Readathon Updates October 2012

I officially need to pay more attention to when these Readathons happen. Cause I love them, I had a great time participating last April, and last October. Now, a year later, it's time for my third readathon. The lucky bit is that having moved across the country, I was actually awake in time to find out there was a readathon exactly 2 minutes after it started (9:02 AM) so I turned on an audiobook and got started! I'm hopefully going to the movies tonight (Taken 2) with my boyfriend, and I definitely won't be staying up the full 24 hours, but with the start of my PhD I've already been reading these days, so Readathon's timing feels like fate– and how can I say no to that?

Update #1 (9:06 AM-9:38 AM): 

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

The beautiful Atlantic coast in Nova Scotia, Canada. 

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

Honestly, I have not planned what I'm reading at all! So it's hard to say... I have a lot of bulky reads at the moment, which can be sorta defeating during a readathon, so I plan to transfer between books a bunch and also listen to audio. 

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Again, I haven't planned this out. And I'm getting my treat tonight at the movies (probably a Snickers bar, I've wanted one for awhile). I will probably make kale chips though. Yum. 

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm a nearly 24-year-old and I participated in my first Readathon exactly a year ago. You can read about it here (and also see a photo of my hamster who sadly passed away). I'm starting my PhD studying molecular evolution in plants. I'm kinda, definitely, a nerd.  

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?

I would have said that I'd plan this one better, and actually know about it in advance, but it's clearly too late for that!

• I’ve read 33 pages and finished 0 books
• I’ve read for 32 minutes

Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton (Audio book: 0-32 minutes, 33 pages)

Also, maybe my method of switching books a bunch won't be the best, it'll be sad to see that 'finished' number still at zero at the end of the day. Makes me really wish I'd visited the library or something first! I guess I'll have to see what I have lying around. Having the majority of my books in storage sucks :(

Update #2 (9:55 AM-11:12 AM): 

• I’ve read 76 pages and finished 0 books
• I’ve read for 1 hour 49 minutes

Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton (Audio book: 32 minutes - 1 hour 44 minutes, 43 pages)

Realized I was getting dizzy because I had gotten so distracted by Readathon I hadn't eaten breakfast yet. So I'm going to do that now. I might pick up a print book afterwards, but I'm really enjoying this audio. The only thing is my page count is going to be absurdly low if I keep reading this way– Afterwards is about 12 hours and 40 minutes long! I also stopped by a few blogs to do a little "cheering" on intro posts, which was fun. I'll definitely stop by more later.

Update #3 (11:21 AM-12:38 AM):

• I’ve read 121 pages and finished 0 books
• I’ve read for 3 hours 6 minutes

The Art of the Epigraph: How Great Books Begin by Rosemary Ahern (P. 66-111)

So I had breakfast and puttered around a little. I also transferred over to a print (well, e-galley) book so I could get my page count up a bit, though puttering sorta counter-balanced that. Ahern's book is also great because the pages aren't 100% full of text. But again, I need to stop getting distracted, even if it's just by a bit of visiting other people's updates and commenting, and actually focus on my own if I want to get a decent amount of reading done. On the bright side, I should be able to finish Ahern's book today, so even that would be something.

Also, I totally won a prize on the Hour 4 post! Which makes me extra-motivated to continue, since I've been awarded for my pathetic progress so far.

Update #4 (1:00 PM- 1:40 PM):

• I’ve read 168 pages and finished 0 books
• I’ve read for 3 hours 46 minutes

The Art of the Epigraph: How Great Books Begin by Rosemary Ahern (P. 111-158)

Read for a bit, but also checked out some blogs and now I'm off to get a shower. I'll probably not update until I manage to Ahern's book finished at least, which is a hundred more pages.

Update #5 (2:12 PM-3:19 PM):

• I’ve read 211 pages and finished 0 books
• I’ve read for 4 hours 53 minutes

The Art of the Epigraph: How Great Books Begin by Rosemary Ahern (P. 158-201)

Guess I lied about the update! After reading this for a bit I got distracted when my boyfriend wanted to watch a movie, though we only ended up watching the first 30 minutes of Snow White and the Huntsman. And I made kale chips, which weren't the great this time... should have made them yesterday when the kale was fresher.

Update #6 (3:56 PM- 4:57 PM):

• I’ve read 282 pages and finished 1 book
• I’ve read for 5 hours 54 minutes

The Art of the Epigraph: How Great Books Begin by Rosemary Ahern (P. 201-256)
Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton (Audio book: 1 hour 44 minutes - 2 hours 11 minutes, 16 pages)

I FINALLY FINISHED A BOOK! Now delving back into the audio for a bit I think, though I have some more household chores to do also. It does feel nice to have at least one done, I'd be really surprised if I finished anything else, but at least this readathon was not a total flop.

Update #7 (9:52 PM- 12:15 AM):

• I’ve read 445 pages and finished 1 book
• I’ve read for 8 hours 17 minutes

The Anti-Prom by Abby McDonald (P.1-124)
The Cutting Season by Attica Locke (P.78-92)
Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton (Audio book: 2 hours 11 minutes - 2 hours 52 minutes, 25 pages)

So my boyfriend and I went to see Taken 2, which was great, if you loved Taken (we did), though not as good as the original in my opinion. If you didn't love Taken, then it's definitely not worth your time. And now it's pretty late but I tried to get some more reading in after we got home...

Also, I finally had my Snickers bar at the movie, and it was king-sized! And delicious. The Anti-Prom is awesome and I wish I'd started it earlier in the day cause I'm going to have to go to sleep now I think. If I get up early enough tomorrow I can have another hour of readathon though, so hopefully I'll manage that. If not, well, this has been a disappointing performance but I still had a lot of fun. Good luck to everyone that's continuing on the rest of the way!

Readathon Updates April 2012

For those of you who, like me (until last night) were unaware, today is Dewey's 24 Readathon. I loved my last readathon experience (Dewey back in October), so I really wanted to join, but my lack of planning makes full participation impossible. Still, because I still want to be a part of it, I've got an update post going and hopefully I can spend lots of today reading (or what's left, I had to spend the morning doing errands).

I started reading at approximately 11:50 am, so I'm planning a 12 hour readathon for myself.

Update 1:
Reading: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (starting point p. 206)

Update 2 (11:50 AM-1:50 PM):

• I’ve read 40 pages and finished 0 books
• I’ve read for 2 hours

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (p.206-246)

It doesn't look like I read much cause I also made and ate lunch (twice, I made an avocado egg salad that turned out terrible, and ended up eating Indian leftovers). Hopefully I'll have better news to report by my next update!

Update 3 (1:50 PM-3:15 PM):

• I’ve read 222 pages and finished 1 book
• I’ve read for 3 hours and 25 minutes

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (128 Pages)
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (p.246-300)

I cheated! Well sorta. I read a book without any words. It was beautiful though, and a nice break from text. I've got 52 pages left in Code Name Verity so I'll definitely finish that by my next update. I'm having stomach pain though so I'm going to take a break now.

Update 4 (6:05 PM-6:55 PM):

• I’ve read 274 pages and finished 2 books
• I’ve read for 4 hours and 15 minutes

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (p.300-352)

Wow, I am kinda failing miserably at this readathon today! I ended up going to the movies with my boyfriend this afternoon (Jeff, Who Lives At Home) which was a nice break and outing but hasn't helped my reading. Anyway, as soon as I got home I buckled down to finish Wein's book... absolutely tragic ending. I'm not a hundred percent sure what I'll read next, I'm thinking The Apothecary by Maile Meloy that I'm about 40 pages into. Until then, happy reading everyone!

Update 5 (8:05 PM-8:55 PM):

• I’ve read 362 pages and finished 2 books
• I’ve read for 5 hours and 5 minutes

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy (p.46-134)

Another break, this time to cook and eat supper! But then I devoured a nice chunk of a book, so that has got to compensate a little bit. I've pretty much accepted my participation this time round will not be up to par, but it's still fun keeping this post and seeing how much reading I'm managing anyway.

Update 6 (9:00 PM-11:00 PM):

• I’ve read 568 pages and finished 2 books
• I’ve read for 7 hours and 5 minutes

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins (p.1-140)
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy (p.134-210)

Probably my last update for the day although I may read a little more, I'm getting tired and whatnot. Overall, it was a 'real' readathon by any means, but I still managed a decent chunk of reading, even if you exclude the graphic novel without words. Definitely plan to participate again in the future, hopefully with a little more advance notice.

Dewey 24 Hour Readathon October 2011: Master Post

So as I said yesterday I'm going to be updating my progress all from one post. It's 8:25 am here now and I'm awake and ready to start reading! Technically the read-a-thon started two and a half hours ago but well, I wasn't getting up quite that early. I figure this is still a pretty good weekend start.

Even though it's technically the third hour of the readathon I figure I'll go ahead and do my introduction post!

Readathon Update 1:

1)Where are you reading from today?
My couch mostly I suspect! Which is located in my apartment in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada where I live with my wonderful boyfriend while I complete my master's in biology.

2)Three random facts about me…
I'm turning 23 at the end the month, by which I mean I'm a twin born on Halloween.
I have a pet hamster named Rolie. She's cute. Here she is:

I basically stopped reading for four years during my undergrad, and I am so so glad to have found this wonderful online book community and joined back in! 

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
Based on my post from yesterday, ten. Of course that is overly optimistic but I think picking and choosing what I am in the mood to read will be key, so I have a nice wide variety selected.

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)?
Not really, I'll be happy if I finish at least two books since I'm a third through one already. If I read for four to six hours that'll be a huge improvement over a normal weekend, plus I'm going to shut my laptop while I'm reading and hopefully not get distracted. My biggest problem is the internet! So if I'm updating too often it'll mean I'm not reading.  If you don't see me around for many challenges that's why.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
This is my first time! Wish me luck! 

Readathon Update 2 (8:42 AM-10:00 AM):

• I’ve read 80 pages and finished 0 books
• I’ve read for 1 hour and 18 minutes

I'm just having a little cereal and getting back to reading. I started with Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien and I'm loving it but think I may take a break and start another book. Even my boyfriend has gotten in on the action, I have my own at-home cheerleader. When I went to write my intro post he asked me, aren't you supposed to be reading? Yup, yup I am.

Readathon Update 3 (10:22 AM-11:37 AM):

• I’ve read 176 pages and finished 0 books
• I’ve read for 2 hour and 33 minutes

I read another 86 pages of Prized as well as the first 10 pages of Love Alone by Emmanuel Kattan, while sipping lemon ginger tea. Then I needed a shower and now it's noon and I'm planning to get back to Prized, I only have 70 pages left and it's getting intense! Hopefully I'll be able to list my first finished book of the day by the next update. For those of you already on book 3, wow, I'm impressed. Also I believe I have totally abandoned any thesis plans for the day, this is just too much fun! Thanks to the people who have commented to support me :)

Readathon Update 4 (12:22 PM-1:18 PM):

• I’ve read 246 pages and finished 1 book
• I’ve read for 3 hour and 29 minutes

Finished Prized! Yay, one book down. I'm just starting two others, Love Alone and also Practical Jean by Trevor Cole. They're both for upcoming book tours and if I can finish at least one today I'd be ecstatic. Anyway back to reading I go!

Readathon Update 5 (1:41 PM-2:34 PM):

• I’ve read 304 pages and finished 1 book
• I’ve read for 4 hour and 22 minutes

So I totally had a nap. Maybe it was sitting on the couch all day but I was exhausted. But I figured I'd do an update before I got back to reading. I've mostly been focused on Practical Jean and made a decent dent in that. Anyway it's 3:45 now and I'm happy to have passed the 300 mark, maybe I'll make it to 500 today? I don't really have a specific goal in mind though it would be nice to finish a second book. I need to participate in these more often, so much fun! Thanks to everyone who has stopped by my blog to cheer :)

Readathon Update 6 (3:50 PM-5:10 PM):

• I’ve read 392 pages and finished 1 book
• I’ve read for 5 hour and 42 minutes

I read about twenty more pages of Practical Jean before taking a break with something a bit light, the photography book TruthBeauty edited by Alison Nordstrom, there are essays in it but there are also large photographs and it's a gorgeous book to look at (even if I found a typo that is driving me mad!) and enjoyed the first chapter (up to page 64) of that. At least I know if all else fails I should be able to finish that book this evening! At the moment I'm waiting for chicken to defrost so I can cook dinner, so I'll probably do a little more reading then take a break while we eat. I've been snacking all day while reading and I definitely need a proper meal for supper!

Readathon Update 7 (7:17 PM):

• I’ve read 402 pages and finished 1 book
• I’ve read for 5 hour and 52 minutes

So I'm done supper (balsamic glazed chicken, corn, mashed potatoes and green beans) and it's back to reading I go! Okay, I also watched Project Runway, during which I read ten more pages (I counted it as ten minutes since I wasn't really reading most of the sixty). However I had to update because a) it's a couple hours later, and b) I passed the 400 mark! It honestly feels like I haven't done that much reading today, maybe because I've only finished one book, but I guess 400 pages is still quite a lot. Since I've decided to take today off from thesis-related things I still have at least 4 hours left which gives me the potential to bring that number up significantly if I don't get distracted. Happy reading everyone!

Readathon Update 8 (7:30 PM-9:00 PM):

• I’ve read 494 pages and finished 1 book
• I’ve read for 7 hours and 22 minutes

Just popping in to say I'm back on reading track although getting sleepy. Still switching back and forth between TruthBeauty and Practical Jean- maybe I can finish both today? That's over 200 more pages but I can fantasize....

Final Readathon Update (9:10 PM-11:59 PM):

• I’ve read 670 pages and finished 2 books
• I’ve read for 9 hours and 11 minutes

Well I think this readathon is ending at midnight in my time zone since I still have to do lots of thesis writing. I managed to finish two books, Prized and Practical Jean and read over 600 pages. I've also nearly finished TruthBeauty and began Love Alone though I didn't get very far. Overall it was a great day and I'll definitely be participating again! Thank you to everyone who stopped by, and if you were participating in the readathon I hope it went wonderfully for you as well :)

Dewey 24 Hour Readathon October 2011

Having made the decision (approximately an hour ago) to participate in the readathon, of course I got all excited and had to pick out a stack of books for tomorrow. I aimed for an eclectic mix so I don't get bored of any one type and although I am definitely not reading them all, hopefully I'll get a chance to finish at least one or two! 

The stack of wonderfulness contains:

1. Love Alone by Emmanuel Kattan (More of a literary novel for an upcoming book tour) 
2. Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien (About a third into this one and loving it, so it'll be first to be picked up tomorrow!)  
3. Waking Storms by Sarah Porter (Not released till next year but I loved the first book so I'm excited for this. Plus, mermaids!)  
4. Practical Jean by Trevor Cole (This one is a bit of a satire, it's also for an upcoming tour, I figure if I need some dark humour I'll start it)  
5. The Apothecary by Maile Meloy (I'd been planning on the audio but I didn't like the narrator but I love Meloy's short stories so of course I have to try this.)  
6. Invisible Strings by Jim Moore (Poetry for when I feel the need to feel like I've actually finished a book) 
7. Eating Dirt by Charlotte Gill (My non-fiction choice for the day, about tree-planting) 
8. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (I'll be listening to the audio)
9. TruthBeauty by Alison Nordstrom (Art book for when I need some pictures)
10. Not Pictured: Liesel and Po by Lauren Oliver (MG on my e-reader!) 

So ten books... yeah so not happening, but it was fun picking out what I would read under the most optimistic of circumstances if I had one of those Harry Potter watches that let me rewind time so I could spend hours and hours reading. Also, the incredibly ugly couch in the background is where I'll be doing most of my reading cause it sure is comfy.

And the reason I won't be participating the whole time is actually another stack of reading I have to do:

Yay Thesis Reading/Writing

Are you participating in tomorrow's read-a-thon? If so, what books do you plan to pick up?

Also I promise this is my last read-a-thon related post that isn't my read-a-thon post. That'll be up tomorrow when I finally start reading so it's not cluttered with all my idealism and I don't have to get depressed by the lack of reading I've done every time I open it to edit and see the picture of my stack of books!

To Readathon or Not to Readathon?

So I have tentatively decided to sign myself up! I will not be reading the full 24 hours as I need to maintain a decent sleep schedule, but I am making the plan to read lots and lots tomorrow before I go back to massive amounts of thesis-writing. Again, I may bow out if I get too stressed about school but I'm going to start the day (uhem, not six am like my start time, but when I wake up) with the full intention to participate. If I do I'm going to keep my posting down to one post that I'll regularly update throughout the day since I find it unmanageable and a bit annoying when bloggers post every ten minutes. Anyway, wish me luck, this is something I have seen happen many times and never joined in before I am excited and hopefully some day in the future I can do the full on participation that I admire.

Click here to join, are you participating? Let me know any helpful hints if you have them!