Closing Survey

Which hour was most daunting for you? I slept for hours 21, 22, and 23 as usual.  One of these times, I'll make it all the way!
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? For the first time, I had graphic novels in my stack which worked really well for when I was tired.
Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No!
What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?  Again, I loved the cheerleaders spreadsheets. They make it really easy to visit a lot of people.
How many books did you read? 1 whole book and part of 3 others
What were the names of the books you read? Jacob Have I Loved, The Martian (almost finished), 1/2 of March: Book Two, and part of The Bronze Bow
Which book did you enjoy most? Was really enjoying The Martian, but didn't quite get it finished
Which did you enjoy least?  Jacob Have I Loved - I liked it, but didn't love it
If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?  Nope
How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? There's no question I'll be back.  Likely to read and cheer again.

Thanks to everyone who visited me, the fabulous hosts, co-hosts, and mini-challengers.  It was a blast! A special shout-out to my intrepid RAT pal, Laura, from Pleasepardontheinterruption.blogspot.com. It just wouldn't be the same without you!

Hour 24

Since last update:

March: Book Two (graphic novel):  93 pgs

Final totals:  668 pages
                     9hr 15min reading, 1hr 40min audio

Another fun RAT! Well done, everyone!

Hours 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23

Ok, I took a little nap, but I'm baaack

Since last update:

The Martian  - 22 pgs
The Bronze Bow - 12 pgs (audio)

Running total, pages - 575
Running total, hours - 8hr 45min reading, 1hr 40min audio

Hours 17 and 18

Since last update:

The Martian - 16 pgs

Running total, pages:  541
Running total, hours:  7hr 55min reading, 1hr 20min audio

What have I been doing for the last 2 hours?  Not reading, obviously.  I'm going to try to hang in there for another couple of hours, then have a nap and come back for the last hour or two. We'll see - you know what they say about "the best laid plans"...

Hours 15 and 16

Dinner, blogging, etc. - need to READ more!

Since last update:

The Martian - 46 pgs

Running total, pages:  525
Running total, hours:  7hr 35min reading, 1hr 20min audio

Hours 12, 13, and 14

Ugh, I'm slowing down and having to take breaks more often.  I WILL soldier on, however.

Since last update:

The Martian - 68 pgs
The Bronze Bow - 18 pgs (audio)

Running total, pages:  479
Running total, hours:  6hr 35min reading, 1hr 20min audio

Mid-Event Survey

Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now? The Martian and The Bronze Bow on audio
2. How many books have you read so far? 1 1/2
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Hmmm...I'm hoping to get to "X" by Sue Grafton, but I'm also looking forward to a couple of graphic novels.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Not really any interruptions. I'm by myself today and I've ignored the phone.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How much I'm liking The Martian!

Hours 10 and 11

Since last update:

The Martian - 59 pgs

Running total, pages:  393
Running total, hours:  5 hr, 20 min reading, 50 min audio

Off to do a 1-hour Reading Sprint on Goodreads. Feeling a bit sleepy - more tea, please!

Mini-challenges for Hours, 6, 8, and 9

Hour 6 Mini-Challenge:  10 Great Things About Readathon

1. Dropping everything (housework, laundry, answering email) for 24 hours!
2. Reading a book I've been saving for the RAT (this time it's 'X' by Sue Grafton)
3. Preparing food the day before, so no cooking
4. Popcorn!
5. Peanut M&M's!
6. Sending my daughters Snapchats of the books I'm reading
7. Drinking lots of tea
8. Anticipating the event for weeks ahead of time
9. Cheering and hoping I'm giving someone a little RAT "lift"
10. Interacting with the online book community


 Hour 8 Mini-Challenge :  Armchair Traveling

My choice would be the Provence region of France from “A Year in Provence” by Peter Mayle. I love everything about this area – it’s beautiful and the villages are incredibly charming.


Hour 9 Mini-Challenge:  Book Scavenger Hunt

From The Martian by Andy Weir

1. Hard - Rocket ship
2. Fast - "You'd be amazed at how fast you can get going with a tiny acceleration over a long time" (referring to a little argon and a nuclear reactor to power things)
3. Sweet - "My family will be gathering in Chicago for the usual feast...I'd give anything just to let them know I'm still alive."
4. High - Mars orbit
5. Funny - "For tonight, I have to get back to 'Three's Company'. I stopped last night in the middle of the episode where Mr. Roper saw something and took it out of context".

Hours 7, 8, and 9

Aaaack! The time is going to fast!

Since last update:

Jacob Have I Loved - 48 pgs, Finished
The Martin - 13 pgs

Running total, pages:  334
Running total, hours: 4 hr, 10 min reading, 50 min audio

I also had lunch, cheered a bit, and did a few mini-challenges, which I'll post separately.

Hours 4, 5, and 6

Since last update:

The Martian - 55 pgs
Jacob Have I Loved - 122 pgs

Running total, pages:  273
Running total, hours:  3 hr, 20 min reading, 50 min audio

Happy with my progress so far! Almost finished with my Newbery winner, then I'm getting back to The Martian.  Think I need a 3rd cup of tea now to tide me over until I feel like having lunch.

Hours 1, 2, and 3

Progress:

The Martian - 20 pgs
Jacob Have I Loved - 76 pgs

Hours: - 1 hr 5min reading, 50 min audio

I'm a bit frustrated at the moment. I listened to audio on my iPod while walking the dog, and when I got back I checked my paper copy of the book to see how many pages I'd "read", only to find out my audiobook is abridged!  So, now I'm going back and reading the parts I missed. I do not do abridged! So, I'm sort of really past page 76.  Oh well, my totals will all work out in the end. Hope everyone is having a great RAT so far. The time is already going too fast!

Introductory Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Utah
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? X  by Sue Grafton
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Skinny Pop and Peanut M&M's (not at the same time!)
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I have a tough time sleeping the night before the Readathon because I am so excited! Hence, I've never been able to make it the whole 24 hours.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? I just hope to get more pages read than the last few times.

The RAT stack!

Here is my usual stack of ten. I have my little RAT traditions and choosing ten books is one of them (even though I won't come close to reading them all).  It's a good number for including lots of variety, and should cover every mood and level of fatigue (I hope).

1. X by Sue Grafton - I have read all others in this series, and another tradition is that when a new Grafton comes out I read it during the RAT.
2.  Ford County by John Grisham - short stories
3.  The Martian by Andy Weir -  recommended and looks interesting
4.  March:  Book Two by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell -  I recently enjoyed Book One, so am ready read the next one.  For the first time, I have added 3 graphic novels to my stack for even more variety (books 4, 5, and 6).
5.  An Age of License by Lucy Knisley
6.  Relish by Lucy Knisley
7.  The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare - Books 7 and 8 are Newbery Medal winners (I'm working on a project to read them all)
8.  Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
9.  The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene - Another RAT tradition: Nancy Drew for the wee hours!
10.  Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie (not pictured because it's on my Kindle)  What mystery lover doesn't adore Agatha Christie?!

I also have the two Newbery winners and the Nancy Drew on audio for when I walk the dog or just need to rest my eyes.  Looking forward to checking out what everyone else is reading!  I suspect there will be others reading The Martian.

Almost time for Dewey's Read-a-thon!

I just signed up for the next Dewey's Read-a-thon!  I love this event and since I had to miss the last one in April, I'm REALLY looking forward to October 17.  I'm always very productive the week before, so I won't feel a bit guilty about dropping everything for 24 hours and doing nothing but reading and talking about reading (ok, and maybe sleeping just a little...).  What makes it even more amazing is knowing that hundreds of people around the world will be doing the same thing.  From planning the books stack and snacks to cruising around other blogs, cheering, mini-challenging, checking on the entertaining hourly updates by the co-hosts, and of course READING - it's all fun, fun fun! And as an extra bonus, the last time I participated I won two prizes! The hosts of this event (Andi and Heather - lookin' at you) are incredible. Did I mention I can't wait?

Bout of Books 13 Updates

Monday (Day 1)
Books finished/ in progress:    
     The Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters - Last 155 pgs, Finished
     Towards Zero by Agatha Christie - 12 pgs
     The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (audiobook) - 14 pgs
Total pages read:  181

 Tuesday (Day 2)
Books finished/ in progress:    
     Towards Zero - 210 pgs, Finished
     The Boys in the Boat - 22 pgs
     The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Spear - 14 pgs
Pages read today:  246
Total pages read:  427

Wednesday (Day 3)
Books in progress:
      The Boys in the Boat - 40 pgs
      The Witch of Blackbird Pond - 56 pgs
      All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - 10 pgs
Pages read today: 106
Total pages read:  533

Thursday (Day 4)
     The Boys in the Boat - 30 pgs
     The Witch of Blackbird Pond - 20 pgs
     All the Light We Cannot See - 17 pgs
Pages read today: 67
Total pages read:  600

Friday (Day 5)
     The Witch of Blackbird Pond - 159 pgs, Finished
     The Boys in the Boat - 10 pgs
     All the Light We Cannot See - 10 pgs
Pages read today: 179
Total pages read:  779 

Saturday (Day 6)
     The Boys in the Boat - 45 pgs
     All the Light We Cannot See - 30 pgs
Pages read today: 75
Total pages read:  854

Sunday (Day 7)
     The Boys in the Boat - 70 pgs
     All the Light We Cannot See - 66 pgs
Pages read today: 136
Grand total pages read:  990

I can't believe I missed my goal by 10 pages!  Oh well, it was still a pretty good reading week. I finished 3 books and read part of 2 others.  Hopefully, I can do even better in the next BoB. 

Bout of Books 13 - Day 1 Challenge - Bookish Survey

1. How do you organize your shelves? Not very well, I'm afraid.  My newer acquisitions are sort of in one bookcase, and the older stuff is mixed up everywhere else. I need to make the time to organize them properly!
2. What is one of your favorite books that’s not in one of your favorite genres? Recently, I read the 3 books in the Crank Trilogy by Ellen Hopkins. I don't read much YA or poetry (and about drug addiction, no less), but I found these books riveting.
3. What is the last 5 star book you read? Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson.
4. What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon? All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
5. What book do you recommend the most? Lately, I'd say it's And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini.

Bout of Books 13 Goals

I know an "official" goals post isn't required, but having a plan helps motivate me.  I hope to read at least 1000 pages from the following books (not sure which ones - depends on my mood!) The first two are already in progress.

      


 
 

Quite a variety! I'm on a quest to read all the Newbery winners (I'm almost half done), so I had to stick one of those in here. The books listed are the ones I'd like to finish before the end of May, so let's see what progress I can make next week. 

Bout of Books 13

I missed the last Bout of Books, but am in for this one! The blub from the website:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

No Readathon this time around

I'm sad I won't be able to do the semi-annual Dewey's Readathon on April 25.  This would have been my 10th in a row!  I'll be out of town that weekend, but I do hope to stop in and do some rogue cheering. Good luck to everyone participating - it's SUCH fun!