Reverse Readathon Wrapup

I had more interruptions and slept more than I had planned, so I decided to not spend time on updates during the event. I ended up prioritizing books already in progress. 

Dominion - last 51 pgs

Casanova's Chinese Restaurant - last 79 pgs

Paula - 94 pgs

Heart the Lover - 96

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur (already in progress - audio) - 57 pgs

Total, hours: 8 hr 44 min (6 hr 57 min reading, 1 hr 47 min audio)

Total, pages: 377

Not stellar, but I'll take it!

Reverse Readathon - 7/10/26

Getting reading for the Reverse Readathon tomorrow! (I start at 6:00 p.m. instead of the usual 6:00 a.m.)

Here's the usual eclectic stack.

The Dry - Jane Harper (also on audio)

The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides

Strangers - Belle Burden (also on audio)

My Dear You - Rachel Khong

Vineland by Thomas Pynchon

Plainsong - Kent Haruf

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

Paula - Isabel Allende

On Kindle:

Heart the Lover - Lily King

This is Not About Us - Allegra Goodman

Hours 19 - 24 and Wrap-Up

 I listened to 22 pages of Wild Dark Shore before succumbing to sleep. 

Wrap - Up

I Who Have Never Known Men - 164 pgs, finished

Code Name Verity - 127 pgs

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven - 53 pgs

All the Blues in the Sky - 50 pgs

The Soul of an Octopus - 10 pgs

Wild Dark Shore - 76 pgs (audio)

Final total, pages - 480

Final total, hours - 9 hr 33 min (6 hr 57 min reading, 2 hr 36 min audio)

I would like to have hit at least 10 hours (I think my record is 12-something), but I'm pretty happy with the results considering I wasn't well-rested at the start. Can't wait for the next one!

Hours 13 - 18

Code Name Verity - 77 pgs

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven - 53 pgs

The Soul of an Octopus - 10 pgs

All the Blues in the Sky - 50 pgs

Total pages so far:  459

I'd like to get at least one more hour in, either now or at the end. We'll see how it goes. It's almost 1:00 a.m. and I'm starting to fade....

Hours 7 - 12

I Who Have Never Known Men - 61 pgs, finished

Wild Dare Shore - 26 pgs (audio)

Code Name Verity - 51 pgs

Total so far, pages: 269

I'll calculate hours at the end. I took a short walk which woke me up for a while, but I'm struggling today.

Hours 1 - 6

I Who Have Never Known Men - 103 pgs

Wild Dark Shore - 28 pgs (audio)

I didn't sleep well, so we'll see how well I do today. I did read for the first hour, but then slept for the 2nd! I'll do the next sprint, then head out for an "audiowalk" and hope that re-energizes me. 

Dewey's Readathon - April 18, 2026

It's that time again! The Readathon has changed a lot since I started doing it 15 years ago (!!) But as long as it still exists in some form, I will keep doing my best to participate. 

And now....my traditional stack of 10. I have a few of them on audio or Kindle as well.

Now, to finish up current reads, do some cleaning, and decide on food for the Big Day. Countdown at 3 days, 19 hours, 18 minutes!

Wrap-Up

 I read/listened to 170 pages during Hours 19 - 24.

What I read this RAT:

- The Case of the Velvet Claws - 193 pgs finished. It was a fun blast from the past, but I like the Perry of the TV series a lot more.

- The Once and Future King - 28 pgs (105 to 133). My current 1001 read. It's fun.

- Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard - 95 pgs. I love Desai's writing, but the story is meh so far.

- Swamplandia! - 40 pgs (already in progress, audio). Very unique and well-written. Putting her new one on my TBR.

- Dinner for Vampires - 185 pgs - Audiobook is fantastic.

Final total, pages: 542

Final total, hours: 12 hr 20 min (5 hr 32 min reading, 6 hr 48 min audio)

I had a great readathon! I would have liked the page count a little higher, but I listened to more audio than planned and the readers weren't quite slow enough for me to up the speed (that rarely happens). I enjoyed the 2:00 p.m. start time and being able to rest in the middle. Next time, it will be back to the challenging 6:00 a.m. At least it's not 5:00 (PST)!

Hours 13 - 18

Swamplandia! - 14 pgs (audio)

Dinner for Vampires - 33 pgs (audio)

Running total: 372 pages

I slept for a couple of hours, then woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I will be a tired girl today. I'm really into both my audiobooks - especially Dinner for Vampires. SO good. 

Hours 6 - 12

The Case of the Velvet Claws - 99 pgs, finished

Swamplandia! - 21 pgs (audio)

Dinner for Vampires - 24 pgs (audio)

The Once and Future King - 9 pgs

Running total: 325 pages

It's now almost 3:00 a.m., so must sleep for a bit. 

Hours 1 - 6

The Case of the Velvet Claws - 94 pgs

Dinner for Vampires - 73 pgs (audio)

Swamplandia! - 5 pgs (audio)

Running total, pages: 172

I'll calculate hours at the end. Enjoying myself immensely so far. Nothing like letting go of everything (lots to "let go of" these days) and immersing oneself in good books. 😊

Dewey's Readathon - October 18th, 2025

Here's my next-up list of ten books. No photo of the stack this time because I'm traveling and mostly restricted to Kindle books.

Swamplandia by Karen Russell (in progress) - also on audio

The Once and Future King by T.H. White (in progress)

Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz (also on audio)

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai

This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud (also on audio)

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly (also on audio)

Evergreen by Belva Plain

The Lone Range and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

The Case of the Velvet Claws by Erle Stanley Gardner

I'm thinking I may be able to get more reading hours in this time with starting at 2:00 p.m. instead of my usual 6:00 a.m. We'll see!

Wrap-Up

 Here's what I read:

The Book Censor's Library - 261 pgs, finished

With No One as Witness - 33 pgs

The First State of Being - 45 pgs

The Wedding People - 72 pgs

Let the Great World Spin - 65 pgs (audio)

Total pages: 476

Total hours: 8 hr 27 min (6 hr 13 min reading, 2 hr 14 min audio)

I'm fairly happy with my totals, given I had to go out for the evening. I liked everything I read, but the ending of The Book Censor's Library felt rushed. I plan to continue reading today - four good ones in -progress!

Hours 7 - 18

The Book Censor's Library - 186 pgs, finished

Let the Great World Spin - 30 pgs (audio)

With No One as Witness - 14 pgs

The First State of Being - 39 pgs

Running total, pages: 428

I was out for 4 hours, but did an hour sprint after I got home and am going to try to stay awake for a bit longer (it's 12:15 a.m.) I'll probably doze some, but then try to get up for the last hour. I finished a book - yay!

Hours 1 - 6

The Wedding People - 45 pgs

With No One as Witness - 19 pgs

The Book Censor's Library - 75 pgs

Let The Great World Spin - 20 pgs (audio)

Running total, pages: 159

I'll calculate hours at the end. I spent 30 mins. listening to "With No One as Witness", then realized it was abridged. Ugh (I don't do abridged). Luckily, I also have a print copy so I switched to that. I will be missing the next 6-hour update because I have to go out for the evening to a fundraiser/concert. Next update will be at midnight my time (end of Hour 18). As usual, the time is going way too fast!

Dewey's Readathon - 4/26/25

 Here's The Stack!

With No One as Witness - Elizabeth George (also on audio)

The Book Censor's Library - Bothayna Al-Essa

Go Down, Moses - William Faulkner (random pick from 1001 list)

The First State of Being - Erin Entrada Kelly (2025 Newbery winner)

Let the Great World Spin - Colum McCann

The Body - Bill Bryson

My Friends - Hisham Matar

Blankets - Chris Thompson (Banned Book - graphic)

Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar (not pictured - on Kindle)

The Wedding People - Alison Espach (not pictured - on Kindle)

I was a little more intentional with my "readathon/next up" reads this time, hence the random-number-generated book from the 1001 list, one banned book, one nonfiction, and the most recent Newbery winner (for the April readathon only).

Hours 19 - 24 and Wrap-Up

Love Medicine - 11 pgs

Born to Run - 31 pgs (audio)

Final total, pages: 505

Final total, hours: 10 hr 34 min (6 hr 30 min reading, 4 hr 4 min audio)

Here's what I read:

Love Medicine - 60 pgs

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass - 76 pgs

Trespasses - 116 pgs

Birnam Wood - 97 pgs

Parrot and Olivier in America - 96 pgs (audio)

Born to Run - 60 pgs (audio)

I didn't finish a single book, but that gives me an excuse to keep reading! I got a bit headachey late last night and had to sleep for 5 hours, but I did make it back for the last hour.

Hours 13 - 18

Parrot and Olivier in America - 34 pgs (audio)

Born to Run - 29 pgs (audio)

Trespasses - 47 pgs

Running total, pages: 463

I'm feeling a little headachy. May have to snooze for a bit. 

Hours 7 - 12

Parrot and Olivier in America - 6 pgs (audio)

Trespasses - 69 pgs

Birnam Wood - 97 pgs 

Running total, pages: 353

Hours 1 - 6

Love Medicine - 49 pgs

Alice's Adventure in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass - 76 pgs

Parrot and Olivier in America - 56 pgs (audio)

Total pages: 181

I'll calculate hours at the end. The last two hours have sped by with shower, breakfast, and a family phone call. Hoping to really focus this afternoon!