Dewey Day, Part 2

We're nearing the halfway point, so I thought it was time for another check-in. After the last time I was here I took a shower and dressed, and then took a walk with my audiobook (Murder on the Orient Express) while the sun was warm enough to counteract the cold breeze. After talking to my Mom and ordering lunch/dinner, I watched a few Parks & Rec episodes, ate, and randomly picked up a book, finishing it cover to cover! It's weird how little I've planned, and how much reading I'm getting done while still goofing off a bit. 

Mid-Event Survey

1.What are you reading right now? I'm getting ready to get back into "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children".
2. How many books have you read so far? I've finished three and am partway through two others.
3. What book are you most looking forward to in the second half? I still haven't picked up any Kaoru Mori, but my big "Shakespeare: His Life and Times" book is starting to call my name.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Well, except for the phone call, the only interruptions have been of my own doing. I'm just rolling with it!
5. What surprises you most about the Readathon so far? How much I'm actually reading!

Midnight - hour 18

I've already had to break out the eyedrops and glasses, and I participated in the Diversity Selfie challenge for hour 17.

"Whitefly" is a Moroccan crime thriller, and "Kaoru Mori: Anything & Something" is a sort of short story manga collection. 

Sleepiness is getting stronger all the time. My new deal with myself is that I can sleep for a few hours when I finish "Miss Peregrine..." and at the rate I'm reading, that should be in a little over an hour. Here's hoping I can make it! Maybe a little snack would help? I'd make some tea, but I'm afraid I'd make too much noise or break something in the process. 

Finish

I ended up making it until after 3AM, which was kind of amazing. After I dropped my hardcover book on my face three times, I went to bed and promptly woke up, so I read for a bit before forcing myself to try and sleep. My alarm went off at 5:30, and I ignored it, opting to just stay there, all nice and cozy. 

End of Event Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Weirdly, it was the afternoon. After lunch, I went for a walk and then got sucked into TV for awhile.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next time? The only one I read this time would be the William Shakespeare biography for kids. It's oversized, and there were a lot of envelopes with letters to open and read, mini books to flip through, a family tree to unfold - it was fun to have things to do!

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the readathon next time? Nope, you guys did a GREAT job this time around, especially seeing how big this has gotten, and how easily it could have been awkward and ungainly. 

4. What do you think worked really well this time? I can't put my finger on it, but things seemed to be very well scheduled and they seemed to run like a well-oiled machine. Maybe that's just a weird perception I have, but you ladies seem to have figured out the best way to run this show. Kudos! 

5. How many books did you read? I finished 7, and listened to part of another one. I read 1,192 pages and listened to 45 minutes in about 9 hours. It seems like there should be more there for both, but that's still not bad!

6. What were the names of the books you read? I listened to "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie, and read "Wayward, Volume 1: String Theory" by Jim Zub, "William Shakespeare: His Life and Times" by Kristen McDermitt, "I'm Over All That" by Shirley MacLaine, "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs, "Dirty Rowdy Thing" by Christina Lauren, "Vivian Apple at the End of the World" by Katie Coyle, and "Kaoru Mori: Anything & Something" by Kaoru Mori.

7. Which book did you enjoy the most? I liked them all, but I think "Vivian Apple..." was the best. It's such fast reading, and the characters and storyline pulled me in.

8. Which did you enjoy the least? Eh, I'll say the Shirley MacLaine. I still liked it, but it was little essay-lettes, so it was easy to skim the parts I wasn't crazy about.

9. How likely are you to participate again, and in which role? I'll for sure be back, and I'll be a reader again. I keep saying I'll maybe cheer the next time, but I really prefer to focus on books and stopping in occasionally to cheer people. 


I missed my readathon buddy, Sherry Ann, but I know I'll see her in October. And this was the first time I used instagram, and it was a lot of fun! Loved seeing everyone and their updates, I'm excited to use it again. Plus, it was much easier to update on instagram versus coming here every time. I think it helped me to read in a more focused way, though it was easier to get lost looking at #readathon things. 

And now, as per usual, I'll spend the rest of the day taking naps and reading. Yay for busting out of my months-long book funk! See you all in October, if not before! :)

It's Dewey's Readathon Day!

Good afternoon, Readers! It's 2 PM here in my part of the world, and I'm deep into reading for the day. Why not here earlier, you ask? Because my computer decided to be difficult so I shut it down after 2 hours of trying to fix it and just concentrated on books instead. It seems to be working just fine now, though, so...*shrug* who knows?!? 

I'll get started on official stuff right below here, but wanted to say that so far I'm having a good day, and really enjoying all of the #readathon stuff on instagram. I'm looking forward to seeing what I missed at the homepage, but first, a walk is in order while it's still sunny and nice outside!  

What started off as an already late start got even more screwy with computer stuff, but as it is, I'd planned less reading for this go-'round than usual. Recently I moved a bookshelf and rearranged all of my graphic novels/comics/manga/illustrated titles on it, so there's that that I'd like to pull from.  

And then there's my barely touched and nearly complete run of the Art of the Novella series published by Melville House that I'd like to read from.

And, of course, I'd like to finish up more of some of the books that I've been currently reading for months. Because yes, it has been multiple weeks of reading for about a dozen books. #bookfunk But no matter, because I seem to have busted through it, and I'm reading away!

Opening Meme

1. What part of the world are you reading from today?  My book-filled house outside of Milwaukee, WI.
2. What book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Probably one of my Kaoru Mori books. 
3. What snack are you most looking forward to? I planned snacks poorly this time around. But I think I'll order a pizza soon, so that's something! I've got a salad, a beef burrito, scalloped potatoes, and some leftover sausage, broccoli, and pasta thing I made on Thursday. Plus, Girl Scout cookies! :)
4. Tell us a little something about yourself! This is something in the late-teens for me, for Dewey's, so I've done this quite a few times! I'm a massage therapist, have two cats who are my kids, and I've recently gotten glasses! They seem to be needed mostly when my eyes get tired, though, so they'll for sure be used later.
5. If you participated last time (yes) what's one thing different you'll do today? The biggest thing I'm doing differently, aside from not really planning my TBR pile, is that I'm planning on sleeping. A nap or two, for sure, but sleep will be done! It screws me up for the next few days if I don't sleep at all (or enough), and there's no point in fighting it. 

Hour 2 Mini-Challenge
Hosted by Allison at Readage: Snapshots from a Reading Life, and she wants us to list our top 5 reading moments from our childhood. While this may not be exactly my top 5, they're ones that stand out in my memory. 
1. The first book I remember reading on my own, where reading "clicked" for me, was in the early days of kindergarten. I can feel myself sitting on that tiny chair, going through the motions, when it dawned on me that I could understand it. In a prescient, and typical me, fashion, I put that unknown book down, and picked up "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle, knowing that that was a book I'd remember forever. And I do!
2. My friend, Jessica, and I passed around V.C. Andrews books like crazy in late grade school and middle school, at first sneakily, and then just out in the open. I remember that she read the "Flowers in the Attic" series and I didn't, but we both read the "Heaven/Casteel" series, "My Sweet Audrina", the "Dawn/Cutler" series, and the "Ruby/Landry" series. I wish I'd saved them all, but I only have a few that I held onto.
3. When I was growing up, Disney didn't really have any animated films out (just the Sword and the Stone, Return to Oz, and this next one). So I spent a good chunk of time with book and record sets, and the one I could never get through more than once, was "The Fox and the Hound". The bear on side two really scared me, and the ending of that story so scarred me that first time, that even just thinking about it now, my eyes are pricking with tears. Still can't watch the movie at all!
4. Amelia Bedelia and her hijinks stand out as special moments for me. I remember laughing in the school library and checking them out over and over again.
5. One of our neighbors was British, and when she'd come home from visiting her parents, she always (very kindly) remembered to bring me a present. So she introduced me to 
"Paddington Bear", the Noddy books, especially "Noddy at the Seaside", the works of Jill Barklem, and one of my all-time favorite books, "Peterkin Pollensnuff" by Jenny Partridge.


Hour 9 Mini-Challenge
This time, Nea at my life is a fairytale that will never end, wants us to share a quote from the book we're currently reading. 

The murderer is with us -- on the train now...

It's from "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie.

And now that I've spent a whole bunch of time catching up with Dewey's and taking a walk, I think I'll hit the books again and start a new post next time I'm back. Hope everyone is plowing through their TBRs! 

 

Bout of Books #15

Hello, and Happy New Year to you all! I hope your holiday season was merry, bookish, and didn't break the bank! Here's to an excellent 2016 for all of us. 

This is the first time that I've actually remembered that a) Bout of Books has started and b) it's still early enough to sign up to participate! This will be my one place to update for the whole week. And if you'd like to join in the fun, here's the link! And for those who don't know about it, here's a little info:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 15 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'd like to set my goal for the week at reading 5 books. It doesn't matter if I've already started them or not, but this should be enough of a challenge to keep me motivated throughout the next few days, and hopefully won't lead to me panic-reading over the weekend. Hope you can all join in, and happy reading to you all!

Day 1
No books finished yesterday, but I did make some progress in one of my current reads. 
Pages read: about 60
Titles: Watchful Thinking by H.P. Mallory and something on my Kindle, will update this later
Challenge: Introduction in six words "So many books so little time"

Day 2
Pages read: 75 (will probably read more when I get home tonight)
Books finished: The Bassoon King by Rainn Wilson
Challenge: answer some "would you rather" bookish questions, hosted at Writing My Own Fairy Tale. 

• I would rather lend books to someone who dog-ears pages than some who reads with Cheeto fingers.
• I would rather be able to meet one character of my choice than one author of my choice.
• I'd rather never be allowed in a bookstore again than never be allowed in a library again! (Think of the money I'd save!)
• I'd rather have to pick one of my favorite couples to break up in their book than choose one of my favorite characters to die in their book.
• I'd rather be required to read Twilight once a year for the rest of my life than The Scarlet Letter once a year for the rest of my life. (I mean, neither are great options, but I can barely get through TSL, and I can at least speed read T.)

Days 3, 4, 5
Not much got read, I was too busy working and running errands.

Day 6
Pages read: about 275
Books finished: Is She Available? by Igor Goldkind and Peril At End House by Agatha Christie
Challenge: Take a picture of your favorite cozy reading spot, hosted by Once Upon A Chapter.

I love my couch! I've got pillows propped just right, I can use natural light for most of the day, and I can see the fireplace too. May not be the neatest, most photographable place, but it's the best!

Day 7
This is weird that today's the last day for BoB! I wish real life would have cooperated a little more, but that's okay. The plan for the day is just to catch up on books that I'm already in the middle of, maybe a few shorter library books that are due soon, and I'm going to "let myself" pick one GN off of my shelves that I've wanted to read for a long time. All I have to do is pick up the house a little and do more laundry, so I've got plenty of time to read! 

The final stretch...

I fell asleep!!!!!

And stayed there. I sort of remember looking at the clock around 5 AM, and thinking that I needed to get up, and then suddenly it was 9:30. Shoot! Some of my favorite RATs were ones where I either stayed awake the whole time (no longer an option) or took a short nap and then forced myself to stay awake for the final hours. I'd like to get back to that. 

image from quotesgram.com

Despite my missing the end, I had a really fun time! I felt more relaxed about it all, which was a nice change from normal life. While, yes, I do wish I had read more (and not gotten hooked into TV at lunchtime) and been able to stay awake longer, I had so much fun! My favorite Readathon Pal, Sherry Ann, helped me get through it all. Thanks, buddy! I don't think I could do this without you! And being on Instagram was a blast too, it was great chatting with other readers in a more casual setting. And one of my favorite bloggers left me a comment, which made me happier than it maybe should have. But I love her and think she's great, so nyah. 

It also helped to have done a big cleaning binge over the last week at my house so I didn't notice the paperwork clutter quite as much as usual. But in April I'll have to do a better job and figure out some places to take pictures ahead of time so I'm not scrambling, turning in a circle in my living room, going "Uuuuhhhhh..." for a long time. 

One of the many nice things about the 'thon, though, is that for the day after it's over I read like crazy, trying to finish up the things I couldn't or didn't get to. And who couldn't use some renewed reading vigor?!? Here's what the rest of my day looks like - plus coffee, of course, or I'd sleep for long stretches again. I'll see you all in the spring!

Closing Survey

1. What hour was most daunting for you?
For sure Hour 19, or 1AM - that's when I fell asleep and passed out for 8 hours! Not good, and unlike me to not wake up in that time.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books to keep a reader engaged for next year?
Any kind of graphic novel is a good choice, so pick what sounds good to you. This time around, I really enjoyed reading Mindy Kaling's latest book. I partially listened to it and partially read it, and I like having that option for one book. It ups my chances of finishing it in time to count it!

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the RAT next time?
No! You guys do such an amazing job and work so dang hard. It feels like a nicely oiled machine at this point, thrumming along happily without any major hiccups.

4. What do you think worked really well this RAT?
The cheering seemed to be happening on a good schedule all over the place - did you guys do something different there? I suspect yes, but you've always been good at it, so what do I know?

5. How many books did you read?
I finished four and read from two more.

6. Which book did you enjoy most?
One of the ones I didn't finish, "The Haunted Looking Glass" by Edward Gorey. This collection of classic ghost/scary stories was just right, I could pick it up and leave it at any point, and it was perfectly creepy for this time of year!

7. Which did you enjoy least?
"Sex Criminals: Volume 2" by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky. I really enjoyed the first trade edition of this series, and this second volume seemed to shift gears somehow. I'll be interested to see how they develop The Quiet a little more next time (and with some awesome new characters - I love Robert Rainbow!), and how or what they can do to deal with the Sex Police. Like, how in the heck did they even become who they are? I dunno. It was still a solid read, but I was expecting more bank robberies like the first time. Also, this sounds like a supremely dirty book, but it's really not. If you can handle some fairly honest things about sex, and a few drawings of naked people, you'll see that it's really not a filth-fest like it sounds. 

8. If you were a Cheerleader...
I wasn't.

9. How likely are you to participate again, and in what role?
Of course I'll be back again! You'd think that after all of these years I'd have it all figured out by now, but I really don't. I really need to sleep, and while I did so this time right when I should have, I forgot to set an alarm, so I just stayed asleep. 

Hour 19

...or, here's hoping I'm still awake! 

It's nearly 1 AM, the start of hour 19, and I'm really getting tired. I think I'll take a nap after this update and then be back at it in a couple of hours. The longer I resist sleep, the more I'll wipe out. After dinner (at 10 PM), I put the TV on to help give me something else to concentrate on and keep me going. It's worked so far, but I'm starting to nod off and I don't want to lose my place. Aside from being awake for this long, Time Team may be an excellent Readathon companion!

Pages read: 124

Time reading: 90 minutes

Total pages read: 491

Total time reading: 7.5 hours

Challenges completed: 7 (Intro, Mid-event, and Hours 2, 6, 7, 8, 11, & 12)

Books finished: 4 (Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling, A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson, Sex Criminals: Volume 2, and Immortal In Death)

And now, time for a Disco Nap!

The third quarter already?!?

8:45 - Hour 14

Instagram was a small distraction, but mostly I've been reading. I took a walk, just long enough to get a chunk of my audiobook in and lose the feeling in my fingers. Brr! And since I finished two books, I think it's time for a snack and to see what I feel like reading next.

Pages read:120
Time listening: 35 minutes
Time reading: 1 hour 20 minutes
Books finished: "A Wreath for Emmett Till" by Marilyn Nelson and "Why Not Me?" by Minday Kaling

I also did the Hour 11 Challenge, but maybe a little too late. Hosted by one of my favorite blogs, Fig & Thistle, you had to post a picture of yourself with a thumbs up or thumbs down for Pumpkin Spice and all related things. I am very firmly #TeamPumpkinSpice. (And sorry for my pale face and crazy hat hair - what can I say, I wasn't expecting any selfies today!)

6:30 PM - Hour 12

Not possible it's already half over, nope, no way. I have done a crappier job than usual, which is really saying something. I need to stop putzing around the house, make some coffee, grab some water and get my butt in a chair!

But first, it's time for a stat update, it's been awhile.

Total pages read: 367
Total time reading: 6 hours. Ish.
Challenges complete: 6! (Intro, Hours 2, 6, 7, 8, & 12)
Books finished: 2 (Sex Criminals: Volume 2, Immortal in Death)


Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?
My Edward Gorey ghost story collection. And I'm about to start Nimona.

2. How many books have you read so far?
Two that I've finished, and I'm working on a few more.

3. What book are you most looking forward to in the second half of the RAT?
I'm not sure yet - mostly I'm excited that I haven't gone into overdrive planning what I "need" to read, and will choose something that feels right.

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Uh, I let them distract and interrupt me? Now that the day is winding down, though, I expect I'll be able to concentrate in longer stretches. 

5. What surprises you most about the RAT so far?
How fast it's going! Seriously, is there some kind of a time warp going on that I'm unaware of? 

The next 6

3:00 PM / Hour 9

Well, that was some wasted time! I grabbed lunch, ate, and then got sucked into TV. Whoops! Time to buckle down and get focused again. I've pulled a couple of GNs, and a new book too, so as soon as I'm done here I'll be back at it! 

Hour 8 Challenge

Hosted by Books, The Universe, and Everything. Armchair Traveling! It's one of my favorite things about reading. If you could be transported to the setting of a novel, what book would you choose, and where would it transport you? 

I'd love to be able to visit rural 1950's Britain and the fictional world of one Miss Flavia de Luce. Seeing Buckshaw, the crumbling family estate, the small village of Bishop's Lacey, and wandering in the spooky woods would be such a thrill! (I realize that this place doesn't actually exist, but small rural English villages do!) And if I could spy Flavia speeding past on Gladys, or Dogger in the greenhouse, that would be even better. 

image found on bunnylake's Tumblr page via Google

1:15 PM

No updates yet, per se, as I've been dithering around online in the last 45 minutes. And I'll probably be doing more of the same for awhile. I'll be heading out to pick up some lunch soon, and will watch a little TV too. I think a graphic novel may be up next for me. 

Hour 7 Challenge

This one is hosted by The Secrets In Books. The challenge is to share your creepy Halloween read. I have a couple of scary reads in mind for the rest of the month, but I chose "The Haunted Looking Glass", a collection of short stories chosen and illustrated by one of my favorites, Edward Gorey. I'm hoping to get through several of these today, and that by their relative short nature and various authors, I'll be all different kinds of scared!

The first 6 hours

12:30 PM

Despite some phone calls, I finished my first book! 

Pages read: 127
Time reading: about 2 hours
Challenges done:
Snacks: Coffee and that doughnut. I'm hungry for actual food!

Hour 6 Challenge
Top Ten, hosted by Jessica. Make a Readathon top ten list, not too hard!

10. Have fun!
9. Have some snacky treats on hand - Jessica's right, 'thon calories don't count!
8. Try a new genre of book. It'll help keep you awake and interested.
7. Plan a favorite title or author, it's nice to have something to look forward to.
6. Cheer, whether officially or unofficially. I've made some great readathon friends over the years, and I always like to visit them and a few new people too.
5. Take the day off from real life. It's one day. Probably things can wait until tomorrow. And if they can't, carve a few longer stretches of time for reading. 
4. Don't sweat the small stuff. Even though it's a blast, don't feel like you need to do every mini-challenge or follow Instagram or Twitter constantly. It's about you enjoying yourself in whatever way works best for you, no pressure!
3. Naps are essential. Missing an hour of reading time will only allow you to read easier from then on. 
2. Plan a little trip for yourself. Usually I run a small errand and listen to an audiobook at the same time. It helps to get out of the house and get some fresh air.
1. Have fun! Seriously, it bears repeating. :)


Total pages read: 212
Total time reading: 3 hours
Challenges completed: Intro, Hours 2 and 6
Books finished: 1 ("Immortal in Death" by J.D. Robb)

9:30 AM

After managing to waste away nearly an hour (thanks so much, iPhone games!) I got tucked into a book and made some decent progress. As usual, I'm shocked by how fast the time goes, and by how little I'm actually reading.

Pages read: 85

Time reading: an hour

Challenges done: Intro meme, Hour 2

Snacks: So far just coffee and water, but a blueberry doughnut is calling my name...

Hour 2 Challenge

Cover Escape, hosted by Unabridged Chick. The challenge is to post a book cover you'd like to escape into. I sort of cheated and picked three different covers. While the Paris one would involve time travel, and the Venice one a random canal shot (and a heavy filter), I'd have to ultimately pick the Chatsworth book, simply because it's actually possible to achieve. Perhaps not with the Dowager Countess, though, as she's passed away and was probably far too busy to hang with a random chubby American anyways, but still.

The Start

This time around I don't have any big goals. I'd like to finish three books, one of them I start and finish today. I'm currently reading about 10 books, so wrapping up a couple of those would be nice, but I always like to knock out one whole one during a 'thon. I've got some Graphic Novels lined up, some YA, an audiobook or two, Mysteries, and Fiction. And since I prepared as little as ever, there will be some spontaneous choices made throughout the day too - that makes me pretty darn happy.