Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Published in 2012 by Hyperion. 339 pages.
2013 Printz Honor Book.

Code Name Verity was the pick for my October meeting with the "book lunch girls" (aka Natalie's Book Club). I was eager to read it both because I'd heard good things from several friends whose book opinions I value and because I'm all about "girl power" - and I definitely have an affinity for World War II novels. (I mentioned a number of World War II novels that I read with another book club in this blog post.)

Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting into the book and just never really connected to the characters. Maybe I missed something? I was hoping that my book club will fill me in - but, alas, only two of the other members had finished it before our meeting and, given the plot twists, we couldn't really talk about the book. I did discover that both of those that finished had listened to the audiobook - which might be related to the fact that they liked the book better than I did. Also relevant, I think, is the fact that I started the book during a week when I could only read a few pages at a time before bedtime; if I'd been able to invest an hour or two at the start, I think the whole experience might have been a better one.

Melissa Mc at Gerbera Daisy Diaries loved Code Name Verity when she read it last year. Tricia at Library Queue had mixed feelings.

2013.70

Final Read-a-Thon Post

Final Report
Time Read: 13:00

Pages Read: 892.

Books Finished: 6.

Time Blogged and/or Tweeted: 7:00

Time on Break: 4:00

Frame of Mind: I'm really pleased with the outcome - and I'm also very ready to sleep for a while!

Cans of Diet Coke with Lime Consumed: 4.

Food Consumed: A mug of hot chocolate. Some raspberry-flavored almonds. A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich and a hashbrown from McDonald's. A few Pretzel Crisps. Some E.L. Fudge cookies. A bowl of honey dew melon and raspberries. A chocolate croissant. Two crab cakes with Japanese sticky rice. Two pieces of pizza with pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms. Another mug of hot chocolate. Some Heath Pieces.


Traditional End-of-Event Questionnaire
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour 19 - 1:00 a.m. in my time zone - when I finally decided to take a nap. I slept for about two-and-a-half hours - but then I resumed participation, finishing my sixth book and a little bit of blogging and Tweeting.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Young adult novels are great read-a-thon picks. Ann Dee Ellis' Everything Is Fine. and Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally were good ones for me this year.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

I thought things went quite well this year. I didn't have as many visits from either cheerleaders or other participants as I have in the past, but that's probably a function of the high number of people involved.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

I enjoyed Tweeting and reading Tweets about the #readathon.

5. How many books did you read?

I finished six books.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

• The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel
• Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
• Everything Is Fine. by Ann Dee Ellis
• Just Being Audrey by Margaret Cardillo and Julia Denos
• Lulu and the Brontosaurs by Judith Viorst and Lane Smith
• Who's on First? by Abbott & Costello and John Martz

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

They were all great - but I think my favorite was Everything Is Fine..

8. Which did you enjoy least?

Not applicable.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

Not applicable.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

If at all possible, I will participate in the next read-a-thon - although April has been a hard month for doing that the past two years. I'd like to be a reader again - but I'm also thinking that it might be fun to try cheerleading.

Yet Another Mini-Challenge

"Turn to Page"
Hosted by Reflections of a Bookaholic
For this challenge, I had to turn to page 32 of the book I am currently reading and find the most entertaining phrase to complete the following sentence:

"I would rather read than ________ any day!"
From The Astronaut Wives Club, modifying the tense and a pronoun, I ended up with this:

"I would rather read than invite some of the wives over to my house in Stoneybrook to try out a facial mask any day!"

Elapsed Time 16:00

Progress Report
Time Read: 9:15

Pages Read: 587.

Books Finished: 2. (I've finished Everything Is Fine. by Ann Dee Ellis and Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally.)

Time Blogged and/or Tweeted: 5:15

Time on Break: 1:30

Frame of Mind: I'm really pleased that I've read two complete books plus more than half of a third. I'm getting tired, though, and although I'm definitely a night person, I'm not so good at late nights when I've woken up before 6:00 in the morning. I guess we'll see what the next few hours bring.

Cans of Diet Coke with Lime Consumed: 3.

Food Consumed: A mug of hot chocolate. Some raspberry-flavored almonds. A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich and a hashbrown from McDonald's. A few Pretzel Crisps. Some E.L. Fudge cookies. A bowl of honey dew melon and raspberries. A chocolate croissant. Two crab cakes with Japanese sticky rice.

Another Mini-Challenge

"Best of Your Reading Year"
Hosted by Lisa's World of Books
I'm all about book lists, so I'm happy to share a few of my "bests" of 2013 (so far):

Best YA Book of Your Reading Year
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow RowellAn almost perfect read, this is a gritty yet tender YA love story set in the mid-1980s (when I wasn't much older than the main characters are).

Best Non-Fiction Book of Your Reading Year
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunnI was first exposed to this important book at a women's retreat I attended in 2010, and I was deeply moved when I "read" it on CD at the beginning of this year. By Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, this is a call to action I can't forget.

Best Children's Book of Your Reading Year
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin LevineI absolutely loved this exploration of racism in the late 1950s. The main characters - Marlee and Liz - are terrific, and Marlee's "voice" is just perfect. I highly recommend this to both middle grade students and adult fans of historical fiction.

Best Fiction Book of Your Reading Year
Flight Behavior by Barbara KingsolverI've been a fan of Barbara Kingsolver's fiction for a long time, and her most recent novel did not disappoint. It's beautifully written as well as a meaningful exploration of today's social issues.

Best Title Character of Your Reading Year
The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel SimonSpanning 50 years, the story of Beautiful Girl - and those in her life - is a compelling tale of love, social justice, faith, and choices. I loved this one!

What are the "bests" of your reading year?

Mid-Event Survey

Now that we're almost halfway through, we have a survey to complete:

1. How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?
My eyes are starting to feel tired - even though I can't believe we're almost to the halfway point!

2. What have you finished reading?
I finished Everything Is Fine. by Ann Dee Ellis. I have two other books in progress - The Astronaut Wives Club and Catching Jordan. I hope to finish both before we're done, although I may mix things up in a little while with a trio of picture books.

3. What is your favorite read so far?
I'm enjoying everything I'm reading .

4. What about your favorite snacks?
I just finished eating two crab cakes with Japanese sticky rice. Delicious!

5. Have you found any new blogs through the readathon?
I've not taken much time to visit blogs (yet). Maybe during the second half!

Read-a-Thon Mini-Challenge

"Mad Libs"
Hosted by Mia and Jessica at Nisaba Be Praised
The paragraph I started with, from Lily Koppel's The Astronaut Wives Club, is as follows:

The seven wives hosted their ghostwriters at their homes and let them tag along as they went about their daily routines. The girls found their real selves disappearing behind Life's depiction of what it meant to be not only the perfect fifties housewife, but the perfect astronaut's wife, molded like the popular Barbie doll that had first appeared on store shelves that spring.

I asked my fourteen-year-old son for a number, a plural noun, another plural noun, a place, the name of a magazine, a noun, an adjective, another noun, a children's toy, and a season. After plugging it all in, we ended up with this:

The 43 chocolate bars hosted their ghostwriters at their recreation centers and let them tag along as they went about their daily routines. The knee braces found their real selves disappearing behind ESPN Magazine's depiction of what it meant to be not only the perfect fifties spork, but the thorny nose's wife, molded like the popular model train that had first appear on store shelves that spring.

We were mildly amused.

Elapsed Time 5:00

Progress Report
Time Read: 3:25

Pages Read: 152. (I am a little more than half done with The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel.)

Books Finished: None yet.

Time Blogged and/or Tweeted: 1:75

Frame of Mind: I was feeling quite sleepy a while ago. I didn't put in my contact lenses when I woke up - trying to keep my eyes from getting too buggy too soon as the day progresses - but I've since put them in and that woke me up a bit. Eating breakfast also helped, I think. I do want to take a break for a shower before too much longer.

Cans of Diet Coke with Lime Consumed: 1.

Food Consumed: A mug of hot chocolate. Some raspberry-flavored almonds. A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich and a hashbrown - brought to me by my husband from the McDonald's drive-thru.

Introductory Questionnaire

What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
The suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel.

Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Crab cakes. And Hershey's Heath Pieces. And microwave popcorn. And ...

Tell us a little something about yourself!
I learned to read with Dick and Jane when I was six years old, and I've not stopped since. I work with numbers in my professional life, but I love words!

If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?
I've got a lot of very short books in my read-a-thon pile, including two or three picture books. I'm hoping that I can feel like I'm really making progress in my overall reading goals - which will help me keep the read-a-thon momentum going!

Elapsed Time 0:00

Here We Go!
It's dark and cold on a Saturday morning, and yet I'm awake. It must be Dewey's Read-a-Thon!

I participated in the first Dewey's Read-a-Thon in October 2007 and in most of those since. In fact, this is my eleventh read-a-thon - and I'm looking forward to a great day of books, blogging, and snacks. Good luck to the other read-a-thon participants, and a big thanks to the hosts, the cheerleaders, and all the other helpers!

If you're just stopping by and want to know more about what's happening, check out the read-a-thon blog or Twitter or Facebook page.