Well, I came to the library, I saw tons of books on the shelves, I read many of the ones I checked out.
I started at 11:00AM on Friday and while it’s not quite 11:00 AM again, I know none of the books I have will be finished in an hour.
I guess it is fitting that I started at 11:00 as I read 11 books in 48 hours. And I had fun. Reading these books, I was able to travel to rural NC in the 70s during the Vietnam War and experience a mother teaching her daughter about pride and honoring her word to others. I saw a homeless girl fight to get her family out of a car and into a house even if it meant doing wrong. I journeyed with an 8th grade girl in Los Angeles as she battled lymphoma. I even got to go to Iraq and be the silent passenger in a Humvee during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Thanks to 11 books, I learned, I laughed, I grew. I saw the good side of life, the bad side of life, and everything in between. I learned about other cultures and have a couple of authors to add to my favorites list. Helen Exley once said, “Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled ‘This could change your life.'”
It was peaceful to tune out most of the world for 48 hours and just get my read on.
Funny thing about the number 11. I still have 11 books on my table’s to be read pile. I checked out 22 books over the course of the last week in preparation for this weekend, this challenge.
To Be Read Pile
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
Life is Fine by Allison Whittenberg
Lucy the Giant by Sherri L. Smith
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass
Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley
Game by Walter Dean Myers
Out of Patience by Brian Meehl
A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything In It by Sundee T. Frazier
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass
As you can see, I’ve got plenty to keep me busy on the treadmill for the next few weeks.
I’ve enjoyed this experience and will definitely do it again next year — shut out the world and read. Maybe next year, I will reach my goal of 16 books. I just need to not go to sleep at night. Silly me, lol.
Final Summary
Books Read: 11
Number of Pages: 2245
Number of Hours Spent Reading and Reviewing: 30 hours
Keeping Up With Carla 
June 10, 2008 at 9:45 am
Ack! I missed you the first time, but you are a second place winner in the 48 Hour Book Challenge. Congratulations.
June 10, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Oh, and please sent me your address and preferred type of book – early chapter book, middle-grade or YA. My email is motherreader AT gmail DOT com. Thanks for playing!
June 10, 2008 at 9:02 pm
:shocked but happy face: I won 2nd place. Whooo hoooo!!