Booking Through Thursday: Reviewed

Today's meme at Booking Through Thursday asks:

Do you read book reviews? Do you let them change your mind about reading/not reading a particular book?

As a librarian, I've been trained to read reviews and to be discriminate about what to purchase for a collection.  I went through the "must buy every starred review!!" stage and emerged with a better understanding of what is appealing for my students and what is a good buy for my school, and what will just sit on the shelf.  Basically, my readers don't read reviews (though I am sharing blogs and websites with my olders).  They hand-sell books to each other.  If a book needs a review, it won't get read unless I put a lot of effort into it.  So I have to watch student interest and changes in grade level curriculum carefully, and select those just-in-time purchases that will appeal to them in the moment.  This is where reviews really come in handy, and concatenations of reviews like the ones on Titlewave are absolutely essential when I'm looking for just the right book.

As a lifetime reader, I read reviews with trepidation because I hate spoilers.   I typically read only as much as I have to to decide if I want to read it or not, and then quickly classify & stick it on my TBR list.  (This is currently on Goodreads and it's working well for me.)  You might notice my list is way, way too long.  I try to tag TBR books thoroughly to help me remember where I got a particular recommendation. This is the time of year when Newbery predictions really get going, so I pay close attention to those and develop a summer reading list of 2011 hopefuls.  Last night I added a 2010-stars-so-far tag to my books on Goodreads to reflect the new additions on Elizabeth Bluemle's fantastic list of this year's starred reviews.  Many of these books were already on my TBR list, but it's good to have one more reason to read a particular book.

So, knowing a book was reviewed positively is usually all I want before I read it myself. but if I'm buying for a collection, I'll read reviews in a completely different way.

Booking Through Thursday: Signature

This week's question on Booking Through Thursday:

Do signed copies excite you? Tempt you? Delight you? Or does it not matter to you?

 I'm starting to care, but mostly I think they're neat when I can get them, and not so important otherwise.  It's the experience of meeting the author that's meaningful to me.  I had a great conversation with Lauren Myracle the other day at my fabulous local bookstore, Nicola's Books.  She had Gary Paulsen visit a few weeks back, but even though it was cool to meet him and get a signature, I don't think I'll carry that memory very far.  Lauren Myracle, on the other hand, made an impression because she took time to talk with each of the people in line (mostly tween girls) and give them her sincere attention.  That's pretty impressive!

48-Hour Book Challenge - starting line... and I'm off!

I've officially started my 48 hours of reading for the 48 Hour Book Challenge, hosted by Mother Reader.  10pm - 10pm, Friday-Sunday.  I'll be Twittering my progress and checking in here periodically.  More later - I'm reading!  =)  First book: continuing I Capture the Castle.

Fri 10:10 pm - Sigh... false start.  Wouldn't you know it, my son woke up crying as SOON as I sat down to read??  So I'm really starting at 10:10.  Really.  Now.

Sat 4:20 am - 6 hours, three chocolate-covered espresso beans, four pieces of cold pizza and a cup of chai masala later, I'm thinking I should go to bed.  More in the later am.

Sat 7 am - Awake, one kid fed, ready to keep reading!

Sat 10:10 am - 12 hours after I've begun.  Total time reading/blogging: 9 hours.  1 book finished (how embarrassing!  Lots of kid interruptions - "Maaaammaaaa...."): I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.  I wanted to savor that one, and it felt decadent!  Now reading NERDS by Michael Buckley.  This one will go much more quickly.

Quote from Ivy (4-year-old co-blogger): "Mommy, will you read me some of your book so I can make a picture in my head?"

Sat 12:30 pm - 11 hours, 10 minutes of reading.  Listened to audiobook of The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch while doing laundry.  Must now stop for a brief time to give an info session about Little Lake Free School, which happens to be the charity I'm supporting.  Do you believe in alternative, democratic education?  Go to their web site and donate money!

Sat 2:10 pm - back earlier than anticipated.  Ready to continue!

Sat 5:30 pm - Done with book 2 (NERDS)!  Total reading thus far = almost exactly 14 hours.  Took a brief break to put son to sleep and nearly fell asleep myself... dangerous.  Luckily the chai masala is holding.  I'm going to Goodreads to write some short reviews of these two books.

Sat 7:15 pm - Cleaned the kitchen, folded laundry, made dinner for kids while listening to audiobook.  Moving on to Cosmic, the new book by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Millions).

Sat 10:50 pm - Just past 24 hours into the readathon; I've read for 19 of those hours.  I am starting to wonder when I will crash.  Kids asleep, eating ice cream and hanging out with my husband, who is watching Iron Man.  I nodded off once in the chair but that was before Iron Man came on.  Cosmic is fantastic, by the way.  I'm about 30 pages from the end.

Sun 1:20 am - I waffled between a new Robin McKinley or an old favorite Megan Whelan Turner... The Thief won.  It's been 21.5 hours of reading and I'm thinking I need some sleep.  Time for a nap -- back in a bit.

Sun 3:20 am - Dexter very obligingly woke me up by calling for Maaaaammaaaa, then promptly going back to sleep.  Couldn't ask for a better alarm clock.  Also, the last stitch came out of the corner of my eye where it's been bugging me for weeks.  Two yays.  I got in about a half hour of reading The Thief  before drifting back to sleep.

Sun 5:30 am - Woke again to do some more reading.  Trying to find a comfy spot that's not too comfy.  Munching on chocolate covered espresso beans and wishing we had enough milk left for me to make more chai masala... I should really save it for the baby.

Sun 7:20 am - I can hear the kids are awake now.  Total reading so far = 23 hours 30 min.  I'm well on my way to my goal of 30 hours!

Sun 9:40 am - walking over to the common house for brunch, about 25% remaining of Thief.  Total = 25 hrs 30 min.

Sun 11:50 am - brunch did not afford me as much time as I'd hoped... too much kid wrangling and cleaning up.  I'm at 26.5 hours.  Kids are now watching Toy Story.  Back to finish Thief and then hunt down our library copy of Bone.

Sun 2:50 pm - finished Thief, but no luck finding Bone, so I read the other graphic novel on my TBR pile: Jane Yolen's Foiled.  Quick and a bit disjointed, but great art.  Then listened to my audiobook while I cleaned the kitchen.  Total 29.5 hours!!  I am sad to stop but told my neighbor I would attend her blessingway this afternoon.  Back in 1.5 hours to continue reading.

4:50 pm - back now.  Tom found Bone for me!  I think I will read that next.  I had a nice talk with my Mom, and I'm ready to continue.

6:10 pm - read for a while, had a half hour nap, and read aloud to Ivy from Bone. Heading over for dinner now.  Total: 30.5 hours.  Yeah -- met my goal!!  =)

7:30 pm - back from dinner, ready to finish with a bang.

10:10 pm - FINISH LINE!  Broke for a half hour to help bathe and tuck in kids, but otherwise read Bone and Outlaws of Sherwood for last 2.5 hours.

Total hours reading: 32.5 hours

Total hours sleeping: 6 hours

Books read: 4 partial, 4 complete (one was an audiobook)

Pages read: 1622 (not including audiobook)

I had a great time doing this.  I was much more successful than I'd been in previous readathons, mostly because I enlisted the help of my husband in advance and set up other activities for kids to be doing during the day.  Also, having food ready and available throughout the day -- I cooked a big pan of mac & cheese in advance, had bagged salads ready, ate common meal and leftovers, etc.  Lastly, providing myself with a source of caffeine.   The chocolate covered espresso beans were not nearly as effective as the masala chai in keeping me energized.  I didn't need any caffeine for the last 12 hours, surprisingly.  I bet I will sleep well tonight, though!!

Can't wait to participate again.  It was a blast!