No idea what I was thinking, but I’ve signed up for Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon. So, if you’re bored today, check back because I’ll be updating frequently.

This morning’s first post offers insight into who I am for anyone stopping by from the outside world:

Where are you reading from today?

I’m reading in an overcast Washington, D.C. Right now I’ll be reading at home, but the location may vary throughout the day to keep things interesting.

3 facts about me …

1. I am not a morning person.
2. I leave for France in eighteen days for my first trip to a wholly foreign-speaking land.
3. I don’t like coffee.

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

Well, I picked up seven new books at the library yesterday to provide me with a bunch of options, but my TBR pile at home is deep as well.

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)?

I’m supposed to have goals? Crap! I thought getting out of bed in time to start was a pretty good one…

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

I am a novice professional, but have many years under my belt in the amateur category. I do, of course, welcome any and all suggestions of how to muddle through on the five hours of sleep I got after last night’s marathon French Monopoly game. If you think that game is endless in English, you haven’t seen anything until you have to pull out a dictionary to translate the Community Chest cards…

Do I want to spend Saturday this way?

I liked this week’s Booking through Thursday, but since I already had a Thursday feature, I figured it would work well for today:

What was the last book you bought?

Used? Chez Moi
New? Let’s Go: France 2008

Last book I picked up from the library? Proust’s The Captive

Name a book you have read MORE than once

Little Women

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

Women in the Global Factory was eye-opening when I was in college. The book, which examines how women around the world are oppressed to manufacture goods for the U.S., is only 75 pages or so, but I kept finding such outrageous things in it that I must have driven the fourth floor of Freeman batty with how often I walked into rooms to read yet another quote.

More recently, Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle had a similar effect on me, although it’s harder just to walk into people’s rooms to read to them. Honestly, it’s an insightful look into this country’s agriculture and how Americans eat. It’s made me consider taking up meat eating again, if said meat could be obtained (as with the rest of my produce) from local family farmers.

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews

Yes! Seriously, I pick books for all sorts of reasons. Some are recommended by friends, others I’ve read about online. Sometimes I go into the library and just pick up books and read the blurbs until I find one that sounds palatable. (And, yes, books with pretty covers always get picked up first.) I usually only buy books I’m pretty sure I’m going to enjoy, though. If they sound iffy, they’re definitely a library acquisition.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

I like both, but I read more fiction. Non-fiction requires a different, more focused mindset.

What’s more important in a novel — beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

Both are important, as are interesting characters. In the interest of not sounding like John McCain, however, I’ll pick characters as most important. If I don’t like the characters, I won’t finish the book. Second most important would be beautiful writing. Housekeeping is an example of a book with just gorgeous prose (and not a lot of action. While the writing doesn’t have to be beautiful, it does have to be passable. If I feel the need to pick up a pen and edit your text, I’m going to put it down for my own sanity. Finally, I’d say gripping plot is also important, although less so. Thrillers have a gripping plot, but that’s never going to convince me to read them. It does help, though, if the plot is a little bit smart. Genre fiction, such as mysteries, have a lot of tripe in them and it’s terribly frustrating to be able to guess the entire trajectory of the novel from its first chapter.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)

Jo March/Anne Shirley/Harry Potter

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?

There are no books on my nightstand because I don’t have one. I assume this question is about what I’m currently reading or about to start reading, though, so I’ll offer you those instead:

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?

I finished Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on Tuesday. Chez Moi is back in my work bag for commute reading.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?

Yep, although usually less than halfway. If I make it halfway in and abandon it, I will return to it later on to give it another shot. Usually that tends to mean I’m just not in the mood for it at the moment, as opposed to it not passing muster in general.

I know, I know, I know. I promised you nightly updates of my summer reads a month ago and not only did I fail to deliver that, but then I also neglected to give you my September books. All I can say is that I’m working on it.

The second installment of my summer reading:

Mrs. Pollifax on Safari, by Dorothy Gilman

From the jacket: “Now the incredible Mrs. Pollifax, part-time geranium expert, part-time spy, has been sent on a safari to smoke out a very clever international assassin whose next target is the president of Zambia. ‘Just take a lot of pictures of everyone on that safari,’ the CIA man told her. ‘One of them has to be our man.’ It sounded simple enough. But it wasn’t. Because shortly after Mrs. Pollifax started taking pictures, someone stole her film. And right after that she was kidnapped by Rhodesian terrorists….”

My take: I’d once before listened to a Mrs. Pollifax mystery, so I suspected I’d like this one when I spied it at a library book sale. I was right. Not only did the book provide a fun mystery with lots of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming half the time, it also provided me with an interesting primer into the African nations of Zambia and Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia). Mrs. Pollifax will appeal to anyone who enjoys the Jessica Fletcher/Murder She Wrote type of books or someone who wants to be immersed in another culture in their reading.

Pages: 223

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

From the jacket: “Two sisters of opposing temperaments who share the pangs of tragic love provide the theme for Jane Austen’s dramatically human narrative, Sense and Sensibility. Elinor, practical and conventional, is the perfection of sense. Marianne, emotional and sentimental, is the embodiment of sensibility. To both comes the sorrow of unhappy love….”

My take: I led a read-along of perennial favorite Sense and Sensibility on Ravelry which lasted much of the summer as we examined five chapters a week. I enjoyed learning the outdated definition of “sensibility,” which corresponds more to a modern definition of “empathy” and which is a decidedly romantic approach to a life outlook than one governed by sense. (How I read this the first time without exploring this language change is really beyond me.) While Elinor remains a favorite, I found that I did tire of her very tightly reined in approach to life and love (even if her mother and sister’s emotionally charged lives do go a long way toward explaining it) and wanted to see an outburst or two…

Pages: 314

The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart

From the jacket: “’Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?’ When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can est your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. With their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all? Welcome to the Mysterious Benedict Society.”

My take: I really enjoyed this story of four children who come together to respond to a newspaper ad — logical Reynie, resourceful Kate, obstinate Constance, and Sticky, who never forgets. Each of them, already alone in a world being subdued via television and subliminal messages, agrees to work for Mr. Benedict, a genius who has pinpointed the source of the evil and that children are being utilized to disperse it. The team, for that’s ultimately what they must become, must infiltrate the “school,” find a way to get into the good graces of its benefactor, and destroy the machinery that will ultimately destroy them if they fail. Perfect for those who don’t quite fit.

(My absolute favorite part of the book may have come even before the story began. The dedication reads “For Elliot” and the thanks conclude “… I would like to thank … my son Elliot, for being Elliot — which is to say, for making everything fine.” Can you imagine a nicer compliment?)

Pages: 486

Find the first installment of summer reads here. Part 3 next week after I return from Connecticut and Karen’s wedding…

Olsson’s Books and Records has shuttered their last four locations.

Remember, it may be cheaper to buy online or from a big box store, but you’ll never beat the locals for personal attention and local knowledge.

Local business owners are your neighbors. The same civic quality-of-life issues that matter to you matter to them.

If you don’t support them with your money*, they will fail.

Pardon me while I shed a few tears into my teacup…

*I am not suggesting that you spend your money unwisely. Obviously, if you can’t afford to buy a book at your local bookstore, you shouldn’t do so just to help keep them afloat. But I can live in a world without Amazon a whole lot more comfortably than I can in a world where small businesses are shuttered.

One of the main perks of living in a nation’s capital is that periodically there is an intersection between government, tourism, and residents. The Library of Congress’ National Book Festival down on the Mall is one such co-mingling.

An annual event for the past eight years, the Book Fest is a pet project of Laura Bush. It remains unclear whether the event will continue as the administration changes, but it was obvious from many of the remarks from authors and presenters that there is hope that funding will be found.
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