Hours 1 and 2

Off to a pretty good start, but am getting the sleepies (got up at 5:40 a.m.), so thought I'd post to try and wake up!

90 pages - "T" is for Trespass by Sue Grafton
Running total, hours: 1 hr 40 min

I found and plugged in an external mouse for my laptop - am good to go for the day!

I'm a little late with the Introduction Meme, but here it is:

1)Where are you reading from today? Utah

2)Three random facts about me…
- I adore spectator sports, especially college basketball and tennis
- I love 1940's music
- My favorite food in the world is a warm chocolate-chip cookie

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? 10

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
I just want to exceed my results of last time

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
This is only my second one, but I would recommend no "heavy" reading

Off to get a bit of breakfast now...

We're off!

I'm ready to go! For some reason, the time on my posts is one hour off. It will say it's 5:00 a.m, but it's actually 6:00 - not QUITE so bad. I wish many hours of pleasurable reading to all!

Oh dear, I'm having trouble with my mouse. I hope I don't have to scrounge up someone else's computer to use..of all days for my laptop to act up!

Read-a-Thon Readiness!

O.K, here are my books. I'm not a fast reader, but I tend to read several books at once, so I have to have many choices available to fit my mood. My initial stack had several more, but I made myself reduce the stack to 10!














A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie
Tea Time For the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
T is For Trespass by Sue Grafton
Hold Tight by Harlan Coben
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond
The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

Nothing heavy, and plenty of YA. My husband and daughter think I'm a little weird, but they are supportive, as long as there is food in the fridge!


The dog is also supportive, as long as she gets her walk in.

Let's see - must plan snacks. I think trail mix, fruit, and lots of tea.

Looking forward to Saturday (an early 6:00 a.m. start for me). Good luck, all!

Read-a-Thon April 9, 2011

I just signed up for my second Read-a-Thon and I'm so excited! My first one was even more fun than I thought it would be. Giving myself permission to read for 24 hours (well, I made it to 20, with breaks), checking out what and how much other people were reading, cheering and being cheered, participating in mini-challenges - it was all great fun, and I can't wait to do it again. It will also be fun selecting what books I want to read. I'll probably do the same thing as last time and have a whole stack ready, so I can switch off when I want a change. I'm also going to select more easy-reading stuff, especially for when my energy starts to fade. Good luck to all participants! I look forward to checking out everyone's blogs.

Review of 'Stones Into Schools'

Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved this book. I have to say I found it even more engrossing than 'Three Cups of Tea'. Mortenson focuses more on the local people and their involvement with getting the schools built. The character and resiliency of these people is amazing. The book is well-written, well-researched, and inspirational.



View all my reviews

Final thoughts on the RAT

Well, my first Read-a-Thon is officially over. It was great fun, and I stayed up for 20 out of the 24 hours, which I was happy with. I only read for 10 1/2 hours, however, so next time I think I'll blog and cheer a little less and hopefully will be able to take fewer breaks. I'll also choose shorter books for my RAT stack. I read half of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but the book is almost 600 pages, and I didn't want to spend the whole Read-a-Thon on one book. I also read all of The Phantom Tollbooth and part of The Widower's Tale and The Hunger Games. Oh, and a litle War and Peace. The cheerleaders were great, and it was all very well organized. Hope I can do it again next time!
Final page count: 561
Final hours count: 10 1/2
Books finished: 1 1/2, plus part of 3 others

Hours 19 and 20

Oh dear. Zombieness (dom?) has settled in. Must sleep for a bit. Hope to be back...
Since last update:
22 pages - The Hunger Games
Running total, pages: 561
Running total, hours: 10 hrs, 30 min