October 2021 Readathon

 

Oct. 24, 11:13 a.m.

Now that I've gotten something approaching a full night's sleep, I can look back on this readathon and reflect on how successful I was.  Fortunately, Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon has a closing survey that I can use to assess my readathon: 

1. How would you assess your reading overall?  Honestly, this was one of the better readathons that I have done.  I had two major goals and two minor goals.  My major goals were to finish Dune and Collected Poems, Prose, and Plays by Robert Frost and I accomplished both of those goals.  I also had minor goals of starting to read The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee and Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang and I did start reading those, though I didn't get as far as I thought I would.  I even almost made it the full 24 hours, only bowing out at the end of hour 23.  In short, I read somewhere between 600 and 700 pages during this readathon, which is the most I have read for a readathon in a long time.
2. Did you have a strategy, and if so, did you stick to it?  Since I was reading Dune as an ebook and I didn't want to strain my eyes too much, my strategy was to flip between my books every 50 pages or so.  So, I would read about 50 pages of Dune, then I would read 50 pages of Robert Frost, then back to Dune, and so on.  I did largely stick to this and I think that was part of my success.  Rather than just power through a single book, flipping between books helped me to not get bored with one or the other, instead working towards an achievable goal before moving towards another book.  I also made it a point not to be so doctrinaire about sticking only to reading during the readathon as I went and did a few errands in the afternoon either by myself or with my wife.  This helped me to back off a little bit from time to time, give my eyes a little break, and get me some fresh air every now and then.
3. What was your favorite snack? Definitely the cheese, salami, and wheat crackers plate that I made, although the fruit plate my wife made with strawberries, blueberries, and pineapples was a very close second.
4. Did you add any new books to your TBR/wishlist after seeing what everyone else is reading?  Honestly, I was so focused on my own reading that I didn't engage with anyone else's reading on Dewey's website, or on social media.  Heck, I didn't even engage with my blog as much as I wanted to during the readathon.  I think I will need to rethink how I engage my blog and social media for the next readathon.
5. What was your favorite book or experience from this readathon?  Definitely finishing Dune.  I had just watched the new film adaptation with my wife the day before and I had started the book roughly where the movie ends (the movie out now only covers the first half of the book), so it was like finishing the movie in my head.  I have some mixed feelings about the book that I will have to work out in my review, but it was certainly the best of the reading I did for the readathon.

Oct. 24, 3:41 a.m.

I've now gotten a little reading doe for both The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee and Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang, but my body is beginning to betray me.  Though there is only about an hour left in this readathon, I think I am going to call it a night.  After I get some sleep, I'll write a postmortem for this readathon.  Good night everyone!

Oct. 24, 1:08 a.m.

With all of the distraction I had this afternoon, it took me longer than expected to complete the other major goal I had set out for myself with this readathon.  But, I have finally finished Dune by Frank Herbert.  Absolutely fascinating, but I started this book a little distracted.  I also feel like there is so much that happened between parts 2 and 3 of this book that I wouldn't have minded a little bit more.  No official biography for this book yet, but my preliminary rating is a 3.5 out of 5 stars.  Now, with the few hours I have left, I am going to try to achieve some minor goals I had set for myself at the start of this readathon.

Oct. 23, 11:40 p.m.

I haven't been updating this page as much as I had hoped as I have had to run a few errands that not only distracted me from updating this page, but also distracted me from my reading.  Fortunately, I have completed one of my major reading goals for this readathon.  That goal was to finish reading the collected poems, prose, and plays of Robert Frost from the Library of America (the green book in the picture).  This was tough as the portion I was reading was his prose and, let's be frank, his poetry is WAY more interesting than his plays or prose section.  Still, I can't deny that his poetry is quite beautiful and I can see how it has had a hold on folks for a long time.  So, while I won't have an official review out for awhile, I'm going to give this a preliminary 3.5 out of 5 stars.  Now, on to completing Dune by Frank Herbert and starting The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee.

Oct. 23, 9:51 a.m.

I am nearly five hours into this readathon.  How's it going so far?  Well, I've read about 100 pages of Robert Frost and 10% of Dune.  So, I am going a little slower than expected, but I am making good progress nonetheless.  I think I shall take a sort break to eat some breakfast, but I will continue to read Dune while I am eating.

Oct. 23 5:00 a.m.

It looks like it's time for another 24 Hour Readathon.  This one is being sponsored by Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon.  For this readathon, my goals are rather modest in comparison to previous readathons: finish Dune by Frank Herbert and Colleceted Poems, Prose, and Plays by Robert Frost.  After that, my goal is to try to get started on Vagabonds by Hao Jing Fang and The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee.  Wish me luck!

City of Blinding Lights: A Review of City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since J.R.R. Tolkien wrote one of the first modern fantasy series with both The Hobbit, or There and Back Again and The Lord of the Rings, much of the fantasy landscape has been dominated by white, Northern European roadmap mythologies and tropes. However, in recent years a slew of authors have been writing fantasy novels from new perspectives and breaking this mould. Tomi Adeyemi, for example, has published two YA fantasy novels based on African mythology. In this novel, Ms. Chakraborty has written an excellent fantasy novel based on Middle Eastern mythology and folklore that further breaks that old mould.

Set around the time of Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt, this book follows two main characters: Nahri, a Cairo street thief with an unknown pedigree, and Ali, a sensitive and devout prince of Daevabad, the mythic and titular city of brass in this novel.  When Nahri accidentally frees Dara, an ancient Daeva (or Djinn) warrior, from a magical imprisonment, thus endangering her life, they flee across the Middle East to try to find safety in Daevabad.  But their journey to the City of Brass is only the beginning of their travails as the conquest of the city centuries ago has led to oppression and racial tension within the city that threatens to blow up at any point.  Ali, in his desire to do good, walks a precarious line between the supporting the city’s oppressed subjects and remaining loyal to his family.  But Nahri and Dara’s arrival in Daevabad threatens to break all of these tensions wide open.

One of the key features of any new fantasy series is the world-building.  Without quality world-building, a fantasy series can completely collapse.  Thankfully, Ms. Chakraborty has done an incredible job of building up this fantasy world.  It is populated with numerous races and creatures, each one of them with a unique origin and magical powers.  For those of you looking for a dense new fantasy world to jump into, look no further than this novel.  That said, Ms. Chakraborty’s world-building is both a strength and a weakness.  At times, the amount of background and number of different magical races, each with their own particular origin, powers, and grievances felt a little too overwhelming.  I was especially confused by the conflict between Daevabad’s residents that informs much of the novel’s plot and it wasn’t until I had finished the book that it started to click a little.  Ms. Chakraborty does have a few parts in the first half of the book where the world is explained to Nahri and the reader, so I would suggest that new readers slow down at those parts and maybe even reread them to make sure that they understand everything.

Fantasy novels are also known for having a good amount of action in its narrative and this book is no exception.  From Nahri and Dara’s close calls on the road to Daevabad to the climactic battle at the end of the novel, Ms. Chakraborty knows how to write a pulse-pounding action sequence.  I was totally enthralled by the climax as narrative threads and characters smashed up against each other in a glorious mess that makes me eager to find out what happens next.  There is a good amount of political intrigue here to satiate any Game of Thrones fans.  There is also a bit of a love triangle that happens between the three main characters that, on its surface, may seem a little trope-ish and rushed, especially near the middle of the book, but actually feels right for this story.  That said, there is a lot of time jumping that happens in this story.  For example, in one chapter, Nahri and Dara have just entered the city and in the next chapter two weeks have passed.  To be fair, significant time jumping was probably necessary to keep the narrative without unnecessarily slowing down, but I nevertheless felt a little whiplash reading this book at times.

Overall, this is an excellent start to new type of fantasy novels that continues to break the old mould and reinvigorate the genre.  If you are looking for something new and unique in your fantasy books, I would highly recommend this book to you.

View all my reviews

April 2021 Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon Live Blog

April 25, 3:05 a.m.

Though there is about two hours left in the readathon, I think I am going to end things here for myself having finished 154 pages of James Weldon Johnson's collected writings from the Library of America.  Looking back on today's readathon for myself, I have to say that, though I did not reach all of my goals, I nonetheless feel like this was one of the more successful readathons that I have done recently.  My wife was able to join me for the last few hours, we enjoyed some great time and snacks together, I finished two books (The City of Brass and Artificial Condition), and I was able to make serious progress on two others.  Thus, I feel as though I am in a good position to finish several books that I have been struggling with in the next week or so.  So, I am signing off from this readathon and I look forward to making another live blog of the next one.

8:45 p.m.

It's been a little while since my last post and the reason why is because not only is today readathon day, but it is also Independent Bookstore Day.  So, my wife and I made a little trek to our beloved local indie bookstore, Cellar Door Books, to browse a little and pick up a few books.  At the same time, I started reading the next book that I'll be discussing with my History Book Club at the beginning of May, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe.  I decided only to complete the first ~150 pages of this book and save the rest for next week so that I can focus on making progress on a couple of other books I am in the middle of reading.  Up next, I am going to try to make progress on a collection of James Weldon Johnson's writings from the Library of America.

2:22 p.m.

And another book is in the bag.  For the first time though, I've completed an audiobook for a readthon.  In this case, it was the novella Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells.  I did it so I could get some exercise in while continuing on this journey.  I really enjoy the action and humor in this and the first book, but the naturally quick pace of a novella means that I inevitably miss some key plot points, which I did here.  Overall, a good sequel.  Now it is on to starting Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe.

10:47 a.m.

I just finished my first book of the readathon, The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty.  I read the second half of this book starting this morning, but it was an ebook, so I am not 100% sure hominy pages that is.  This was an absolutely exciting read and I look forward to reflecting on this book in the review I will post to this blog later.  In the meantime, I have to do some exercise, so for the first time I will be using an audiobook to continue the readathon.  As I work out, I'll be listening to Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells and narrated by Kevin R. Free.

April 24, 5:00 a.m.

It's the start of another 24-Hour Readathon today and I have a lot of reading that I hope to accomplish today.  For today, I will posting throughout the day primarily here, on my Goodreads account, and elsewhere.  I'll try to do hour updates to here, but that I  plan to do more reading than writing, so I'll really be updating this page throughout the day whenever I can.  I'm going to start with the by trying to finish the book The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty and I hope you enjoy reading this live blog today.

February 2021 24in48 Readathon Live Blog

 

A Photo of Jefferson and my tea taken from my Instagram.

February 6, 2021, 1:08 a.m.

I didn't intend to truly start this readathon until the morning, but because it officially started at 12:01 a.m. EST (9:01 a.m. PST), and because I got to my reading late earlier today, I unintentionally kicked my readathon off at the same time as everyone else.  I started off by reading the first two chapters of Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin out of my Library of America edition of his early novels (see below for some links) and then read 100 pages of Jefferson while enjoying some nice Sleepytime Extra tea.  It took a little longer for me to finish all this reading than I expected, though not as long as I feared.  If I keep this pace up, I do believe I can finish Jefferson, Giovanni's Room, and The Light of the Jedi this weekend.  But will I be able to finish Felix Ever After or Children of Virtue an Vengeance (let alone start it) this weekend?  Doubt is creeping into my head.  Hopefully I can, but I am going to get some rest now and truly dive into this in the morning.

February 5, 2021: The Day Before!

It's been a few months since I have done an honest to goodness readathon and if I am ever hopeful of whittling down my TBR, then readathons are my only hope.  Fortunately, the wonder folks at the 24in48 Readathon have been working hard at organizing a great readathon and I am so happy to be joining them.

What is a readathon you ask?  A readathon is where you try read for as long as you can in a certain time frame without stopping, sort of like running a marathon (read + marathon= readathon).  One online place that is famous for organizing this is Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon.  They famously choose 24 hour period to just read non-stop during that period (their next one is on April 24).  There is also a bunch of social media done on Facebook, Instagram, Twitterm, etc. that folks can participate in as they are reading.  

The 24in48 readathon is similar in that you try to read for 24 hours straight, but they break it up over two days.  That means you can tackle your 24 hours of reading in any combination you like.  Read all day Saturday or all day Sunday?  Go for it!  12 hours on Saturday and 12 hours on Sunday?  Absolutely!  8 on Saturday, 16 on Sunday?  That works too!  Any combination of 24 hours of reading you can think of works for this particular readathon.

One thing they are doing differently this year is that they have chosen two group reads for folks to participate in, one fiction and one non-fiction.  Their non-fiction read is Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender, a YA Romance starring a trans male as the protagonist.  The non-fiction read is White Negroes by Lauren Michele Jackson about cultural appropriation.  I personally plan on reading Felix Ever After myself, but no one is obligated to read these books if they want to read something else.

On top of Felix Ever After, I have a few books I either want to finish or make progress on.  First, I want to finish reading the Library of America collection Thomas Jefferson's writings that I have been working on since January 1.  This has been an interesting read, but at 1600 pages it is huge!  I had planned on finishing by the end of January, but life interceded.  I also plan on making progress on Library of America's collection of James Baldwin's early novels.  I just finished re-reading Go Tell It On the Mountain last night and I hope to have Giovanni's Room finished by the end of this readathon.

Next, I am going to finish reading Star Wars: The High Republic: The Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule.  My reading obsession originated with my love of Star Wars novels (the pre-Disney original Expanded Universe novels that is) back in high school and college, but I haven't really read many Star Wars novels since then.  However, this High Republic series sounds incredibly exciting.  I've been enjoying this book very much and I plan on finishing it this weekend.

Lastly, I plan on at least starting Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi.  This is the second book in her Legacy of Orïsha series, the first one being Children of Blood and Bone.  I read that when it first came out and I loved it!  I'm looking forward to diving back into this amazing YA fantasy world.

Of course, this is just the plan.  I have no idea if I will be able to actually do any of this.  Fortunately, like pervious readathons, I plan on live blogging this one.  Just come back to this page throughout the day tomorrow, February 6, and Sunday, February 7.  I'll be regularly adding updates to this page about my progress.  And while you're at it, be sure to check out any one of these great books or authors I have mentioned.  And if you want to join the 24in48 Readathon, head over to their website and fill out their online form.  Happy reading everyone!

October 2020 Readathon Live Blog

October 25, 11:25 a.m.

I finished my final book, Divine Self-Investment by Tripp Fuller at around 4 a.m., one hour before the end of the readathon.  But I was so exhausted from pushing myself to finish this book that I immediately went to bed without an update.  So, I didn't make it the full 24 hours, especially if you include the hours when I was traveling or in my virtual reunion meetings, but I cam pretty close.  Also, I ultimately feel like I will have to reread Divine Self-Investment at some point in the future as I feel my reading of it was affected by my exhaustion.  This was a complicated book and I am not sure how Mr. Fuller got to the conclusions that he did, so a more careful reading is called for.  But, that is the end of this readathon.  I look forward to the next one.  And next time, I will make sure that I am not interrupted and have the ENTIRE day to read.

8:47 p.m.

After another reunion event catching up with old friends from grad school and getting a small dinner, I finally completed the poetry book I was on, There Should be Flowers by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza.  I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to like this book, but it turned out to be great.  I highly recommend it to poetry lovers, particularly and trans readers out there.  Now, on to Divine Self-Investment by Tripp Fuller.

5:06 p.m.

I finally finished a book that I have been stuck on for over a month now, The Gospel as Social Revolution by Timothy Black.  It's an incredibly detailed look at why evangelical Christians should consider poverty alleviation to be central to our Gospel mission and not on the periphery.  He also examines a program in South Africa to show how evangelicals could implement such a program based on the needs of the local community.  Now that I have gotten books that I had already started reading out of the way, it's time to start some new books!

2:42 p.m.

So my break took way longer than I expected it to, but now I am back and ready to get into my next book, The Gospel as Social Revolution by Timothy Black.

10:26 a.m.

I'm on a bit of a break right now as I am taking part in my grad school's online reunion right now.  Then I have to travel a little bit with my wife, but I'll get back to reading on the car ride.  See you soon.!

8:23 a.m.

I just finished reading my first book for the day, The Diary of Young Girl by Anne Frank.  Strangely, this my first time ever reading this book as I somehow managed to make it through public school without encountering this book in any class that I took.  I know I read some book about the Holocaust, I just don't remember what it was.  A pity it wasn't this one.

5:58 am

It's been a while since I have done a live blog of a readathon and what better time than to start with Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon in October. I just got finished with some devotional reading and now I am moving on to The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, which I have less than 100 pages to complete.    For the sake of my sanity, I will only be updating this blog when complete something or take a break of some sort.  Let the reading adventure begin!

April 2020 24-Hour Readathon Live Blog

April 25, 9:23 a.m.: Just over four hours have passed since we started this readathon.  I've finished just over 127 pages of Midnight in Chernobyl, but Monique has already finished reading her book, The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande.  Looks like I have a lot fo watching up to do.

April 25, 2020 4:58 a.m.: It't time for another 24 hour readtathon!  This time, I am taking part in the classic Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon and I am not alone as my fiancé, Monique, will be joining me.  We are even having a friendly competition going on of seeing who can read the most.  This is where I will be live blogging for the day, so come check out our progress often.  I've got my tea ready and I am going to get started with the book, Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham.  Wish us luck!

#StayHome24in48 Readathon Live Blog

Sunday, March 22, 9:42 p.m.:

Well, it's the end of another readathon.  I finished reading four books and started two others over the course of this readathon.  I must have finished somewhere between 300 and 500 pages in total, though I did not keep a specific count.  Not all of the books were that great (I'm looking at you Ulysses), but it is always a pleasure to get something finished.  I hope to do another readathon in the near future, but we will see how things turn out.  Thanks to everyone who has read this live blog and a special thanks to the bloggers at 24in48.com for putting this on.  See you all next time!

Sunday, March 22, 8:45 p.m.:

Well, I finished A Long Walk to Water and I thought it was a very good middle grade read about the Sudanese Civil War, the plight of refugees, and the good things that they can do if given a chance to immigrate and prosper in America.  I gave it 5 out of 5 and I would recommend it, but just use some parental caution if giving it to younger readers.  Some people die in pretty awful ways in the book.  While I am going to start The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, unfortunately I won't be able to finish it during this readathon seeing as it is technically suppose to end at 9 p.m. PST (12 a.m. EST).  But, I am looking forward to ending this thing with Mr. Sherlock Holmes

Sunday, March 22, 4:57 p.m.:

And another book is finished!  I just read the last page of All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries #1 by Martha Wells.  This was a pretty good book, but, like a lot of novellas, things moved very quickly, particularly at the end, and I would've liked a lot more details.  So, 3.5 stars for this one.  An enjoyable, lite read and I might want to read more of the series in the future.  Now, on to A Long Walk to Water...

Sunday, March 22, 3:22 p.m.:

It appears the big brunch I had is affecting me a little more than I expected it to.  I started dozing off a little in the middle of my chapter.  But, I got the first chapter of Ocean of Milk, Ocean of Blood finished.  On now to All Systems Red...

Sunday, March 22, 2:00 p.m.:

So, this second day of the readathon did not start off as planned as I completely missed my alarm and slept in much longer than I meant to.  But, I am back up and reading.  The goal for today is to read another chapter of Ocean of Milk, Ocean of Blood by Matthew W. King, then completely finish reading All Systems Red by Martha Wells, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle.  Let's do this thing!

Saturday, March 21, 10:19 p.m.:

I was able to get a little more of All Systems Red completed and I am now halfway done with it.  But with dinner and Skyping with my Bible study friends, the time went by more quickly than I had anticipated.  One thing I promised myself during this readathon is that I would get a good night's sleep and that is exactly what I am going to do right now.  So, good night everyone.  I will see you sometime tomorrow for day 2.

Saturday, March 21, 5:57 p.m.:

Even though I am also taking care of laundry right now, I am still checking off the boxes of books I wanted to finish reading this weekend.  I just finished reading A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende, a good historical fiction novel about a pair of refugees fleeing the Spanish Civil War and putting down roots in Chile.  It's good, but rather short in comparison to other historical fiction novels in the same genre.  Still, it might be a good one to start with for those who have wanted to jump into the genre but have been intimidated by the size of some of the best known ones.

I also discovered that All Systems Red by Martha Wells is actually a novella, not a novel like I first thought.  Though I wasn't planning on it, I think I am going to try to finish it this weekend as well.  In fact, that is what I will be picking up right now...

Saturday, March 21, 3:39 p.m.:

It's over!  I've finally finished reading this long nightmare of a book Ulysses by James Joyce.  I've been working on this book for over a month now and every page was a confusing bore.  No plot, ever changing style, etc.  This may be an interesting book for English Lit. majors, but it's a completely confusing mess to me. I give it only 1 star.  Now, on to finishing A Long Petal of the Sea...

Saturday, March 21, 2:10 p.m.:

I just finished the first chapter of All Systems Red.  Wow!  This book is going to be a much quicker read than I thought.  Still, I'm going to circle back to Ulysses and A Long Petal of the Sea and finish those books today.

Saturday, March 21, 1:45 p.m.:

It turns out that my online meeting was much shorter than I thought it was going to be.  So, I ate a nutritious lunch and I am now back on the reading clock.  Going to read my first chapter of All Systems Red by Martha Wells.  Oh, and I have to do laundry at the same time.

Saturday, March 21, 12:28 p.m.:

I just finished reading the introduction to Ocean of Milk, Ocean of Blood by Matthew King.  It's about the life and legacy of an influential Mongolian Buddhist monk at the beginning of the 20th century.  Phew!  It looks like this is going to be another tough read.  But now I need to eat some lunch and go to a virtual meeting.  I should be back to reading around 3 p.m., if not sooner. 

Saturday, March 21, 11:12 a.m.:

Just finished a little bit of my A Long Petal of the Sea reading.  I'm now just two chapters away from finishing this one.  But, I need to get started on two other books, Ocean of Milk, Ocean of Blood by Matthew W. King (for my History Book Club at Cellar Door April Read) and All Systems Red by Martha Wells (for the Life's Library Book Club).  Better get to it!

Saturday, March 21, 9:50 a.m.:

Just finished a little bit of my Ulysses reading and I am now just 34 pages away from finishing it.  I've been working on this god-awful "classic" for over a month now and I will be glad to be done with it once and for all and move on to something better.

Hour Zero:

It has been several months since I last did a readathon and live blogged it and with all the craziness going on in the world right now, I think it is time to knock another one of these out of the park.  Fortunately, the bloggers over at 24in48.com created a Social Distancing Readathon for this weekend.  And, unlike a traditional readathon, this one takes place over the course of two days.  So, instead of exhausting myself trying to get 24 straight hours of reading done, I am going to try to space it out over the next two days.  In fact, I plan on taking this one a little easier than the last one, so this will be the main place people can come to for my live blogging.  I am going to get things started with a little Ulysses by James Joyce and A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende and go from there.  Wish me luck!

"Don't You Forget About Me": A Review of The Korean War: A History

The Korean War: A History by Bruce Cumings

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Korean War is often, and rightfully, called "the forgotten war." Bracketed by World War II and the Vietnam War in American history, few Americans know anything about this war in which 3 million Koreans several thousand Americans died. Often what they do know is pretty basic: the North invaded the South, America and its UN allies intervened and pushed the North Koreans back across the 38th parallel all the way to the Yalu River, until communist China intervened and pushed the war back into a stalemate along the 38th parallel. However, in this revisionist work, Bruce Cumings puts more flesh and bones on this otherwise bare bones tale and emphasizes both its importance in American history why it has never really ended, and how it was just as dirty as the war dirty war in Indochina that would succeed it.

For those of you looking for a straight historical narrative of the Korean War, this book probably won't tickle that itch. The first chapter gives the standard story of the war, with a few relatively unknown details thrown in to flesh things out a little, but then hops around different topics for the rest of this book. This allows Mr. Cumings to talk about the darker side of this war that rarely makes it into America's headlines: how the roots of the war go back to, and are much more deeply intertwined with, the Japanese occupation of Korea, not the immediate Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States; how the South Korean regime of dictator Syngman Rhee was just as brutal, and possibly more so, than communist North Korea; how American forces too often stood by as South Korean forces massacred real and suspected communists; and just how the American air war was to the North Korean people and economy. It is a sobering look at a part of our history that is too easily swept under the rug simply because South Korea eventually developed into a vibrant democracy, because we didn't lose the Korean War (though we didn't necessarily win it either), and because the Vietnam War looms so much larger in the American psyche than the Korean War does. Mr. Cumings makes a passionate and nuanced plea for remembering and understanding this war.

And yet, I can't help but feel that, like the war it brings to light, will do nothing more than to create a stalemate in the American reader's mind. While many of the facts and figures Mr. Cumings brings to light may be revelatory, even damning, to many Americans, because this book forgoes a chronological structure, it fails to successfully mesh the unknown dark side of the war with what Americans already do know about the war. A more straightforward analysis of the war, similar to other standard military histories out there, with all of the revelations Mr. Cumings brings to light, would've had a much greater impact. Instead, like many other revisionist histories, this book lists off a litany of wrongs that Americans should feel bad about, forcing the reader to either assume a knee-jerk defensive position or not. For a book that begs for understanding and nuance regarding the war, the baseball bat approach this book takes does not lend itself to such an understanding of the ar.

Despite that, this book is an important work about a forgotten war. While it may be nothing more than a supplemental read to other histories of the war, such as The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War by David Halberstam, it is a necessary supplemental read that all American history buffs should read.

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"What a Wonderful World This Could Be": A Review of Red Mars

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mars has had a particular hold on the imagination for centuries, almost as long as the Moon. This book takes our imaginings of Mars to a new level as Mr. Robinson examines what it would be like for the first colonists on Mars, how would their efforts affect Mars, and how Mars would affect the people and Earth too.

Starting with the journey of the first 100 colonists to Mars, this book devotes different parts to different key players in the story in a revolving limited third-person perspective. Because you follow a character's perspective for quite awhile, you are able to gain an appreciation for all of the characters from different angles. Characters you may have liked during the beginning become multi-layered as you see them from another's perspective.

But the really great thing about this book is how Mr. Robinson explores to just how terraforming the planet Mars could work, but how the process of terraforming Mars would change the people involved, even change the planet Earth and its politics ban home. It is an incredibly multi-layered examination of space exploration and colonization that is not found in other books out there.

This is not a perfect book though. For example, it takes Mr. Robinson a long time to really build up some momentum. The first third of the book or so takes a while to set up what will ultimately become the main conflict of the book. But once the stage is set, everything comes together very well. Another problem with this book is some of Mr. Robinson's characterizations of female protagonists, particularly the character Maya. Though she is one of the first hundred, her main function in the story appears to be to bounce between relationships with two of the key male protagonists, John Boone and Frank Chalmers. When she is with one, she wants to be with the other and vice versa. And, aside from acting as some kind of leader in the latter part of the book, her main function appears to be mostly in her sex appeal, not as full character in her own right.

Despite these problems, this book is a great sci-fi novel that paved the way for other similar sci-fi novels to look beyond just simple exploration of the stars and imagine colonizing them as well. Though it takes a long time to build momentum and Mr. Robinson's characterization of his female protagonists is a bit problematic, this is a classic of modern sci-fi that I would recommend to anyone who is interested.

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The Dewey 24 Hour Readathon Live Updates

Hour 24: And that is a wrap!

I made it!  I completed the full 24 hours.  It was a little touch and go at the end there, but I read three books, two of which I completed, for a total of 590 pages read in a 24 hour period.  I am feeling very tired right now, so I'm going to shut everything downwind go to sleep.  Thanks for reading this live blog and be sure to check out all of my other blogs thatI have on here.

Hour 23: It's the final countdown!

Only one hour left in this readathon.  By constantly rocking my chair, I was able to stay awake and get another 30 pages of Biased completed.  I won't be able to finish the book in this hour, but I can definitely finish it later today after I have gotten a good amount of sleep.

Hour 22: Wake up dang it!

I think I fell asleep for a good few minutes at the end of the 22nd hour.  Still, I managed to get another 30 pages of Biased done, but I definitely on't finish the entire book in the less than two hours I have left.  I've got to stay awake.  I'm almost there...

Hour 21: It's getting tougher and tougher

I am having a small problem maintaining focus and alertness as I am entering the last three hours of the readathon, but I managed to read another 36 pages of Biased in this hour.  Things are getting tougher, so I am going to go look for a granola bar, drink some water, walk around a little bit, and then tackle the next hour.

Hour 20: Blueberries and strawberries to the rescue

I made myself a small bowl of blueberries and strawberries to help pep up my energy as I enter the homestretch of the readathon.  It worked for a time, but the effects are starting to wear off pretty quick.  Still, I was able to finish almost 30 more pages of Biased.  Will I be able to finish this book tonight?

Hour 19: Where the rubber meets the road

I got over 30 pages of Biased done in this hour, but my body is tarting to feel tired.  I might need to stretch and get a snack, but I am determined to finish all 24 hours of the readathon.    I can do this, I can do this, I can do this...

Hour 18: A short break

My fiancé needed some love an attention, which I am always happy to give her.  But I was only able to finish 17 more pages of Biased.  Before she went to bed though, my fiancé challenged me to complete all 24 hours of this readathon.  My original plan was to call it quits at midnight, but I can never refuse a dare from my fiancé.  So, I'm now committed to finishing all 24 hours of the readathon.  Mat God have mercy on my soul...

Hour 17: Look who's here!

My reading slowed down a little bit in this hour because my fiancé returned from her time with her family.  I'm so happy that she's here that I only got 17 pages of Biased finished.  In fact, I may be slowing down to a full stop soon. 

Hour 16: Another book bites the dust!

I did it!  I finished reading The Korean War by Bruce Cumings!  I have also just posted my review for it on the blog and on Goodreads.  Check out my blog post for it here.  Now it is on to the next book on my readathon TBR, Biased by Jennifer Eberhardt.

Hour 15: Almost done with another book!

The Korean War by Bruce Cumings is proving to be a much quicker read than I expected.  I am now just 16(!) pages away from finishing this book, which I will do in the next hour.  I'll be sure to post a review for it on my blog and provide a link to it here.  After that, I plan to get some of the book Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt, PhD.  I'm reading this for a discussion on race and bias at my job and I am looking forward to gaining some new insights on the subject.

Hours 13 and 14: The readathon adventure continues...

I took a break during the 13th hour to write my review for Red Mars (link below) and get some dinner.  After refueling, I began reading the second book in my TBR for this readathon, The Korean War by Bruce Cumings.  This is a book that I am reading for another group on Goodreads and were suppose to finish it next week.  It's my hope to finish it tonight and, by the 32 pages I just got finished, I believe I can.

Hour 12: Red Mars is in the bag!

I know I am posting this a little late, but I have just finished reading Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.  It took me half of the readathon to do it, but it was well worth it.  I gave it four out of five stars and you can read my review by clicking here.  Next up is The Korean War by Bruce Cumings, but I think I will take a short break and make some dinner right now.

Hour 11: Almost there...

I have now completed 95% of Red Mars and I will definitely be able to finish it this hour.  I will be sure to post a separate post on the book on my blog and link it to this live blog when I do.  So close to finished...

Hour 10: Refreshed and ready for the next hour

I was starting to fall asleep in the middle of my book, so I decided to take a 20 minute nap this hour.  I only got 2% more of Red Mars completed, but I am now refreshed and ready for the next hour.  I really think I can finish this book within the next hour or two, so stay tuned for an update on that and my review.

Hour 9: You're getting sleepy...

On the official website for the readathon, it mentioned in this hour to take care of yourself by staying hydrated and even taking naps when necessary.  After eating a healthy lunch, I scoffed at this... until I fell asleep for a hot minute or two there.  Still, I managed to complete another 6%(!) of Red Mars and I am now at 87% completed.  The finish line is within sight, but I think I am going to take a quick cat nap to recharge my batteries in this hour.

Hour 8: Whoops!  Missed an hour.

So, it looks like I forgot to blog the seventh hour.  Just for the sake of time, I'm going to do hours 7 & 8 right now.  I'm now at 81% of Red Mars completed and I can almost taste the end of this book.  I'm starting to get really excited about finishing this book, especially since it is starting to get really interesting.  I also was able to fit in so lunch in this hour.  I was getting peckish in hour 7, eating two Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  But now that I have eaten lunch (Turkey sandwich with a sliced apple, trail mix, and cherry tomatoes), it's onwards to the next hour.

Hour 6:  Sun's out, books out!

The weather out here in SoCal is a cool 75º F, so I decided to get a little sunlight during this hour.  I got another 5% of Red Mars completed, so I am now at 73% finished.  Looking forward to finishing this and other books on my TBR today.

Hour 5: Showered, shaved, and ready for more reading!

My fiancé told me I needed to shower so that I didn't look like a serial killer in my Facebook stories updates, so I got to a good place in Red Mars and did exactly that.  I was still able to finish another 4% of the book though.  What can I do with an unencumbered hour of reading?....

Hour 4: What time is it?

I took a little break to eat some breakfast, but still got 3% more of Red Mars completed.  But I am already starting to lose track of the time.  I'm doing video stories on Facebook and I couldn't even remember what hour I was in.  Am I already begin to crack up?  Got to pull it together.  I am only a sixth of the way through this...

Hour 3 in the bag!

I got another 5% of Red Mars done, putting me at 61% for the entire book.  Things are starting to get really interesting in the efforts to terraform the planet.  I'm starting to feel a little peckish now, so I'm probably going to take a short break to make some breakfast.

Hour 2 Completed

Just finished the second hour of the readathon and things are in full swing.  I finished another 4% of Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.  I am very hopeful that i can finish this book today and maybe even finish The Korean War by Bruce Cumings as well.  Onwards and upwards!

Hour 1 Completed

So, I started things off by reading from the Bible.  My reading was from Colossians 3:12-14: "Put on then, as eGod's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; gas the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." I also got about 2% of Red Mars completed, putting me at 52% for the book.  On to the next hour!

Starting Hour

So, I am trying something completely new by live blogging my experience with the Fall 24 Hour Readathon from Dewey.  I'm going to to try to make my way through four books, Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, The Korean War by Bruce Cumings, Biased by Jennifer Eberhardt, and An Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.  I'll be trying to update every hour or so.  Wish me luck!