SiS read-a-thon Final Report!

1. First of all, give us an end-of-read-a-thon status update. Books read, pages read, you know the drill!
*books read: only 1
*Pages read since last update: only 13
*Pages total: 229
2.What is your favorite book you read during the read-a-thon?
The only one I completed was Only You, Sierra, so I suppose that was my favorite!
3. Did you participate in any mini-challenges? Which ones?
I participated in all of the mini challenges! Even the optional ones :-)
4. Which mini-challenge was your favorite?
My favorite was creating a story, I really enjoyed seeing all the ways people connected those four words!
5. What has been your favorite thing about the read-a-thon?
That I was able to connect with new bloggers and make friends, or at least get my very first followers!
6. Are you satisfied with how much reading you got done? Did you do more than you expected? Less?
I'm rather unsatisfied with the amount of reading I got done, but when you are raising a 14-month old you can't expect to do much anything else. I expected to get a bit more done than I did.
7. What did you think of the updates? Too close together? Didn't like the time limit?
I think the updates were perfectly spaced out. It gave me enough time to attempt to get some reading done before I had to post and tell you guys how little I actually got done!
8. If you could change one thing about the read-a-thon, what would it be?
I personally wish that it was held for another day (til Sunday night.) I am in the Easter time zone, so at least 8pm is 10pm for me, but I get most of my reading done after the baby goes to sleep around 9pm. I the read-a-thon was held for another day, then I would have had two full nights to read and would have looked more productive P
9. Would you participate in another read-a-thon hosted by Squeaky Books? Why or why not? (Again, I won't cry if you say "no")
yes, I would! This was my first read-a-thon and it was very enjoyable!
10.Any last comments on the read-a-thon?
Well, I sure would like to win at least one of those prizes...



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SiS Read-a-thon Update #11!

Update:

• Books read so far: Still just one
• Pages read since last update: 20
• Pages read total: 206
• How I'm Feeling: Pretty good. I wish I had more time to read, but I might be able to get some more reading in before the final update/report/thingy.

Mini-Challenge:

To be completely honest, I think the book-world I want to live in is the real world. While all the fantasy worlds seem like they would be so magical and great, they all involve way more conflict and fighting than the world. I wanna live in the world of the muggles, the world that the Cullens hide from, the world Clary grew up in. It's safer and less dramatic.

SiS Read-a-Thon Update #10!

Update:

*Books read so far: still just 1
*Pages since last update: none!
*Total pages: 186
*How I'm feeling: hungry!

Mini-Challenge!
Nothing I've really read is funny or inspiring. Except that in What Are You Waiting For? it mentioned that in Iran, dating is apparently illegal. I don't know of that's true, but it's really something to think about. Look at how lucky we are that we get to date whoever we want? Very interesting.

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SiS Read-a-thin Update #9!

Update:

*Books read so far: still just 1
*Pages since last update: none, but the babez and I had a great nap!
*Total pages: 186
*How I'm feeling: still rather sleepy ;-)

Mini-Challenge
Anagrams are always fun. Let's see what we get from Nikki Greis... Kinkier Sig, haha!

What about if I use Nicole Greis?
Cringe So Lie

:-D

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SiS Read-a-thon Update #8!

Update:

*Books read so far: still just 1
*Pages since last update: 15
*Total pages: 186
*How I'm feeling: pretty good, though I'm not getting too much reading done lol

Mini-Challenge:
When I organize my bookshelf, I do it first by author, then by series, and last by title (unless it's in a series, then I do them in order!) What about you guys?
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SiS Read-a-thon Update #7!

Update:

• Books read so far: Still just 1
• Pages read since last update: ...3 lol
• Pages read total: 171
• How I'm feeling: Well I'm not getting too much reading done, but I'm trying.

Mini-Challenge:

Personally, I can't think of any books I've read that were oh-so-moving or anything. But I think a good book for fifth graders would be City of Bones. I absolutely loved that book, though it didn't have any moral to it. I think it would be a good way to get old elementary students interested in reading. Since I spent most of last semester with a group of awesome fifth graders, I think it's safe to say I know that they like fantasy books. And City of Bones is perfect.

Check out the giveaway at Weaving Colors!

My fellow blogger Kate over at Weaving Colors is celebrating her 50th follower by giving away a copy of Possession by Elana Johnson! Go check it out and enter to win today!

Weaving Colors: 50 Followers Contest!

SiS Read-a-thon Update #6!

Update!

• Books read so far: 1!
• Pages read so far: 168
• Pages since last update: 78
• How I'm feeling: So happy I finally got one book done! However, I am not reading the ones I originally said I would. Death and The Penguin ended up not being very interesting. So now I'm moving on to What Are You Waiting For? It seemed pretty interesting, though it's not the fiction I usually read. Actually, I don't usually read Christian works, but I got them to review since I'm just starting out so I guess I gotta read them at some time!

Mini-Challenge

For this challenge, I would put together Anita Blake with Ron Weasley. No, not romantically. I think that Ron would be a great sidekick for Anita. Anita is really brash and fierce, while Ron.. is not. He is the humorous friend, the one everyone likes to laugh at. I think that they would be great together, because even though he is a clown he sometimes gets things right that no one else does.

Review: "Only You, Sierra" by Robin Jones Gunn

Review:
5 of 5 stars
"Only You, Sierra" by Robin Jones Gunn is the first work of Christian fiction I have ever read, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was surprised to see how prevalent Sierra's faith was in the story. The entire story revolved around Sierra waiting for "God-things", or events caused by the creator that were meant to lead Sierra to something.

As a mother, I found this to be a great story. Sierra is a very polite, moral young lady who is not afraid to follow her heart. Her relationship with her parents is very open and adult, with both sides willing to listen to each other and compromise. Sierra definitely thinks about her actions and what effect they will or have had. More than once in the story, she admitted she was wrong and apologized. This character is one that every parent will wish they had.

The only part I was concerned about was Sierra's strong desire to have a boyfriend. For being a Christian novel, I was rather surprised that was the focus of the novel. However, I can recall my teen years and yes, my life revolved around boys. I really commend Gunn on her ability to show something most teens worry about in a way that still puts the main focus on God.

One thing I did notice about the novel is that it was originally published in 1995, and it seems like Gunn tried to do some minor updating. There are a few times when sentences about cell phones or emails look like they were added in at the last minute. This doesn't change anything about the story, but I found the lack of technology to be refreshing. So much of our lives today focuses on technology, it was nice to read about a family who likes to spend time together.

I would give this book 5 of 5 stars. Gunn did a great job writing a story that focuses on real-world problems like dating and relocating that is also wholesome and entertaining. I would recommend this book to any Christian.

Could you please rank my review below? I am just getting started and I'd love to know how I'm doing!