Hour Five

I'm updating early this hour, because I'm about to lose myself in an Agatha Christie. :) I've finished The Kitchen Boy, but I had to read into this hour to do it, so I'll actually count it in my Hour Six post (does that make sense?). I partly expected the twist, partly not. The writing was so lush; now I'm going to have to track down Rasputin's Daughter. Hehe-while I was in Russia, I bought "Rasputin" tea (mainly because there was a creepy picture of him), so I'll have to break that out as well! I think most people would enjoy The Kitchen Boy: it's a slim read that immediately plunges you into another world. The author makes sure to provide translations when he sprinkles in Russian words (and, of course, the words aren't in Cyrillic, but transliterated into our alphabet); however, some people might be annoyed by being unsure how to pronounce the Russian. Or, this could just be a pet peeve of mine when I'm reading books set in other countries and don't get a pronunciation guide. :) Still, it comes highly recommended! No mini-challenge this hour, but I did break for lunch.

Yummy-homemade Welsh Rarebit soup w/ Pumpernickel Croutons (I'm a crouton fanatic; I made these from store-bought Pumpernickel bread). The dark bread was very Russian feeling! And, of course, ice tea to keep me caffeinated. :D

So far, I'm really loving how community-like this read-a-thon feels. I try to go to at least a few blogs every hour (I've made it through the blogroll one and a half times), and that seems to be pretty common amongst all the readers. Of course, the cheerleaders are just awesome! What a fun way to spend a Saturday. :D

Books Read (this hour): The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander
Pages Read (cum.): 537
Books Completed: 1 (Tithe by Holly Black)
Mini-Challenges Participated In: 3