Book a Day

My to-read book case has started overflowing. I am determined to fit all it on all the shelves, so I am going to try to read a book a day as long as possible. This is not as insane as it sounds, as many of the books are short kidlit types, so I should be able to polish off one of them and then push forward on several adult books as well. I'll just pile the books on my nightstand and call them out one by one before bed. If I get ahead by finishing two books, I shall cheat and leave one for the next day. I reserve the right to bend the rules in my favor at any time.

Today's book: Marco's Millions, by William Sleator, 2001. Despite the silly title, this is a fairly tight book about independent children making tough choices and being willing to pay the price. Sleator's books put their young protagonists at the center of the action -- Marco and his sisters are the ones affecting the universe while their parents natter ineffectively around the edges. My favorite part was the uniformly petty and low younger sister, born with an annoying cry and doomed to grow up to be a fat slob who smokes around babies. Who needs redeeming qualities? I'm going to give this to my son to read on his next trip, to show him that a few thousand miles isn't much of a journey.