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

Hour 18

Taking more breaks, and not exactly burning up the pages, but still at it!
20 pages - The Hunger Games
Running total, pages: 539
Running total, hours: 10 hrs

Hour 17

Finished my first book! (Have read part of 2 others.)
56 pages - The Phantom Tollbooth - It was fun to reread this and remember why I loved it as a child. It's very clever, and should remain a classic.
Running total, pages: 519
Running total, hours: 9 hr 30 min

Hours 15 and 16

Still hanging in there! I wonder how many of us will be left in a few hours. I seem to have a second wind at the moment, so I'll keep going with the easy reads.
90 pages - The Phantom Tollbooth
Running total, pages: 463
Running total, hours: 8 hr, 45 min