he brings some of the records home?  LOVED IT.  Now I can head off for a shower and go back to my book!

 

 

 

8pm:  Weeell, I think that's my internetting done for tonight.  I've done a bit more reading, eaten bran flakes and watched an episode of Being Human, so I think it might be time to switch off and go back to my book before bed.  Happy reading all!

 

Quote of the day:  "It was everywhere, crime.  It was the life-force and the blood and the balls of life: to cheat, to edge; to take that body-swerve at authority, to kill."
- from Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin


CHALLENGE: BOOKISH WOULD YOU RATHER?
Hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale

Would you rather:
Lend books to someone who dog-ears pages or to someone who reads with cheesy Cheetos fingers?
Dog-ear pages, definitely.  The book might look a mess at the end, but at least it wouldn't be dirty!

Would you rather:
Be able to meet one character of your choice or meet one author of your choice?
One character, I think.  It'd open the possibilities up to all the wise and magical characters out there, people who've had incredible adventures or have intriguing world views.  Obviously, this all comes from the author to begin with, but... what about the things that don't make it onto the page, the things the character could tell you that even the author doesn't know about?  I may be overthinking this.

Would you rather:
Never be allowed in a bookstore again or never be allowed in a library again?
Bookstore, sad though that would be.  A library is ever-shifting, convenient, free, has great facilities, can order books in, is fantastic for the most expensive books and fleeting interests as well as more mundane stock... why would I ever want to be without that option?!

Would you rather:
Have to choose one of your favourite characters to die in their book or have to pick one of your favourite couples to break up in their book?
Oh, break up, definitely.  Life goes on, more fish in the sea, etc etc.  Unless... UNLESS... the character I was killing off was already on that road anyway.  Maybe someone in a terrible situation, or very ill, or 105 years old.  Then maybe, MAYBE, I would think about saving love over life.

Would you rather:
Be required to read Twilight once a year for the rest of your life or The Scarlet Letter once a year for the rest of your life?
I haven't read The Scarlet Letter yet, so I'm going to have to say Twilight.  I really liked it when I read it all those years ago, and it's a quick read, so it wouldn't take up a massive chunk of my reading life even if my feelings about it shifted upon rereading.

REVIEW: A Note of Madness, by Tabitha Suzuma (4.5*)

(The Bodley Head, 2006)

"He was humming along to the radio, making coffee, kicking Harry's washing out of the way.  Everything seemed so normal - he seemed so normal.  If anyone came in right now they wouldn't suspect anything was wrong.  Yet his mind seemed to be fragmenting, like a mirror spiderwebbing with cracks.  He felt as if he were at some kind of junction; what he did now could have huge repercussions - should he try to hold on or just let himself fall apart?"

Having been blown away by Tabitha Suzuma's sensitively-handled novel Forbidden - about a brother and sister who fall in love - I did what any self-respecting book fiend would do: I hopped straight on the internet to find out what else she'd written.  Imagine my delight when I stumbled across A Note of Madness and its sequel, A Voice in the Distance, about a promising young pianist and his battle with bipolar disorder.  Not only is mental health one of my pet subjects, for obvious reasons, but the premise also reminded me of K.M. Peyton's Pennington novels, about a young rebel who happens to be a superb pianist, which I fell in love with in my early teens.

So, nostalgia aside, back to this novel.  Flynn Laukonen and his friends Harry and Jennah have grown up together and are now all students at the Royal College of Music in London.  As one of only two brilliant pianists at the College, it is Flynn who is really admired as one of its rising stars.  Unfortunately, the pressure on him to perform, coupled with his ongoing rivalry with fellow pianist Andre, triggers a break in his mental health, and as he cycles between manic periods of high creativity, boundless energy and deep understanding of music, and crashing lows when he barely gets out of bed except to go to the bathroom, Harry takes the brave step of calling in Flynn's doctor brother Rami to help.

I thought this was a very truthful novel in terms of the experience of bipolar disorder; in fact, great swathes could have come straight from my own life.  The overzealous good humour, compulsive drive to create and the appreciation of sensory pleasures, the reckless disregard for property and societal expectations, the crushing periods of existential despair and seething hate, the sudden disappearance of cognitive ability and the loss of concentration (which is why things go so quiet around the blog when I'm in a bad way) - I've been there, and it felt so... not reassuring, exactly... maybe comforting?... to have someone write about these feelings and crises so beautifully.  It's always interesting to read mental health-themed novels, especially by people outside of that sphere of experience (I assume), to see if they've done it justice, as it were.  Tabitha Suzuma gets plenty of author brownie points from me for getting it right.  She also gets bonus points for not taking the novel quite where I expected it to go; she sidesteps the more tense but also highly melodramatic climax I'd been anticipating, which was simultaneously slightly disappointing but also more realistic, so I was happy on balance.

Admittedly, her story doesn't touch on many of the more mundane aspects of life with a mental disorder, particularly with regards to treatment.  By writing Flynn's brother as a doctor, Suzuma keeps her plot tight and opens the door for an examination of the different aspects of their relationship as Flynn's mental health deteriorates, but she also gives herself a convenient escape from some of the more traumatic consequences of a diagnosis like bipolar.  For example, Flynn's late-teen age group gives his friends the maturity to give him support instead of ridicule, something I found at university but not at school; a younger character might not have been so lucky.  Likewise, Rami's occupation and his ability to pull strings at the local hospital means no presenting to A and E when things get dire, no lengthy waits for appointments, no trekking painfully slowly from GP to Pathfinder nurse to consultant and back again in the quest for help.  When things get out of hand Rami's always there, so Harry, Jennah and even Flynn's parents never really have to deal with him in crisis.  Still, this would have made for a rather dull novel, and what's more important is how skilfully Suzuma portrays these characters and this illness for a young adult audience as part of a compelling story.  For me, she did a brilliant job, which definitely gets her off the hook for overlooking a few of the more boring details.

Bottom line: This is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in mental health, for teens looking for an accurate depiction of bipolar symptoms and its effects on mood, college work and general living, and for readers who fancy an unusual British contemporary YA to fly through this summer.  There's some music talk, a dose of humour, strong friendships, a little romance and a pinch of family drama, something for everyone really.  I'm looking forward to reading the sequel very soon!

Notable Quotables:

• "Each note was more poignant than the last, more exquisite, until you didn't feel as if another could surpass it and then one did and it was utterly overwhelming, so much so that your chest ached and your eyes stung and your whole body felt as if it would burst."
• "The weather had been glorious all day and the golden light outside promised a magical sunset.  He thought of the couples and families strolling in the park, enjoying the late-afternoon sunshine, and was filled with an inexplicable sadness.  The light would be shimmering on the Serpentine, the raised voices of children echoing from a distance.  The leaves on the trees would be stirring in the breeze, the sunlight flooding the grass with golden confetti, the sky a deep, painful blue.  The thought of going to the park was inconceivable - the sight of such aching beauty would infuse his soul with pain."
• "Flynn felt himself begin to shake...  It clung to him, an invisible cloak of agitation and self-destruction that sent acid fury shooting through his veins... There was fire burning through him, creating an overpowering urge to scream, kick, yell...  He couldn't talk without wanting to shout.  Couldn't move without lashing out."
• "I can't.  The two words seemed permanently lodged inside his head.  I can't play tomorrow... I can't go to the rehearsal, I can't tidy the flat, I can't go for a run and I sure as hell can't practise."
• "Flynn pressed his hands against his face and felt hot tears trickle between his fingers.  He wanted everything to go away.  He wanted everything to stop.  As long as he lived, he would never escape himself.  How much more could he endure?  Another fifty years, another sixty?  How could he endure the weeks, the months, the years, when he couldn't even get through the hours?  It was only a matter of time.  Only a matter of time before he reached the end of his tether and found himself incapable of carrying on for another day.  He would not make it through a lifetime.  Not like this..."

Source: I bought this book from... Amazon Marketplace?  I think.  It's been a while!