zero, my hero

I would just like to say that I am sad, but excited that I am finished. I can't believe that I have actually done it. In the middle of the challenge, I had moments when I thought "I am not going to finish, I might as well not read any more. " I shouldn't have doubted myself. I love to read! I was having a lot of fun doing the challenge. So why did I doubt? I doubted because I was anxious and sometimes in a bad mood too. Did you see the title of my post today? I titled it "zero, my hero" because I have zero more books to read to complete my challenge. (This is also the title of a funny little song that my parents grew up with.) It feels like today is like an ice cream day that has turned into a sundae. It's just a better day than every other regular day.

The pictures that I am posting today were a lot of fun to take. My favorite one is me laying with all of the books on top of me. Those books made me itch. They poked me and I had to stay still. It was still fun and I like the way that the picture came out. The picture with the stack of books? It only contains 50 of the books that I read. The other 50 were from the library, friends, school, or some of them I have loaned out. Can you believe how big the stack would be if all of the books were there? I think it would probably be taller than I am. This morning, to celebrate, I convinced my dad to make his special cinnamon rolls. They were "Yummy, yummy, yummy, I've got love in my tummy". (That is a song reference for those of you who love 60's music!) Thanks dad for making them. We are also headed to the library again, because I am out of books. Then off for ice cream to end today's celebration. What a great day, don't you think?

So I have some surprises for you. The first one, was of course, that I finished 100 books in November. November! I was worried about finishing by New Years. I decided to go skiing, which I already told you about. I can't wait! The second surprise for all of you Texans, is that we are moving to Austin next month. My dad will no longer be working in Denver (it was not the right school for any of us!), so we are going to be spending some time in Austin while he looks for a new job. I'm excited that we will be closer to our Houston friends. Austin is a wonderful place. We have been there to visit before, and I like that they have these cute little vans that sell food in them. The cupcakes I had there were huge and delicious. So, since we will be so close, please come and visit us often!

Now, I do have a question for you. Should I continue my blog? I was actually going to continue until the year was over, but what about next year? I might need some new ideas. Should I change what kind of blog I am doing? I just don't know. Will you give me your ideas?

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Thank you for reading my blog and for supporting me. It made me proud to have people actually reading about my challenge and caring about me. Thank you again!

Love,
Gracie

I finished "The Lightning Thief" last night! It was 375 pages of adventure, death, and triumphant glory! I would like to recommended this book to my friend Teah and any other person who likes mythology and can stand stories where some of the characters die.

It is exciting to finish my first book of the challenge. You may think this next book is a baby book but I am oing to read "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A.A. Milne. (Well, I already started!) This is not a baby book because lots of the sentences are akward because the writer is from Britain. Did you know that A.A. Milne wrote speeches for Winston Churchill? He is a very good writer and I am excited to get started. "Winnie-the-Pooh" won't be as bloody as the "The Lightning Thief" and will be a nice change.

Yesterday was the first day of school for 2010. My class began reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". So far, I am loving it. At the end we are going to have a party and I am wanting to dress up as Violet, the girl who chews gum all day. P.S. we normally aren't allowed to chew gum all day at school but this will be a special day!

Go get reading!
Gracie

Oh, no! I almost forgot to tell you that Rick Riordan, the author of the Lightning Thief wrote me back! Here is his note:

Hi Gracie,
Thank you for writing. I'm glad you are enjoying the Lightning Thief. Good luck with your blog and your challenge! Best wishes, Rick Riordan

Can you believe he wrote me back? I was shocked!