Review: The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel

I started this book during the Read-a-Thon, and thanks to all the reading time I got on RAT weekend, I was able to finish the book last night.  That's pretty good, as my copy was 741 pages long!  Usually, that would take me a good month to finish.  The copy I read was one that I Mooched several years ago.  It was a big, heavy hardback, and I've been carrying it around in my purse, so I was very happy to finish it in about a week.

 

While I've really enjoyed reading this series, this wasn't one of my favorites.  Ayla and Jondalar have finally reached Jondalar's people, the Zelandonii, in the far west of the country.  This book details Ayla's introductions, not only to Jondalar's immediate family in the Ninth Cave, but to the rest of the people in other Caves, as well, through the Summer Meeting.  I'm not sure what it was about this one, but it kind of bored me.  Maybe it was that they were no longer traveling, or that not much really seemed to happen in this one (ah, those days of domestic tranquility), but I was not as captivated by the story as I have been in the past.  While I've complained in the past about a bit of repetitiveness in the writing, it seemed more obvious than before in this book.  Auel would explain something, have a character TALK about what she JUST EXPLAINED and then reference it again a few pages later.  And, while the research she puts into these novels is more than apparent, sometimes I feel like we get a big infodump with paragraphs and paragraphs of lectures on prehistoric science or biology.

 

This one, unfortunately, only gets 3.5 out of 5 Whatevers.  It's a good one if you're following the series, but not even the birth of Ayla's child at the end of the book could spice it up for me.

 

2012-19

End of Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?  Definitely Hour 17, because I kept dozing off over my book!
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?  A couple of Read-a-Thons ago, I read some of the Lonesome Dove series.  Those were good for the RAT.  But, really, anything you're into is good.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?  None...it was so good this time around!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?  Love that they brought back so many random reader prizes (even if I didn't win any) and kept all the mini-challenges, etc.
5. How many books did you read? One magazine and part of one book.
6. What were the names of the books you read?  Every Day with Rachael Ray and The Shelters of Stone
7. Which book did you enjoy most?  The Shelters of Stone
8. Which did you enjoy least?  Every Day with Rachael Ray, but it was still good.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?  I was not an official Cheerleader, but I did pop around to people's blogs to cheer them on.  Getting cheerleading messages is fun.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?  Oh, I definitely will be reading again in April!!!

I made it to through Hour 17 and finally threw in the towel at 1 AM.  So I didn't QUITE make my goal, but I am still really happy with that.  I haven't stayed up till 1 AM in...well, I don't know how long.  I credit a good book and Diet Mt. Dew.  Here are my final stats:

Title of book(s) read since last update: Every Day with Rachael Ray (magazine); The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel
Number of books read since you started: one
Pages read since last update: 25
Running total of pages read since you started: 481
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 35 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 810 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: Introduction meme; Oldies but Goodies; Turn to Page; Mid-event Survey; End of Event Survey
Other participants you’ve visited: Deb Nance at Readerbuzz; Chris at Northern Stories; Becca S at The Sanborns; Alysia at My Little Pocketbooks; Courtney at Stiletto Storytime; Marina at Momma Writes About Books; Paulina at Two Canadian Readers; coffeymuse at Living to Think; Vincent at Vincent Does the Readathon; Christina at chimpanzee that; Melanie at Bookaholic's Bookcase; Alexa at Pages of Forbidden Love; Nadi at Lover's Indulgence; Bitsy at Ex Libris Bitsy; Mer at Boats Against the Current; Olivia at Down the Rabbit Hole; Lorren at The Story Girl; Bybee; Shel at The Hungry Readers; Jencey Gortney at Writer's Corner; Caitie at Pub Writes; Mango at liratouva2; D. Ann at Overflowing Bookshelves; Christina at Ardent Reader; Somer at The Further Adventures of Somer; and Kate at Midnight Book Girl
What I've eaten/drunk: two Ooey Gooey Chips Ahoy cookies (RAT breakfast of champions, baby!); a bottle of water; 1/4 of my leftover Obscenely Loaded Fries from Hurricane Wings (lunch the other day); Publix cola; a couple of pimento-stuffed green olives; TGI Friday's sliders (for lunch); some gummi bears; a bottle of water; the rest of the gummi bears; two-thirds of the remaining Hurricane Wings cheese fries; another Publix cola; leftover pad see-ew from lunch yesterday; some frozen pizza; a bottle of water; gum; some gumdrops; BEST SNACK OF THE DAY - TGI Friday's potato skins; a Diet Mt. Dew (because when you eat all that junk, you need a diet soda).


Thanks SO MUCH to the organizers, Cheerleaders, Angels, donators of prizes, participants, and just EVERYONE who makes this event so much fun twice a year.  You've made April and October two of my favorite months of the year, and you've helped my husband get back into reading.  And thank you most of all to Dewey, whom we miss so much.  Without her, we wouldn't have this event.  See you all in April!

RAT: Hours Fifteen and Sixteen

Title of book(s) read since last update: Every Day with Rachael Ray (magazine); The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel
Number of books read since you started: one
Pages read since last update: 58
Running total of pages read since you started: 456
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 95 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 775 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: Introduction meme; Oldies but Goodies; Turn to Page; Mid-event Survey;
Other participants you’ve visited: Deb Nance at Readerbuzz; Chris at Northern Stories; Becca S at The Sanborns; Alysia at My Little Pocketbooks; Courtney at Stiletto Storytime; Marina at Momma Writes About Books; Paulina at Two Canadian Readers; coffeymuse at Living to Think; Vincent at Vincent Does the Readathon; Christina at chimpanzee that; Melanie at Bookaholic's Bookcase; Alexa at Pages of Forbidden Love; Nadi at Lover's Indulgence; Bitsy at Ex Libris Bitsy; Mer at Boats Against the Current; Olivia at Down the Rabbit Hole; Lorren at The Story Girl; Bybee; Shel at The Hungry Readers; Jencey Gortney at Writer's Corner; Caitie at Pub Writes;
What I've eaten/drunk: two Ooey Gooey Chips Ahoy cookies (RAT breakfast of champions, baby!); a bottle of water; 1/4 of my leftover Obscenely Loaded Fries from Hurricane Wings (lunch the other day); Publix cola; a couple of pimento-stuffed green olives; TGI Friday's sliders (for lunch); some gummi bears; a bottle of water; the rest of the gummi bears; two-thirds of the remaining Hurricane Wings cheese fries; another Publix cola; leftover pad see-ew from lunch yesterday; some frozen pizza; a bottle of water; gum; some gumdrops; BEST SNACK OF THE DAY - TGI Friday's potato skins; a Diet Mt. Dew (because when you eat all that junk, you need a diet soda);

Getting more tired.  The Diet Dew is helping, though.  I'm gonna push on.  Let's see how much longer I can make it.  I'd really love to see 2 AM.  Haven't made it that long in the Read-a-Thon in YEARS.  Anyone else had their best snack of the day yet?  What was it?

RAT: Hours Thirteen and Fourteen

Title of book(s) read since last update: Every Day with Rachael Ray (magazine); The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel
Number of books read since you started: one
Pages read since last update: 60
Running total of pages read since you started: 398
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 90 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 680 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: Introduction meme; Oldies but Goodies; Turn to Page; Mid-event Survey;
Other participants you’ve visited: Deb Nance at Readerbuzz; Chris at Northern Stories; Becca S at The Sanborns; Alysia at My Little Pocketbooks; Courtney at Stiletto Storytime; Marina at Momma Writes About Books; Paulina at Two Canadian Readers; coffeymuse at Living to Think; Vincent at Vincent Does the Readathon; Christina at chimpanzee that; Melanie at Bookaholic's Bookcase; Alexa at Pages of Forbidden Love; Nadi at Lover's Indulgence; Bitsy at Ex Libris Bitsy; Mer at Boats Against the Current; Olivia at Down the Rabbit Hole; Lorren at The Story Girl; Bybee;
What I've eaten/drunk: two Ooey Gooey Chips Ahoy cookies (RAT breakfast of champions, baby!); a bottle of water; 1/4 of my leftover Obscenely Loaded Fries from Hurricane Wings (lunch the other day); Publix cola; a couple of pimento-stuffed green olives; TGI Friday's sliders (for lunch); some gummi bears; a bottle of water; the rest of the gummi bears; two-thirds of the remaining Hurricane Wings cheese fries; another Publix cola; leftover pad see-ew from lunch yesterday; some frozen pizza; a bottle of water; gum;

Getting more tired.  Might be almost time for some soda to wake me up.  Hoping I get my second wind soon, because I wanna make it another four hours or so!  What do you do when you start to get tired?  Caffeine?  Activity?  Prop your eyelids open with toothpicks?

Mid-Event Meme

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?

Yes, a bit.  But I am going to keep on pushing through!

2) What have you finished reading?

One magazine, so far.  That I'd started before the RAT.  Soooo, not so much progress.  But my current read is LOOOOONG.  And I don't really base my success at how many books I finish, since I tend to favor chunksters.

3) What is your favorite read so far?

Definitely my book, The Shelters of Stone.

4) What about your favorite snacks?

Hmm, all of them?

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!

I've found a ton of new blogs!  But there are so many that I can't list them all here.  So see my previous post, where I list all the people I've visited.  There.  That was nice and lazy of me.

RAT: Hours 11 and 12

Officially halfway done!

Title of book(s) read since last update: Every Day with Rachael Ray (magazine); The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel
Number of books read since you started: one
Pages read since last update: 58
Running total of pages read since you started: 338
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 95 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 590 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: Introduction meme; Oldies but Goodies; Turn to Page;
Other participants you’ve visited: Deb Nance at Readerbuzz; Chris at Northern Stories; Becca S at The Sanborns; Alysia at My Little Pocketbooks; Courtney at Stiletto Storytime; Marina at Momma Writes About Books; Paulina at Two Canadian Readers; coffeymuse at Living to Think; Vincent at Vincent Does the Readathon; Christina at chimpanzee that; Melanie at Bookaholic's Bookcase; Alexa at Pages of Forbidden Love; Nadi at Lover's Indulgence; Bitsy at Ex Libris Bitsy;
What I've eaten/drunk: two Ooey Gooey Chips Ahoy cookies (RAT breakfast of champions, baby!); a bottle of water; 1/4 of my leftover Obscenely Loaded Fries from Hurricane Wings (lunch the other day); Publix cola; a couple of pimento-stuffed green olives; TGI Friday's sliders (for lunch); some gummi bears; a bottle of water; the rest of the gummi bears; two-thirds of the remaining Hurricane Wings cheese fries; another Publix cola; leftover pad see-ew from lunch yesterday; some frozen pizza; a bottle of water; gum

I'm starting to get a little tired, although I'm trying to ignore that fact.  I'd like to last at least six more hours, but I'm not sure that's gonna happen.  I used to be able to stay up superlate on the Read-a-Thon, but I'm getting older and my body needs its sleep.  ESPECIALLY because I've been sick this week.  So.  We shall see how far I get.  Cheer me on, please!!!

RAT: Hours Nine and Ten

Title of book(s) read since last update: Every Day with Rachael Ray (magazine); The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel
Number of books read since you started: one
Pages read since last update: 60
Running total of pages read since you started: 280
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 95 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 495 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: Introduction meme; Oldies but Goodies; Turn to Page;
Other participants you’ve visited: Deb Nance at Readerbuzz; Chris at Northern Stories; Becca S at The Sanborns; Alysia at My Little Pocketbooks; Courtney at Stiletto Storytime; Marina at Momma Writes About Books; Paulina at Two Canadian Readers; coffeymuse at Living to Think; Vincent at Vincent Does the Readathon; Christina at chimpanzee that; Melanie at Bookaholic's Bookcase; Alexa at Pages of Forbidden Love;
What I've eaten/drunk: two Ooey Gooey Chips Ahoy cookies (RAT breakfast of champions, baby!); a bottle of water; 1/4 of my leftover Obscenely Loaded Fries from Hurricane Wings (lunch the other day); Publix cola; a couple of pimento-stuffed green olives; TGI Friday's sliders (for lunch); some gummi bears; a bottle of water; the rest of the gummi bears; two-thirds of the remaining Hurricane Wings cheese fries; another Publix cola; leftover pad see-ew from lunch yesterday;

Still going pretty strong.  It helps that I'm really enjoying my book.  I would love to plow through the whole thing today, but I doubt that will happen.  It's 741 pages long, and I only read about 400-some pages during the whole last RAT in April.  I'm a slow reader.  Do you have any Read-a-Thon goals?  (I actually typed Read-a-TON first, which is kind of appropriate!)