48HBC:: The 30 Hour Mark!

This readathon has really done good for me. I am now at the 30 hour mark, and while I'm still having a bit of trouble with retention, I got out a piece of paper and folded it, so I could read line by line. It's not completely eliminated my need to regularly re-read passages, but it's certainly helped.

Last night (or rather, this morning for me) as my partner was putting on my braces, they also helped me assemble a "short list" stack and put numbers in a cup, so I wouldn't have to spend time thinking about what I was reading.

And apparently the random number picking just seems to be giving me re-reads that I've been meaning to do for some time. Now, these aren't comfort re-reads... they're books I haven't read in almost a decade, for the most part. Info on what I'm reading now after the cut. This gets kind of lengthy and I wasn't sure where the best place to cut it was.




Ender's Shadow, by Orson Scott Card I read somewhere around 2000. It was still in the "new" section at the library and I was so excited that I called my mom to let her know about it. The calling her also had to do with the fact that it was at the University library, which I didn't have a card to.

The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You, by Harry Harrison I haven't read since high school, probably. My mom owned pretty much the entire collection (although not the prequel books, iirc) and I devoured them once I discovered them.

And the next re-read? Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold, by Terry Brooks.

Terry Brooks is best known for his Shannara novels (which, looking at his bibliography, is still his cash cow) and I can see as an adult that while I loved them as a teenager, I do not want to re-read them. No rosy nostalgia remaining for those. Oh, books I loved as a teenager...

So, while I have no interest in re-reading any of the Shannara novels, I have much fonder memories of the Landover books. Which was curious to me. Were the Landover books actually better? Or did I just read them because I ran out of Terry Brooks books to read?

I also remember Running with the Demon fondly, although I can't remember much about it. Just vague things. (Running is involved. Also, demons.) Whether or not I pick that up again will probably depend on whether or not I can find value in the Landover novels still.

And that's the thing about these nostalgia reviews... these are books I haven't read in so long I don't remember that well. I can often remember snippets here and there and some vague plottery, but until I dig into the book, I couldn't tell you very well what the book was about. I just remember that I liked it years ago.

Sometimes, it even feels like I'm reading an entirely new book, which is just plain weird.

In completely unrelated news, notice anything different? That's right! I'm typing with capitals, which means I'm touch typing again. Bracing for so long really did help. I'm currently taking a break to let my skin breathe, but I think I'll be able to at least take the wrist braces off in order to blog from now on.

Here's to hoping!