ELK's Library

Read by candlelight or flashlight: Faint of Heart by Jeff Strand (Ebook)

Magical Realism: 

Witches: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney (Ebook)

Genre: Horror: Pressure by Jeff Strand (Library)

Black Cat: File Under: File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents by Lemony Snicket (Hardcover)

Diverse author can be spooky fun: Ring by Koji Suzuki (Paperback)

Ghost Stories and Haunted Houses: Scary Mary by S.A. Hunter (Ebook)

YA Horror: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey (Paperback)

Scary Woman (Authors): We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (Paperback)

Reads with (Booklikes) Friends: Vision Volume 1 by Tom King (Ebook)

Grave or Graveyard: The Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney (Ebook)

Genre: Mystery: The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry (Paperback)

Freespace: Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (Paperback)

Gothic: 

Creepy Crawlies: 

“Fall” into a good book: 

Locked Room Mystery: 

It was a dark and stormy night: Clue by Michael McDowell (Paperback)

Set in New England: Cujo by Stephen King (Paperback)

Full moon: Boy's Life by Robert McCammon (Paperback)

Vampires vs Werewolves: 

Supernatural: Death Note Black Edition Volume 1 by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata
(Paperback)

Classic Horror: 

Pumpkin: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Illustrated) by J.K. Rowling (Hardcover)

Set on Halloween:

There's not much I can say about this book. It has Death, one of my favorite characters in Discworld, losing his job and getting a normal job. Yes, it is as funny as it sounds. As always there's a side story that is connected to the main story. And as always, I wasn't as much a fan of the side story. I like Rincewind, but the rest of the wizards I can take or leave. So a side story, focused on the wizards of the Unseen University, was a bit of a letdown from Death's attempts to fit in with mortals.

Pellinore Warthrop is a jerk, he’s selfish, and completely obsessed with his work. He’s Sherlock, if Sherlock was obsessed with monsters. Even the moment when Warthrop rescued the young woman Kearns used as bait and the way he reacts when Will Henry is almost killed, screamed Sherlock. Sherlock is my favorite character of all time; the similarities between Sherlock and Warthrop guaranteed that I would love this book, no matter it’s flaws and it definitely has flaws.

The action really doesn’t get started until well into the book. Warthrop and Will Henry discover the anthropophagi in the beginning of the book. The two spend what feels like the rest of the book, sitting around, waiting for something to happen.  This book is also chock full of more gore than I would expect in a YA novel. If you are at all squeamish, I would give this book a pass.

Ryuk, so creepy.

The combination of artwork and scenario, being able to kill a person just by writing their name in a notebook, should have made for a really interesting story, but certain aspects of the writing kept me from really falling in love with this.

There was a lot of repetition in this short volume. There are several rules for the Death Note and they are constantly repeated throughout the story, it got old real quick. I also didn't like how quickly everything unfolded. Light receives the Death Note and a few pages later he's killing people left and right. There's no moment where he really doubts what he's doing or a slow slide into him becoming somebody who wishes to rule over everybody. It's like he woke up one day and decided to be evil. Interpol and L caught on too quickly to what was going on and L's discovery of the way Light was killing everybody, felt too much like the author was giving him the answers. The entire story felt a little rushed and unpolished because of this. Despite this, I did enjoy it and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

The illustrations were once again amazing in this illustrated edition. But as much as I enjoyed this edition, I do feel like I should warn anybody who is afraid of spiders, this is not the book for you. The section with Aragog was creepy enough just reading, illustrated, it's a thousand times worse. Seriously, skip this book if you are arachnophobic.

Books Read: 2.5

Pages Read:738

Total Time Reading: 8 hrs 49 mins

Snacks Consumed: I'm currently finishing breakfast with my mom.

Wrap-Up: I woke up at around 4:00 this morning to finish up the last four hours. Unfortunately, the spot I chose to read was the couch, so after about an hour I fell asleep. I think next time I'll have to consume less tea and more caffeine.

I'm really happy with how much reading I got done, 738 pages in almost 9 hours, yay! My favorite book of the readathon was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets which leaves Death Note, the only other book I completed, as my least favorite, but I really enjoyed that as well. I'm still working my way through The Legend of Sleepy Hollow & Other Macabre Tales; I might leave it for my trip later this week. I had so much fun with this readathon and I can't wait until the next one.

Books Read: 2

Pages Read: 749

Current Book Reading: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow & Other Macabre Tales

Total Time Reading: 7 hrs 43 mins

Snacks Consumed: A third cup of red raspberry tea, the temperature really dropped after sitting above 70 for the last three days, and a handful of blue peanut m&m's.

Update: We got out of the hockey game a little before 11:00 and didn't get home until 12:00. I took a three hour nap and I'm hoping to make it through to the end.

Books Read: 2

Pages Read: 644

Current Book Reading: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow & Other Macabre Tales

Total Time Reading: 4 hrs 36 mins

Snacks Consumed: Another cup of raspberry tea with black strap molasses and some chicken tortilla soup.

Update: I've finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Death Note. I've moved onto Washington Irving after stepping out to help my mom purchase a birthday present for her friend's kid who's turning 30 next week. In two hours I'll be going to a hockey game and I'll try and post another update before I leave.

Books Read: 0

Pages Read: 107

Current Book Reading: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Illustrated Edition)

Total Time Reading: 1hr 21 min

Snacks Consumed: Just red raspberry tea with a spoonful of black strap molasses.

Update: I'm making good progress. I stopped to post an update and I think I'll do some cheering before jumping back in.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Eastern PA

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I pre-ordered the illustrated edition and it's been sitting in my stack since I got it, waiting for this readathon.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

I bought some naan bread the other day and red pepper hummus and I was really looking forward to that. Then I got sick and my friend made me some chicken tortilla soup, I set some aside to sip at throughout the day.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I didn't think I'd get to participate this year due to getting sick, but I woke up this morning feeling great. I have some stuff planned throughout the day, including lunch with my mom and a hockey game later this night, but I'm ready to get some reading in.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

This is my 3rd readathon and I think I have it planned out this time. Unlike the last two readathons, I've planned several events throughout the day (see previous question) to keep me from burning myself out. I also have some audio books on hand, to take a break between books.

I'm not expecting to get much reading accomplished this readathon. I caught whatever has been making the rounds at work, a little going away present from a co-worker. If it follows the trajectory of every single time I get sick, the worst will hit in the next three/four days. In that case, I'll be on the couch all day sleeping it off. On the off chance I'm feeling better, I have tickets to a hockey match I received from work that I had planned to attend with my brother, sister, and my sister's girlfriend. So with everything going on, I'm keeping my list short. I'm still hoping to make more progress with the Halloween Bingo, so all the books are from my Bingo list. I've chosen three of the shortest works on my list and an audio book. If I don't get any reading done, I'm planning to do some cheering in between napping.

There was a little too much focusing on dresses and who was in love with who, but I went into this book expecting it, so it didn't annoy me that much. I really liked the emphasis on the expectations for men and women during that time. Charlotte came across as a bit too naive to believe, but I liked how she pushed back against what was expected of her. The mystery was interesting and while I wasn't surprised with the revealing of the killer, there were practically neon arrows pointing to the culprit, the reason annoyed me a great deal and affected my rating quite a bit.

I started out really disliking the main character Rebecca. The first couple of pages is pretty much Rebecca whining about her husband being away, and 'how will she ever manage'. That's not an actual quote from the book, but it might as well be. I should also state here that her husband left for a weekend camping trip. However, mixed with my dislike for Rebecca, who seems unable to get through two days without her husband, was an affinity with her. I get the freaking yourself out when home alone; I do it to myself on a regular basis. That certainty there's an axe murderer behind the closed door, waiting to jump out when it's opened, is why I don't watch scary movies by myself. The only reason I kept reading was that I totally understood her fear, even if the Bella-lie whining was a little much. 

As far as Jeff Strand books go, it's not his best work and it was missing a lot of blood and gore that is usually present in his writing, but it was still enjoyable. Strand does a lot in 123 pages and he's one of the few authors I've read, who is able to tell a complete and interesting story in so few pages.

Read by candlelight or flashlight: Faint of Heart by Jeff Strand (Ebook)

Magical Realism: 

Witches: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney (Ebook)

Genre: Horror: Pressure by Jeff Strand (Library)

Black Cat: File Under: File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents by Lemony Snicket (Hardcover)

Diverse author can be spooky fun: Ring by Koji Suzuki (Paperback)

Ghost Stories and Haunted Houses: Scary Mary by S.A. Hunter (Ebook)

YA Horror: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey (Paperback)

Scary Woman (Authors): We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (Paperback)

Reads with (Booklikes) Friends: Vision Volume 1 by Tom King (Ebook)

Grave or Graveyard: The Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney (Ebook)

Genre: Mystery: The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry (Paperback)

Freespace: Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (Paperback)

Gothic: 

Creepy Crawlies: 

“Fall” into a good book: 

Locked Room Mystery: 

It was a dark and stormy night: Clue by Michael McDowell (Paperback)

Set in New England: Cujo by Stephen King (Paperback)

Full moon: Boy's Life by Robert McCammon (Paperback)

Vampires vs Werewolves: 

Supernatural: 

Classic Horror: 

Pumpkin: 

Set on Halloween:

Read by candlelight or flashlight: Faint of Heart by Jeff Strand (Ebook)

Magical Realism: 

Witches: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney (Ebook)

Genre: Horror: Pressure by Jeff Strand (Library)

Black Cat: File Under: File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents by Lemony Snicket (Hardcover)

Diverse author can be spooky fun: Ring by Koji Suzuki (Paperback)

Ghost Stories and Haunted Houses: Scary Mary by S.A. Hunter (Ebook)

YA Horror: 

Scary Woman (Authors): We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (Paperback)

Reads with (Booklikes) Friends: Vision Volume 1 by Tom King (Ebook)

Grave or Graveyard: The Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney (Ebook)

Genre: Mystery: 

Freespace: Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (Paperback)

Gothic: 

Creepy Crawlies: 

“Fall” into a good book: 

Locked Room Mystery: 

It was a dark and stormy night: Clue by Michael McDowell (Paperback)

Set in New England: Cujo by Stephen King (Paperback)

Full moon: Boy's Life by Robert McCammon (Paperback)

Vampires vs Werewolves: 

Supernatural: 

Classic Horror: 

Pumpkin: 

Set on Halloween:

This is a sequel to Revenge of the Witch. Tom is still really annoying, but Old Gregory and Alice are just as amazing, so it balances out in the end. In this book we get more of an in depth look at what the position of Spook entails. We also get a some backstory for Old Gregory and Tom's mom, which served to round out their characters a little more. The final showdown had a lot more of build up than the one in the previous book, which is why it was such a letdown for me.There's all this tension leading into the fight and then Delaney takes the easy way out.