24 Hour Read-a-thon Status Update Hour 8

Yay, I finished reading my first book! And although I really didn’t expect it (and got a little annoyed by the obviously erudite blah blah of the author at first), I absolutely loved it!

I’m talking about The Following Story by the Dutch author Cees Nooteboom, which I (dôh) read in my native language: Het volgende verhaal. I probably would have never read it if it hadn’t been recommended by my all-time favourite author David Mitchell. The story goes that while he was in Holland researching The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet on a writer’s fellowship, he picked up Nooteboom’s novella while he took cover in Waterstones’ bookstore during an awful downpour — and he couldn’t stop reading. Nooteboom is being acknowledged in ‘Jacob de Zoet’, so I guess they met afterwards.

I almost bought myself a second hand copy of The Following Story, but discovered — just in time! — that I already owned it! That’s what happens sometimes with the free publications of National Book Week… So I might have never picked up this book if it hadn’t been for Mitchell. Worse: it could have ended up in a Boekgrrls book swap unread! But just now I recommended it for the new Boekgrrls reading schedule… Let’s hope it’ll be picked!

I plan to write a short review after the readathon has ended. But one thing I can tell you already: this book has made me want to visit Lisbon! How appropriate, since the hour 8 mini-challenge on The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader is about Arm Chair Travelling!

Now I’m really curious to hear what tanabata of In Spring it is the Dawn thinks of The Following Story!

Also, I finally got around to making a donation so that those generous people providing prizes for the readathon are able to send it to the lucky winners. Let’s return some love to all those book bloggers behind the scenes of the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon!

Shake Your Pom-Pom Cheer: “Flip that cover, turn your page, we’re reading for the read-a-thon!”

Status report

Time period: 16.30 – 21.45

Currently reading: Gotta decide!

Total of time read: 4 hrs 27 mins & I lost track of blogging / cheering / tweeting time ;)
Total amount of pages read: 93 pages

Books finished: 1 book (The Following Story in Dutch = Het volgende verhaal, by Cees Nooteboom)
Mini-challenges participated in: 5 (Since last update: Show me the books, Arm Chair Travelling, Shake Your Pom-Pom!)

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