The House of Spirits Read-Along Week 3 Recap

Published on by Rachelle

House

Below is the chapter breakdown that will take us all the way to May 15th.  I’m doing a recap each week, and at the end I’ll do an overall review of the book.  If you’d like to join me, leave a comment!

This week’s recap is for Chapters 6 – 7.  If you’re a little behind, that’s ok!  I’ll clearly mark any spoilers.

SO.MUCH.DRAMA.  What is up with the men in this book?!

*Spoilers* We meet Jean de Satigny, who seems to be the type of guy who really doesn’t care what a woman thinks, and will seek shady ways of getting what he wants.  He reveals Blanca’s affair with Pedro Tercero to her father, but it eventually backfires on him when Blanca realizes she’s pregnant, and Esteban forces Jean to marry her, despite Jean no longer being interested.  The family is crazy, so I kind of don’t blame him, even if I do think he’s a weasel. I don’t foresee the marriage turning out well.  When Esteban is told about Blanca and Pedro, he chases off to find them.  He comes across Blanca and brutally whips her.  After Clara tries to criticize him, he hits her so hard that several of her teeth are knocked out.  Clara decides to never speak to him again and goes back to the city with Blanca.  Esteban goes on the hunt for Pedro Tercero and eventually finds him hiding out in a small shack. In trying to kill him, he only manages to cut off three of Pedro’s fingers.*End Spoilers*

What do you think of the story and the characters so far?  All comments about the book are welcome, but please mark any spoilers.

Monday’s Minutes #17

Published on by Rachelle

Currently Reading: The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg, a review book, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, and The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende for the Classics Club Spin #9.

Dream Sparrow Fiery       House

Finished:  Quilt, Book, and Bard by Bryna Chalmer.  I won’t be reviewing it, but I will say that I only gave it 2 stars on Goodreads because it was an exercise in frustration.  I also finished The Essential Feminist Reader, and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

Quilt Feminist Good

Challenges:

S&S Bingo2update9

Total pages read for the week: 400 pages, the last 83% of Good Omens, and the remaining 46% of the podiobook.

Total number of books for the year: 23.  Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon helped me get quite a lot of reading done.  It also made me feel hungover most of Sunday and in need of detoxing.  I didn’t have any caffeine on Sunday.  Instead, I drank peppermint tea and lemon water, and I tried to stay away from sugar as much as possible.  It’s not a party unless you feel like crap the next day, though, right?  I had a blast and can’t wait until October.  Most of this week is going to be insanely busy for me as I wrap up the semester.  My last day of class is next Monday.  I’m greatly looking forward to next Monday.

Top Commenters: This week, I just want to give a great shout out and round of applause to all the cheerleaders for the readathon! 🙂

What are you reading this week?

Dewey’s 24 Hour #Readathon – Final Update

Published on by Rachelle

Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza

I’ve survived another Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon!

  • Total Pages Read: 279 and the remaining 83% of Good Omens.
  • Mini-Challenges Completed: #Shelfie
  • Snacks Consumed: Mountain Dew, Challah bread, and cheese.
  1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Around 3am, when I got cranky.
  2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg.  The chapters are all short, the writing is beautiful, and George Sand was an amazing and interesting ahead of her times character.
  3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Nope, because it keeps getting better and better.
  4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The cheerleaders did an awesome job.  I loved that they were put into teams.
  5. How many books did you read? 3 and most of a 4th
  6. What were the names of the books you read? The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende, The Essential Feminist Reader, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, and The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg.
  7. Which book did you enjoy most? ooh, that’s tough.  I have to say both The Essential Feminist Reader and The Dream Lover for very different reasons.
  8. Which did you enjoy least? The House of Spirits
  9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I’ll definitely be participating in October, and I might sign up to be a cheerleader.

I’m going to bed now…

Dewey’s 24 Hour #Readathon – Update 3

Published on by Rachelle

Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza

There’s only 6 hours left of Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon!

  • Total Pages Read: 164 and the remaining 83% of Good Omens.
  • Books Read: The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende, The Essential Feminist Reader, and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
  • Mini-Challenges Completed: Be #FitReaders, Music is Muse, and Reading Story
  • Snacks Consumed: I had pizza for dinner, and I also got a chocolate chip cookie “pie” and a 2 Liter of Mountain Dew to go with it.

The #readathon tweets have slowed down considerably, and since Good Omens was an audiobook, I was able to multitask.  I’m beginning to get sleepy now.

Until my final update, at 7am, I’ll continue knocking off the books on my goal list:

  • The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg
  • The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
  • The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

Whether you’re participating in the read-a-thon or not, what book(s) are you currently reading?

 

Dewey’s 24 Hour #Readathon – Update 2

Published on by Rachelle

Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza

It’s an hour past the halfway point of Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon and I’m still going strong!

  • Total Pages Read: 164
  • Books Read: The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende and The Essential Feminist Reader
  • Mini-Challenges Completed: Plan a Bookish Party and the Mid-Event Survey
  • Snacks Consumed: Not really a snack, but Chinese food.  I also had a home made quesadilla and an iced chai.

I haven’t done much better than I did for the 1st 6 hours, but I’m still having a ton of fun lurking and favoriting on #readathon tweets.  I absolutely loved, reread, and bookmarked many a page of The Essential Feminist Reader, and I’ve listened to lots of music by my favorite Riot Grrrl bands.

Until my 3rd update, at 1am, I’ll be knocking off the books on my goal list:

  • Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
  • The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg
  • The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
  • The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

Whether you’re participating in the read-a-thon or not, what book(s) are you currently reading?

 

#Readathon Mini-Challenge: Mid-Event Survey

Published on by Rachelle

Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?

The Essential Feminist Reader
2. How many books have you read so far?

This is my 2nd book, but I only read 2 chapters from my first book, The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. 
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

I’m really hoping I get to The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

I haven’t really had any interruptions, except when the Boyfriend brought me my favorite Chinese food, but I have had a lot of distractions like #readathon on Twitter.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

The constant flow of Tweets!

#Readathon Mini-Challenge: A Hobbit Themed Party

Published on by Rachelle

Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_BellezzaYes, I’ve already written about the Hobbit today for another Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon mini-challenge, but I just couldn’t stop my brain from coming up with all sorts of Hobbit-themed party ideas when I read Christina’s mini-challenge over at Christina Writes.

My Hobbit party would consist of the following:

  • Food and Drink:
  1. Waybread Blueberry Tarts (as found in the Unofficial Hobbit Handbook by The Shire Collective)
  2. Tea
  3. Scones
  4. Various Breads
  5. Jam
  6. Meat and Fruit Pies
  7. Various Cheeses
  8. Ale
  9. Wine
  10. Smaug the Golden Cocktail
  • Activities:
  1. Hobbit Trivia Game
  2. Viewing of all three Hobbit films
  3. Middle Earth Cosplay Contest
  • Party Favors:
  1. Hobbit bookmarks
  2. Handkerchiefs
  3. Large “hairy” plastic or rubber spiders for stabbing
  4. Books of riddles
  5. Pocket sized Middle Earth maps
  6. Small Treasure Boxes for storing the items listed above

Dewey’s 24 Hour #Readathon – Update 1

Published on by Rachelle

Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza

I’ve survived the first 6 hours of Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon!

  • Pages Read: 70
  • Books Read: This week’s chapters of The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende for the read-along I’ve been hosting.
  • Mini-Challenges Completed: Classic Words of Wisdom
  • Snacks Consumed: trail mix, and HEB Honey Dinos.

70 pages is an extremely low number for 6 hours, but I’ve been doing a bit of #readathon lurking and favoriting on Twitter.  That’s ok, because I planned for that, and I think I’ll still be able to finish my goal, provided I stick to it and not get distracted by other books.

Until my 2nd update, at 7pm, I’ll continue to knock off the remaining books on my goal list:

  • The Essential Feminist Reader – What I’m currently reading.
  • Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
  • The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg
  • The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
  • The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

Whether you’re participating in the read-a-thon or not, what book(s) are you currently reading?

 

#Readathon Mini-Challenge: Classic Words of Wisdom

Published on by Rachelle

Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza

 

Allie over at A Literary Odyssey has challenged all of us participating in Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon to share our favorite words of wisdom from Classic literature.  Being a lover of the Classics, as well as a member of the Classics Club, I’ve got plenty of them, but one of my all time favorite quotes comes from my all time favorite book, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”

This bit of wisdom can be applied to just about everything as I’ve made my way through the past decade of my life.  When I decided to not re-enlist in the Army, I had no idea what I wanted to do instead, besides finish college.  I didn’t even know what I wanted my major to be; I just knew I didn’t want it to be what it was at the time.  I stumbled across a former passion of mine, and, after some research, chose International Relations as my major, but I didn’t have a clue what university I wanted to attend.  I stumbled again, and found Texas State, even though I had never intended on staying in Texas after I go out of the military.  It has ended up being the best university for me, and I’ve discovered new friends, and new interests, and have had a lot of great experiences I wouldn’t have had otherwise.  I also discovered that, even though I’m still interested in Humanitarian aid work specifically, and International Relations in general, what truly makes me happy is doing anything book related.  Books have always been my true love, but it wasn’t until I started reading some book blogs and then stumbled across the 24 in 48 Read-a-thon that got me started on my own blog, that I found out there are so many more book related jobs than I ever imagined.  I’m now on a crazy meandering path towards a fulfilling career, and that wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for all the finding of things I hadn’t been looking for.

Dewey’s 24 Hour #Readathon – Go Time!

Published on by Rachelle

Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza

Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon has officially started!  I prepped my coffee maker last night, so all I had to do when I got up this morning at 6:30 am was turn on the coffee maker, make my breakfast (yogurt and a bagel with cream cheese), and get my browser ready to go with all my read-a-thon related sites.  I’ve got a stream set up on Hootsuite for my phone, my stack of books and reading journal are next to the couch, and snacks are within easy reach when I need them.  I mean business, and despite the fact that I’m never happy this early in the morning, I’m excited about this read-a-thon!

  • What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I’m in Austin, TX
  • Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg.
  • Which snack are you most looking forward to? The Boyfriend has promised to go to the grocery store later this morning instead of waiting until tomorrow, just so he can get a few special snack requests.  I’m most looking forward to cranberry scones to go with my tea after I’m finished with my coffee. 
  • If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?  I’m giving myself permission to divert from my goal list.

Until my first update, at 1pm, I’ll be working on knocking off the books on my goal list:

  • The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende – I’ll be reading this week’s chapters for the read-along I’ve been hosting.
  • The Essential Feminist Reader
  • Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
  • The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg
  • The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
  • The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

My plan of attack has changed a little bit since my goals post, yesterday.  I’ve decided that, instead of forcing my way through the list, I’ll read each book until I get tired of reading it.  Then, I’ll move on to the next one on the list until they’re either all finished, I get fed up with all of them and read something else, or the read-a-thon is over.

Whether you’re participating in the read-a-thon or not, what book(s) are you currently reading?