Hours 17-24

Since last update:

Password to Larkspur Lane - 56 pgs (audio)

Final total, hours:  9 hr 35 min (6 hr 45 min reading, 2 hr 50 min audio)
Pages:  515

I listened to this Nancy Drew book (certainly not stellar writing, but it's fun to revisit books I loved in childhood) for awhile in bed last night, then tried to sleep. I had intended to get up for the last hour but, alas, did not make it. I slept so poorly, I should have just stayed awake and read all night! I'm pretty happy with my results, given that I had an outside activity in the afternoon. Also reached my minimum 500-pages goal.

Closing Survey!

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? All the hours after midnight :(
2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read! Finished Between the World and Me and We Live in Water. Read part of A Girl of the Limberlost, Born a Crime, and Password to Larkspur Lane
3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners? Anything under 200 pages works well for Readathon. 
4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you happy? I'd like to see the participants list a little earlier on the website. I loved the Bingo and Sprints on Goodreads.
5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep? I will ALWAYS participate if I'm able. I could also help organize/prep.

Hours 12-16

Since last update:

We Live in Water - 113 pgs, Finished

Born a Crime - 46 pgs

Running total, hours:  8 hr 40 min (incl. 1 hr 55 min audio)

Pages:  459

I've got to get some sleep soon, as I'm going to an opera tomorrow afternoon and don't want to snooze through it!  I'm going to try to be back for the last hour.  I'll probably get ready for bed now and listen to a little Nancy Drew.

Mid-Event Survey

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? We Live in Water, and A Girl of the Limberlost (on audio)
2. How many books have you read so far? Almost 2 1/4
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Born a Crime
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Yes, I had to help with an event this afternoon and was gone for about 3 1/2 hours. I listened to audio in the car. 
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? No surprises, really. I've done so many of these!

Hours 5-11

Have been back from my event (candidate forum) for an hour or so. Now can focus on Readathon until I need to sleep!

Since last update:

A Girl of the Limberlost - 45 pgs (audio)
We Live in Water - 64 pgs

Running total, hours:  5 hrs 40 min (including 1 hr 5 min audio)
Running total, pages:  300

Hours 1-4

Between the World and Me - 152 pgs, Finished - Great book!
A Girl of the Limberlost - 39 pgs (audio)

Running total, hours - 2 hrs 25 min (50 min audio)
Running total, pages - 191

I won't be updating again for awhile, as I have to go help with a candidate event. Will listen to audio while in the car!

Hour 0 - Getting to Know You Survey

Ready to roll in 19 minutes! Since I've been on a nonfiction kick, I'm starting off with Between the World and Me.

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? Hmmm, probably Born a Crime.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? None of them, really. I pre-ate my treats before the Readathon L
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!  I enjoy long airplane trips because it’s an excuse to read for 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’ll say the SAME thing I say every time. A little more reading, a little less socializing – probably won’t happen. J

The RAT Stack

Here is my eclectic stack (I'm a mood reader). Ready to start bright and early (6:00 a.m.) Saturday morning!

Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene - My traditional Nancy Drew for the wee hours, when my ability to focus becomes severely impaired
Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie - Also a tradition to have an Agatha Christie
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates - It's short and looks good
We Live in Water by Jess Walter - Short stories to add more variety (If you haven't read Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, read it!)
The Children Act by Ian McEwan - I usually like McEwan's books
At Home by Bill Bryson - Bryson is one of my favorite authors
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers - a nod to the modern "classics"
A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter - In honor of my mother. It was her favorite book, and I've been meaning to read it for years.

I own all but one of these, but have borrowed a few of them in ebook or audio format (again, for variety). It will be nice to make some progress on my ridiculous number of unread books (don't ask).

I meant to get a graphic novel or two, but forgot and don't want to go to the library again. I was hoping to not have ANY conflicts Saturday, but it turns out I have to help with an event for about 3 hours. I also have an opera on Sunday afternoon, so will need to get SOME sleep in order to stay awake in the theater :) Ah well, I'll make the most of whatever time I have. Tomorrow will be "tidying the house and food planning" day!

Dewey's Readathon Time Again!

Looking forward to October 20! The Readathon is one of my favorite fall holidays (and it's absolutely a holiday for me - I do everything possible to plan around it and leave it free).

Photo of "the stack" is coming next week...

Bout of Books 23 Updates

Already in progress at start of BoB: White Tears by Hari Kunzru (on pg. 52), Echo Park by Michael Connelly (pg. 54), Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery (pg. 17)

Day One
Books finished/in progress:
   Echo Park - 76 pgs
   White Tears - 18 pgs
   Rilla of Ingleside - 3 pgs
Pages read today: 97

Day Two
   Echo Park - 56 pgs
   White Tears - 82 pgs
   Rilla of Ingleside - 39 pgs
Pages read today:  177

Day Three
   Echo Park - 27 pgs
   Rilla of Ingleside - 43 pgs
Pages read today:  70

Day Four
   White Tears - 119 pages, Finished
   Rilla of Ingleside - 58 pgs
Pages read today:  177 (same as Day Two-quite a coincidence!)

Day Five
   Rilla of Ingleside - 58 pgs

Day Six
   Rilla of Ingleside - 59 pgs, Finished
   Echo Park - 7 pgs
Pages read today:  66

Day Seven
   Echo Park - 94 pgs

Final total:  739 pages, 2 books finished - Not bad considering I had a busy week, including a few days of travel. Looking forward to the next BoB, so I can go for that 1,000-page goal again. Hope everyone had fun!

Bout of Books 23

It's time for another reading event. Any excuse to drop everything and READ! Yay!!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th 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 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

24in48 Progress Post

I'll keep all updates in this one post.

Hours 1-12 (One quarter through already!)

Not off to a stellar start, because I was just not able to stay up late last night. So far:

33 minutes of reading (Missing Joseph) and 1 hr 31 min audio (All the Little Liars)

Running total: 2 hr 4 min 

Hours 13-20
As usual, the time is going by too fast! Since last update:

3 hours of reading (Finished Missing Joseph and started Little Fires Everywhere)

Running total:  5 hours 4 min

Hours 21-24
Had a busy evening, so only listened to 32 minutes of audio (All the Little Liars). Hope to listen some more before getting some sleep.

Running total:  5 hr 34 min

Hours 25-36
Had to get some sleep, but am back at it today and hoping to add several more hours to my total.  Since last update:

45 min of reading (Little Fires Everywhere) and 2 hr 3 min audio (All the Little Liars)

Running total:  8 hr 19 min

Hours 37-43

3 hr 26 min reading (Finished Little Fires Everywhere) and 31 min audio (All the Little Liars)

Running total:  12 hr 16 min

Hours 44-48
30 min reading (How to Write an Autobiographical Novel) and 2 hr 38 min audio (Finished All the Little Liars)

Final Stats:  15 hours 24 minutes (8 hr 9 min reading, 7 hr 15 min audio), 657 pages

Missing Joseph - Last 66 pgs
Little Fires Everywhere - 336 pgs, Finished
All the Little Liars - 229 pgs, Finished
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel - 26 pgs

24in48 Stack

I've been so busy that I'm just now getting around to my stack, and I'll be starting 24in48 in just an hour and a half!  Without further ado, here it is:

Monsoon Diary by Shoba Narayan

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Acichie

The Tao of Travel by Paul Theroux

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris (also on audio)

White Tears by Hari Kunzru

not pictured:  Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (Kindle)

                       My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier (Kindle and audio)

                       The Hand of Ethelberta by Thomas Hardy (Kindle)

The top three are a shoutout to #Diversity. Obviously, I won't finish all these, but I like to have lots of variety and this will be my reading material for the next few (or several) weeks.  Can't wait to get started! I'm hoping to get in an hour or two before I have to sleep tonight. I'm starting at 10:00 p.m. MST to coordinate with the "official" time of midnight EST.

24in48 coming up

I'm just about to sign up for the next 24in48 on July 21/22! I will have a few other things to do that weekend, but I'll participate as much as possible. "The Stack" is forthcoming...

Bout of Books 22 Updates

I'll keep all my updates in this one post again. Maybe I can reach my 1000-page goal this time! I'm in western Europe this week, so will be using that time zone (EST + 6 hours).

Monday (Day One)
Books finished/in progress:
     Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson - 74 pgs
     Nemesis by Agatha Christie - 21 pgs
Pages read today:  95

Tuesday (Day Two)
Books finished/in progress;
     Just Mercy - 48 pgs, Finished
     Nemesis - 46 pgs
     The End of the Affair by Graham Greene - 68 pgs
     First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde  - 21 pgs
Pages read today: 183

Wednesday (Day Three)
Books finished/in progress:
     The End of the Affair - 80 pgs, Finished
     Nemesis - 124 pgs, Finished
     First Among Sequels - 19 pgs
     The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead - 33 pgs
Pages read today: 256

Thursday (Day Four)
     First Among Sequels - 59 pgs
     The Underground Railroad - 44 pgs
Pages read today: 103

Friday (Day Five)
     First Among Sequels - 119 pgs
     The Underground Railroad - 49 pgs
Pages read today:  168

Saturday (Day Six)
     First Among Sequels - 65 pgs
     The Underground Railroad - 87 pgs
Pages read today:  152

Sunday (Day Seven)
     First Among Sequels - 112 pgs, Finished
     The Underground Railroad - 93 pgs, Finished
Pages read today:  205

Final total:  1162 pages

For the first time, I reached my 1000-page goal in Bout of Books! Hope everyone had a great week of reading!

Bout of Books 22

Time for another Readathon-ish event! From the blog:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 14th and runs through Sunday, May 20th 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 22 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Closing Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Didn't last past hour 22
2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read! Read all of Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, listened to part of Boys in the Trees by Carly Simon, and read a little of Nememis by Agatha Christie.
3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners? I enjoyed Sing, Unburied, Sing.
4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you smile? Publish the list of participants a little earlier so I could find a few blogs to visit.
5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep? Considering this was my 14th readathon, I'd say I'm VERY likely to participate! I could probably help organize.

Hours 17 thru 24

I stayed up until 3:00 a.m. and finished a book!

Since last update:

Sing, Unburied, Sing - 85 pgs (finished)
Boys in the Trees - 18 pgs (audio)

Final total, hours - 8 hr 33 min (5 hr 39 min reading, 2 hr 54 min audio)
Final total, pages - 380

Given what a crazy day it turned out to be, I'm not too disappointed with my results. Hope to participate more fully in October.

Hours 9 thru 16

I just had to spend several hours at the emergency room with a family member, so needless to say, my Readathon has not gone as planned.  Even though I am exhausted, I hope to spend at least a few more hours reading because I need to relax and reading is a great escape, as you all know.

Since last update:

Boys in the Trees - 27 pgs (audio)
Nemesis - 10 pages (Kindle)

Running total, hours - 6 hr 14 min (2 hr 24 min audio)
Running total, pages - 277

Hours 5 thru 8

Since last update:

Sing, Unburied Sing - 119 pgs
Boys in the Trees - 10 pgs (audio)

Running total, hours - 4 hr 51 min ( 1 hr 21 min audio)
Running total, pages - 241

A family issue has come up, so I probably will not be updating again until later this evening.

Hours 1 thru 4

It's a lovely, sunny day and I want to read outside, but keep getting sleepy. Hopefully, after this break and more tea, I can stay awake! Update for the first 4 hours:

     Sing, Unburied, Sing - 81 pgs
     Boys in the Trees - 31 pgs (audio)

Running total, hours:  2 hr 30 min (1 hr audio)
Running total, pages:    112 pages

Readathon Opening Mem

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? Probably Hamilton: The Revolution
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Trying to only eat healthy snacks today, so maybe trail mix?
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! This is my 14th time participating in Dewey's! I read EVERY day, even if it's only for 10 minutes.
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'm going to try to get more actual READING hours in this time. I think I say that every time :)

Dewey's RAT Stack

Here's my RAT stack, along with my favorite book model. I suspect this is the last Readathon my 14-year-old best friend/reading companion will be doing with me. Hence, extra treats and pets during reading breaks on Saturday.

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter - I'll be focusing on this in preparation for seeing the play next week. Can't wait!
Boys in the Trees by Carly Simon - also on audio
Peaches for Father Frances by Joanne Harris - 3rd in the Chocolat series - also on audio
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan - Tournament of Books selection
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jessmyn Ward - also from The Tournament of Books
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid - and another from ToB
We Live in Water by Jess Walter - short stories
Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene - traditional Nancy Drew for the wee hours
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nahisi Coates - short, high-quality nonfiction
Kindle book not pictured: Nemesis by Agatha Christie - a Christie book is another tradition

Upcoming Dewey's Readathon

Another Readathon is coming up (April 28), so it's time to update my blog! I do have fun looking back at my posts from past Readathons.  I'm heading over to 24hourreadathon.com right now to sign up. I don't know what I'll be reading yet, but will post my book stack a few days before the event.

24in48 Literal Bookends Challenge - Hour 36

Here are the books currently first and last on my bookshelves.  Hmm - it makes no sense that both authors are "W" - obviously I don't have much of a scheme for shelving them!

24in48 - Updates post

I think I'll keep all my updates in this one post.

Friday night, I listened to an audiobook for 45 minutes and read for 15 before falling asleep. Ready to start Saturday off now with tea and a little 1493 before walking the dog.

Halfway point update (Saturday, 10:00 p.m):   8 hr 18 min so far

Finished 1493 by Charles C. Mann (had started this earlier)
Read Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Final update:

Finished Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (started earlier)
Read parts of I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in this Relationship by various authors, A Matter of Time by Shashi Deshpande, and The Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters (audio)

Total of 16 hours 45 minutes (6 hr 15 min audio, 10 hr 30 min reading), 732 pages

I wanted to hit at least 15 hours, so I'm quite pleased.  It helped that I had an audio book in my ear while watching the Australian Open tennis finals (muted).  Yay, Roger Federer!

24in48 - 'Oldest Children's Book' Challenge

This is probably my most tattered children's book. I dearly loved this as a child and read the stories over and over.

24in48 is coming up!

I'm excited for 24in48 next weekend! As of right now, I don't have ANYTHING else scheduled, so am hoping to actually get closer to the 24 hours.

I'll be working on getting my stack together this week. I'm currently reading 1493 and Tell the Wolves I'm Home, and am hoping to finish them before the weekend so I can start fresh.

Update on 1/25:  Here's my stack! (I'm not going to finish what I'm currently reading before the start, so they at the top of the heap. I'm also in the middle of The Hippopotamus Pool (by Elizabeth Peters) on audio.  I have a few of these on my Kindle so I can vary my reading platform. I think I have quite an eclectic selection, including more nonfiction than usual. Can't wait to get started tomorrow!

Bout of Books 21 - Updates

I'll keep all my updates in this one post. My BOB goal is always to read 1000 pages, although this time a more realistic goal might be half that. Wishing many happy reading hours to all this week and in 2018!

Monday (Day 1)
Books finished/in progress:
     Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks - Last 144 pgs (Finished)
     A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev - 10 pgs
Pages read today:  154

Challenge: 2018 reading goals
My plans for the year are to read at least 100 books, including 20 from the 1001 list, 40 added to my TBR before 1/1/17, 20 nonfiction, 20 from series I follow, and 10 first books from new-to-me series (books allowed to fulfill more than one category).  Lofty goals, but I do enjoy a challenge :)

Tuesday (Day 2)
Books finished/in progress:
     A Bollywood Affair - 50 pgs

Wednesday (Day 3)
Books finished/in progress:
     A Bollywood Affair - 50 pgs
     1493 - 36 pgs
Pages read today:  86

Thursday (Day 4)
Books finished/in progress:
     A Bollywood Affair - 36 pgs

Friday (Day 5)
Books finished/in progress:
     A Bollywood Affair - 74 pgs

Saturday (Day 6)
Books finished/in progress:
     A Bollywood Affair - Last 69 pgs (Finished)
     1493 - 34 pgs
     Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt - 15 pgs
Pages read today:  118

Sunday (Day 7)
Books finished/in progress:
     1493 - 33 pgs
     Tell the Wolves I'm Home - 19 pgs
Pages read today:  52
Final total:  570 pages

I didn't do too badly, considering I had a lot of other stuff going on this week.  Maybe NEXT time I can get to 1000 pages (that's always my goal).  I enjoyed "Uncommon Type" (is there anything Tom Hanks can't do?) but did not like "A Bollywood Affair" (I need a little believability with my chick lit).  Hope everyone had a great week of reading!

Bout of Books 21

Well, I have a busy week and company arriving on Thursday, but what can I say? Can't resist a Read-a-Thon and will just participate however much I'm able. Here's the official 'blurb':

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 8th and runs through Sunday, January 14th 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 21 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team