The Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2015 - Finished

Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2015 hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict.

As predicted I didn't read much but I did manage to finish 3 books of which I had started one before the Read-a-Thon.
I made sure to start the week with a Christmas book as I wasn't sure I would be able to fit a lot of reading in later in the week.

My three books were:

1. Christmas in the Park by Laura Lockington
2. Murder Half-Baked by Kathleen Delaney
3. Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint

Thanks Michelle for hosting yet another Read-a-Thon and I am of course continuing  with the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge and looking forward to Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon in January.

Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint

Isabelle Copley, as the young student of the cruel, brilliant artist Vincent Rushkin, discovered that she could paint images so vividly real they brought her wildest fantasies to life. But when the forces she unleashed brought tragedy to those she loved, she turned her back on her talent and her dreams.
Now, twenty years later, Isabelle must come to terms with the shattering memories she has long denied and unlock the slumbering power of her brush. And, in a dark reckoning with her old master, she must find the courage to live out her dreams and bring the magic back to life.
This is a tale of love, courage, and the transforming power of imagination.
"The [Newford] books have all been written in such a way that you should be able to pick up any one and get a full and complete story. However, characters do reoccur, off center stage as it were, and their stories do follow a sequence." From Goodreads.

After having read a few Charles de Lint books I decided that I wanted to read the Newford books in order. Not that they can't be read on their own but there are characters that turn up in books more than once.
I listened to this on audio which was a problem for me, the narrator did well but it just took me too long to get through. If I had read this I would most likely have finished it in one or two sittings.
I really enjoy Charles de Lint's urban fantasies.They have quite a bit of magic just under the surface of normal life. Isabelle was a very complex person and she kept surprising me. I enjoyed going forward and backward in time.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Audiobook challenge
Wacky Reading Challenges: Word Search 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Mini Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XVI
Rawk-A-Tiers: Getting Acquainted
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: Haunted House
Rawk-A-Tiers: Reading by the Numbers
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015 
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
The Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2015 
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Hogwarts Scavenger Hunt
Wacky Reading Challenges: Character Names, A-Z
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly
Wacky Reading Challenges: Vampires, Witches & Ghosts, O My

Murder Half-Baked by Kathleen Delaney

A dead man in the cemetery, another in the bakery. Ellen McKenzie has to find the killer soon ... before another death puts a stop to her wedding. The groom is Dan Dunham, Santa Louisa’s Chief of Police. The guest list is growing and Ellen’s dreams of a small, intimate candlelight ceremony are rapidly disappearing. A major distraction is Ellen’s quest to find a new building for Grace House, a halfway house for needy women. Then she finds old Dr Sadler dead in the cemetery, his head bashed in by the arm of a marble angel. Every suspect is connected to Grace House. After it goes up in flames, all the residents, including one new-born, move in with Ellen and Dan. Will Ellen and Dan ever solve the murders and get their lives back? From Goodreads.
 





This was okay. There was a lot going on which might have been easier if I had read the three first books in this series but it wasn't too bad and I don't think I missed anything. I liked that it had interesting side characters. 

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Word Search 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Mini Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XVI
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: Haunted House
Rawk-A-Tiers: Reading by the Numbers
Rawk-A-Tiers: Twelve Days of Christmas
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015 
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe 
The Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2015  

The Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2015 - Update

Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2015 hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict.

This is where I will try and update through the week.

Monday:
# of Pages Read today: 105
# of Pages Read for week: 105
Books Finished Today: Christmas in the Park by Laura Lockington
Total # of Books Read:  1

Tuesday:
# of Pages Read today: 92
# of Pages Read for week: 197
Book Reading now: listening to Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint 
Books Finished Today: 0
Total # of Books Read: 1 
 
Wednesday:
# of Pages Read today:  42
# of Pages Read for week: 239
Book Reading now: listening to Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint
Books Finished Today: 0
Total # of Books Read: 1

Thursday:
# of Pages Read today: 104
# of Pages Read for week: 343
Book Reading now: listening to Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint 
Books Finished Today: 0
Total # of Books Read: 1 

Friday:
# of Pages Read today: 0
# of Pages Read for week: 343
Book Reading now: listening to Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint 
Books Finished Today: 0
Total # of Books Read: 1 

Saturday:
# of Pages Read today: 378
# of Pages Read for week: 721
Book Reading now: listening to Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint 
Books Finished Today: Murder Half-Baked by Kathleen Delaney
Total # of Books Read: 2

Sunday:
# of Pages Read today: 8
# of Pages Read for week: 729
Books Finished Today: Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint 
Total # of Books Read: 3

Christmas in the Park by Laura Lockington

30-something Sarah has finally decided to start her own business.
After years of 5 a.m starts, running around a busy television studio, she has decided to hand in her resignation, and begin her dream of running her own cake making business.
Swapping her stylish clothes for tracksuits and an apron she gets to work, and is thrilled when the local café agrees to start selling her treats.
And – even better – she starts to get to know the handsome and single owner, David.
Working from home also means she can finally do one other thing she couldn’t do with her hectic job – get a puppy.
Deciding she wants a rescue dog, Sarah heads off to the local dog’s centre, and tries not to say yes to adopting the whole lot.
One beautiful little Dachshund with adorable amber eyes immediately takes a liking to her.
And Sarah knows there is no turning back.
She bundles Malteaser up and takes him home, and before long he is helping her to meet new people in her local park.
But Malteaser can be more than a bit of a handful. And Sarah knows she is no good at disciplining him...
So when fellow dog-walker Nick steps in to give her hand she knows she should take his advice. But does he just want to help her out, or is he interested in something else?
With an excitable puppy, and lots of orders to bake for the café, could Sarah be taking on too much?
And could there be something there with David – or Nick?
With Christmas on the way, and the café suddenly coming under threat, things get even crazier.
And Sarah has to find a way to create a magical Christmas in the Park...
‘Christmas in the Park’ is a warming festive novella, full of sweat treats, doggy disasters and snippets of romance.  From Goodreads.

This was okay. A nice, cosy, romantic Christmas read. Perfect for reading on a cold, dark evening.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XVI
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Shorts Stack
Rawk-A-Tiers: Companion Challenge 2015
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
The Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2015
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2015 

The Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2015 - Start

Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2015 hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict.

I am taking part in this Read-a-Thon again. Usually I read quite a bit during Michelle's RaTs but I have a busy week coming up which includes guests 3 of the days so I won't have much time to read. But I hope I will be able to do a bit of listening to audio while I clean in the beginning of the week and I will make sure I read at least one Chrismassy book as well.

Apart from continuing my current audio of Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint, I don't know what I will be reading this week.

Yes, I know I'm late. Better late than never I guess....but please do accept my apologies. My life literally blew up this week. And I thought it was bad the weeks before. lol So, we are once again kicking off the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge (this is the 6th year!) over at The Christmas Spirit, with the annual Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon!

Details:

• Read-a-Thon dates: Monday, November 23 at 12:00am CST until Sunday, November 29 at 11:59pm CST (adjust your time zone accordingly)
• You do not have to be signed up for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge to participate (but I sure would love for you to join us!)
• I am not requiring that you read only Christmas/holiday books during the read-a-thon, but I hope you will pick up at least one holiday tale, even if it's just to read some children's books with your kids or some holiday short stories
• to check in on Twitter, we'll use hashtag #CSreadathon
• as usual, you do not have to have a blog to participate...feel free to link up and check in from Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, etc. AND we now have a Facebook group, in case you didn't know.

If you're interested in joining us for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge, which runs all season long, you can do so at my Christmas blog, The Christmas Spirit. Would love to have you! 

Since it's so late in the game, I won't be so pretentious to ask for prize donations BUT I will offer a small prize from Christmas-y me! There has to be at least one gift when Christmas is involved, right?

Hope I haven't forgotten anything. If you have any questions or notice something I've left out, please feel free to contact me via the contact tab.

List of books:

1.