Hours 21, 22, 23, and 24

O.K, I admit I had to take a nap, but I came back for the last hour and 15 minutes!  And I won a prize for the first time in 6 Read-a-Thons! Yay!

Since last update:

A Wrinkle in Time - 76 pgs

Final total, pages:  692 pgs
Final total, hours:  11hrs reading, 1hr listening

Final meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?  Uh...Hours 21,22,23.  I slept, I'm afraid!
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I had good luck with YA this year.  The Fault in Our Stars and The Perks of Being a Wallflower
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? It was all grand!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? "
5. How many books did you read? 2 plus part of 3 others
6. What were the names of the books you read? The Fault in our Stars, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and parts of Beautiful Ruins, Murder at the Vicarage, and A Wrinkle in Time
7. Which book did you enjoy most? Beautiful Ruins and The Fault in Our Stars
8. Which did you enjoy least? A Wrinkle in Time (still entertaining, though)
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Nope
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Oh, VERY likely.  Will most likely read, with a bit of cheering again.

What another fun Read-a-Thon! Thanks to everyone who visited.  It was great "Thonning" with you all! 

Hours 19 and 20

Slooowwing dowwn.....

Since last update:

Beautiful Ruins - 4 pgs
Murder at the Vicarage - 26 pgs (audio, but also have the paperback for page counts)

Running total, pages: 616 pgs
Running total, hours:  9hrs 45min reading, 1hr listening

Think I must have a nap.  Hope to be back...

Hours 17 and 18

Oh dear, I'm getting sleepy.  Time to break out the Cherry Coke Zero and try to get another hour or so in.  I suspect I may have to do as I've done the last couple of Read-a-Thons - that is, sleep for just a bit, then come back for the ending hour or two.  Not yet, though!

Since last update:

Beautiful Ruins - 40 pgs  (Loving this book so far)

Running total, pages:  586
Running total, hours:  9hrs 45min

Hours 15 and 16

No!! The time is going too fast!  I've been piddling around too much and losing my focus.  Must read...read like the wind!

Since last update:

Beautiful Ruins - 20 pgs (!)

Running total, pages: 546
Running total, hours: 8hrs 20min

Hours 13 and 14

Aarrgh!  My laptop decided it didn't want to charge any more.  Luckily, hubby has an extra one that should see me through the night (she said, hopefully, planning for many more happy reading hours!)  I've been fiddling around with the darn thing, so haven't gotten much done the last few hours.

Since last update:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - 43 pages, Finished

Running total, pages:  526
Running total, hours:  8hrs

Now going to start Beautiful Ruins.

I just entered the Turn the Page mini-challenge and wanted to duplicate my silly entry here (there are some really funny lines - I recommend you go to Reflections of a Bookaholic's blog and check them out, even if you don't enter the mini-challenge).  You had to insert a phrase from page 32 of your current book to complete the sentence, "I'd rather read than ________ any day!"  My entry:

I would rather read than walk into Fox and sell a movie about a restaurant that serves baked monkey balls any day! 

From Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

Hours 11 and 12

Since last update:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - 84 pgs

Running total, pages:  483
Running total, hours:  7hrs 10min

I've been focusing on YA books so far this time around, so my page count is higher than normal.  I hope to break my all-time RAT page total record. 

Hours 9 and 10

Lunch, cheering, blogging, mini-challenging, fiddling with camera, etc.  Must get back to READING!!

Since last update:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - 20 pages

Running total, pages:  399
Running total, hours:  5hrs 40min

Book Sentence Mini-Challenge

Here's my book sentence.  Sorry about the blurry image.  I'm having problems with my camera.

War and peace at home in the garden of beasts

Hours 7 and 8

As usual, the time is going by much too quickly!  I can't believe we're already at the 1/3 point.

Since last update:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - 66 pgs

Running total, pages:  379
Running total, hours:  5hrs 15min

Time for lunch!  (Anyone notice I'm mentioning food a lot?!)

Hours 4, 5, and 6

Since last update:

The Fault in Our Stars - 163 pgs - Finished.  A lovely, heartbreaking story.

Running total, pages:  313
Running total, hours:  4hrs, 15min

It helped that my first book was such a quick read.  I'm sure the pace will be slowing down from here on out.  Time for my pre-lunch snack!

Hour 3 and Book Appetit Mini-Challenge

Have been perusing/commenting on blogs and eating breakfast for the last hour.  I wanted to enter the Book Spine Poetry mini-challenge, but my silly camera is not working.  Here is my entry for the Book Appetit mini-challenge:

Book:  McCarthy's Bar by Pete McCarthy (about a pub in Ireland)
Menu:  Bangers and Mash - think I'd have to add the mushy peas as well
           Bread pudding
Drink:  Guinness (duh!)
          I've always been fascinated with Irish step dancing, so I'd try to find someone to come and give us a mini-lesson!

Off to have a quick shower and dive back into my book!

Hours 1 and 2

Got up right on time (without an alarm even) and jumped right into my first book.  Luckily, I haven't been able to put it down for the last 2 hours.  A great start!

The Fault in Our Stars - 150 pages

Running total, pages: 150
Running total, hours:  2hrs

Here's my introduction 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?  Hmmm...maybe Beautiful Ruins?
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?  Again, tough question...I don't have anything very exciting. Maybe Corn Nuts?  (I love them!)
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I have two daughters away at college, currently work part-time for my hubby, and LOVE to travel (getting lots of reading done on flights is a pleasant side benefit)
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 take fewer breaks this time, and get more pages read!

Time for a little breakfast (as opposed to my pre-breakfast snack 2 hours ago!)

The night before Read-a-thon!

Well, I'm not going to get off to bed as early as I had hoped (I have a bright and early 6:00 a.m. start here in the Rocky Mountains), but I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.  Unlike the last few Read-a-thons, as of right now at least, I have nothing to keep me awake the night before (bailing water out of a window well last time) or anything scheduled during the day (had to attend a state political convention the time before that).  I'm hoping to devote the ENTIRE 24 hours (at least most of it) to this ridiculously fun event.  Off to get a good night's sleep and dream of books... See you all tomorrow! 

Read-a-Thon book list

I've got my books ready for Saturday (the anticipation and preparation is almost as fun as the real thing!)
Here they are:

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
My Nest isn't Empty, it Just Has More Closet Space by Lisa Scottoline
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
McCarthy's Bar by Pete McCarthy
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
     and not pictured because they're on my Kindle:
Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (I'm also borrowing this on audio to give my eyes a rest)
Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

I'll be lucky to read 2 of these completely, but I like to have a wide variety as I'm a mood reader.  My stack includes a book of short essays, 4 YA books, and a couple of mysteries - all should hold my interest but not require TOO much concentration (for when the eyes get bleary and the brain gets foggy!)  Hmmm...now to plan food.  I guess I can think about that tomorrow...

Dewey's Read-a-Thon!

All signed up for my 6th Read-a-Thon!  I'm thrilled with the date (April 27), since it's the only Saturday in April I have free.  Will start thinking about my "stack" soon.