My dear, it's the ending

I totally fell asleep. I'm not sure for how long, but I do know that I woke up just before the finish time and just went straight to bed. (But obviously only for a couple of hours - how am I awake right now?) My last update (just after 3AM my time) I turned on my audiobook in an attempt to finish it (I did!), and got one short book and half of another finished before I passed out cold.  

All in all, not a bad RAT. But here's shooting for staying up for all 24 hours next time!  Big big thanks to my favorite cheerleader and buddy Sherry Ann at Sherry Ann's Book Blog for being my friend and companion once again! It wouldn't be the same without you!

The stack of what I finished with the one that I only partially read standing up on the end, from bottom to top to right:

"The Conference of the Birds" by Peter Sis

"The Charlemaigne Pursuit" by Steve Berry (audio)

"The School for Good and Evil" by Soman Chainani

"Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy

"Jim Henson's Return to Labyrinth, V. 1" by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie

"The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" by Gideon DeFoe

"Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me: A Graphic Memoir" by Ellen Forney

********************************

Final Totals:

Total books finished: 6
"The Conference of the Birds" by Peter Sis (160 pgs
"The Charlemagne Pursuit" by Steve Berry (10 hrs 48 min - I'd started this one pre-RAT)

"Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy (166 pgs)

"The School for Good and Evil" by Soman Chainani (488 pgs)

"The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" by Gideon DeFoe (154 pgs)

"Jim Henson's Return To Labyrinth Vol. 1" by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie (208 pgs)

Total time reading: 18 hrs 7 min - 10 hrs 48 min audiobook, 7 hrs 19 min reading

Total pages read: 1,039 (including 115 pages of "Marbles", which I didn't finish)

Total challenges participated in: 9     Hour 1 (introduction questionnaire), Hour 2 (books and music), Hour 3 (book cover/food challenge), Hour 4 (book spine poetry), Hour 12 (Mid-event survey), Hour 13 (Best of Your Reading Year), Hour 19 (library show-off), Hour 20 (commenting/socializing), and Hour 24 (wrap-up survey, below)

Total blogs visited: 10

*********************************

Final Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Once again, 4:00 in the morning got me. That's when sleep seemed unavoidable.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Of the ones that I read this year, I'd say any in The Pirates! series would work, and even though it's a chunkster, "The School for Good & Evil" had so much going on and so many twists that I just wanted to see what would happen at the end.

3. Do you have an suggestions for how to improve the RAT next year?
Nope! It was great, and all of the hosts did an excellent job!

4. What do you think worked really well in this year's RAT?
Honestly, the variation of hosts, the inclusion of videos, and the mini-challenges were all great - um, so everything!

5. How many books did you read?
6 finished, and I read from 1 other

6. What were the names of the books you read?
Please see above

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
It's a tie between "School for Good..." and "The Pirates!..." because they were both engaging and funny and I was never quite sure what the finale would bring.

8. Which did you enjoy least?
My audiobook, "The Charlemagne Pursuit". It was a lot of detailed information, and jumps in both location in time, with short paragraphs, and a narrator that didn't change his voice much from character to character. I was lost a lot of the time. I'd read Steve's books again, but only in print (and as it was, I was glad that I'd grabbed a copy from the library so I could figure out what was going on). Not recommended, especially for something with this format.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, ...
N/A

10. How likely are you to participate again, and in what role?
100%, and as a Reader. I keep toying with the idea of being a cheerleader, but the thought of not reading all the time just bums me out. Who knows, though?!?


Thanks so much to all of the cheerleaders, hosts, and friends who stopped by. I'm headed back to bed and then off to probably read some more!  See you all again soon!

Hour 20

Don't know how I'm still awake, but I am. I think maybe because I'm a little cold that that's helping. 

Books finished: 1

Pages read: 166

Time reading: 1 hr 14 min

****************************************

Total books finished: 4

"Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy (166 pgs)

"The School for Good and Evil" by Soman Chainani (488 pgs)

"The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" by Gideon DeFoe (154 pgs)

"Jim Henson's Return To Labyrinth Vol. 1" by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie (208 pgs)

Total time reading: 14 hrs 22 min - 7 hrs 12 min audiobook, 7 hrs 10 min reading

Total pages read: 764

Total challenges participated in: 8     Hour 1 (introduction questionnaire), Hour 2 (books and music), Hour 3 (book cover/food challenge), Hour 4 (book spine poetry), Hour 12 (Mid-event survey), Hour 13 (Best of Your Reading Year), Hour 19 (see below), and Hour 20 (commenting/socializing)

Total blogs visited: 10

****************************************

Hour 19 Challenge

This challenge, hosted by Dead Book Darling, invites us to post a picture of a treasured book or set of books that we're proud of. Show off our own book porn? Um, OKAY!

My collection of signed Jasper Fforde books is certainly a prized possession. Not just because I love his work (and have a bit of an Author Crush on him),or because it allows me to buy multiple copies of his books in each country they're published, but also because I met one of my best friends at his signing one year ago. 

It's also because he recently came back here for another reading and signing, and not only did he kindly make fun at the obscene amount of books that we brought for him to autograph (5 FULL tote bags!), he smiled and joked with us the whole time he did it. PLUS, the library (where the event was held) had great fake adverts put up all around the room that featured in his books, and he signed a full set of them for each of us!

So now, any doubt as to my purchasing a copy of his newest book in hardcover has been swiftly banished, and instead replaced by a certainty that I will purchase 2 of them and have him just sign one and then sign and personalize the other. I think it's safe to say that I'm a big fan of him and all of his works! 

****************************************

It's getting harder to stay awake, but haven't quite reached that head-nodding stage yet, where facial injury is possible if I read while laying down. Just in case, I'm thinking I should read a paperback.

Anyone else still awake out there?

Hour 18

Well, I had to bust out the popcorn and orange soda to give me that little kick to finish my book!  Now I'm starting to fade, though, and I'm not sure what I feel like reading next. 

Books finished: 1
Pages read: 184
Time reading: 1 hr 19 min

************************


Total books finished: 3
"The School for Good and Evil" by Soman Chainani (488 pgs)
"The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" by Gideon DeFoe (154 pgs)
"Jim Henson's Return To Labyrinth Vol. 1" by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie (208 pgs)

Total time reading: 13 hrs 8 min - 7 hrs 12 min audiobook, 5 hrs 56 min reading

Total pages read: 764

Total challenges participated in: 6     Hour 1 (introduction questionnaire), Hour 2 (books and music), Hour 3 (book cover/food challenge), Hour 4 (book spine poetry), Hour 12 (Mid-event survey), and Hour 13 (Best of Your Reading Year)

Total blogs visited: 7

*****************************

I think I'll wash my face for the night and pick up something smallish to read, probably a graphic novel or something.

How are you all doing?

Hour 15 (with a few challenges thrown in for good measure)

Oy vey. Have finally gotten around to sinking my teeth into a book and it's so good!  I realize that it's been a couple of hours since I last checked in, so I wanted to give an update and check on my RAT buddy Sherry Ann!

Been reading: "The School for Good and Evil" by Soman Chainani

Food: nothing but water, but I'm feeling the munchies starting to hit. Maybe I'll have some OJ to put off eating for awhile, at least until I finish the book.

***************************


Total books finished: 2
"The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" by Gideon DeFoe (154 pgs)
"Jim Henson's Return To Labyrinth Vol. 1" by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie (208 pgs)

Total time reading: 11 hrs 49 min - 7 hrs 12 min audiobook, 4 hrs 37 min reading

Total pages read: 580

Total challenges participated in: 6     Hour 1 (introduction questionnaire), Hour 2 (books and music), Hour 3 (book cover/food challenge), Hour 4 (book spine poetry), Hour 12 (Mid-event survey - see below), and Hour 13 (Best of Your Reading Year - see below below)

Total blogs visited: 7


****************************

Mid-Event Survey
1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?

Yes, getting sleepy most definitely, though my eyes aren't tired yet. It's coming, though.

2) What have you finished reading?
Just two books, both of them enjoyable. "The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" slightly better than the "Return to Labyrinth" manga.

3) What is your favorite read so far?
So far, it's the book I'm reading right now, "The School for Good and Evil". Can't wait to finish it!

4) What about your favorite snacks?
Sadly, it was the salad. But the tater tots are close behind. :)

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!

I couldn't do this without my faithful RAT buddy Sherry Ann @ Sherry Ann's Book Blog! I haven't spent a lot of time reading others blogs, but I have checked out nearly every blog that hosted a mini-challenge!  This spot will have some names in it after the RAT is over with, I promise. For now, I just want to get back to reading!

*******************************

Hour 13 Mini-Challenge - The Best of Your Reading Year

This challenge (hosted by Lisa's World of Books) invites you to pick 3 of 19 categories and answer honestly!

1) Best Author of Your Reading Year: Louise Penny. This was a tough one, but I enjoy and read her books like no others, and I'm gearing up to read my second one of hers this year (the fifth in the Gamache series) and I'm so looking forward to it. 

2) Best Children's Book of the Year: "The Secret Staircase" by Jill Barklem. I totally adore everything about her books, but most especially the illustrations, in this book in particular, are out of this world. I've always loved books that were small (like Beatrix Potter's) and were full of little details and little watercolored illustrations and anthropomorphic animals. Jill's books are a great example of all three of these things, and take me right back to reading them as a child - though I don't think I ever did read her when I was a child, only as an adult. But you know what I mean, right? It just puts me right back to a head full of open wonder. Simply marvelous.

3) Best Graphic Novel Author of the Year: Rick Geary. This is a pick-your-own category, but when I was looking through my list of books that I've read this year, I noticed that not only have I read a lot of Graphic Novels and Mangas, but that the ones I enjoyed the most and felt myself wanting to re-read were by Rick Geary. Picked up totally on a whim, I have since read every copy of one of his books in my library system. There's something about his drawing that's spot-on, and he seems to distill just the exact right amount of information (and deliver it at the right time) that makes reading his work like a little bit of enchantment. Sure, it's enchantment about murders and unsolved crimes from the last couple of hundred years, but it's enchantment all the same to me. 

*******************************

Okay, back to it! Just over a hundred pages to go in my book, and then it's on to something else!

Hour 11

I'm having a hard time concentrating today, despite the fact that all I want to do is read!  

Still reading/listening to "Charlemaigne" (which is starting to drag a bit but has been handy to just turn up and listen to as I putz around the house), and I took a break for an early dinner (I ordered a salad, some tater tots, and a pizza) and watched TV for a bit. But at least I've changed laundry loads and turned off the TV, so here's hoping I can settle myself down for a while.

*********************************

Total books finished: 2
"The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" by Gideon DeFoe (154 pgs)
"Jim Henson's Return To Labyrinth Vol. 1" by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie (208 pgs)

Total time reading: 9 hrs 5 min - 7 hrs 12 min audiobook, 1 hr 53 min reading

Total pages read: 362

Total challenges participated in: 4     Hour 1 (introduction questionnaire), Hour 2 (books and music), Hour 3 (book cover/food challenge), Hour 4 (book spine poetry - see below)

Total blogs visited: 5

Hour 9

My parents were over for just over an hour, and then I finished a book. Just taking a quick break to throw in a load of laundry and try to get Charlemaigne finished. Or well, to be more accurate, closer to being finished. (I'm finally on disc 9 of 13.)

Reading: Charlemaigne...still. 

Books finished: 1 



*****************************

Total books finished: 2
"The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" by Gideon DeFoe (154 pgs)
"Jim Henson's Return To Labyrinth Vol. 1" by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie (208 pgs)

Total time reading: 7 hrs 27 min - 5 hrs 57 min audiobook, 1 hr 53 min reading

Total pages read: 362

Total challenges participated in: 4     Hour 1 (introduction questionnaire), Hour 2 (books and music), Hour 3 (book cover/food challenge), Hour 4 (book spine poetry - see below)

Total blogs visited: 5

******************************

I'll be hitting up "The School for Good and Evil" next (it's one that I really like a lot but haven't touched in a couple of months), and hopefully will have at least 1 load of laundry washed by the time I come back again. 

Hour 6

Less reading being done than I'd planned on, but oh well. I just ran a couple errands (to the post office and the pet store for some food for the kitties), refilled my bird feeders, and got a call from my parents that they're stopping over to cut the cats' nails in a few minutes. Necessary, to be sure, but here's hoping that it doesn't turn into a long visit. (No offense - I love when they come over - I just want to be reading a lot today!) 

Books reading: still listening to "Charlemaigne", and got a start on "The Pirates! and an Adventure with Ahab" by Gideon DeFoe

Time reading since last update:  1 hr 17 min (55 min audio, 23 min reading)

****************************


Total books finished: 1 
"Jim Henson's Return To Labyrinth Vol. 1" by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie

Total time reading: 6 hrs 7 min - 5 hrs 37 min audiobook, 53 min reading

Total challenges participated in: 4     Hour 1 (introduction questionnaire), Hour 2 (books and music), Hour 3 (book cover/food challenge), Hour 4 (book spine poetry - see below)

Total blogs visited: 3

****************************

Parents just pulled up (they brought me lunch - thanks!), so who knows how much reading will get done in the next hour - unless they don't mind listening to my audiobook?!? 

Hour 4

So far, so good. Getting some decent time in to my current audiobook, and I've managed to finish one whole book! (It's a manga, but still.)

Reading: Still listening to Charlemaigne Pursuit
Food: Coffee, water, bagel
Books finished: 1

***********************************

Total books finished: 1 
"Jim Henson's Return To Labyrinth Vol. 1" by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie

Total time reading: 4 hrs 50 min - 4 hrs 20 min audiobook, 30 min reading
(I started early, but I know that I'll need a break in a while so that extra 15 minutes will help deflect some of that time out.)

Total challenges participated in: 4     Hour 1 (introduction questionnaire), Hour 2 (books and music), Hour 3 (book cover/food challenge), Hour 4 (book spine poetry - see below)

Total blogs visited: 3

***********************************

BOOK SPINE POETRY

One of my favorite challenges every time, this time it's being posted/hosted by Capricious Reader. 

Companions along the way,
across the unknown,
the eyes of the killer robot glow

Hour 2 mini-challenge

This challenge is hosted by River City Reading. The challenge is to "choose a song that best suits what you're reading so far and explain why". 

Since I'm currently reading the first volume of "Jim Henson's Return to Labyrinth" manga, I can't seem to keep "Magic Dance" out of my head. The movie came out when I was 8, and I while I loved it, it also really scared me.  Enjoy the awesomeness (sorry about the weird slow-down-cocaine-reference in there) and revel in the awesomeness of Jim Henson, David Bowie, and the '80's!

Time to get to reading!

Good morning!  I don't know about you, but I slept terribly last night and have to idea how I'm upright right now. Thank GOD for coffee! I'm getting started this morning with an audiobook while I finish a few things that didn't get done last night (taking out the garbage, etc), and I'm looking forward to sitting down with a book in hand very soon!

Book I'm starting with: "The Charlemaigne Pursuit" by Steve Berry (I'm just about halfway through with this audiobook)

Food: So far, just coffee for me, but I might scramble a few eggs and toast a bagel too.

And, the beginning questionnaire....

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

My house outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

That's kind of a tough one. I think for now I'll say "The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" by Gideon DeFoe. I really like the movie (which I think is a combination of all of the books, maybe?) and I'm hoping that the books are just as much fun.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Oooh, you know, I didn't really plan that well this time around. It's probably popcorn, though, since I've been on a kick lately.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

Probably nothing new to say since I've done a lot of these. How about chubby white girl who recently quit her third job in order to save whatever's left of her sanity?

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?

Since I slept so badly, I think a nap or two will have to happen today, which is a little different. Last time I let myself fall asleep in the wee hours of the morning but I don't think I'll make it that far without getting a few minutes of sleep in. 

And now, since my cats are "starving" (code for 'we think the bottom of the bowl might be visible') and my coffee maker just beeped, I'd better get started on my day. 

Starting tomorrow...

I'll be here nearly all the time!  Starting at 7AM tomorrow I'll be reading for 24 hours once again (well, trying to read for that long at least)! 

I'm still working at my local library, which has been detrimental to reading my own books, and I've sadly worn out one tote bag so far with all of my hauling back and forth. I've got some books planned out that I want to read, but my other, MUCH larger, pile of TBRs will get a small workout too.

Here's the "planning on reading" pic:

From bottom to top:

"The Unsinkable Walter Bean" by Aaron Reiner

"Notorious Ninteen" by Janet Evanovich

"Marbles" by Ellen Forney

"Jim Henson's Return to Labyrinth, Vol. 1" by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie

"The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" by Gideon DeFoe

"Living Dead in Dallas" by Charlaine Harris

And, the ones standing on their side and the audiobook on the top of the pile (ones I'm currently reading and hope to finish):

"The School for Good and Evil" by Soman Chainani

"The Charlemagne Pursuit" by Steve Berry

"And Another Thing: The World According to Clarson, V. 2" by Jeremy Clarkson

"Shadows at the Fair" by Lea Wait

(not pictured) "Moon Called" by Patricia Briggs

Aside from these, some of my TBR Soon books are two more books each in the Pirates! and Sookie Stackhouse series, a couple of ARCs from publishers, several YA's recommended by my co-workers and boss at the library, and hopefully a few ghost/haunted/spooky titles that will make their way onto my lap come Sunday morning.

For now, I'm going to make my lists (cleaning and shopping), run a couple of errands, and then head in to work this afternoon, where another book or 4 might come home with me. And, hopefully, I'll get to bed early so I can be up to start reading in plenty of time!

See you all soon!

Gearing up for this weekend

Hello, Lads & Lasses! 

Once again, it's just about time for another Dewey's 24-hour read-a-thon, and I'm so happy that I will have off for the whole weekend so I can read to my hearts' content and sleep as much as I want to. 

This past week I took a little time-out for myself, and went Up North with a good friend for a few days. We stayed at her in-law's cottage (hooray for free sleeping!), went ATVing for the first time ever (and took about a hundred photos and had too much fun), took a trip into Minocqua for some shopping, and basically just laid around and read and watched TV. It was a little difficult to get used to having "nothing" to do for more than a day, but as soon as it was time to start getting ready to go, I was totally relaxed and didn't want to leave. Always happens, right? 

The colors were just beautiful, and it smelled so fresh and campfire-y, I wish there was some way to bottle it up. Except for the first night when we could see so many stars and part of the Milky Way, it rained every night. Though on the second night it took a break and we went out to try and see if we could spot the Northern Lights. No such luck, but you could tell that if it wasn't cloudy we could've seen them. As it was, we could just see parts get a little lighter and then fade away again. Oh well - that just means that we'll have to go back and do it next year!

I managed to get 7 books read this week, so I feel like that's a little warm-up for what will hopefully be a higher count this coming weekend. The good news is that I already have a giant stack of books checked out from my library, so I'm crossing my fingers that I won't bring any more home between now and then. Photos of my book piles are forthcoming (one of my favorite parts of the pre 'thon events is checking out everyone else's books they want to read), and I'm already working on a food and snack list for the weekend too. 

Wish I didn't have to work this week (or any week, really), but it'll be nice to get back into the swing of things for a while.