1. What are you reading right now? Dawn by Kevin Brooks

2. How many books have you read so far? 2 (I got a late start)

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I can’t choose just one. But I know Soulless by Christopher Golden, Fallen by Lauren Kate, Wait Until Twilight by Sang Pak is definitely in the mix.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Yes and No. While I thought not, initially, I realized too late that yes, I needed to. *sigh*

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Does a nap count as an interruption? If so, then I dealt with it by sleeping. Luckily it was only a short one (about an hour).

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Everybody’s so nice. Yeah, I knew that everyone was nice, but not this nice. It’s awesome.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Um…not yet. Try me later.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Have a ready bookmark of participating blogs to visit during my break times rather than digging through my links every time.

9. Are you getting tired yet? Nope. I’m fresh as a daisy.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Can’t say that I do, but when I think of something, I shall make it known.

I got a late start because I had a prior engagement, so now it’s all about making up time.

Right now, I’m about to dive into Dawn by Kevin Brooks, which is due out this December. (I was unsuccessful at locating a cover image online, therefore had to take a quick snapshot of my copy).

Brief Synopsis:

Dawn Bundy lives in a world inside her head. A world that is dark and quiet, and where she can disappear from the hard truths of her life. Her father, a drug addicted alcoholic, disappeared two years ago, leaving the skeletons in his closet behind for Dawn and her alcoholic, self-medicating mother to live with. Before leaving, he became fiercely addicted to religion, making Dawn believe that God led her father to do the despicable thing he did–only once–to Dawn on a quiet night in December while she lay quietly in bed.

So, Dawn has decided to go shopping for Bibles to learn about God, her enemy. Because only when you know your enemy can you defeat it–and that is exactly what Dawn sets out to do–she wants to defeat God as a way to heal her pain.

It wasn’t in my original read-a-thon book pool and (as far as I can tell) it’s not very frightening, but when I read the first two pages, I said, “Hmm…that’s interesting.” There’s just something about it that’s tugging at me to read it.

But you can be certain that when I finish, I’ll be moving along to something far more bone-chilling: Soulless by Christopher Golden. I’ve been waiting to read that one all day.

Now, I’m off to see how others are doing for a few minutes (my breather) and then it’s time to get reading.

Wow. There’s less than 24 hours remaining until the 24 hour read-a-thon begins. Is it normal to be nervous? I haven’t yet stocked up on my 5 Hour Energy drinks. (Mental note: Must get 5 hr energy.)

You guessed it, I’m gungho about doing the full 24 hour thing because, due to some bad scheduling on my part, I won’t be able to read for about a 6 hour chunk of the day. That’s one entire full length novel right there and I must make up for it.

OMG, I haven’t even scheduled in time for eating or bathroom breaks…must stop and take breath.

I just went back and re-read what I wrote and I think I’m a bit neurotic about this thing. Am I the only one? I can’t be the only one.

I smell a fallen angel craze on the horizon. (It was inevitable once the teen vampire angst-ridden romance market became saturated.) And so far, it smells good.

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Fallen by Lauren Kate

First line: Around midnight, her eyes at last took shape. The look [...]

Initial thoughts: I saw the cover for Fallen on another blog a few days ago, so I was super surprised and excited when a UPS man showed up on my doorstep with an ARC (the cover of the ARC is not half so lovely as the cover in this post, but I’m concerned more with what’s inside).

After finishing Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, I’m anxious to see what else is being done with the fallen angel theme. Plus the description sounds positively addictive.

Book description:

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

*******From the Back of the Book******

What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?

Daniel’s gaze caught hers, and her breath caught in her throat. She recognized him from somewhere. But she would have remembered meeting someone like him. She would have remembered feeling as absolutely shaken up as she did right now.

They were still locking eyes when Daniel flashed her a smile. A jet of warmth shot through her…but then he raised his hand in the air. And flipped her off. Luce gasped and dropped her eyes. Her momentary delirium vanished. What was that guy’s problem?

Just before she ducked into her first class, she dared to glance back. His face was blank, but there was no mistaking it–he was watching her go.

Book Details: 464 pages; Delacorte Press; Pub. December 8, 2009

Learn more:

• Official website
• Online excerpt (not easy on the eyes)
• Reviews
  • So Many Books, So Little Time
  • Once Upon a Book (mild spoilers)

Well, I received a most disturbing email alerting me to a problem.

Someone actually took one of my reviews, plucked from it a few sentences, changed a word or two, and then posted it on Amazon.com as their own. No credit, no thank you, no permission, no nothing.

When I tallied the actual amount of plagiarized to original content, it turned out that more than 48% of the review was ripped off. o_0

I work hard on my reviews and to see bits and pieces lodged into someone else’s review, especially with no credit, made me glow red.

It got me thinking: How often does this happen? And has it happened to any other book reviewers? And how does Amazon handle those reviewers? (This particular reviewer is a part of the Amazon Vine program, and frankly, I believe their status in the program should be revoked after something like this.)

UPDATE: Amazon is awesome. I don’t know whether the reviewer was kicked out of Vine or not, but the review was removed.