Bout of Books 30

 The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 30 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Hour 19-24 and Wrap-Up

 Since last update:

The Plot Against America - 33 pgs
The Mystery of the Ivory Charm - 80 pgs (I read this from 4:00 to 5:00 a.m.!)

Final total, pages: 525
Final total, hours: 11 hr 7 min (7 hr 7 min reading, 4 hr audio)

I didn't finish a book for the first time ever, but I really had fun jumping around!

My results always seem to be about the same, so I think I have a good mix of reading/audio/social media/other breaks. Can't wait to do it again!

Hour 13-18

 Since last update:

The Lottery and Other Stories - 36 pgs
The Plot Against America - 12 pgs (audio - Ron Silver does a great job reading this)
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return - 96 pgs (graphic)

Running total, pages: 412
Running total, hours: 6 hr 7 min reading, 3 hr audio

Hoping to last a bit longer before visiting snoozeville.

Hour 6-12

 Since last update:

The Plot Against America - 51 pgs (audio)

Shakespeare: The World as Stage - 43 pgs

The Sellout: 45 pgs

Running total, pages: 268

Running total, hours: 4 hr reading, 2 hr 40 min audio

I got a bit of a second wind. I think really getting into my books is helping me forget temporarily about the pandemic, the election - ugh. Hopefully, I can tear through some pages this evening! (It's probably not a good idea for me to be reading The Plot Against America at the moment - it's eerily prophetic.)

Mid-Event Survey

 I can't believe it's already half over!

1. What are you reading right now? I've started 3 books, but most recently have been reading The Sellout by Paul Beatty
2. How many books have you read so far? 1/2 of one, 1/3 of one, and 1/4 of another!
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Finishing Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? No significant interruptions.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? That I was so sleepy all morning.

Hour 1-6

 The Plot Against America - 32 pgs (audio)

The Sellout - 52 pgs

Every Day in Tuscany - 7 pgs (had to stop reading this because I discovered it's the 3rd book in a "series" and I haven't read the 2nd yet!)

Shakespeare: The World as Stage - 38 pgs

Running total, pages: 129

Running total, hours: 2 hr 10 min reading, 1 hr audio

I'm struggling with the Readathon so far, because I'm tired (didn't sleep well last night) and just feel generally 'blah'. I'm going to take it easy on myself - take lots of breaks and not expect stellar results.

Opening Survey

 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? I can't pick just one. They're all ones I really want to read.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Mango frozen fruit bars

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I do lots of non-partisan volunteer work. Please VOTE, if you haven't already!

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 want to get more reading hours in!

 Here's the stack!

The Stand by Stephen King 

The Mystery of the Ivory Charm by Carolyn Keene - always need Nancy in the stack!

Every Day in Tuscany by Frances Mayes 

Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson

The Crossing by Michael Connelly 

The Sellout by Paul Beatty 

The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi (graphic)

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

I may do something different this time and try to read from all 10! They are different enough, I think I could get away with it. We'll see. Can't wait to get started in just 37 hours! 😉📕📕

Dewey's 24-hour Readathon

I'm really looking forward to the Readathon on October 24! I'm way behind on my reading goals for the year since I've been spending more time doing other things - jigsaw puzzles, playing the piano, watching Netflix, etc.. It's just a weird time. I wasn't too successful at focusing during the Reverse Readathoon in August, so I'm hoping to do better this time around. Back with the TBR stack soon...📕

ETA 10/17/20: My stack photo may be last minute as I'm hoping to read a few more books this week that were orginally in the RAT plan.

Bout of Books 29 Updates

 Day 1

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts (in progress)- 61 pgs
The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit (audio) - 52 pgs
   Pages read today: 113

Day 2

Shantaram - 85 pgs
The Enchanted Castle (audio) - 22 pgs
   Pages read today: 107

Day 3

Shantaram - 20 pgs
The Enchanted Castle (audio) - 38 pgs
   Pages read today: 58

Day 4

Shantaram - 60 pgs
The Enchanted Castle (audio) - 28 pgs
   Pages read today: 88

Day 5

  

Shantaram - 44 pgs
The Enchanted Castle (audio) - 63 pgs
   Pages read today: 107

Day 6

Shantaram - 28 pgs
The Enchanted Castle (audio) - 73 pgs
   Pages read today: 101

Day 7

Shantaram - 64 pgs
The Enchanted Castle (audio) - 15 pgs, finished
   Pages read today: 79

 Final total: 653 pages

My goal for Bout of Books is always 1,000 pages and I knew I probably wouldn't get there this time, but that's ok - it's always fun to try. My daughter is here temporarily, so spending time with her was the priority (if there is a silver lining to COVID, it's getting to spend more time with our kids). Hope everyone had a great reading week!

Bout of Books 29

 The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. All reading-in-place times, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges are completely optional. For Bout of Books 29 information and updates, visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Hours 13-24

Since I missed most of the first evening of the readathon, I decided to read as much as I could today and pretty much forego social media. I was very much into my books, but I did miss checking in with other readers.  Hopefully, next time I won't have any other committments and I can do both!

Here are my final stats:

Hours: 9 hr 13 min (8 hr reading, 1 hr 13 min audio)

Pages: 425

Books: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones - 314 pgs, started and finished

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts (in progress) - 66 pages

He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters (in progress - audio) - 45 pgs

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now? An American Marriage and He Shall Thunder in the Sky (audio)

2. How many books have you read so far? Part of 2
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Finishing An American Marriage and starting The Hate U Give
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I started really late because of a family dinner, and I will probably not be able to participate fully this afternoon. I just had to accept that this time around I couldn't be 'all in'.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Nothing - I've done this SO many times!

Hours 1-12

 I started 4 hours late and had to try to sleep a little, so I don't have stellar results so far. I'm going to try to dig in hard now for several hours!

Total, pages:  97 pages in An American Marriage

                      22 pages in He Shall Thunder in the Sky (audio)

Total, hours:  3 hr 2 min (2hr 16 min reading, 46 min audio)

I don't know why this is double-spacing!

                      

Dewey's Reverse Readathon

I'm not sure how much I'll be able to participate in this Readathon, but I can't resist giving it a go. My reading has really been suffering lately for various reasons, most of them to do with COVID-19. Here's what's up next on my TBR. As usual, I have a stack of 10 books for the Readathon, to cover all possible moods!

24in48 - July 24/26, 2020

This was another "unofficial" 24in48 readathon hosted on Goodreads. I love to keep track of my reading stats because I'm a nerd! 📚📚💓

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo - last 133 pgs
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (audio) - (in progress) - 65 pgs 
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich - first 326 pgs
He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters (audio) - first 6 pgs

Total hours: 10 hr 49 min (8 hr 27 min reading, 2 hr 22 min audio)
Total pages: 530

Bout of Books 28 Updates

As usual, I'll keep all updates in this one post:

Day 1
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (in progress)- 13 pgs
What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell (in progress) - 38 pgs
The Marseille Caper by Peter Mayle (in progress - audio) - 54 pgs
   Pages read today: 105

Day 2
The Marseille Caper - 57 pgs

Day 3
Good Omens - 12 pgs
The Marseille Caper - 59 pgs (finished)
We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin (audio) - 26 pgs
   Pages read today: 97

Day 4
What the Dog Saw - 18 pgs
We Cast a Shadow - 24 pgs
   Pages read today: 42

Day 5
Good Omens - 18 pgs
What the Dog Saw - 24 pgs
We Cast a Shadow - 83 pgs
   Pages read today: 124

Day 6
Good Omens - 18 pgs
What the Dog Saw - 19 pgs
We Cast a Shadow - 84 pgs
   Pages read today: 121

Day 7
Good Omens - 18 pgs
What the Dog Saw - 117
We Cast a Shadow - 28 pgs
   Pages read today: 163

 Final total - 709 pages

I only finished one book, but made good progress on two others. Hope everyone had a great BoB! 

Bout of Books 28

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are daily challenges, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For Bout of Books 28 information and updates, visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Hours 20-24

Since last update:

Death of a Chimney Sweep - 44 pgs (audio)
The Clue of the Tapping Heels - 90 pgs

Final total, pages:  737
Final total, hours:  10 hr reading, 1 hr 30 min audio

This was a great readathon for me and I was able to focus more than I was expecting to (back to reality today - ugh). I read two complete books and part of three others. I'll be working on trying to finish those today. Ha ha - I NEVER get tired of reading. 😊

Hours 15-19

Since last update:

Where the Crawdads Sing - 118 pgs

Total, pages:  603
Total, hours:  9 hr 47 min reading, 47 min audio

Going to try to last a bit longer, sleep a little, then come back for the last hour. We'll see how that goes!

Hours 11-14

Since last update:

The Things They Carried - 133 pgs, finished (Great book)
Death of a Chimney Sweep - 27 pgs (audio)

Total, pages:  485
Total, hours:  6 hr 56 min reading, 47 min audio

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now? About to start 'Where the Crawdads Sing'
2. How many books have you read so far? 2 and 1/4
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? 'Where the Crawdads Sing' and maybe 'Shakespeare: The World as Stage'
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Just had to talk to the family a little, but they've pretty much left me alone!
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I'm actually surprised I've been able to focus as well as I have.

Hours 6-10

Since last update:

Pietr the Latvian - 96 pages (finished)
The Things They Carried - 100 pgs

Total, pages:  325
Total, hours: 5 hr 5 min reading, 17 min audio

Hours 1-5

Oval - last 52 pgs (already in progress)
Pietr the Latvian - 66 pgs
Death of a Chimney Sweep - 11 pgs (audio)

Total, pages:  129
Total, hours:  2 hr 5 min reading, 17 min audio

Opening Survey

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? The Things They Carried
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Popcorn and chocolate-covered almonds
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I can completely disappear into a book or a jigsaw puzzle!
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? Maybe spend a little more time actually reading this time. 😉

Dewey's Readathon Stack

I will be selecting from these books:

Gray Mountain - John Grisham
We Cast a Shadow - Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens
The Marseille Caper - Peter Mayle
The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
Shakespeare: The World as Stage - Bill Bryson
Pietr the Latvian - George Simenon
The Clue of the Tapping Heels - Carolyn Keene
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (Kindle)
Death of a Chimney Sweep - M.C. Beaton (audio)

Upcoming Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon - April 25th

In these tough times, it's so nice to have something to look forward to (other than life getting back to "normal" - that's going to take awhile). I'm determined to focus and concentrate and become totally absorbed in my books and the reading community for 24 hours!! Can't wait. Back with the stack when it gets a little closer...

StayHome24in48 - The Stack and Updates

I just barely got my stack together, even though the RAT began 20 minutes ago. Normally, I'm on top of it. Oh well, these aren't normal times. I'm hoping to get through one or two of these - not sure how many hours I'll get in or how well I'll be able to focus, but I'm going to give it a go! The top three are already in progress (Catch-22) is on my Kindle.

12-hour update: 2 hr 10 min, combination of reading and audio of Midnight's Children. Need to step it up!
24-hour update: 2 hr 18 min - Midnight's Children and Oval
36-hour update: 2 hr 21 min - Midnight's Children and Catch-22
48-hour update: 47 min (I got busy today.)

Final total: 7 hr 36 min - Didn't finish a book. Oh well.

24in48 Social Distancing Readathon - March 21,22

I was thrilled to learn about this informal event. Keeping away from people, but still connecting with other readers. This is making the best of a bad situation, for sure. I'll start thinking about my stack!

https://24in48.com/

24in48 - Jan 18/20, 2020

This was an "unofficial" 24in48 that I just did with a small Goodreads group. It's all about reading and socializing with others readers, whether it be 10 or 2000! I'm posting here because it's fun to look back on all my reading events. 📚📚💓

Stats
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates - 403 pgs (finished)
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (graphic) - 153 pgs (finished)
Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen by Dexter Palmer (audio) - first 223 pgs
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout - first 84 pgs

Total hours: 17 (11 hr 22 min reading, 5 hr 38 min audio)
Total pages: 863 

Bout of Books 27 Updates

As usual, I'll be updating this one post during the week. Going for 1000 pages again! Wishing everyone many happy bookish hours.

Day One
Books finished/in progress:
   Shortest Way Home (in progress) by Pete Buttigieg - 20 pgs
   Golden State by Ben H. Winters (ToB) - 50 pgs (Mostly listening to this one)
Pages read today: 70

Day Two
   Shortest Way Home - 32 pgs
   Golden State - 55 pgs
Pages read today: 87

Day Three
   Shortest Way Home - 44 pgs
   Golden State - 85 pgs
Pages read today: 129

Day Four
   Shortest Way Home -33 pgs
   Golden State - 73 pgs
Pages read today: 106

Day Five
   Shortest Way Home - 33 pgs
   Golden State - 56 pgs (finished)
Pages read roday: 89

Day Six
   Shortest Way Home - 31 pgs
   Normal People by Sally Rooney - 134 pgs (audio)
Pages read today: 165

Day Seven
   Shortest Way Home - 19 pgs (finished)
   Normal People - 134 pgs (finished)
Paged read today: 153
Final total:  799 pages

I didn't reach my 1000-page goal, but at least finished 3 books. Hope everyone had fun!

Bout of Books 27

Count me in for reading as much as I possibly can next week! Bout of Books 27 is the perfect excuse. 📚💓 Here's the official blurb:

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, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 27 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'll probably focus on the Tournament of Books shortlist.