Monday, December 26, 2011

The Diary of a Young Lady of Fashion, 1764-5


Title: "The Diary of a Young Lady of Fashion, 1764-5"
Author: Cleone Knox
Published: 1926
Source: Downtown Books, Milwaukee
Pages: 249

A charming, funny, and interesting diary, Ms. Knox is a Mid-18th Century Bridget Jones.

Born on May 12th, 1744 at Castle Kearney, County Down, Ireland, Cleone was an heiress, and a probably typical member of her society. This journal covers her early twenties while she is at a crucial point in her love affair with a Mr. Ancaster. To distract her from this gentleman, her father takes her and her brother, Ned, on the Grand Tour, and along the way she meets the King and Queen of England, King and Queen of France, and Voltaire, along with lots of various and sundry characters.

With entries like "July 15th. To church. A sermon so lengthy that I near died. Dozed behind my fan.", and "May 19th. Lord be praised! in a few moments our Coach will have conveyed us away from this monstrously dull place. Mr. and Mrs. Talbot, to whom brother Tom gave us letters of recommendation, are as excellent a couple as one could hope to see but hardly enlivening as Host and Hostess, while as for their mansion house with its Greek porticos and its monstrously cold rooms, 'tis more fit to be a Sepulchre than a human habitation.", it makes me chuckle quite a lot.

Only edited to correct spelling and to remove "a good many entries that are of no general interest, mostly referring to purchases and personal expenditure" by her ancestor, Alexander Black Kerr, in the 1920's, this is a wonderful window into society life. If you are lucky enough to find a copy, pick it up and treat yourself to a fantastically entertaining read. 4.5 stars

Sunday, December 25, 2011



Merry Christmas!

I hope Santa brought you everything you asked for!

Thursday, November 24, 2011


Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope it was a happy, food-filled day!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

End of Event!

Last hour stats

Pages read: 316 (illustrations!)
Time reading: 50 min
Books completed: 1
Blogs visited: 0
Mini-challenges completed: 0

Total pages: 1,226
Total time reading: 17 hrs 14 min
Total books completed: 10
Total blogs visited: 8
Total challenges completed: 3

End of Event Meme

1) Which hour was most daunting for you?
Surprisingly, 1am, which was around hour 20. I'd finally gotten warm and the book I was reading was oversized and heavy. There were quite a few head-nods that I couldn't avoid.

2) Could you list a few high-interest books that would keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Nothing that I really read this time would cut it, but I like reading parts in a series so if you happen to not be 100% awake and you missed something, you could fairly easily figure out what was going on.

3) Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
The only thing (and this is minor) would be to have a list of the participants that was up before the event starts. I like to poke around on blogs and mark people to come back and check up on throughout the night.

4) What do you think worked really well in this year's 'thon?
I don't know - most things? Nothing is really popping out as being outstanding, I just enjoyed it all.

5) How many books did you read?
10

6) What were the names of the books you read?

"Stiff" by Mary Roach (on audio)
"Bet Me" by Jennifer Crusie (on audio)
"Moomin: The complete comic strip Vol. 2" by Tove Jansson
"Half-Minute Horrors" by Various
"The Pedant and the Shuffly" by John Bellairs
"The Vampyre" by William Polidori
"The Family Under the Bridge" by Natalie Savage Carlson
"Radiator Days" by Lucy Knisley
"Alice in Sunderland" by Bryan Talbot
"Deadly Desire" by Keri Arthur

7) Which book did you enjoy most?
"Alice in Sunderland", definitely. It was visually beautiful, full of interesting historical links, funny - it was an awesome book that I picked up on a whim, and I'd love to own a copy.

8) Which book did you enjoy the least?
"Stiff", but only because there are so many parts that describe leaky, rotting bodies in scientific detail (usually with quirky analogies that were smart-funny) and it really turned my stomach. I think I would've been better reading this one in print, rather than on audio. It's hard to "skim" while you're listening, you're forced to hear every single word and can't pass a paragraph or two to avoid the ick. It's a great book, and I liked it, but it was very hard to listen to without wanting to hurl.

9) If you were a Cheerleader.... N/A cuz I wasn't!

10) How likely are you to participate in next year's challenge? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I'll be a Reader again for sure, and I'm thinking about doing some Cheering too. Since I do several R-A-T's throughout the year (most of them do not involve staying up for the whole 24 like this one does) I feel less "pressure" to get a lot accomplished. And, I know how much a cheering comment can boost you up, having previously not received any, so that would be a fun break and would keep me going.

Thanks so much to everyone for hosting, cheering, and for reading along!

Last hour

Pages read: 70

Time reading: 45 min

Books completed: 1

Blogs visited: 0

Mini-challenges completed: 0

Total pages: 910

Total time reading: 16 hr 24 min

Total books completed: 9

Total blogs visited: 8

Total challenges completed: 3 (Intro, Book Sentence and Mid-way Meme)


A little less than an hour left, I'm going to try and finish up a book I've already started. See you again shortly!

Is it time to milk the cows yet?

Pages read: 92

Time reading: 52 min

Books completed: 0

Blogs visited: 0

Mini-challenges completed: 0

Total pages: 840

Total time reading: 15 hr 39 min

Total books completed: 8

Total blogs visited: 8

Total challenges completed: 3 (Intro, Book Sentence and Mid-way Meme)


Seriously - how in the world am I still this awake?

Hour too-early-to-be-this-awake

Pages read: 98

Time reading: 40 min

Books completed: 2

Blogs visited: 0

Mini-challenges completed: 0

Total pages: 748

Total time reading: 14 hr 47 min

Total books completed: 8

Total blogs visited: 8

Total challenges completed: 3 (Intro, Book Sentence and Mid-way Meme)


I've somehow woken up more than I thought I would - plus, my book is starting to really creep me out - so I'm sticking with it! Here's hoping this lasts at least until the next hour is up. :)

Hour 21

Pages read: 98

Time reading: 40 min

Books completed: 2

Blogs visited: 0

Mini-challenges completed: 0

Total pages: 748

Total time reading: 14 hr 7 min

Total books completed: 8

Total blogs visited: 8

Total challenges completed: 3 (Intro, Book Sentence and Mid-way Meme)


Hour 20

Pages read: 149

Time reading: 1 hr 13 min

Books completed: 1

Blogs visited: 0

Mini-challenges completed: 0

Total pages: 650

Total time reading: 13 hr 27 min

Total books completed: 6

Total blogs visited: 8

Total challenges completed: 3 (Intro, Book Sentence and Mid-way Meme)


It's official - I'm freakin tired. A few times in the last hour or so, I've nodded off for a second, just enough so that the book (and my head) droop and then I catch myself again. Getting up to come over here and post an update is helping a bit, thankfully. I should probably make something to drink or eat something, keep me conscious for a bit. In the interest of honesty, if I had my heated mattress pad on my bed, I'd be crawling in there right about now, but I don't, so I won't. Ugh, where are my eye drops? How can one person be so tired when all they've done is read all day long?

Okay, it's been a few minutes since I wrote that last paragraph and I feel MUCH more awake now that I've had a snack and some V8. Look out books, here I come!

Hour 18

Pages read: 125

Time reading: 1 hr 50 min

Books completed: 0

Blogs visited: 3

Mini-challenges completed: 0

Total pages: 501

Total time reading: 12 hr 14 min

Total books completed: 5

Total blogs visited: 8

Total challenges completed: 3 (Intro, Book Sentence and Mid-way Meme)


Sleepiness is starting to settle in. It all started when I started to get cold, so I put on a sweatshirt. Then I moved over to the recliner and put a pillow on my lap (both to keep warm and to protect myself from the size and heft of my current book). Then one of my cats decided to join me. So I got a little cozy and snuggly and now I'm tired. Dangit. If I do need to take a nap, I hope I can at least hold out until I finish the book. Once I put it down I'm not going to want to hold it up for any length of time, even though it's wonderful and I'm loving it.

p.s. The craziness might start to creep in on these updates from now on. Just so you're warned.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Hour 16

Pages read: 125

Time reading: 1 hr 50 min

Books completed: 0

Blogs visited: 3

Mini-challenges completed: 0

Total pages: 501

Total time reading: 12 hr 14 min

Total books completed: 5

Total blogs visited: 8

Total challenges completed: 3 (Intro, Book Sentence and Mid-way Meme)

I finished two more books, one of them on audio, so now I've changed what I'm listening to. Currently, I've got NKOTB on my iPod, turned up a little loudly to keep me awake. Since it's such a big, heavy book, I've started "Alice in Sunderland" while I'm sitting at the dining room table. Plus, it's filled with small writing and lots of beautifully intricate illustrations and mixed media collages so the bright overhead light helps out. Hope you're still up and reading along!

Halfway Survey

1) What are you reading right now?
I'm listening to "Bet Me" by Jennifer Crusie. Getting ready to pick up "Alice in Sunderland" by Bryan Talbot

2) How many books have you read so far?
Four.

3) What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
"Radioactive" by Lauren Redniss. I've been looking forward to it for weeks!

4) Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Not really. I just had to make sure I didn't work this weekend. (I need tomorrow to recover.)

5) Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Well, I always plan to run one errand during these 'thons just to do something so I don't end up sleeping by hour 8, but then my parents stopped over for longer than I expected. And then there was those 2 loads of laundry. Oh well. I just get right back to reading as soon as I can.

6) What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon so far?
Honestly? How little time I've spent reading. I know I got a late start, but I feel like I've hardly missed more than an hour and a half. The clock doesn't lie, unfortunately.

7) Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Not that I can think of.

8) What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
I'll do it again next year for sure. I think the only difference I'd make is that I'd make sure to keep the day before free - completely free - so I can do all of the house stuff and make a final grocery run. I didn't give myself any prep time this time around.

9) Are you getting tired yet?
Yes, but just barely.

10) Do you have any tips for others, something that is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
I'm a big big fan of audiobooks. They're great for a break from holding up a book for so long, and if you're going to walk or run errands you can still "read".

Hour 12

Pages read: 145

Time reading: 2 hrs

Books completed: 1

Blogs visited: 0

Mini-challenges completed: 0

Total pages: 229

Total time reading: 7 hr 24 min

Total books completed: 3

Total blogs visited: 5

Total challenges completed: 2 (Intro and Book Sentence)


One more book down, and I'm still listening to "Bet Me". Just had a disgustingly greasy and good Chinese food dinner and I'm so full I could burst. I've had enough of the crappy food and will stick to healthy stuff for the rest of the night. It's the only way I'll make it through!

Hour 10

Pages read: 84

Time reading: 1 hr 26 min

Books completed: 2

Blogs visited: 3

Mini-challenges completed: 1


Total pages: 84

Total time reading: 5 hr 24 min

Total books completed: 2

Total blogs visited: 5

Total challenges completed: 2 (Intro and Book Sentence)


I'm finally done with "Stiff"!!!! No more rotting corpses for me - at least not the literal variety - and I'm starting to read physical books instead of just listening to them. My parents stopped over to drop something off and ended up staying for over an hour, so I lost some good reading time. But that's okay - it helped keep me awake. Now it's just starting to get a little darker outside, and I'm worried that when it's pitch black in a couple of hours that I'll crash and want to take a nap! Alright, back to reading. How is everyone else doing?

Hour 9


This mini-challenge, hosted by Midnight Book Girl, invites you to make a sentence out of your book titles. Mine reads "Things in the night, bound to shadows, committed the murder at the vicarage". Spooky, right?

Hour 7

And I have yet to touch a page! I'm nearly done with "Stiff", which, though incredibly interesting and funny, is more stomach-turning than I expected. Yuck.

Pages read: 0

Time reading: 2 hours (all in “Stiff” by Mary Roach)

Books completed: 0

Blogs visited: 1

Mini-challenges completed: 0

Total pages: 0

Total time reading: 3 hr 58 min

Total books completed: 0

Total blogs visited: 2

Total challenges completed: 1 (Intro)

Hour 4

Still stuck on audio, but I'm feeling the need to run an errand, so I'm stuck listening to cadaver stories for a while yet.

Pages read: 0

Time reading: 1 hr 58 min (all audio). I'm listening to "Bet Me" by Jennifer Crusie and "Stiff" by Mary Roach

Books completed: 0

Blogs visited: 1

Mini-challenges completed: 1(“Intro”)

Total pages: 0

Total time reading: 1 hr 58 min

Total books completed: 0

Total blogs visited: 1

Total challenges completed: 1

Good Morning (Or, Hour 1)

Well, I overslept by a half hour, so yay Read-a-thon! I'm trying to catch up on my missed morning jobs while listening to an audiobook so it still counts as reading time.

Hour 1 Meme

1) Where are you reading from today?
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

2) Three random facts about me...
Skip-Bo is one of my favorite games, I own enough essential oils to practically open my own shop, and a giant snake has peed on me.

3) How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
28, according to my earlier post, but there are a couple of books that I'm thinking of starting today, so - 30.

4) Do you have any goals for the Read-a-thon?
I'd like to read 6 books, whether from start to finish or not. Really, I just need to thin out my TBR books, so I'll probably be reading faster today than I would normally. Well, until I get too tired, that is. :)

5) If you're a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Have fun, and take a break if you need to! Sometimes you just need to not be sitting down with a book in your hand, and that's okay.

Alright, off to it!

Friday, October 21, 2011

It's almost time...


Here's a quick shot of my TBR stack for tomorrow's read-a-thon. From Left to Right, Top to Bottom, they are:

"Moomin, The Complete Comic Strip, Vol. 2" by Tove Jansson
"Britten and Brulightly" by Hannah Berry
"Alice in Sunderland" by Bryan Talbot
"Radioactive" by Lauren Redniss
"Asterios Polyp" by David Mazzucchelli
"Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel
"The Pagan Stone" by Nora Roberts
"Deadly Desire" by Keri Arthur (already started)
"Summer" by Edith Wharton (already started)
"I.O.U." by Nicholas Adams
"Camera" by Jean-Philipe Toussaint
"Savage" by Jacques Jouet
"My Paris" by Gail Scott
"Henrietta's War" by Joyce Dennys
"Sizeable Reflections" ed. by Shelley Bovey
"The Family Under the Bridge" by Natalie Savage Carlson
"The Vampyre" by John William Polidori
"A House to Let" by Charles Dickens
"The Pedant and the Shuffly" by John Bellairs
"Radiator Days" by Lucy Knisley
"Griffin & Sabine", "Sabine's Notebook", "The Golden Mean" and "The Venetian's Wife" all by Nick Bantock
"Dracula's Heir" by Sam Stall

Plus, I'm listening to two more on my iPod - "Stiff" by Mary Roach and "Bet Me" by Jennifer Crusie.

Of course, I'd like to read all of them tomorrow, and while they're all short (and most have pictures) I don't know if that's really feasible. That's still a lot of pages to get through. Okie dokie, I'm going to turn this computer off and head to bedfordshire. See you all in about 8 hours!

Friday, October 14, 2011

It's Alive!


Photo credit: crazy-frankenstein.com

Helloooo there! Yes, I am alive, despite my overly-long absence of six months. I apologize to the few hangers-on that are still here. But what can I say? Life just got in the way, and each time I thought to come back and update here, some kind of shiny object popped up in front of me and I quickly forgot.

To update you, I still have Job #1 and #2, with the addition of Job #3, still doing #1 but renting a room from an established MT closer to my house. It's going okay, but it's not what I thought it would be, and it's not going to change (the issue is with the owner - nothing hairy, but we just have very different ideas as to how an MT business should be run) so I'm on the lookout for another room to rent in the same area. I have to say, doing this just a few miles from my house has made my life a heck of a lot easier and I look forward to going to work again. There are still one to three days a week that I'm back at my old place, and that's just fine, but my concentration is on my new business. Please cross your fingers that I'll find somewhere else nearby to rent before the snow flies!

In book news, I'm clipping right along. As of this morning I've read 117 books, which is probably the most I've read in one year in my adult life. This is mostly due to the fact that I am not working a ton, and it's also due to my love of audio books. Each time I drive I've got a book playing, it's hardly ever music. That alone ups me at least 2 books a month. The realization that not every book I read will be The Book I Adore also helps. Every time I picked up a new title, I'd think "Okay, here we go, new favorite book", and really? That never happens, especially when you're hoping that it will. Instead, I've given myself permission to skim-read if something isn't really grabbing me. It may sound trivial, but it's helped for sure.

My new reading goal for the year is to complete my LibraryThing 11-11 Challenge before next week Saturday (only 4 more books to go, shouldn't be much of a problem) so that I can read guilt-free for both Dewey's Read-a-Thon next weekend and for the rest of the year. There are a lot of books that I've owned for years and that while I'd still like to read them I know I'm not going to want to keep them. I'm hoping to get through a fair chunk of them before 2012 starts.

Otherwise, to quote Peter Gabriel, "same as it ever was". I'm still working on de-papering my house (an on-going battle to be sure) and letting things go. My sentimental soul wants to keep everything in some kind of a preserved "Laura Museum" which is ridiculous and doesn't let me fully live my life, so culling what goes and what stays has become a new priority. Parents are good, the cats are doing well (and are, unbelievably, 8 years old) and things just keep on rolling here in Wisconsin. I'll do my best to keep up with Ye Olde Blog in the future, and you can certainly expect a flurry of posts next weekend.

Take care until next time!




Sunday, April 10, 2011

Hello again, people




Well, I've slept for a whopping 4 hours, I'm still deeply tired and feel some residual "crazy" lurking around here, but hey - I'm awake and it's extremely sunshine-y outside. Ignoring my vampiric tendencies today, I'm going to try and stay up for at least a couple of hours before crashing again. Yeah, that may not happen.

Final numbers

Pages read: 432 (yay for pictures!)

Total: 1,664

Time reading: 1 hr 38 min

Total: 14 hrs 8 min (3 hr 40 min audiobooks)

Books completed: 7

Blogs visited: 0

Total: 4

Mini-challenges completed: 2 (“Collaborative Fiction” and “In Other Words”)


Final Meme

1) Which hour was most daunting for you?

They were both near the end, but between 3 and 4 am was pretty bad (and unintentionally funny), and the last hour between 6 and 7 am. Focusing was something I had to really concentrate one.

2) Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

The Hex Hall series by Rachel Dawkins really worked for me this time around. Previously though, I've had a lot of luck with books by Rhys Bowen, Shirley Jackson, and the Womens Murder Club series by James Patterson.

3) Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

The only thing that I enjoyed the previous time was having a list of all of the mini-challenges posted at the beginning. That way I could plan on having some breaks ahead of time.

4) What do you think worked really well in this year's Read-a-thon?

Everything else! I eagerly wait for this event every 6 months - any way to make October happen any sooner?

5) How many books did you read?

I finished 7 and read from 3 more.

6) What were the names of the books you read?

I read from and didn't finish "Eat, Pray, Love", "Matched" by Ally Condie, and "The Royals" by Kitty Kelley.

I finished "The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries" by Emily Brightwell

"Feng Sh*t" by Anna Crosbie

"Henrietta Sees It Through" by Joyce Dennys

"Daddy Long-Legs" by Jean Webster

"Demonglass" by Rachel Hawkins

"Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights" by Sophie Dahl

"Amphigorey Also" by Edward Gorey

7) Which book did you enjoy most?

Demonglass, for sure. The wait for book number 3 is already driving me crazy, and this one was just published!

8) Which did you enjoy least?

Of the ones I finished, "Feng Sh*t". The ones I didn't finish, "The Royals". It was just too much of the same thing after 2 hours to keep hacking away at.

9) If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year's Cheerleaders?

N/A

10) How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

A Reader, for sure. I'd think about being a Cheerleader, but I so enjoy that long (usually) uninterrupted stretch of reading time that right now it's hard to think about breaking it up at all.


Alright, I think it's time to make some breakfast (at 12:30 in the afternoon), watch some mindless TV and take another nap or two. See you all later!




Ugh

Well, I made it 'til the end, but I'm so exhausted that I'm heading straight to bed. I'll be back here later on for a final update and things.

Thanks to everyone for hanging in there with me!

Hour 22

Pages read: 329

Total: 1,232

Time reading: 2 hrs 9 min

Total: 12 hrs 30 min (3 hr 40 min audiobooks)

Books completed: 5

Blogs visited: 0

Total: 4

Mini-challenges completed: 2 (“Collaborative Fiction” and “In Other Words”)


Holy crap, I am sooo tired. It's 4:30 in the morning, and I think it's officially time to switch to Books With Pictures. I was getting hungry earlier so I made a snack of some leftover chicken and coleslaw. While reading, I was rocking myself, eating coleslaw, and singing "Soft Kitty" out loud. Yeah. I think I lost it there for a little bit.

Not a high point in my life, to be sure, but I'm going to keep at it. If only I wasn't getting so comfortable with these snuggly warm cats, it's getting hard to keep my head upright!

Hour 20

At least, I think it's hour 20...

Pages read: 234

Total: 903

Time reading: 1 hr 9 min

Total: 10 hrs 21 min (3 hr 40 min audiobooks)

Books completed: 4

Blogs visited: 0

Total: 4

Mini-challenges completed: 2 (“Collaborative Fiction” and “In Other Words”)


Notes: You know when you start to get really tired and you get cold and tingley and achey all at the same time. That's exactly where I am. No upright position feels comfortable, and I know if I lay down I will be asleep within 10 minutes, so I have to sit up somehow. I'm halfway through yet another book and it's good, but it's not really doing it for me totally. Oh well. Maybe if I try sitting in the recliner I'd be comfortable but won't fall asleep. Only one way to find out...

start of Hour 19

Pages read: 103

Total: 669

Time reading: 1 hr 3 min

Total: 9 hrs 12 min (3 hr 40 min audiobooks)

Books completed: 3

Blogs visited: 1

Total: 4

Mini-challenges completed: 2 (“Collaborative Fiction” and “In Other Words”)


I've finished book #3, so I've hit my goal! And it's a good thing too, because I am getting quite sleepy, and there are 6 full hours ahead of me. Now I'm wondering about what to read next. Do I start on something with pictures? Try and make a little progress in The Royals? Pick a new book entirely? Try and finish something else I'm currently reading? Maybe I should just shut my eyes, grab a book and take it from there. I ate a greek yogurt with blueberries thinking it would help me stay awake, but it hasn't been so helpful. Maybe something resembling more of a meal would do it.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Hour 16

Pages read: 292

Total: 566

Time reading: 3 hr 36 min (1 hr 20 min audio)

Total: 8 hrs 9 min (3 hr 40 min audiobooks)

Books completed: 2

Blogs visited: 0

Total: 3

Mini-challenges completed: 2 (“Collaborative Fiction” and “In Other Words”)

Notes: Wahoo, I finished another book! This time it was the excellent "Demonglass" - I was reading so fast to find out what happens, and now it's all over and I have to wait FOR MONTHS before the next book is published! I hate that and I love it a little at the same time. It's been awhile since I've been so enthralled with a series. Hm, now that that's over with I'm not sure what to read. There are still 8ish hours left in this thing, so I don't want to break out my "books with pictures" just yet, I only have so many of those on hand. Maybe I'll try to slog through another 80 or so pages of "The Royals". Originally I was hoping to finish it this time around, but it gets a little same-y the more I read it so I think I'm dropping that hope. Unfortunately, my eyes are starting to hurt a little, so I'm going to start on the eye drops and hope that helps. See you all again soon!

Hour 12

Mid-event Meme

1. What are you reading right now?

"The Royals" by Kitty Kelly

2. How many books have you read so far?

I've only finished one, but including Royals I've read from two others.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

I think "Demonglass" by Rachel Hawkins. I zoomed through the first book in the series quite quickly, and this one is just as good (though I'm only 60ish pages into it).

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Not really. I just made sure to not schedule any appointments Fri-Sun, and cancelled the weekly "Girls Night" I have with two of my best friends. We've done GN after the last couple of Thons, and it was really not a good idea.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Um, yes, definitely. Called the plumber, he was here within 15 minutes and then he didn't leave for a few hours. Other than that one massive and unexpected interruption, just the usual stuff - scratch the cats, grab something to eat, finish up a load of laundry.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon so far?

Honestly? At how fast time is going - I feel like I blink and 2 hours have passed!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the read-a-thon next year?

Not so far.

8. What would you differently, as a Reader or Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Nothing really - you can't plan for sewage back-ups, can you? ;)

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Shockingly, no. Though I'm afraid I might have jinxed myself just now!

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

I'm a big advocate for audiobooks. When it's very late and holding up a book is too tiring, being able to just sit and listen is a great thing.


Hour 12 Update

Pages read: 88

Total: 274

Time reading: 1 hr 35 min

Total: 4 hrs 33 min

Books completed: 1

Blogs visited: 0

Total: 3

Mini-challenges completed: 2


Actual reading has happened - it's a miracle! I'm enjoying the book - "The Royals" by Kitty Kelley - but I think I'll have to switch books for a little while. I'm hoping that I can finish this one up before the Thon is over, but I've got 350 pages to go, and I've got a few others that I've been saving for this event so we'll have to wait and see. I've had two cups of English Breakfast tea, but some real food will have to be eaten soon - reading apparently make you very hungry!

Hour 10

Pages read: 42

Total: 186

Time reading: 42 min

Total: 2 hrs 58 min

Books completed: 1

Blogs visited: 3

Total: 3

Mini-challenges completed: 2 ( "Collaborative Fiction" and BrownGirl Bookspeak's "In Other Words")


Since my last check-in, I have had some major plumbing issues. I went down to the basement to throw in a load of laundry, and sewage was coming out of the floor drain - lovely. So, I called my parents and the plumber, and it's as fixed as it's going to get for now. At least I can use my own bathroom (instead of my neighbors) and won't have to worry about it happening again, at least until this read-a-thon is over! ARGH! I've lost too many hours to this going on, which I'm hoping I can make up for later on. Shit.

At any rate, I'm planning on getting right back into reading as soon as I make myself a cup of tea and change loads of laundry.

Hour 4

Pages read: 144

Total: 144

Time reading: 1 hr 15 min

Total: 2 hrs 16 min

Books completed: 1

Blogs visited: 3

Total: 3

Mini-challenges completed: 1


Notes: Ran to the post office, did a little work for Job #2, all while listening to "Eat, Pray, Love". I'm getting ready to turn off the audiobook for awhile and start physically reading again. Oops! - need to let the cats upstairs for a little playtime first. There, all done.

Also had breakfast, my second cup of coffee (I think that's all the caffeine I can handle for awhile), and while I can't say it's exactly sunny outside, it is getting brighter. Kind of like someone is turning up the brightness knob on a television set. (Anyone else out there remember when TV's had knobs instead of buttons?)

Hour 2

A little late, almost hour 3 really, but I didn't want to stop reading.

Pages read: 144

Total: 144

Time reading: 1 hr 1 min

Total: 1 hr 1 min

Books completed: 1

Blogs visited: 0

Total: 0

Mini-challenges completed: 0

I think I'll have to take a break and hop in the shower. I need to mail something out at the post office and find something to eat. Will be back before you know it!