48HBC Review: California Bones

By Greg van Eekhout
Available now from Tor
Review copy

You are what you eat.  In the world of CALIFORNIA BONES, magic exists even though there are few sources of it left.  At the top of the heap are the osteomancers, who get their power through consuming bones.  At the top of their heap is the Hierarch of  Southern California, who keeps his power by periodically consuming his most powerful subordinates, including Daniel Blackland's father.

Greg van Eekhout has created an inventive type of magic and a nightmarish bureaucracy that fuel a heist plot.  Now, I love a good heist.  But this one falls to pretty standard heist beats and ends up being a little disappointing because the world of CALIFORNIA BONES is so compelling that it cries out for something a little riskier.  At the same time, while the book reaches a satisfying conclusion, Eekhout seemed to be maneuvering things into place for a sequel and I will be there with bells on.

CALIFORNIA BONES follows two very different young men with similar backgrounds.  Daniel was raised as an osteomancer by his father and went into hiding after his death.  Gabriel's mother kept him from the power to keep him safe, and he grew up to join the government himself.  When Gabriel discovers that Daniel faked his death and is still alive, he becomes embroiled in the dangerous politics he so long avoided.  Meanwhile, Daniel is brought back into the fold by a major grifter for the chance to take back something the Hierarch stole.  Gabriel is out for revenge, while Daniel just wants to survive.

I liked the way the two plots inter-weaved, the way their goals both conflicted and came together.  I think I liked Gabriel's chapters a touch more.  He develops a relationship with a human "dog" named Max that really shows he isn't what he first appears to be.  Daniel's chapters are enjoyable too, but just a bit more standard and predictable.

So much of this book lingers in my mind.  The first chapter, for one.  The exquisitely grotesque imagery is going to haunt my darker dreams for awhile.  Gabriel's chapters show the senseless violence and dehumanization employed by the government in harrowing detail.  Daniel's crew exhibit their own strange and wondrous powers.  There's a beautiful mix of horror and the fantastical.  Urban fantasy fans will not be disappointed.

48HBC Review: Feather Bound

By Sarah Raughley
Available now from Strange Chemistry (Angry Robot)
Review copy

I was excited about FEATHER BOUND, a YA debut based on the Hagoromo/Crane Wife legend.  After seeing several negative reviews, my excitement dimmed and it moved down in my TBR pile.  But 48HBC, with its focus on diversity, pushed it back up toward the top.

The story begins with Deanna attending the funeral of an old family friend.  She's mostly there out of obligation, but she does mourn the man's son, her best friend who died when he was ten.  Cue the reveal that in Deanna's world some people are "swans" - they have feathers, which if stolen make them the slave of the one who takes them.  And that old family friend enslaved his wife.  Cue the second reveal that Hyde is still alive, taking over his father's company, and making some big changes to it as well.

Sarah Raughley's writing is fine and there are lots of good ideas in FEATHER BOUND.  Through the metaphor of swans, Raughley addresses human trafficking, coming out, and several other issues.  At the same time, that means those issues only get addressed shallowly.  Deanna is only interested in keeping herself and those she loves free; she's not interested in ending slavery or campaigning for stricter protections or ending the stigma against being a swan.  Much like a fairy tale, there is no explanation for the magical.  Swans just are.  FEATHER BOUND really requires the reader to buy in to the metaphor.  I did, but I wished Raughley had the time to go deeper.

Deanna was a frustrating heroine.  She's the type, as her sister points out, to refuse any help offered and then complain that she's all alone.  Thus, Deanna tries to go at it alone in a desperate situation while ignoring people who could and would help.  At the same time, it's easy to see why a confused, scared teenager would withdraw from the world as Deanna does.

I think fans of traditional fairy tale retellings will enjoy FEATHER BOUND.  The world's rules serve the characters journey.  It's not appropriate for most readers younger than twelve due to the sexual slavery angle, but it doesn't really have any other elements that play up the darkness of the premise.  (Okay, I am now remembering that there is another strange sexual bit that is not for younger readers.)  I did like that Deanna found her inner strength at the end.

Review: Gold Medal Winter

By Donna Freitas
Available now from Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic)
Review copy

Esperanza Flores, called Espi, is a sixteen-year-old figure skater who gets her big break when she places second at Nationals the year one of the top US skaters is out with a knee injury.  Unexpectedly, she's on the US Olympic team.

I love figure skating.  I did it myself as a child, and I've never forgotten how much fun it is.  Plus, it's one of the funnest sports to watch.  Thus, I had very high hopes for GOLD MEDAL WINTER.  For the most part, it delivered.

I liked that GOLD MEDAL WINTER emphasizes that ice skating is tough and requires a great deal of practice and dedication.  Like most performers and athletes, Espi is superstitious.  Belief in yourself and not giving into mind games or the pressure is also part of winning.  But Espi gets caught up in a lot of drama on her way to the games.

I really didn't like the love triangle in GOLD MEDAL WINTER.  Espi has made it the the Olympics, something she's been working for for years, but instead she's going to spend her time worrying about boys?  Like Espi's coach, I was disappointed that she was giving into the drama.  I was also disappointed that in the end, their isn't much description of Espi's routines.

GOLD MEDAL WINTER is a quick middle-grade read that will satisfy ice skating and Olympics fans.  Author Donna Freitas incorporates a lot of detail about how the team is picked and such that adds to the verisimilitude of the story.  Espi's Dominican heritage also adds another layer of interest to the story.  Predicting the ending isn't much trouble, but the journey is fun.

48 HBC Finish Line

My time ended at 6:15, but I was on the road and couldn't update everything until now.

Since my last update, I spent one hour on social media, 25 minutes writing my DIVIDED review, and 30 minutes writing my SCREAMING DIVAS review.  It took me an hour and a half to finish CALIFORNIA BONES.  Then I read GOLD METAL WINTER by Donna Freitas, which took an one hour and fifteen minutes.  Next I read FEATHER BOUND by Sarah Raughley, which took one hour.  I started WHEN MR. DOG BITES by Brian Conaghan.  I read for 30 minutes and finished 25% of the book.


My total time is 16:50, with 1:40 on social media and 15:10 reading and writing reviews.  I read 8 1/2 novels in addition to a selection of kids books, for a total of 2,677 pages.  I wrote 5 1/2 reviews.  Hopefully I won't be traveling next year!  This is two years in a row.

48HBC Review: Screaming Divas

By Suzanne Kamata
Available now from Merit Press (F+W Media)
Review copy

SCREAMING DIVAS is about a girl group composed of Trudy, Cassie, Harumi, and Esther.  All of them write songs in their turn, and only Harumi starts out knowing how to play an instrument. Each of the girls is angry in their own way, and the band lets them express that.  But not all of them can escape their worst impulses.

SCREAMING DIVAS dives right in with Trudy's trip to juvie and subsequent romancing of one of her father's students when she was just fifteen.  It lets you know that these girls lives are not happy, that some of their issues have engendered behaviors that just make their lives more difficult, and gives a sense that things might not all work out for the best. 

At 208 pages, SCREAMING DIVAS is a relatively short book, especially since it's telling the story of four girls.  But I felt like it still worked.  It helps that Trudy, Cassie, Harumi, and Esther are very different.  Harumi's sections, for instance, are perhaps the most positive.  She is sensible, talented, and has strength of will and character.  Her life isn't sunshine and rainbows perhaps, but she provides a bit of fresh air when the rest of the story gets too dark.  Esther's emotional journey was my favorite, as she comes to terms with her sexuality and then figures out what she wants romantically.  Cassie and Trudy were the two who worried me the most, both of them so eager to be loved.  I was so right, but at the same time SCREAMING DIVAS left me with hope.

Suzanne Kamata's sophomore novel is an appealingly gritty novel.  (I think I would've actually liked it less as a teenager due to the underage drinking and sex and such.)  It felt a bit like a soap opera at times, but in a good way.  It is a book of feminine art, rage, and pain that will appeal to fans of Stephanie Kuehnert and Courtney Summers.  Most readers will be able to connect to at least one of the four heroines.

Note: This review took me 30 minutes to write.

48HBC Review: Divided

Sequel to DUALED
By Elsie Chapman
Available now from Random House BFYR (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

DIVIDED picks up several months after DUALED ends.  West Grayer has moved on from her life as an assassin, and now teaches weaponry.  But the government has discovered that she used to be a striker, and wants her to kill three teens to protect their children - and they offer her the motivation to go through with it.

I enjoyed DUALED, although I had some issues with it.  The set up of the society made sense if I didn't think about it too long.  Everyone is infertile, and born through genetic engineering.  Everyone has four parents and a twin.  Sometime during the ages of 10 and 20, you become active and kill your twin with the other set of parents, proving that you are more worthy of the city's resources and can join the army.  (Seriously, that's just a way to end up with a seriously psychologically messed up population.)  But if everyone is born through genetic engineering, just select for speed and strength and intelligence or whatever.  I also had issues with the way the heroine's murder-for-hire was presented and the way it never quite gelled with her character.  But I still moved on to the sequel.

DIVIDED does go deeper into the workings of the city of Kersh.  It answers some of my questions about things being nonsensical, but brings up others.  (Finally someone mentions that the surrounding populations must've figured out something to solve the infertile issue too, since it has been several generations and they would all be dead if they couldn't breed.)  But the worldbuilding generally happens in the background of the plot.  West's straightforward job for the government is much more layered than it initially appears.

In many ways, that works for me, because the plot does make sense.  I could understand why the characters were doing what they were doing.  I liked that the bad guy was paranoid, overreactive, and coldly murderous, but still a loving father.  I might not have always agreed with the characters' decisions, but they were based on real human emotion.

Read DUALED and DIVIDED if you're looking for a plot-driven read with a crazily set-up society as the background.  They're not bad, particularly not for dystopian fans, but not quite what I'm looking for in a sci-fi read.

Note: This review took me 25 minutes to write.

48 HBC Update 3

I know I said it might be late, but I didn't mean this late!  Today has been a day full of visiting family, so I didn't get as much reading done as I might have.  (I was also called on to navigate at some points, since my dad had never driven to Fort Worth from my apartment.)  I still got some reading done.

I started with DUALED by Elsie Chapman, which took me one hour and forty-five minutes.  Then I moved on to its sequel DIVIDED, which took me an hour and fifteen minutes.  My third book of the day, SCREAMING DIVAS by Suzanne Kumata, took one hour.  Then I started CALIFORNIA BONES, which I have read for 25 minutes.  I'm glad I didn't start it last night, because that first chapter would've given me nightmares.  (I'm not sure it won't, even having read it in the middle of the day.  That's not a scene I'm going to forget soon.)

I read to my nephew for 30 minutes.  He picked out a selection of books including THERE'S A WOCKET IN MY POCKET, DIGGER THE DINOSAUR, OH MY OH MY OH DINOSAURS, THE POKY LITTLE PUPPY, and BEDTIME BEAR.  I also played Mad Libs with my niece for fifteen minutes, but I'm not sure if that counts as reading.

Last night I was at 5:40.  I am now at 10:35, plus 5 for writing this post.  (Plus 15 if you include the Mad Libs.)

New total: 10:40

48 HBC Update 2

Time after update 1: 1:53

Since my first update, I read A TIME TO DANCE and wrote reviews of A TIME TO DANCE and COLD CALLS.  I also wrote two reviews for TGTBTU.  I spent twelve minutes finishing my review of "The Kraken King and the Scribbling Spinster" by Meljean Brook, which has an Asian hero.  I also spent 30 minutes writing a review of SIDEKICK by Auralee Wallace, in which a major character is Indian.  (Well, it isn't said outright, but her name is Indira and there is a reference to her having dark skin.)

Adding in a couple of minutes for this post and I am at 4 hours.  I am going to spend a little time blog hopping now, and then start CALIFORNIA BONES by Greg van Eekhout.  I'll also listen to a bit more of FAT ANGIE while I pack.

ETA:  I spent 40 minutes on social media and then 30 minutes listening to FAT ANGIE.  This will probably be my last update for awhile.  I'll be reading a lot as I get ready and travel tomorrow, but probably won't write an update until sometime after I get there.

ETA2: I accidentally listened to 30 extra minutes of FAT ANGIE.  Now it's really time for me to sleep.

48HBC Review: Cold Calls

By Charles Benoit
Available now from Clarion Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Review copy

I first heard of Charles Benoit when I saw him at the Austin Teen Book Festival.  I thought his book YOU sounded interesting, not the least because it was written in second person.  I never picked it up though, but I remembered his name.  His latest release is COLD CALLS, a high-tech thriller about three teens: Eric, Shelly, and Fatima.

Each of the teens has a secret that someone has found out.  And that someone is calling them, blackmailing them, and forcing them to bully someone at their school.  It gets them all put into an alternative program, where they meet and decide to track down their harasser.  It's an intriguing plot,  but COLD CALLS' biggest problem is having too much plot.

The story is driven by the fact that each of the teens is willing to bully someone else in order to have their secret kept.  Their motivation is key to the story working.  But each of the characters felt so shallow.  The weakest is Fatima, who doesn't get a point of view chapter until halfway through COLD CALLS.  It felt like Eric got the greatest focus in the novel, but he doesn't have much of a personal arc.  Shelly has the strongest emotional arc, but it felt like it cut away from her at a dramatic moment and then came back to her personal story once she was over it.

The super bully is chilling, but left me a bit cold.  COLD CALLS has some interesting things to say about the relationship between bullies and victims, but it felt like it went slightly over the top.  Again, it seemed like a bit more character development might've made it all work better.

I did think that the plot was interesting and moved along at a good clip.  There is quite a bit to discover, as the secrets unfold bit by bit and the three teens start getting closer to the antagonist.  COLD CALLS does engage with interesting ideas.  As I mentioned before, there is the nature of bullying.  There's also themes of personal responsibility, protecting private information in a digital world, and confession.  It's a decent choice for anyone looking for a quick, thrilling read.

Note: This review took me 20 minutes to write.

48HBC Review: A Time to Dance

By Padma Venkatraman
Available now from Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

Veda is a Bharatanatyam dancer in Chennai who has just won an important competition, one that could maybe convince her parents that she's serious about becoming a professional dancer.  A car wreck on the way home destroys her foot, and her leg is amputated below the knee.  Veda struggles to recover when she's offered the chance to join a medical trial and get an advanced prosthetic.

I know the barest bit of Bharatanatyam from my lessons on South Indian music.  Author Padma Venkatraman allowed me to visualize it, despite my unfamiliarity.  She describes the poses and feelings beautifully.  As Veda learns to dance again, she comes to a new understanding of the meaning of the dance.  The spiritual and religious meaning of Bharatanatyam is explored, as well as what that means for Veda and her own relationship with Shiva.

A TIME TO DANCE is told in verse (a wonderful form for describing dance).  However, Venkatraman's long, fluid lines read almost like prose.  This is not a book that will trip up a reader unfamiliar with or intimidated by poetry.

Dance is not the sole focus of A TIME TO DANCE.  Veda's family is very important to her, particularly her beloved Paati.  She struggles to hang out with her friends the same as she did before the accident, and doesn't know how to handle the overtures of friendship from her former dance rival.  She crushes on the doctor who gets her into the prosthetic trial and her new beginning dance teacher, who is her age.  Then, of course, there is Veda's relationship with her body.  She loved its strength, but she feels like she lost her beauty when she lost her old dancing ability.

I highly recommend A TIME TO DANCE.  Veda is a compelling heroine who undergoes a complicated personal journey, and Venkatraman's writing is gorgeous.  It's also an intriguing glimpse into another culture.

Note: It took me 50 minutes to read A TIME TO DANCE.  This review took me 15 minutes to write.

48HBC Update 1

I finished COLD CALLS, which took a little less than an hour.  (50 minutes, actually.)  I listened to FAT ANGIE for one hour and one minute.

Before I write a review of COLD CALLS, I'm taking a brief break to go get dinner.  I had leftovers for dinner, but I left them at work.  (Yes, it was brilliant.)  Luckily, I have a coupon for a free sub at the new Jersey Mike's.  I'll probably read on my Kindle while I'm there.  First up on my Kindle is A TIME TO DANCE by Padma Venkatraman.

This update took two minutes to write. Total time so far: 1:53

The 48HBC: Starting Line

It is time for the Ninth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge.  This is my official starting line.  I am attempting to read and review as many diverse books as possible in the next 48 hours.

There are some complications; I'm going out of town since I was acutely ill Memorial Day weekend and didn't see my family.  Hopefully I can read in the car while my dad drives.

I'm going to start by listening to FAT ANGIE by e.E. Carlton-Trujillo while I do chores.  Then, I'm going to start reading COLD CALLS by Charles Benoit.

Review and Giveaway: Paradox

By A.J. Paquette
Available June 25 from Random House BFYR
Review copy

Have I mentioned how much I love that the new YA trend is standalone science fiction?  It bears repeating.  And I doubly couldn't resist PARADOX when the Rockstar Book Tours sign-up showed up in my email, because Shai-Hulud is on the cover and you do not mess around with sandworms.

Blog tour schedule

PARADOX is lean and mean, clocking in at 240 pages.  There were times when I could've used more, especially in the latter parts of the novel.  But I liked that A. J. Paquette didn't add a lot of padding.  What's left is the essential parts of Ana's story.  Ana wakes up on Paradox with surgical retrograde amnesia and a note telling her to experience, discover, and survive.  It's a pretty confusing way to wake up.

Ana quickly discovers she's not alone on the planet.  There's another boy, Todd, who also has amnesia.  There's also a giant carnivorous worm.  One of these discoveries is more pleasant than the other.  Soon, it's a hostile race across the planet to the safety of the colony.  But nothing is as it first appears, as Ana is assaulted by strange memories and observes some rather odd happenings.

Despite having no memory, Ana manages to carry the story well with her character.  She's independent, tough, and clever.  She doesn't have great social skills, but that's not hurting her too much on a far-off planet.  It was fun to discover Paradox's secrets with Ana, no matter that some of them weren't hard to see coming.

I also liked the subtle but present diversity in PARADOX.  Ana has tan skin, and when she discovers her last name, it is pretty clear that she's Hispanic.  A character who shows up later is obviously Asian.  And I love that between Todd and Ana, Todd is the scientist and Ana is the warrior.  There's no explicit discussion of any of this, because it isn't important to the story.  It's just there.

PARADOX blends adventure and horror with its science fiction trappings.  I'm not entirely convinced that the plot hangs together, but I'm fascinated by the ideas it explores.  Memory and disease are linked in a way that reminds me of the original usage of meme.  I do think it would've worked better if Paquette played up the horror elements more, but she keeps PARADOX friendly to younger readers.  I do think PARADOX would be a good stepping stone into classic sci-fi like the Four Lords of the Diamond series by Jack Chalker.
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Ana only knows her name because of the tag she finds pinned to her jumpsuit. Waking in the featureless compartment of a rocket ship, she opens the hatch to discover that she has landed on a barren alien world. Instructions in her pocket tell her to observe and to survive, no doubt with help from the wicked-looking knives she carries on her belt. But to what purpose?

Meeting up with three other teens--one boy seems strangely familiar--Ana treks across the inhospitable landscape, occasionally encountering odd twists of light that carry glimpses of people back on Earth. They're working on some sort of problem, and the situation is critical. What is the connection between Ana's mission on this planet and the crisis back on Earth, and how is she supposed to figure out the answer when she can't remember anything?

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

The PARADOX cover link is an affiliate link, as always.

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A.J. Paquette has been writing stories since early childhood. She and her sister would spend hours creating masterpieces of stapled paper and handwritten words, complete with pen-and-ink covers and boxed illustrations.

The road to publication was long and winding, peppered with many small successes including: a variety of national magazine publications, being a 2005 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award honoree, and receiving the 2008 SCBWI’s Susan Landers Glass Scholarship Award, for the book that would later become Nowhere Girl. Her first picture book, The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies, was published in 2009. 

She now lives with her husband and two daughters in the Boston area, where she continues to write books for children and young adults. She is also an agent with the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. 

WEBSITE | TWITTER

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Three lucky commentors will win an ARC of PARADOX.  Go to every stop for more chances to win!  Giveaway is US/Canada only and you must be 13 or older to win.

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Review: I'm With Stupid

Book three of the Felton Reinstein series
By Geoff Herbach
Available now from Sourcebooks Fire
Review copy
Read my review of NOTHING SPECIAL

I love when a series ends this well.  Felton Reinstein has come far from the dorky, bullied kid he once was.  But at the same time, he's still awkward and anxious with a legacy of depression and addiction.  Just now he has fame because he's one of the best high school football players in the country and he's choosing which college he'll play ball for.

I love how detailed the setting of I'M WITH STUPID is.  Over the three books, Felton has come into contact with a wide range of people in his hometown of Bluffton, Wisconsin.  Many of those people's stories come into play in this final book.  For instance, Felton's friend Abby becomes important as she starts to fall apart following her parents' divorce.  Her issues and Felton's dovetail in a very destructive way.

Felton is at heart a decent, nice person, but he gets angry and doesn't always think things through.  He's the kind of character you want the best for, but he's prone to making mistakes and his support network is pretty distant.  I worried for Felton as he started turning to alcohol to handle his emotional issues.  I had to keep taking small breaks because it seemed as if he was going to ruin his life just when he had so many chances.

It's the rare book that can make me sympathize with the main character so much and feel so deeply.  As far as I know, Geoff Herbach is not going to write Felton's college adventures.  I'm very satisfied by this sendoff, but I'll miss the character, his friends, and his unique voice.  I'M WITH STUPID confirms that this is one of the best YA series out there.  I highly recommend all three books.  Any of them can standalone, but why miss one when they're all this good?

Review: The Savage Blue

Book two of The Vicious Deep
By Zoraida Córdova
Available now from Sourcebooks Fire
Review copy
Read my review of THE VICIOUS DEEP

Last year was the year of the mermaid books, and THE VICIOUS DEEP was my favorite.  THE SAVAGE BLUE lives up to its predecessor and then some.  Tristan is one of several contestants for the throne of the Sea King.  He's in the lead, with one of three pieces of the trident, but that's far from enough to win the crown.

However, Tristan's fellow competitors aren't his main antagonists.  In fact, they tend to be pretty alright guys.  Tristan, by the end of THE SAVAGE BLUE, still strikes me as the best choice for king, but his opponents aren't mustache twirling villains.  Perhaps the worst thing Tristan faces are secrets.  The merfolk are excellent at keeping secrets and many of them are coming home to roost.  (Down to the fact that if Tristan had known he was half merman he might be better prepared for a deadly competition for the crown.)  Then there's Nieve, the leader of the merrows, who makes it clear she has designs for Tristan.  Deliciously creepy designs.

I love the relationships in THE SAVAGE BLUE.  Tristan's relationship with his parents is strained by his quest, but they're still present in his life.  He's growing ever closer with his entourage and Layla, his best-friend-almost-girlfriend.  The book could've used even more Layla, but maybe that's just me.  But as people grow together, they can also grow apart.  I am very curious as to how Zoraida Córdova will play everything out in the final novel, THE VAST AND BRUTAL SEA.  (I suspect one of those adjectives will disappear between now and publication in summer 2014.)

Honestly, THE SAVAGE BLUE combines so many things I love.  Quest narratives, politics, alluring villains, friends who become family, dragons . . . how could I not like this book?  Sourcebooks invited me to be a part of the blog tour, and I really regret that I was moving and couldn't take part.  Because I love this book and this series.

If you're skeptical about mermaid books, pick up THE VICIOUS DEEP and THE SAVAGE BLUE.  If you're already a fan, you should definitely be reading these.  They're dark and funny and romantic and just the absolute best.

48HBC: The Finish Line

I finished SECRETS AND LIES TRUTH OR DARE, the third Capital Girls novel by Ella Monroe, in an hour.  I read 254 pages, about 3/4 of the novel.

Then I went to Barnes and Nobel and used my coupon to buy SHAPESHIFTED, the newest in the Edie Spence series by Cassie Alexander.  I blasted through all 320 awesome pages in an hour and 50 minutes.

This morning I read a bit of STARRY NIGHTS by Daisy Whitney with my breakfast, 20 pages in 15 minutes.  I basically went Daisy Whitney! Paris! Romance! and didn't read the blurb, so I was on about page 18 when I realized the narrator was a dude.

I haven't added this time in yet, so I'd say the 48HBC updates took me about 30 minutes to write.

I wish I had more time to socialize - that's one of the best aspects.  But I'm looking forward to visiting everyone's finish lines.  I've spent 30 minutes doing that so far.

I'm going to count the partial STARRY NIGHTS, TRUTH OR DARE, and DoSaB as one book, bringing my total to 5 books.  I read 1,465 pages and my total time is 14 hours and 45 minutes. I'm going to donate a $1 per hour for a donation of $15.

Other things accomplished this weekend: driving to and from Fort Worth, packing and moving another carload worth of stuff, attending my niece's recital, and socializing with my family.  I just wished I hadn't have needed to do that stuff this weekend.

48HBC: Some audio and another book down

Turns out that burning DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE as an mp3 CD was a bad move because my car stereo is too old to read that format.  I did play the audiobook on my computer while unloading, unpacking, and relaxing after the drive.  I listened to the first part, equivalent to 40 pages in the book, for an hour and ten minutes.  It was handy to be able to just listen and have my hands free, but audiobooks are just so slow.

I finished I'M WITH STUPID, adding another hour and 125 pages.  (Hey, I was eating and reading at the same time!  I'm allowed to be a little slow.)

I then wrote my review of I'M WITH STUPID, which only took 15 minutes.  Why can't all my reviews be so easy to write?

My current total is 871 pages, 10 hours and 40 minutes.  Looks like I will be able to hit twelve hours!  I've finished 3.1 books and four reviews.  (I'm counting half of THE SAVAGE BLUE plus two novellas as one book.  There are ten parts to the audiobook of DoSaB and they all look fairly equal, so that's 1/10 of a book.)

48HBC: First 24 down, 24 to go

I did do a little social networking last night, by which I mean 30 minutes on Tumblr.

This morning I read to Asylum Tales novellas by Jocelynn Drake, "Bronx" and "Trixie."  Each took me 15 minutes and was 80 pages long.

My new total is 706 pages, 8 hours 15 minutes.

I'm going to be heading back to Houston soon.  I've burned my audiobook of DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor to a CD so that I can listen to it in the car. 

48HBC: Winding down for the day

I'm going to social network a little and maybe read a touch before bed, but this is definitely the last post I'll make today.

Tonight was my niece's dance recital, so I spent a large amount of time getting her ready as well as attending the recital.  I also read to her and my nephew for half an hour, but picture books don't count.

I read part of I'M WITH STUPID by Geoff Herbach for an hour and thirty minutes.  I'm 195 pages in now.  That brings my total up to 626 pages and 7 hours 15 minutes.  At about this time last year I had double the pages.  I'm blaming being distracted.

48HBC: Six-ish hours down . . .

At six hours down I have:

Finished THE SAVAGE BLUE by Zoraida Cordova, 191 pages, 2 hours
Read PARADOX by A.J. Paquette, 240 pages, 1 hour 45 minutes
Wrote reviews of THE SAVAGE BLUE, PARADOX, and THE MENAGERIE by Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland (plus a few other blog things), 2 hours

Total so far: 431 pages, 5 hours 45 minutes