Once Upon a Read-a-Thon Final Update

Total books: (read below)
All I can picture in my head is a crowd, booing and throwing apples at me. Not really, but I wish this competition had come at a better time. Overall I finished one book:( But I love spending time with my mom and since she arrived today, I dedicated all my time to her, and she dedicated all her time to helping me get my classroom in order. So it really was a win-win, even though I should have been able to crank out all four books. If I had any energy to stay up for the next half hour, I would crank out a few more pages, but I wouldn't finish a book.

1. Read Heaven Has a Blue Carpet
2. Read 100 pages of The Shack (on chpt. 7)

Maybe next year I'll have more time!

Here are the mini-challenges for today:
http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2011/07/once-upon-read-thon-mini-challenge-lets.html
Wicked Awesome Books wants us to play matchmaker with characters from different books.
My perfect couple (I'm crossing genres here):

Gale from The Hunger Games triology by Suzanne Collins
                                        +
Ellie from Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

Gale is an all-around nice guy and I wish so badly he could be with the girl he loved, but she chooses another. Ellie is looking for her missing sister with Sean, who's nothing but bad news. Both long for a person they can't be with (Ellie can't be with Sean because he's crazy and actually her sister's stalker). Ellie's stubborn, dedicated to family, and believes in fate, so she would work well with quiet and serious Gale, who is dedicatd to those he loves and deserves to be happy.


http://basicallyamazing.blogspot.com/2011/07/once-upon-time-read-thon-mini-challenge.html
Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing asked us to recommend two books. The first is one to any book- convince her to read it. Second is a book from our read-a-thon pile.

1. I absolutely loved The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Set during WWII, the book is told from Death's point of view in a way that makes the reader feel sympathatic for him. Any author who can make me feel emotion for a personified abstract noun writes extremely well. Not only that, but the reader sees a picture of everyday life for a non-Jewish child whose family is hiding a Jew. All of these unique perspectives, combined with stunning imagery and a bittersweet love story made me laugh out loud, cry more than once, and rave about it to anyone who would listen.

2. Heaven Has a Blue Carpet by Sharon Niedzinski (from my reading pile) was laugh out loud funny, about a suburban housewive turned shepherd. With a family of seven and two dogs, she relocated out to the country on a whim. I've never learned so much about sheep in all my life, and each tickling tale was somehow linked to a Bible passage. God shows us so many lessons through sheep and shepherds; the trouble is not too many people pay attention.

Thanks for all the mini-challenges! I've got to go to bed now. Waking up early to create three outstanding bulletin boards and make a trip to the Dollar Tree!