Readathon: End of Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
   The17th, which was also my last one. At the beginning of the 18th (7 a.m. in Italy) I went to sleep!
   
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
   The Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant which I love love love.
   
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
   Uhm... I don't think so. It was very well organised!
   
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
   The mini-challenge were interesting and helped a lot to take a break from reading reading reading and still reading!
   
5. How many books did you read?
   6 and half (and a bonus)
   
6. What were the names of the books you read?
   Dylan Dog - Mater Morbi
   Hawkeye Little Hits
   Aurore
   Marvel Universe VS the The Avengers
   The Chronicles of Harris Burdick
   Like Nothing on Earth
   The purple Death (incomplete)
   (+ Hawkeye + Deadpool)
   
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
   All considering, probably the Chronichles of Harris Burdick
   
8. Which did you enjoy least?
   Dylan Dog - Mater Morbi was quite disappointing
   
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
   
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
    I will surely participate again! I'll be a 'simple' reader again :D
    
    
    And this is it! The Readathon is ending... I'll probably finish my review of The Purple Death even though it's out of time so stay tuned :)
    
    Ssele P.

Readathon: La morte viola / Der violette Tod / The purple death

La morte viola

by Gustav Meyrink

[soon to be cover]

I wasn't sure which language to use for the title, so I used all of them! The Italian one is the title of the whole collection... collection the doesn't exists in the other parts of the world. But the story of the same name obviously exsists and it's originally German. Then I put also the English translation, because it was helpful.

That said! Be prepared for gore and gothic and alchemy and the strangest things you could dream of.

Der heisse Soldat (The burning soldier) is short and simple, it's like starting to dip in the cold water of the sea at the ankle. It's still acceptable. It's just the beginning. You read it, you laugh. It's strange, but it's a funny strange.

Der violette Tod (The purple death) is the second story but is already set in creepyland. When you finish to read the story, there's something that stays with you, a certain uneasiness that takes you everytime you read the word that cannot be spoken aloud.

Der Schrecken (Terror) is one of the more anxiogenic things I've ever read, because it's just so real - we are all scared of death, aren't we? Meyrin knows this and knows how to use this.

Das ganze Sein ist flammend Leid (The whole existence is burning pain) hurts. It's... sad, sorrowful. It doesn't make you cry, not really, but it does hold squeeze your heart. 

Petroleum, petroleum is not really one of my favourite stories... but it has an interesting main character that I'd love to get to know better.

Die Koenigin unter den Breghen (The Queen under the Bregens) is a trip. Like, really, an acid trip of some sort, I dunno. It's not only dream-like, it's a dream. Full stop. It's just an idea of something, there's nothing really written in it. It's like a paint, but in writing form. I like it very much.

Die schwarze Kugel (The black Sphere) is pure nonsense and still it really fascinates me in the way it's written and in what exactly represents. I don't like nonsense very much, but this, I love.

Das Praeparat (The Compound) is the story that has always had a place in my heart, since the first time I read this collection (many years ago). I'd say it's gore, even though gore it's not at all the word I'd like to use... but I don't know another words which could suit better the story. It's gothic - it's probably one of the stories that better represents the gothic genre. And I love it. So. Much.

And I think this is my ending point. I'm waiting for 7.00 a.m. to see the new mini challenge but then... sleep. I really really really need sleep. 

Ssele P.

 

Readathon mini challenge: Pet Parade

The mini challenge hosted by Estella's Revenge is about pet... so I couldn't resist!

Here we have my kitten, Estia, doing... someone else knows what...

Readathon mini challenge: Color Cover

The challenge hosted by Wishful Endings it's sooo interesting! I couldn't not trying to do it! 

The colours I've chosen are red and b/w and thesere are the books! Well... they're all graphic novels, but, yeah, same.

The books are: Dylan Dog Mater Morbi; Aurore; Marvel Universe vs the Avengers and Hawkeye.

Ssele P.

Readathon: The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

Chris Van Allsburg

[here there'll be a cover]

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick is a collection of short stories based on the drawings of Harris Burdick, who left them with someone else saying 'I'll come back tomorrow with the stories' and then disappeared in the air. The thing all these 14 stories have in common is that they're magical and misteryous and often dreamy.

Archie Smith, Boy Wonder by Tabitha King is... meh. I don't really know what else to say about it. There's a boy. Something happens (I think?) and the story ends. 

Under the Rug by John Scieszka reminds me of Goosebumps, even though it's obviously way shorter. It's creepy but not in a creepy way... I mean... it's creepy because in the story what happens doesn't appear like it's as strange and creepy as it really is. 

A strange day in July by Sherman Alexie keeps on going with the Goosebumps tradition, and I really appreciate it. It was also funny, and I laughed a couple of time - the characters were very interesting.

Missing in Venice by Gregory Maguire is soo nice! It's magical and cute and I liked it a lot. It's very different from Under and A strange day because it lacks the creepy factor, but I liked it so much.

Another Place, Another Time by Cory Doctorow was perfect. I cried a little bit (but you'll notice is not uncommon for me). There are stories that stay with you even if they're not the Best Story Ever, if they don't have a deep meaning, if they're not written by a Nobel winner. This is one of those, for me. I'll forget it, but it'll stay with me the same.

Uninvited Guests by Jules Feiffer was very nonsensical and I didn't really appreciate it. I guess if you like the genre it's good, it's well written and it's interesting; but it's not really my cup of tea.

The Harp by Linda Sue Park is the sweetest thing ever. It's a true fable, even though it's set in modern times, and it's surely something I'd read to children. It's sweet and lovely.

Mr. Linden's Library by Walter Dean Myers is nice and mysterious, but the ending left me confused. I'm not sure if he wanted to have a creepy ending and failed at it or... or it just failed at having an ending? I don't know. I liked the story, but I wish it hadn't ended, I swear. It's... confusing.

The Seven Chairs by Lois Lowry. My dad has decided that 2.00 a.m. is the Best Time Ever to listen to all the music he has on his laptop, and a friend of mine that is the Best Time Ever to talk to me about every single problem of hers. So... I had some problems concentrate. But the story was nice. I would have preferred something more at the end, just a couple of sentences, because it ended a little abruptly. But it was nice.

The Third-Floor Bedroom by Kate DiCamillo was a bittersweet story that left me tear-eyed (but not crying!) and warm in the heart. I want more about Pearlie, I want a world, I want her life and her dreams, I want everything. But still, this story is perfect the way it is. It's one of those stories of which you want more but you know having more would ruin them. [please, correct the grammar in your mind, I'm waaay to tired to make sense in another language].

Just Desert by M. T. Anderson is awesome!! Goosebumps comes back with a vegeance and I was grinning like a maniac while reading the ending. Awesome, awesome, awesome! Good work, mr. Anderson, you deserve a gold star because this story was sooo coooool.

Captain Tony by Louis Sachar. I was worried about this one because it came just after Just Desert so I was already bummed... but it was nice. It's a story that doesn't take itself too seriously, just a sweet little thing, so it was perfect after the more heavy Just Desert. 

Oscar and Alphonse by Chris Van Allsburs was... uh... okay, I guess. I mean, it was... I dunno. I read it and I was like '??????' but not in a good way. So... yeah. Let's go on.

The House on Maple Street by Stephen King was not the best story in the collection, but it was a good story to conclude it. I've never read a lot of Stephen King, but I found his short stories alway interesting and readable. This one is not an exception. It's more sci-fi than all the others, but it fits well in the overall atmosphere. I liked it.

Quote: "Why can we move in almost every direction in space, but time goes just in one direction and at one speed? Why can't we go faster? Or slower? Or backwards?" "Or sideways?" said Neils. He didn't talk much, but when he did, he always said something suprising. "And what does 'sideways' mean in time?" asked his twin. Neils shrugged. "Sideways means sideways."

Ssele P.

Readathon: Mid-event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?
I'm reading "The Chronicles of Harris Burdick".



2. How many books have you read so far?
5 (+ a bonus) 


3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?



I still don't know what I'm going to read next, so... I don't know XD It'll depend on what catches my attention in my library when I finish this.
 
 4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Nah, it was good. My parents were away so I didn't even have them to bother me. Internet is giving me problems, but it's not really a distraction.


5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
The amount of things I can read when I'm not dicking around :V And I haven't done all the challenges, but the ones I've done were so nice and funny!

Ssele P.

Readathon: Dylan Dog - Mater Morbi

Dylan Dog

Mater Morbi

[soon-to-be-uploaded cover]

I'm not sure what to say about this graphic novel. I love Dylan Dog very much, I've always loved him, even though there are stories that are more interesting than others and stories that you forget the moment you finish. 

I guess it's the same for every comic.

It's very well drawn, that's for sure, above all in the flashbacks which aren't just black and white but have also a lot of nuances. There are some pictures that I could totally put on my walls.

The story is interesting and it stays on the subtle line between reality and fantasy, which is not something that happens always in Dylan Dog but is something I really like.

I couldn't really appreciate the main female character - Mater Morbi, who is represented like a very sexy woman scantily dressed in BDSM gear. The writer wanted her so, while the illustrator wanted her to appear sick (Mater Morbi is the Mother of all the diseases). The writer won and then he regretted it. It's not even her appereance alone... it's that she's cruel and sadistic, but no, she's like this just because she's alone because no one wants her but then Dylan accepts her (?) and she changes because Dylan has a healing cock (which, okay, it's common in the normal comics, too, but COME ON!), except not really because at the end there's a twist which isn't a twist at all, it's just a ????

Uh... I dunno. I read again what I just wrote and it looks like I hated when I didn't. I just... I think I'm disappointed, really. I love Dylan Dog and I really wanted this special version (I convinced my sister to buy it for my father's birthday) and it costed 17 € so... yeah. I guess I wanted something... more.

And there were way too many exclamation points. They were all very excited about what they were saying, I guess.

Quotes:  "A sick man is a Vampire thirsty of life, and it doesn't matter how many tears are cried for him... they will never be enough to placate his thirst!" Dylan Dog (see? Exclamation point?)

Ssele P. 

Readathon mini challenge: Book staging

On the wingsof books is hosting a really interesting mini challenge: the book staging! I actually changed the order I wanted to read my books in just so I could enter in this challenge!

So here I present you: I Topi Meccanici AKA The Mechanical Mice.

 Estia wasn't so sure she wanted to eat mechanical mice, but then she changed her mind.

Ssele P.

[There is a lot of chaos about the titles... the collection original title is 'Like nothing on Earth' but there is a story in the collection that's called The Mechanical Mice. So... yeah.]

Readathon: Like nothing on Earth

Like Nothing on Earth

by Eric Frank Russell

I love sci-fi and I love sci-fi short novels above all. I honestly think the sci-fi genre is better suited for short things if it wants to be really original. 

Like Nothing on Earts is a collection of very short novels that I'm going to reviews separately.

The mechanical mice is... a nice story. Nothing great, but it's interesting because there's the theme about time travel and what happens when you time travel. But, I repeat, nothing great.

Into your tent I'll creep is waaay better! It was shorter, 10 pages against 30 of the first one, but it was a jewel, really. There's nothing I can say that wouldn't ruin it, really.

Nothing New is one of those sci-fi stories which are just a long(ish) introduction with a shocking(ish) plot-twist in the end. Those are the ones I love the most, to be honest. This one wasn't great but it was nice.

Exposure like Nothing New is a simple story with a twist. In this case it wasn't a shocking twist, it was a funny twist. It reminded me of The Twilight Zone (the very old one). It was short and funny and I liked it.

Ultima Thule was... perfect. Really. I loved it. It was pure sci-fi, really, that kind of sci-fi that's philosphy and humanity and all of that. I was a little bit upset when I started the 'epilogue' but then it was perfect that, too. So yeah. Loved it.

All in all, the collection was... good. Russell knows how to write sci-fi, that's for sure!

Quotes: "Him who serves humanity is part of humanity, and the children of the man are his children." - from Ultima Thale.

Ssele P.

Readathon: Marvel Universe vs The Avengers

Marvel Universe vs the Avengers

First of all, I read it in German. German is not only not my first language, but it's also a language I don't know as well as English and that I don't read a lot in.

That said, I loved this comic! It's deep and interesting and it hurts in the right ways and it gave me something, which is something you can't say for all the comics/books/whatever. I'm sure that, had I read it in English or Italian, I would have adore it, because there're a lot of sentences I haven't fully understand, but still loved. So yeah.

The main character is, you may guess, Hawkeye, in his purple costume (and I think the fact that I read a comic with Hawkeye in the purple costume shows how much I love him) but there are a ton of other characters, and it was awesome to see them in the choral scenes and recognize them! 

It's very dark, which is a little bit strange after reading the other things with Clint Barton, but it was really really good. If you haven't read it - read it! Because it's worth it, really. 

Maberry is a genius, I think I'll look up something else by him because... yeah, good work!

Quotes (it's quite spoilery): "I swear on the blood of all the fallen Avengers... on the blood on my hands: I'll find a way... to avenge this world. My... world." Hawkeye

Ssele P.

Readaton: Aurore

Aurore

My sister says I'm reading way too fast, but I'm reading comics/graphic novels not Russian litterature, so... I... don't think I'm too fast?

Whelp, doesn't matter.

Aurore is a graphic novel by Enrique Fernàndez (sorry for the wrong 'a', I'll maybe change it later). It's about a girl between two words who must help her tribe with a song. It's really really dream-like, both in the story (there a spirits and stuff) and the graphic, with a kind of watercolour-like colouring (maybe it is watercolour, I don't know anything about this kind of thing).

It's really nice and I cried and I was happy, and the main characters, Aurore and Vokko, are very interesting. But it's a little bit... too little? It's just 50 pages and being as dreamy as it is, it's very... un-concrete - sorry, I really don't know how to explain XD

I get that Fernàndez didn't want to describe something real to mantain the oniric atmosphere, but I just feel like I missed something (and I swear it wasn't because I read it fast!).

I liked it, but I wanted more. 

Quotes: "The song you'll sing, no one will hear it, but everyone will be transfixed by the feelings it's going to give. Forever. Now you understand the meaning of all of this, don't you?" "Pride." - Vokka and Aurore.

Ssele P.

P.S. My internet connection is failing me so hard :/

Readathon: Hawkeye + Deadpool

Hawkeye + Deadpool

Untitled

[soon-to-be-posted cover]

Veeeery short because it was just an issue of a comic (it's from A + X, if you wondered) and it was a short one, so... yeah... 10 minutes top to read it? 

As I said, I love Hawkeye. I don't love Deadpool, but he's always fun to read and he's always breaking the fourth wall, which is a nice wink at the reader.

Together, they're just so. much. fun. I have the first two issue of their team-up and I'm sooo corious about that!

So... yeah. Short and funny.

Quote: "Wait, do they call you Legolas often?" "Continously." "Good shot, Hunger Games!" "Already heard!" "The Brave! The red one from the Brave!" "Sorry, bro." - Deadpool and Hawkeye.

[I have translated the quote myself from Italian, so... yeah, not really sure, but you get the idea]

Ssele P.

Readathon: Hawkeye - little hits

Hawkeye - Little hits

(Hawkeye #6-11)

First of all, I love clint Barton/Hawkeye. I fell in love with him with the Avengers movie, I didn't know anything about him before that, and he isn't even a main character so it was kind of tricky for me to find comics to read. When I found out there was a new run with him I was so happy!

Hawkeye: little hits is the second collection of the run Hawkeye by the duo Fractal-Aja, who are awesome together (I guess they're awesome alone, too, but I really don't know) and is... quite sad, because Clint always tries to (and succeedes in) ruining his life, soooo... yeah.

Ugh.

Stupid Clint.

The story is awesome, the character are awesone - both Clint and all the others (I love love loooove Kate) - and the graphic is awesome. 

There's a page in which Hollingsworth talks about the colouring, explaining that it's decided first the basic colouring of the whole issue and the it's detailed in the single panels, and it really shows! 

So, in short... I love Hawkeye the character and I love Hawkeye the comic.

Quote: "You have to hunt the past in New York. Not like - like Prague, Budapest. Krakow, Paris, Istanbul. These places wear their past with honor over their hearts. A woman. Not a girl. New York... is youth. Always trying on new masks, new faces, new..." - Kazi.

Ssele P.

Readathon: opening meme

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

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Hawkeye and Secret Avengers. I'm a little behind soooo I can't wait *w*
// Hawkeye e i Secret Avengers. Sono un po' indietro con la lettura e non vedo l'ora! *w*

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?Uh... ... ... ... Nothing, really.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
Ugh. No é.è Okay, I'm 22, I study languages (it'll be a multi-language readathon, for me XD) and I love Hawkeye, mystery novels and sci-fi.
// Ugh. No é.è Okay, ho 22 anni, studio lingue (sarà un readathon multilingue per me XD) e adoro Hawkeye, i gialli e la fantascienza.

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?
I'm excited to finally read all the things I left behind because I didn't have enough time!
//Sono contenta di poter finalmente leggere tutte quelle cose che ho messo da parte per mancanza di tempo!

Ssele P.

Readathon -30 min ca.

Ecco il primo pacchetto di Cose-che-leggerò-per-il-Readathon:

° Hawkeye - little hits

° Secret Avengers #1

° Capitan America #9, #10, #11, #13, #14

° Gegen Die Avengers

° Occhio di Falco #7

° Aurore

° Dylan Dog Mater Morbi

Tutto questo in un misto di italiano, inglese e tedesco.

Sarà divertente.

Ssele P.

 

Ssele ha deciso di partecipare al Deweys' 24 Hour Read-a-thon *w* 

Nomi

Ho sempre avuto difficoltà a trovare i nomi per i miei personaggi, che penso sia una cosa comune tra tutti coloro che scrivono. 

Come chiamo il mio protagonista? La mia protagonista? L'antagonista? La mamma?? Come faccio in modo che nome e cognome suonino bene insieme?

Che poi perché devono suonare bene insieme? Ma chi l'ha deciso? Esistono persone il cui nome e cognome insieme formano un connubio che è ridicolo, oppure brutto, oppure semplicemente meh. Esistono persone il cui nome è semplicemente meh. Capiterà di sicuro anche nel nostro mondo fantasy.

Anche se sarebbe grinzafichissimo un mondo fantasy in cui c'è la legge che nome e cognome devono essere poetici insieme. 

Comunque, il punto è che il nome è una parte importante del personaggio e quindi dobbiamo prendere in considerazione anche un nome pessimo. O un nome vago. O un nome meh.

Un mio personaggio si chiama Victoria Paternoster.

Victoria Paternoster.

Suona bene, benissimo, la vedi già, ricca, elegante, altera. Che è così che è. Victoria Paternoster.

Però tutti gli altri sono nomi meh. Inusuali, magari, per dare un ampio respiro a questo mondo che non è settato in nessun posto preciso (quindi perché tutti i nomi dovrebbero essere anglici o italici o franchi o cose simili?) ma meh. 

Hazel Jekyll.

Andrea Tod.

Sonne Ikin.

Jean Virgo.

Meh, meh, meh. 

Se la maggior parte dei nomi nel mondo reale sono meh, perché non dovrebbero esserlo quelli nel mondo delle nostre storie?

Ryan, Conrad, Malia

Leopoldo, Katarina, Lisabelle

Ruth, Marilù

Bryn

Skene

Il mondo è grande