Sarah had a challenge for us to read in a language that was not our native languages. English is not my first language, but it is by far the one I most adept. Second would be French, so I ventured out to read Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergeac. I’ve only ever seen the movie versions of this (both the Gerard Depardieu faithful film version and the amusing Steve Martin one). It’s a story that I’ve liked, but never gotten around to reading. I read only a bit of it this past hour, but it just reminds me how rusty my French is. Shamefully, my comprehension of French diction was the best and how has fallen quite subpar. I love French, but I suck at sticking to things and keeping them up, especially musical instruments and languages. I think French is one of the most lovely languages, and sometimes, if I’m lucky, I dream in French rather than English. I was glad to pick a play and not Dumas. I try to read a lot of things in French, but I usually fail. I will not try to rad Dumas in French though, nor do I really want to finish the musketeer series even though I really liked The Three Musketeers. Anyway, this play is fun lyrically because it’s written in verse and rhyming couplets. Cyrano does not make an entrance for 900 lines. I’ll continue to read for a bit, and have some dinner I think.

I finished Jasper Fforde’s First Among Sequels. I’m a bit tired, so I don’t think I want to read One Day in th Life of Ivan Denisovich; I want something really light. That’s not going to happen, but I’ll figure what to read next.

Here are the featured readers of the hour:

Jessica – Who has just joined us and is reading Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.
Alison is reading Scott Westerfeld’s Pretties and has read 175 pages in five hours.
Deb is reading Peter Sagal’s The Book of Vice: Naughty Things (And How to Do Them) and other books.

Page count: 299p

Kristin’s challenge for the hour is to write a bit about the book I’m reading. First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde is the fifth book in the Thursday Next series, and I don’t remember the first four all that well other than that I enjoyed them more or less as much I as am this one. I think it’s a very fun and very meta book series that is hard to compare to anything else. His writing style is also distinctive and sometimes a bit confusing because of all the meta. The series is not for everyone, but definitely good for those of us who love books, words, and the classics. I think people who like fantasy or unique but amusing humor would like the series too. I also forgot how many plotlines Mr Fforde stuffs into these books. It’s quite remarkable how he balances all the characters and the plots he puts Thursday into. This may not be for people who like more linear plots though. I enjoy the book references none the less and the idea of readers interacting with book characters. Fun stuff.

I’ve reached page 167 of my book. Slow progress. I am going to participate in Sarah’s mini challenge of reading an hour in another language after I finish this book. Also, I am going to post my Russian Reading Challenge 2008 tentative book list in the next hour.

Still drinking some tea and still chugging away through my book.

Nearing 1PM now, I haven’t had much read this hour because I was out for that errand. But I am ready to get back into as I’ve just made a pot of green tea as is my usual weekend habit.

The challenge for this hour is at Taylor the Teacher. Open my current book randomly, and make 4 lines or so from the first words I see. These weren’t the first words I saw, but I liked it most: “a positive echo”.

A positive echo in the void.
It sighs, it laughs, it repeats.
More than silence, less than voice
Am I the source of this noise?

Becky and I have been named Readers of the Hour at Dewey‘s blog. I am about 120 pages into First Among Sequels, and I just had lunch. I’m going to finish my current chapter, and then go off on an errand hoping to be back in an hour for an Hour 4 Update. I’m going to make some tea and finish this book before I go to bed tonight, and definitely start another one. Good luck to fellow participants, and thanks for all the comments so far.

Also, I highly recommend the Thursday Next series I am reading if you have not tried it out, pick up the first in the books called The Eyre Affair. Review of First Among Sequels after the Readathon.

Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next books are set in a fictional alt-universe version of Swindon, England. Here are some five facts about the real Swindon via Wikipedia.

1. Swindon’s motto is “Salubritas et Industria” (Health and Industry).
2. Peope from Swindon are called Swindonians
3. It is located in the south west of Englan, in Wiltshire, about 130KM west of London
4. As with many towns in England, Swindon owed much of its growth to the Industrial Revolution.
5. Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is also set in Swindon.

From 43 places, only 7 of 15 people think Swindon is worth visiting. Ending on a positive note, Swindon was the location for Polish refugees during World War II and many remained.

Just got up, and am ready to read. I’m going to start off with Jasper Fforde’s First Among Sequels, the latest in the Thursday Next books. I’ll also be posting about a couple of book challenges I’ve joined for 2008 and their tentative lists as I pick them today. Cheers!