Read-a-Thon: 10-11 Jan

Roll up, roll up, for another 24 hours of read-a-thon goodness! If you're falling in for the first time, here's the deal: We'll be reading from 8pm GMT on Monday night to 8pm GMT Tuesday night - you can use Google to find one of the numerous online time convertery things if you don't know what time that will be where you are... Sign up now by leaving your name and location here, and include the link to your challenge thread, blog, or anywhere else you might be posting other than here. This thread will be ground zero for check in and memes and whatever else, so this'll be the main place to be come Monday...

During the 24 hours it's over to you to do things your style. You can update every hour or just every time you come up for a rest; you can post tempting updates on what you're reading, eating and doing in your breaks; you can cheer on everyone else; you can read for three hours in between your normal routine or snuggle down for the whole 24 hours and nap when you need to. It's up to you! The general idea is to track pages read, plus maybe how long out of the 24 hours you've spent reading and how long you've spent posting here or cheering on other readers.

Here's the list of who's participating and where we're all reading from - and the links if anyone's going to be updating on their own threads as well as here at base camp...

WHO'S READING ALONG?
1. Ellie (elliepotten, UK) - 75 Books Challenge thread
2) Katie (katelisim, Minnesota) - 75 Books Challenge thread
3) Kerry (avatiakh, New Zealand) - 75 Books Challenge thread
4) Ilana (Smiler69, Montreal)
5) Stephen (Ape, Ohio) - 75 Books Challenge thread
6) Jen (pokarekareana, UK) - 75 Books Challenge thread
7) Erika (gifted_dream, Northern Virginia)
8) Luci (elkiedee, UK)
9) Stasia (alcottacre, Texas)
10) Deborah (arubabookwoman, Seattle)
11) Michelle (Tanglewood, NYC)
12) Deborah (Cariola, Pennsylvania)
13) Sherlyn (profilerSR, Tennessee)
14) Monica (crazy4reading, Pennsylvania) - 75 Books Challenge thread
15) Linda (lindapanzo, Chicagoland)
16) Roni (ronincats, California)
17) Laura (lauranav, North Carolina)
18) Krys (krysbrezinski, Seattle)
19) Suzanne (Chatterbox, Brooklyn)
20) Ash (NocturnalBlue, Georgia)
21) Madeline (SqueakyChu, Maryland)
22) Laura (LauraBrook, Milwaukee)

:D
Katie from overly snowy Minnesota
I'll be starting 1-3 hrs late, depending on when I get out of work and eat.

ETA: oh, and I'll prolly be posting in my challenge thread also.

Put me down, I'm a glutton for punishment! I'll only be reading for a few hours this time round and will mainly post here.
My own thread is here.

Ilana here from Montreal, Québec, Canada. I'll be posting more or less regularly (though probably not hourly) here and on my thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/104760 I'm pretty sure GMT is 5 hours ahead of us, so I'll be starting at 3 pm, Eastern Time.

ETA: I may have to start another thread soon, and if I do I'll send you the next link, so you might hold off on linking me at the moment till I confirm.

Okay - you're on the list, just drop us another line before kick-off! Can't believe I'm doing this again already... how can I be so excited and yet so oddly nervous at the same time?! What if I fall asleep and wake up ten hours later? What if my food delivery doesn't arrive and I have to live off toast for a whole read-a-thon? Hehe, we'll have to hope Stasia's headache-free and ready with those cheerleaders again, won't we? *pulls at ra-ra skirt and shakes pom-poms experimentally*

Ellie. . . sleep? And miss all the sleep-deprived crazy posts?!?! No no, can't be having that :P

Ellie, if you fall asleep, you fall asleep. Guess what? The world will keep on turning on it's axis (or so we hope) and people will continue posting and cheering each other on. As for living on toast... 24 hours of that isn't too bad I'd say. :-b

Hi, Stephen from Ohio here again. I'll be joining in on the 2nd day most likely, as before. I'll post a link to my thread later, by the looks of things I'll be needing a new one soon...

Hmmm, I'm in trouble here though. If I finish my *blech* Christian fiction *sniffle* book most of the other things I have within arms reach is a bit dense. Unless I start another *eek* Christian fiction *strangled sob* book... but I'm not sure I can survive that...

My goodness, you people really are gluttons for punishment! I think I will have to pass on this one, but I will certainly drop in and cheer you on.

Ellie, as much as I would love to participate in this read a thon, I really need to pass this one up. My house is seriously in need of a clean up. I'll be on the look out for future r a t's. Good Luck everyone and happy reading.

Helloooo! I'll join in for the first few hours! My thread's 'ere - http://www.librarything.com/topic/105457

Cool, here we go again : I'm Erika, reading from Northern Virginia. I will be reading for about 12-13 hours straight, with hopefully minimal distractions. I don't have a thread so I'll just be posting on here btw.

I'll drop in and post about how much I've read on the thread and read it, though I'm not sure I'm going to be able to access the most recent readathon thread, I can't open it!

It's ridiculous and very disappointing, but I don't think I'm going to be able to read the last 100 posts of the previous readathon thread until Monday. I may see if Mike can open it on his laptop for me, but that's not going to be right now.

I will be joining in, but it will be about 8 hours after the start. Then I will be in for the whole way after that, so I am good for wee hour cheering!

Yay!!! Stasia is joining the reading ranks! :-)))

I'm going to try again, since I pretty much wimped out on the first two read-a-thons. This time, I have to read Invisible Man for my Tuesday night RL book club.

I'm Deborah, in the Seattle area. I'll post here.

#16: I will be reading that one in March, Deborah, so I am looking forward to your review!

ETA: My own personal cheerleading crew! Thanks, Ilana.

Sadly the life of a teacher means I probably won't be free to take part in this one, but I'll do my best to stop in and cheer people on!

Ten and counting! Are we suckers for punishment or just eager to get a healthy reading start to 2011 and spend some quality time buried in a book? Who knows... :-)

I managed to finish another library book even during my miniscule participation yesterday, so hopefully I might get another book or two off my shelves before the end of Tuesday. That would feel very, very good.

Welcome all!

Good luck in getting more books off your shelves, Ellie! I am trying to do the same.

Ok, my new thread is up so you can add the link to the first post. Of course, I'll be copy/pasting everything to the readathon thread but there it is anyway. :)

Hi, I'm Michelle from NYC and I had so much fun in the last read-a-thon I'd like to join in. Unfortunately, I won't be able to join in for as long since I'll be grading the English Regents on Tuesday Shudder . I'll just be posting here.

#22: I have no idea what the English Regents is, but it sounds terrible!

It's a disease that makes you talk with a funny accent. Errr, I think. :P

Yes, but on the positive side, it does give you a newfound ability to play the harpsichord exceedingly well!

I'm with you, but, as I noted on the main thread, I won't be able to do 24 hours straight, due to other engagements. I won't be able to start until around 8:00, and I'll be out for two appointments on Tuesday.

I'm Deborah, and I'll be reading from my comfy chair at home (in Chambersburg, PA), in my car in transit (don't worry--audiobooks only), and in the dentist's office. I plan to finish Mrs. Dalloway and to make a sizeable dent in an LT ER book, The King's Daughter. I will post on this thread, but if I finish a book, I'll be adding a review to my thread.

* doing the happy twist/break-dance*

Wanna see me do the moonwalk? *moonwalking*

Sherlyn in TN has just found out work has been cancelled for tomorrow due to a predicted snow/ice storm! I will be joining in tomorrow at 3:00 Eastern time! I'll just post here. If the predicted storm arrives and work is cancelled for Tuesday also, I'm gonna try and pull-a-Stasia, and sleep very little for the read-a-thon.

I am going to try and join for a few hours off and on during the 24 hours. I have to work but I have some time during the day when I can read so I will join in then. Plus at night I can take time to read.

I will post mostly in here and some on my thread:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/104874

I wish I had a snow storm coming in and my work had closed because I would be doing those dances too profilerSR.

This is Monica from PA. I will be reading in various places. I will try to start at about 3:00 pm Eastern Time but most likely won't be able to read till about 4.

Count me in, though I can probably do only 3 hours in the evening and then maybe 2 hours in the morning on Tuesday.

Hmmm, GMT minus 6 hours for central time. So 2 pm to 2 pm.

I'll post here.

#17: My own personal cheerleading crew!
Glad you enjoyed that Stasia. I did ask myself if people might find it annoying but I thought they were such darn cute cheerleaders... couldn't resist.

Ellie: if you don't want them there, just let me know. This is your thread after all! :-)
And in answer to #25, in my case I'm just thrilled to get the year started with all that reading AND clearing off some of those books I more or less arbitrarily decided I HAD to read this month. I thought I was being overly ambitious with nearly 18 books considering I'm a slooooooowwwwww reader, but with a few marathon sessions like this, it might end up being a realistic goal after all. So yay!

#25 it does give you a newfound ability to play the harpsichord exceedingly well!
LOL :-))

#26: Deborah: I'm sure no one will mind if you start whenever is convenient for you. It's just nice having people participate, no matter how many hours they put into it! (Right Ellie?)

#27 Sherlyn, sounds like you got a lucky break! I'd send the weatherman a little gift if I were you... ;-)

Oh, and Ellie, you can put in that I'll be mostly posting here during the event. I have to start a whole new thread soon enough but want to get the place a bit organized before I have people come and visit. Plus I think I'll just post the major highlights of the read-a-thon there so I don't scare visitors on my new thread with dozens of post on the same day I've started it!

I am not even going to TRY to do 24 hours straight, but your time comes out to 12 noon to 12 noon pacific time, and I will work on 12 to 9 on Monday and 9 to 12 on Tuesday for my reading. I'll post mostly here.

Okay, everyone's added to the list! It doesn't really matter whether you join in for 2 hours or 24, as long as you get some reading time in there and enjoy yourself...

Ilana, sweetie, you can post ANYTHING YOU LIKE on here. That goes for everybody! It's your read-a-thon too, I'm just refereeing! Besides, I was playing with a kid's musical Tigger book at the shop just this morning, so it was actually very apt! ;-)

Looking forward to getting stuck in again tonight! I think I'm going to try for the full 24 hours, but we'll see how it goes! Hopefully I'll have time to get everything ready in the two hours between work and read-a-thon... *fingers crossed*

"The wonderful thing about Tiggers, are Tiggers are wonderful things! Their tops are mad out of rubber; their bottoms are made out of springs!"

Oh dear. Ellie, it seems I am already loopy. *giggles

Laura in NC here.
I'm in for at least a few hours tonight. I'll just post here on this thread.
Thanks!

Woohoo, almost time. *Taps Ellie to make sure her nap doesn't extend until tomorrow morning*

Lol @ Ape's comment.

Ellie: I'll just post here. I don't want to crowd my new thread with a bunch of updates and scare my non-readathoner visitors away. Plus, my new space just isn't ready to receive guest yet—I need to get my interior decorator on the premises pronto!

Oh, and... I'm really looking forward to this! Even making Coco wait for his walk which will be right before starting time so I can have plenty of reading time before I need to take him out again. Cruel mom, I know. :-|

I'm excited to get to start on time for this one! I probably won't be around for the entire thing, but I should be able to get in a few solid hours, at least. :)

Uh oh, we're nearing the big reveal. I mean, big departure. I mean, the superfantasmagoric elliereadathonthethird launch time. Better get off the threads and go walk puppy-wuppy. So excited!

Sorry, sorry, I'm here! Naturally, in a 7-8pm delivery slot the driver waited until about 7:50, then the internet crashed temporarily...

Get reading all, the time is nigh! I'll be back at the end of Hour 0 with my first update (and hopefully, some form of delicious evening meal) - in the meantime, here's an opening meme to get stuck into sometime in these early hours:

THE OPENING MEME

1. Where are you reading from today?

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?

Hi, everyone! I have been getting chores out of the way today, so I can focus on reading. I realized I did not have any lunch, so I just made some spaghetti for Lupper (a meal halfway between lunch and supper). I am working on finishing up The Serpent's Tale and have downloaded the library ebook of The Children's Blizzard to read next. I'll be thinking about the meme questions as I get started. :)

I won't be starting for another hour or so but I just wanted to stop in and say good luck all and happy reading. When I start reading I will be continueing with Wolf Hall and maybe finish it in the next few days.

profilerSR I love the Lupper word. :)

Brain numb, can't think about memes.

I'm checking in; will do some reading just to get caught up. Still wrestling with Crash of the Titans. (Oh, and reeling from a very high gas bill; inexplicable as I have NO HEAT in the upper half of my duplex, so why is the gas consumption 70% higher?????)

I am not going to read around the clock as I need to do some work, and tomorrow I have a lunch meeting to get to. Besides, I only pull all-nighters when I HAVE to, which is pretty much not at all since college. Or at least, not for reading purposes.

Sorry for mild grumpiness. It's the cold weather that's doing me in.

1. Where are you reading from today? With a blanket on the large, comfortable couch in my family's living room - where I can see what else is going on in the household every so often (and where I'll have easy access to the microwave for cocoa-making).

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?
The Long Walk - Stephen King
Moby-Dick - Herman Melville
Ender's Shadow - Orson Scott Card

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?
Oreo - Fran Ross
Room - Emma Donoghue
and we'll see where things go from there. Possibly Tinkers after that, just to keep with the one-word-titles theme.

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours? I'd like to read for at least 2 hours today. Finishing Oreo is another goal I'd be happy to hit.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon? Plan for it, or it won't happen! Life is distracting, and I, for one, have to go out of my way to clear my schedule for this kind of thing. It doesn't like to happen organically.

Oops! Ended up spending too much time on the threads beforehand and when I went out with Coco it was just a GORGEOUS and not too cold day and I was tempted to go for an extra long walk but torn between that and readathon... anyway, here I am, the kids are fed and I'm going to plunge back into Super Sad True Love Story which I intend to finish in the next 24 hours. And then I want to tackle other books on my 'to read' list for the month even if I'm tempted to blow that off and just read other stuff. Decisions decisions. Anyway, here goes nothing! I'll do the meme a bit later.

THE OPENING MEME

1. Where are you reading from today?
snowy Cornelius, NC.
It's so pretty when I don't need to go anywhere. Perfect reading weather

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?
I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo (the extended, extra long version) and it's a reread - so I know it's good.

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?
Get a lot closer to finishing Monte Cristo!

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?
Read when you can, don't stress over the rest.

Ouch, Suzanne - scary bills suck! Slight grumpy-in-cold-weather readers welcomed, never fear! And welcome everyone else who's checking in for the opening hours!

Hi Kris - nope, question one was a 'where' not a 'what' - but carry on! I've got Room on my shelves so I'll be looking forward to seeing how that's going...

I'm doing the meme next hour too, but in the meantime...

HOUR 1

I've been reading: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate
Books finished: None
Pages read: 27
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 35 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 27
Total time read: 35 minutes
Total time posting: 10 minutes

The Menu: Ovaltine, a few squares of Spanish tortilla (mmmm!)
Comments: Settled into my book nicely for the first hour! I managed to squeeze in a decent nap before we started, so I'm hoping the reading will continue well into the night, if not ALL night this time. And I REALLY want to finish this book soon, so I'll press on!

HOUR 1

I've been reading: Oreo, by Fran Ross - "an uproariously funny novel about relations between African Americans and Jews."
Books finished: none so far.
Pages read: 42
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 48 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 42
Total time read: 48 minutes
Total time posting: 10 minutes

Menu: A steaming mug of hot cocoa (no marshmallows, sadly, as we seem to be out).
Comments: I'm enjoying this book! It's definitely satirical - I'd compare it to A Confederacy of Dunces - I'm in the mood for this kind of silliness right now, so it's good fun. I should be able to finish it within the next couple of hours.

THE OPENING MEME

1. Where are you reading from today?
East mountainous TN. The predicted snow arrived and I don't expect to work tomorow either. :)

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?
The books I've multiple times include Wuthering Heights, Bellwether, and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?
After I finish the current book, I am looking forward to reading The Children's Blizzard. The current weather here is appropriate and I know it will be good thanks to all the great 75ers reviews!

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?
My only actual goal is to have fun in my first read-a-thon. I would love to finish two books, but I won't be too disappointed if I don't.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?
I'll have to answer this question after several hours experience.

Hour 1
Currently reading: Southern Storm by Terri Blackstock

Pages read this hour: 34
Pages read total: 34

A nice start, I'll be happy to finally get this book finished. I've got a long way to go but hopefully this readathon will help! I'll do the meme in a couple hours when I put the book down for the night.

I've been reading: Alone in Berlin - Hans Fallada
Books finished: none so far.
Pages read: 49
Posting time: 0 minutes - I'm 20 minutes late posting!
Reading time: 50 minutes

Menu: Toad in the hole, carrots, peas and broccoli - NOM!
Comments: I'm sleeepy. The book is very engaging, though.

HOUR 2

I've been reading: Oreo, by Fran Ross - "an uproariously funny novel about relations between African Americans and Jews."
Books finished: none so far.
Pages read: 54
Posting time: 0:09
Reading time: 0:51

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 96
Total time read: 1:39
Total time posting: 0:19

Comments: I'm still liking the book, and should definitely be finished by the end of Hour 3.

Sherlyn - maybe you could just absorb the wisdom of some of the fellow fruitcakes here who are on their third read-a-thon this week? :-)

Afternoon Stephen! A most excellent start...

Poke! Looking forward to seeing how that goes - I nicked it from the shop the other day so I'm awaiting your thoughts with interest...

HOUR 2

I've been reading: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate
Books finished: None
Pages read: 35
Posting time: 20 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 62
Total time read: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total time posting: 30 minutes

The Menu: A slice of pizza (my read-a-thon staple!), some M'n'Ms and some now-cold Ovaltine. Looks like my 'drink hot drinks while hot' resolution is failing again...
Comments: This book is finally looking up, hooray! It was so 'Mean Girls' at the start and the protagonist is a total bitch, but it's getting a little darker now and starting to pick up the pace. Thank heavens!

THE OPENING MEME

1. Where are you reading from today?
Once again, I'm crashed out on my living room floor in my little flat in beautiful Derbyshire, England, with the heater on to drown out the sound of the wind and rain outside, brrrr. Hopefully I won't spend too much time on the sofa asleep!

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the main one. Bill Bryson's Notes from a Big Country makes me smile every time I read it. And I think Tom Raabe's Biblioholism is going to be a wonderful book to return to over the years.

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?
I'm not sure yet. I don't have anything particular in mind for my next read, so I think I'll just hit the shelves when the time comes and see what tickles my fancy.

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?
I definitely want to finish Natalie Hargrove, since it's been a while since I've actually gritted my teeth and finished a book for review. And to finish another book in its entirety would be wonderful - provided I manage to last the full 24 hours without sleeping in the middle, that is!

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?
Read something easy and absorbing. You can be as tired as anything but reading something that totally pulls you in for an hour at a time will make it go much faster. Plus you'll be less sleepy and less likely to end up with your mind swimming in circles as if you were trying to read another language!

HOUR 1

I've been reading: Super Sad True Love Story
Books finished: None
Pages read: 34
Posting time: didn't post
Reading time: 1 hour

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 34
Total time read: 1 hour (60 minutes)
Total time posting: 0

The Menu: Glass of water
Comments: I'm a bit frustrated with the book right now. It's set in the near future where everyone is talking in acronyms and using unfamiliar expression. It's entertaining enough, But I keep having to re-read sections because there's no real flow in the language so it's a long slog. Anyway. Don't know if I should continue with it now or start up another. But I want to finish it and at this rate I'll be stuck with it for a good 3 hours. Ugh!

THE OPENING MEME

1. Where are you reading from today?
I'm in Montreal Canada in my homey little apartment. I'm sitting on the little recliner in the living room that my mom gave me which is usually occupied my the furry ones. It's a nice change.

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?
Hard to choose just three, so I'll go for a random selection from my 'all time favourites' listed on my profile:
Nana by Émile Zola (have read it 3 times already)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Yes, that's four. So sue me! ;-)

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?
Can't say yet whether they're good or not since haven't read them yet, but looking at my January reading list I've got quite a few option:

The Bells by Richard Harvell (an ER book I really need to review as had it for a while)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - might start on it for the group read
Egon Schiele: The Leopold Collection by Rudolf Leopold - might try to finish it
Three Seconds by Anders Roslund (another ER book I've had for a while)
Doors Open by Ian Rankin
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom for TIOLI
Black and Blue by Ian Rankin for TIOLI
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt for TIOLI
Through a Glass Darkly by Donna Leon
The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin

But then I also really want to read a book NOT on that list which is the first of the Inspector Montalbano series The Shape of Water so might just do so.

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?
Not really, other than I want to finish Super Sad True and maybe another book and get at least one other started. And maybe use the opportunity to read a few more pages of Migraine by Oliver Sacks which is also quite a tough slog.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?
Unlike me, don't set any agendas and just read whatever you feel like reading! Also read whenever and however long you want to. Essentially, just do what you want and have fun!

It's taken me 40 minutes just to write this message and go through everybody else's so I'll spend at least the next couple of hours reading straight through.

Just got home from work! Will eat some lunch, finally, then start the reading! :)

I started at 4pm EST

Opening Meme

1. Where are you reading from today?
The almost coated in snow suburbs of Washington DC. Only expecting a few inches, though!

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?
Definitely without question Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. Other two would be Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and Maurice by Forster

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?
Starting off with The Return of the Native by Hardy but I am positive that later I will switch to something lighter for when I start to get tired!

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?
I want to read at least 12hours total and will be happy with whatever results from it

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?
What helps me greatly is taking very small breaks just to rest my eyes which sort of renews them :P I also play ambient music as a nice touch.

#56 I also play ambient music as a nice touch.

I like that suggestion! Will do the same.

I'm still at work so I haven't started reading yet.

Keep at it you guys!! Sounds like it's cold and snowy in many places, a perfect day/night for reading

I have finished my first hour. I'm reading Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, and have read 52 pages, from p. 156 to 208. I am having difficulty concentrating on it, and would like to read something else. However, I have to finish it by tomorrow evening for my RL book club, so I will plug on.

Opening Meme
1. Where are you reading from today?
In my comfy reading chair with a blanket in NYC.

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?
The Odyssey, The Scarlet Letter, The Grapes of Wrath

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?
I'm looking forward to finishing the graphic novel, Trickster: Native American Tales.

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?
Not really, maybe read more of In a Sunburned Country but the print is a little small.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?
Well, this is only my second one, but I seem to do much better reading lighter fare.

It's official: no work for me tomorrow! It's the dogs' supper time so I'll take care of them, then I'll settle in with the electric blanket, dogs piled on, and some hot chocolate.

THE OPENING MEME

1. Where are you reading from today?
Snowy and slushy Minnesota

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?
Ender's Game, Brave New World, & House of Leaves

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?
Not sure yet, have a stack next to me. I'll let you know if any are good :P

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?
Finish a book, any book. And participate longer than the 1st 24hr one---started great, puttered out on the 2nd day.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?
Snacks, stretching, energetic yet wordless music--I guess that's 3 :P

Now time to start reading!

Sounds like everyone's settling in nicely... Hearty congratulations Sherlyn! No work and hot chocolate sounds like a rather nice combination!

Hmmm, ambient music. I'd do the same if only I wouldn't end up humming along instead of reading! I think I'll just read until the end of this book, then take a little time out and crank up my iPod on the stereo for a few minutes, have a wiggle around, clear my head. Most excellent.

HOUR 3

I've been reading: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate
Books finished: None
Pages read: 39
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 45 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 101
Total time read: 2 hours
Total time posting: 45 minutes

The Menu: Another slice of pizza and a few more M'n'Ms
Comments: The book's flying by now! I reckon I'll be done within two hours, which is great. I'm starting to feel a tad headachy again - I woke up with one this morning but managed to get rid of it by lunchtime - so I'll keep an eye on that. It's 11pm now, so if needs be I can always stop reading for a bit, take some pills and sleep it off a while... Still, back to Natalie Hargrove first - the end of book 1 is in sight!

HOUR 3

I've been reading: Oreo, by Fran Ross - "an uproariously funny novel about relations between African Americans and Jews."
and Room, by Emma Donoghue - one I downloaded out of curiosity after seeing around various 75ers' threads lately.
Books finished: 1 (Oreo)
Pages read: 59
Posting time: 0:09
Reading time: 0:51

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 155
Total time read: 2:30
Total time posting: 0:28

Comments: Oreo was good, but I'm happy to move on to something that takes itself more seriously. I'm only five pages into Room so far and intrigued! I'm glad my fellow LTers turned me onto this one.

Hour 2
4pm-5pm

Currently reading: Southern Storm by Terri Blackstock

Pages read this hour: 24
Total pages read: 58

I got a bit distracted when I checked in last hour and it took me awhile to get back into the book. I hope that isn't a regular occurrence, considering how unenthusiastic I am to continue going back to this book. I'll be eager to finish it tomorrow!

Hour 3
5pm-6pm

Pages read this hour: 30
Total pages read: 88

That's a bit better. I still found myself setting the book down and taking a breather after every couple of chapters (they are only 2-4 pages each most of the time) but not terrible.

I may still read a bit later tonight. If I do I'll make a note of it tomorrow morning. There's a pretty big football game on though and I think I'll be watching that. Hopefully I don't stay up too late and wake up late tomorrow morning!

>54 Smiler69:
I'll be interested to hear what you end up thinking of Super Sad True Love Story, Ilana! That's one I've had recommended to me by people whose taste I'm not sure I trust, so I've been on the fence about whether to pick it up.

Hour 3/My 1st

I've been reading: Trickster: Native American Tales
Books finished:0
Pages read: 61
Reading time: 15 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 61
Total time read: 15 minutes

Comments: Pgs.163/222 These stories are really interesting. I'll comment more later. I just want to get some reading in.

Still grumpy. Am thinking about heading out to see a movie nearby to try and improve my mood or distract me somewhat.

Total: hours 1 to 3 inclusive!

I've been reading: The Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron
Books finished: one
Pages read: 182
Posting time: 40 minutes
Reading time: 90 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 182

The Menu: Roasted pepper and tomato soup with parmesan popovers. None of it made by me.
Comments: Found the phone bill as well; apparently last month's bill disappeared and I forgot about it, so now I have to pay two months of bills plus the gas bill at once. Bah humbug! Memo to self: find new freelance income PRONTO! What are you doing reading *she mutters to herself* when you should be WORKING?

Hi all, I've not read anything since I got home at about 7 pm though I've had quite a good reading day today! I got down from settling Conor to sleep a little while ago and have been messing about online and picking up books off the floor.

Current reading in priority order (I read most from the top book, and a fair amount from the next 2 or 3)

Winifred Holtby, South Riding VMC written in 1930s
Patti Smith, Just Kids memoir of herself and Robert Mapplethorpe in 60s/70s
Gianrico Carofiglio, Involuntary Witness Crime novel set in southern Italy
Kate Harrison, The Secret Shopper's Revenge chicklit
Denis Mackail, Greenery Street Persephone reprint, London 1925

The Opening Meme (3 hours later...)

1. Where are you reading from today?

All about my tiny abode in Ohio, which is scheduled to get quite a bit of snow tomorrow! Oooh, a good day to stay in-doors and read, hm?

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?

Interestingly, I have a top 3 favorite authors list. Mary Roach, Richard Preston, and Michael Marshal Smith (for his science fiction books.) And I can pick a favorite book by each: Bonk, The Hot Zone, and Spares. So, I guess those are the ones! :)

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?

Actually it's kind of difficult. I mostly have denser things at hand right now, so I can either start another quick'n'easy Christian fiction (*BLECH!*) or start something that might not read well during a readathon. Hmmm...

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?

I just want to finish the book I'm reading now, as last time.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?

Breaks are good! Reading for this long is tough, don't force yourself to read if you're getting that "I don't really feel like reading" feeling. Instead, take a half-hour and read through the posts. It's a nice way to take a break and reading how everyone else is doing can get you re-energized to get back to your own book. :)

I got back from my movie and dinner a bit earlier than anticipated, so I'm ready to go!

THE OPENING MEME

1. Where are you reading from today?

The comfy blue chair in my living room (south central PA).

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?

You know, there are so many great books I'll never get around to, but I'm trying, so I don't often reread books over and over. But I'll take a stab at it.

King Lear by William Shakespeare
The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?

Mrs. Dalloway
The King's Daughter

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?

Nope, just to enjoy reading as much as I can. I'm trying to finish Mrs. Dalloway because I will be teaching it next semester.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?

TURN OFF THE TV!

Menu: Just got back from the local Mexican Restaurant. I had Enchiladas Supremo. Now I'm gonna pour me a Bourbon and water and start reading.

I figure if there's any time for me to participate in a Readathon, then Snowmageddon is it.

1. Where are you reading from today?

Snowy Georgia

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?

Atonement, The Master and Margarita, and The Sparrow.

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?

Soon I Will Be Invincible is going well. After that I have the option of either football (The Blind Side), vampires (Dead in the Family), or Ukrainian émigrés in the UK (A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian).

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?

Finish what I'm reading. And stay warm.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?

Don't schedule readathons when you know you have to to be up early the next morning. Also, balancing homework with pleasure reading can be tricky, but it is doable.

Not able to join in this one, sadly, but just dropping in briefly to say


Happy Reading!

I'll be joining the readathon later but did read for the first hour.

Hour 1/My 1st

I've been reading: Under the Frog
Books finished:0
Pages read: 45
Reading time: 60 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 45
Total time read: 60 minutes

THE OPENING MEME

1. Where are you reading from today?
Started at the gym while doing my walking & cycling, I've mastered the art of reading on the treadmill, and it makes an hour of cardio fly by.
Later I'll be reading at home, mainly on our sofa with the dog for company.

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (anything by Austen really)
Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Hobbit

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours?
so many including
The General in his Labyrinth by by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Great House by Nicole Krauss
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
but I better stay on the straight and narrow and finish a few that I've already started
Under the frog by Tibor Fischer
A thread of grace by Mary Doria Russell
Beowulf
Flora Segunda by Ysabeau Wilce
Les Miserables

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?
I'd like to finish a couple of books already on the go

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?
Be prepared to not read as much as you think you will each hour. Distractions are numerous, plan for ways to avoid them. Variety is the spice of life, I like to swap between different books.

Haha, Snowmageddon, I like it! We had a night of snow Thursday night that made the roads into skating rinks (or a pinball machine, if you were sliding down a hill in a car like we were!), but today it's just drizzle which has turned to blowy miserable RAIN. Eurgh.

Everybody doing okay? Any of the Brit-girls flagging at this midnight hour? *stifles a yawn*

HOUR 4

I've been reading: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate
Books finished: None
Pages read: 48
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 50 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 149
Total time read: 2 hours 50 minutes
Total time posting: 55 minutes

The Menu: A third slice of pizza, M'n'Ms, red grape juice (mmmm!)
Comments: I'm only a few pages away from the end of Natalie Hargrove so I guess I'd better start thinking about what I want to read next!

HOUR 4

I've been reading: Room, by Emma Donoghue
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 22
Posting time: 0:10
Reading time: 0:44

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 177
Total time read: 3:14
Total time posting: 0:38

Comments: I'm liking the book, though it deals with some disturbing subject matter.

I'm going to take an hour or so off now to watch some Rome with my mom, and be back to join you all again later this evening. Happy reading, guys! :)

I've been reading: The Penguin Book of German Verse
Books finished: 1 :)
Pages read: 35
Posting time: just now
Reading time: 1 hr

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 35
Total time read: 1 hr
Total time posting: just now

Comments: I'm taking German again, starts in 2 weeks. I haven't taken it in 5+ years and tested out of level 1. Thought I should practice a bit of reading, even if I used the English translation to understand it.

Hour 4/My 2nd

I've been reading: Jellicoe Road
Books finished:1
Pages read: 87
Reading time: 55 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 148
Total time read: 1hr 10 minutes

Comments: Finished Trickster: Native American Tales. Highly recommend. The stories and illustrations were very varied, and a great pick if you like folktales. Reading Jellicoe Road seems interesting so far.

Yeah, I know that music can be distracting to some but I can't stand silence :P And it's relaxing to me.

Hour 4/My 3rd
I've been reading: The Return of the Native by Hardy
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 120
Reading time: 120 minutes

I thought I would be more weighed down by a classic for an activity like this but I'm actually getting really into it

#71- That reminds me, I am planning on making warm bourbon apple cider tomorrow :)

Still reading The Serpent's Tale. It is creeping by. I may take a Stephen Fry break and watch some Qi or something. Congratulations to Krys, Michelle, and Suzanne who have finished a book!

HOUR 1

I've been reading: The Bards of Bone Plain by Patricia A. McKillip
Books finished: none so far.
Pages read: 92
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 60 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 92
Total time read: 60 minutes
Total time posting: 10 minutes

Menu: Kettle popcorn (microwave) and hot tea.
Comments: This is one of my Christmas presents, a brand new book by a favorite author.

Count me in! I'll try to read a bit tonight and a bit more tomorrow before and after work (and at lunch). I'll probably have to check in late tomorrow, though.

1. Where are you reading from today?
I'm reading from Rockville, Maryland, tonight, but will be reading in other cities as well as Washington, DC tomorrow. :) (my Metro commute, you know!)

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be?
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Blue Mountain - Meir Shalev

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours
Living Green by Greg Horn just arrived today. That looks good.

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours?
My goal is just to enjoy what I'm reading and have fun. I think clocking my time is fun, but I don't want to set a time goal.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon?
Stop in this thread frequently to cheer everyone else on!

Happy reading, everyone!

I am just checking in to say I will be back in about 3.5 hours to take part.

Go everyone!!

#66: Krys: I'll post a review of it in the next couple of days on my new thread but I can tell you right now that I would definitely NOT recommend this book to just anyone. In this futuristic America (in the very near future), young people have been exposed to pornography from such a young age that the sexuality is very overt. When there's mention of sex and the sexual act, it tends to be... what some people would probably consider quite crude. Not to say that the book is pornographic or that it's sex wall-to-wall, but for that reason alone I wouldn't recommend it to someone who isn't comfortable with that sort of thing.

#82 & 83 Waving at Madeline and Stasia

HOURS 2-5 (4-7 pm)

I've been reading: Super Sad True Love Story
Books finished: None
Pages read: 56
Posting time: 45 minutes
Reading time: 1 hour 24 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 90
Total time read: 2 hours 24 minutes
Total time posting: 45 minutes

The Menu: 1.5 Activia yoghourt (Apple Muesli & Red Fruit and Cereal). Small portion of gift homemade Pannetone with gobs of unsalted butter. Earl Grey tea with milk & sugar. Getting seriously hungry now. Think I'll order a truly decadent pizza.
Comments: Yay! Only 40 pages left on Super Sad! I can't usually listen to music while reading these days. Sadly, having trouble listening to music at all for quite a few months now (interferes with my brainwaves of something) but this book really benefits from background ambient music. Fits with the futuristic theme I guess.

I love coming in and reading everybody's updates and so on, but I think I'm more comfortable with this rhythm of taking a few hours to read (with some short breaks when needed) and posting once in a while so that way I can get into the writing more which helps with concentration. Haven't decided what I'll read after I'm finished with Super Sad, but lord knows I have plenty of options!

Hi Stasia! See you in a while! And nice to have you here again Madeline...

Yo Ilana! That food list is making me seriously hungry. Which is insane since I'm sitting here surrounded by food... Hmmm, yours sounds better though.

I've finished a book, and a review one at that, yay, and had a little wander round the house while listening to Cameron de la Isla's Caminando. Nothing like a little Spanish flair to get you up and moving again!

HOUR 5

I've been reading: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate; Holes by Louis Sachar
Books finished: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate
Pages read: 33
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 25 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 182
Total time read: 3 hours 15 minutes
Total time posting: 1 hour 10 minutes

The Menu: Half a mug of nice strong coffee
Comments: Book one, finished! I must say, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove definitely improved as it went on, and redeemed itself from its lacklustre 'Mean Girls' opening. Review coming the read-a-thon! Thus far the headache's holding off, though the whooshy noise in my ears is a little ominous, so I've got me some coffee and started Holes. I enjoyed the movie and so far the book seems really quirky, easy to read and well paced, so it should be a good one for the read-a-thon, PLUS it's one of my books on a TBR challenge I'm doing on the blog, which is an added bonus. Onwards towards 2am!

I've read 54 pages tonight. As I've finished several books before the Readathon and my current priority book is 492 pages with 283 left to read (South Riding) I don't expect to finish anything during the readathon.

Congrats to Katie, Ellie, and Ilana for books completed! Break over, back to reading. If my current book doesn't finish soon, I may jump to The Children's Blizzard which I am looking forward to reading.

I thought my previous post was lost, so am overtyping this one.

>88 profilerSR: Thank you! *burrows into new book with great determination*

I've been reading: Penguin...German Verse, Master and Margarita
Books finished: Penguin...German Verse
Pages read: 23
Posting time/miscellany: 25 mins
Reading time: 1 hr

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 58
Total time read: 2 hrs
Total time posting/miscellany: 25 mins

Comments: After being excessively hyper all day, I'm finally starting to 'chill-out'. Hope that doesn't mean I'm gonna totally crash.

Checking in as I check out for some sleep.

I've been reading: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas pere
Books finished: None
Pages read: 8 chapters = 53 pages in abridged version, which is actually 13 chapters in the (unabridged, less abridged?) version on Gutenberg which I'm reading on my iPhone so maybe 100+ pages?
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 2 hours

The Menu: The hubby served me olives and then made me a sandwich for dinner. He also brought my computer to me as I had a cat firmly ensconced in my lap. (We have both discovered that we can get great service from the spouse by our desire to not disturb the "baby".)

Comments: I read a greatly abridged version years ago and really enjoyed the story. I have a larger version with 591 pages. But I have discovered the version on Gutenberg has even more detail and side characters and mini-plots and is even more fun. (Book club is in 6 days and I may not finish in time at this rate.)

Well I am here to check in. I have read sporadically over the past few hours. I read for about 30 minutes while I waited for my son after swim practice. I then read for about 1 hour and 30 mins before and after dinner. Here is my check in and my opening meme:

Check in hour 1
I've been reading: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (I am determined to finish this book just not today or during this read a thon)
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 10
Posting time: 0 minutes
Reading time: 18 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 10
Total time read: 18 minutes
Total time posting: 0 minutes

Check in hour 2
I've been reading: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (I am determined to finish this book just not today or during this read a thon)
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 25
Posting time: 0 minutes
Reading time: 55 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read:35
Total time read: 1 hour 13 minutes
Total time posting: 0 minutes

Check in hour 3
I've been reading: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (I am determined to finish this book just not today or during this read a thon)
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 13
Posting time: 20 minutes
Reading time: 30 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 48
Total time read: 1 hour 43 minutes
Total time posting: 20 minutes

The Menu: Ice cold water, chicken nuggets (home made), chips and a salad.
Comment: I am still reading my book and enjoying the Tudors. I am getting tired so I may go to bed earlier then usual.

1. Where are you reading from today? I read in my car and in my house in our tv room.

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be? Oh boy this is so hard. Outsiders by S.E. Hinton; I love that book. I have read it at least 3times. A Stranger is Watching by Mary Higgins Clark first book I ever read by Mary Higgins Clark and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, because those books got me back into reading again.

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours? I plan to only read Wolf Hall

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours? I would love to finish Wolf Hall as my ultimate goal but since I am only reading for a few hours I don't know if that will happen. I would like to make it to about page 450 by the end of this read a thon.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon? Just have fun. Don't worry about checking in every hour or trying to finish a book. Just read.

Katie - you won't be the only one! *thunk as Ellie's head hits her book*

Laura - Yeah, my mum pulls that one too. "But oh, Ellie, I couldn't possibly go and get that coffee/the TV remote/my book myself - I've got a kitten asleep on my knee and look! Look how cute she is!"

Monica - I really should read The Outsiders again sometime. I was obsessed with it at school, but I had a rough time in my teen years and was a little too swept away by it... So dramatic, and I loved Dally! Perhaps it's time to revisit it ten years on? *nicks a chip*

HOUR 6

I've been reading: Holes by Louis Sachar
Books finished: None
Pages read: 33
Posting time: 20 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 215
Total time read: 3 hours 55 minutes
Total time posting: 1 hour 30 minutes

The Menu: Random bits - a little coffee, a little grape juice, a little square of Spanish tortilla.
Comments: I'm starting to feel the effects of being at work all day before starting a read-a-thon! Rather fuggy right now. But I read a good chunk more of Holes which is great so far - short chapters, quirky characters, oddly amusing... I'll see how I go a bit longer, then I might be tempted to take a nap in the next hour or two.

second check in:

I've been reading: The Bards of Bone Plain by Patricia A. McKillip
Books finished: none so far.
Pages read: 104
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 60 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 196
Total time read: 120 minutes
Total time posting: 10 minutes

Menu: Pink Lady apple and hot tea.
Comments: This is one of my Christmas presents, a brand new book by a favorite author.

1. Where are you reading from today? San Diego, California, in my reading chair.

2. If you had to pick three absolute favourite books that you will return to over and over in your life, what would they be? Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper.

3. Any good books in sight for the next 24 hours? I'm playing it by ear (and eye).

4. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon? Anything you particularly want to finish, or a target number of hours? No.

5. Now that you're all getting experienced, what's your top tip for a great read-a-thon? Not enough experience yet.

HOUR 6/ MY 5TH

I've been reading: Room, by Emma Donoghue
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 11
Posting time: 0:00
Reading time: 0:18

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 188
Total time read: 3:32
Total time posting: 0:38

Comments: I took an hour and a half off to watch Rome with my family, but I spent it thinking about this book and how much I wanted to get back to it! The story is really engaging; I'm enjoying it a lot.

#88 Thanks but I've yet to finish my first book. Maybe I'm not doing this right, but I was under the assumption that "total books read" means how many books we are reading from, whether we have finished them or not. hmmmm...

Haven't done ANY reading in the last two hours. Just wanted to stop by and see how everybody's doing.

Ellie, I hope you do take that nap if you feel you need it. I'm sure we'll manage alright without you lovely presence here for a while. Won't be GREAT, but it should be okay. :-)

Three cheers everybody!


Ok. Finishing my decadent pizza slice and hunkering down to finish Super Sad True Love Story.

Reading
Denis Mackail, Greenery Street
Ellie Levenson, 50 Campaigns to Shout About

and others all mentioned above

Books finished: 0
Pages read: 96
Books read from: 6

I've been reading: Penguin...German Verse, Master and Margarita
Books finished: Penguin...German Verse
Pages read: 22
Posting time/miscellany: 10 mins
Reading time: 1 hr

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 80
Total time read: 3 hrs
Total time posting/miscellany: 35 mins

Comments: I think a short break and switch in books will be needed. . . and caffeine.

Hey Roni - nice going! Good luck for the next few hours...

Welcome back Krys! A TV break sounds pretty good - perhaps I'll indulge in one myself later, see if it has a similarly rejuvenating effect!

Hey Ilana! I'm using the 'Total books read' to tot up finished books, but use it as you will, as long as it makes sense to you for keeping track of things! You don't even have to use the same format - I used it for my first read-a-thon on my blog in October and just copied it across since I'm used to it now... Glad to know you'll miss me terribly if I end up snoring quietly on the couch, but I'll try to stick with it for the time being! ;-)

HOUR 7

I've been reading: Holes by Louis Sachar
Books finished: None
Pages read: 41
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 45 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 256
Total time read: 5 hours 40 minutes
Total time posting: 1 hour 45 minutes

The Menu: A slice of pizza, grape juice, a couple of sips of cold coffee but that was really icky so I'm making hot chocolate now!
Comments: A really good reading hour, considering how tired I'm getting. I'm not sure my brain's entirely awake right now, and my eyes sure as hell aren't, but I'm determined not to take a nap until I literally can't process another word! I'm nearly halfway through Holes already, and I'm loving it!

HOUR 7/MY 6TH

I've been reading: Room, by Emma Donoghue
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 18
Posting time: 0:10
Reading time: 0:27

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 206
Total time read: 3:59
Total time posting: 0:48

Comments: I am loving this book!

Ellie, I really liked Holes when I read it several years ago. I have not seen the movie, but I've heard the movie is not faithful to the plot of the book. Enjoy your hot chocolate! Mine was very good.

Still reading The Serpent's Tale.
Menu: grilled cheese sandwich; butterscotch haystacks.

OK, I take it back - I may not be joining in until after the football game is over :) I really have to watch this game - the last college game of the season. lol

Go everyone! Great group reading here!

Ellie I loved The Outsiders and revisited it last year. I may just read it again this year. I love the book Holes and the movie was just as good. That is another book I may decide to read again this year.

Monica- I don't know if I *loved* Wolf Hall but I definitely more than liked it. I applaud you for trying to read a lot at once, though. I did that for about 200 pages and was totally worn out after!

Hour 7/My 6th
I've been reading: The Return of the Native by Hardy
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 240
Reading time: 240 minutes

I refuse to shut my eyes until I finish this :)

I've been reading: Going, Going, Gone! The Art of the Trade in Major League Baseball by Fran Zimniuch
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 120
Reading time: 2.5 hours

Next up: Hmmmmm. Either go back to Skippy Dies or start something else.

Hour 7

I've been reading: Losing Eddie by Deborah Joy Corey and Living Green by Greg Horn.
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 41
Reading time: 0:27
Posting time: 12

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 41
Total time read: 0:27
Total time posting: 0:12

Comments: I'm too tired to read. My eyes keep closing. My book keeps falling down and closing. I'm heading for bed. I'll be off to work tomorrow. I think I'll take Losing Eddie along with me then...

Third check in:

I've been reading: The Bards of Bone Plain by Patricia A. McKillip
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 133
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 73 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 329
Total time read: 193 minutes
Total time posting: 10 minutes

Menu: Ham and beans (pink and white mix), cornbread, and a glass of Old Vine Zinfandel.
Comments: I finished this book. Taking a break while I prepare supper for when the husband gets off work in an hour, then I have to decide what to read next.

Sherlyn - it's not bad, thanks! Better if I'd drunk it while it was still hot, but hey, white hot chocolate-turned-milkshake works too... So far Holes is pretty much sticking to what I remember from the movie - but maybe they screwed up the ending or something. I'll see when I get there!

Go Erika! A noble goal indeed, especially mid-classic. You know I've only ever known one other person called Erika and she spells her name with a 'K' too. Quite unusual. That's the kind of fact that seems fascinating to throw out there at 4am, my apologies... :-)

Linda - Is Skippy Dies any good? There seem to be a lot of rave reviews around it but I haven't quite been swayed enough to fall off the fence either way yet...

Night Madeline!

Enjoy the supper break Roni...

HOUR 8

I've been reading: Holes by Louis Sachar
Books finished: None
Pages read: 35
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 291
Total time read: 6 hours 20 minutes
Total time posting: 1 hour 55 minutes

The Menu: Half a mug of white hot chocolate. I'll try and finish it before it's completely stone cold - you'd think I'd have learned by now, wouldn't you?
Comments: It's the mark of a really good book where you 'awaken' from it at the hourly alarm and only then realise how tired you are. For a book about boys digging holes and a surreal great-grandfather's back story, it's really absorbing!

HOUR 8/MY 7TH

I've been reading: Room, by Emma Donoghue
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 38
Posting time: 0:10
Reading time: 0:44

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 244
Total time read: 4:43
Total time posting: 0:58

Comments: I had to force myself to put this book down to update, it's so intense!

HOURS 5-8 (7-11 pm)

I've been reading: Super Sad True Love Story
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 37
Posting time: 1.5 hours
Reading time: 1 hour 08 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 127
Total time read: 3 hours 32 minutes
Total time posting: 2 hours 15 minutes

The Menu: 2 small-ish slices of truly decadent pizza i.e. Angela's Special with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, pepperoni and bacon. 1 diet Dr. Pepper. 1 homemade Israeli salad.
Comments: This update covers the last 4 hours and in all that time I only managed to read for just over an hour. That's right. There was my little angel to take for a walk. Pizza to order, sugar-free sodas to purchase, furry ones to feed, salad to prepare, pizza to be eaten, posting to be done. You get the idea. But the good news is I finished reading Super Sad True Love Story!!! Hurrrrrrraaaaayyyyyy!!! It was a Christmas gift from my dad this year from Indigo bookstore and I'm glad he gave me the gift receipt with it because I am definitely marching into that store and getting a book that I will enjoy more than this one. I don't know if it's like that in other places, but Indigo's policy is that if you don't enjoy a book, you can exchange it no questions asked as long as it's within the allotted timeframe. That said, I'm glad I finished it. I did get something out of it, but I'd be hard-pressed to say what that is right now. Anyway. Onward!

I'll be joining the readathon in an hour or so, just got to get our dinner sorted as it's 5.30pm here. Through the day I managed to finish the audiobook I listened to during the last readathon, Vile bodies by Evelyn Waugh which is about 40pgs worth of reading. Quite fun to listen to all the different upperclass accents, mostly drunken ones!
So hours 2 thru' 8:
I've been reading: Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh, Flora Segunda
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 45
Posting time: 0:10
Reading time: 0:25

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 90
Total time read: 1:25
Total time posting: 0:15

I've been reading: Penguin...German Verse, Master and Margarita, WebMage
Books finished: Penguin...German Verse
Pages read: 27
Posting time/miscellany: 50 mins
Reading time: 40 mins

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 107
Total time read: 3 hrs 40 mins
Total time posting/miscellany: 85 mins

Comments: While at HPB I picked up Cybermancy only to realize a couple days later it was a sequel. Went back and they had WebMage, which is the 1st of the series. Some nice brain candy. And on the 1st page I realize from a web address that it's set in Dinky Town--aka UofM campus in Minneapolis, 20 min drive from me and a place I frequent. :D

I've been reading: Unclutter your life in one week
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 41
Posting time: 0:05
Reading time: 0:18

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 370
Total time read: 3:31
Total time posting: 0:15

Menu: decaffeinated black tea
Comments: I'm going to call a halt on this one--it needs processing and note taking, and is too slow for a readathon. Flora Segunda would be a great one for this, Kerry, but I've already read it!

Wow, Krys... sounds like you've found the perfect read for an all-out book spree! I might have to see where my copy is, see if I fancy it when I finish Holes!

Ilana - Glad you finished that one with hope on the horizon then...

Kerry - Ah, you've got to love a good upper-class English drunkard slurring his words whilst still attempting to remain the perfect gentleman...

Katie - I didn't understand a word of that last part, but go you anyway! :-)

HOUR 9

I've been reading: Holes by Louis Sachar
Books finished: None
Pages read: 38
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 329
Total time read: 7 hours
Total time posting: 2 hours 10 minutes

The Menu: The rest of that white hot chocolate, plus a couple of little squares of Spanish tortilla with ground black pepper sprinkled over them, just to keep me going
Comments: Still really enjoying the book, and I haven't slowed up at all pace-wise which is great. I'm not far off the end of this second book and have loved every minute of it, so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead and have a little nap before I carry on. My eyes are so heavy, and my stomach's feeling a bit queasy, as it always does when I'm so tired I could drop, so I'm off for a snooze before I carry on reading! See you in an hour!

Ellie: Definitely! And I'm glad you're enjoying Holes. That's one I read over and over growing up, and I've got fond memories of reading it aloud to my younger sister. It really is a great read. :)

Ilena: Sorry you didn't enjoy Super Sad True Love Story so much - I'll probably have to give that one a pass, myself - but I'm glad you can at least exchange it for something more your speed! I hate having books I disliked lying around my shelves. There are too many great reads out there to waste the space (and money)!

HOUR 9/MY 8TH

I've been reading: Room, by Emma Donoghue
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 29
Posting time: 0:02
Reading time: 0:45

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 273
Total time read: 5:28
Total time posting: 1:00

Comments: I'm definitely going to finish this novel tonight; there's no way I could sleep without getting to the end.

OK, I am in now. I will be reading Over the Edge by Jonathan Kellerman, which is due back at the library Tuesday. After that, who knows?

Yay, Stasia! I'm glad you could join us, finally!

Ellie, I'm getting unintelligible? What, me? Oh, 2nd wind you've come to join us? *giggles
Oh, dear. It's beginning :P

12:27 Eastern Standard Time. I've finished The Serpent's Tale. Taking out the dogs, then I will be finally starting The Children's Blizzard.

Krys, I'm looking forward to reading Room when it's available at my library. Sounds really, really good!

#109 My view of Skippy Dies keeps changing. I almost never read fiction, unless it's a mystery so this is an oddball book for me--a long novel.

I've been reading: Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Books finished: 1 (Going, Going, Gone! The Art of the Trade in Major League Baseball).
Pages read: 160
Reading time: 4.0 hours

Getting really sleepy.

I expect to have about 1.5 to 2 hours of reading in the morning and at lunch tomorrow. Aiming to get to the 33 percent done mark (on my Kindle) on Skippy Dies by 2 pm on Tuesday.

HOUR 9/My Hour 6

I've been reading: Granta 111, Mrs. Dalloway
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 187 in Granta, 34 in Mrs. Dalloway
Posting time: 20 minutes
Reading time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 221
Total time read: 3 hours 40 minutes
Total time posting: 20 minutes

The Menu: Bourbon and water, slice of cheddar, and a gingerbread biscotti (not all together!).

Comments: Read all that was of interest in Granta 111, so I'm done with that. I'm enjoying Mrs. Dalloway but am finding the sections of Septimus Smith and Lucrezia more interesting than those on Clarissa. I took out half an hour to watch a show on 'The King's Speech,' which I saw (and loved) this afternoon), and since I've been struggling to stay awak, I'm off to get some sleep.

My Hour 1

I've been reading: Over the Edge
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 91
Posting time: 1 minute
Reading time: 59 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 91
Total time read: 59 minutes
Total time posting: 1 minute

The Menu: Diet Pepsi

Comments: Off and running now on the Readathon (finally!) Enjoying this book in the Delaware series more than the previous two and look to finish it up this next hour.

I've been reading: Rules by Cynthia Lord
Pages read: 116
Posting time: 0:05
Reading time: 0:35

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 486
Total time read: 4:05
Total time posting: 0:20

Menu: decaffeinated black tea
Comments: Picked up Rules, a middle school book I've been meaning to read so I can donate it to my (former) school library. Good choice--it's going very quickly and I will probably finish it before I go to sleep. However, I'll be reading in bed from now on, so this is my last post tonight. See you in the morning.

I've been reading: Soon I will Be Invincible
Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 207
Total time read: about four hours give or take.
Total time posting: 15 minutes

The Menu: Lots of hot tea and honey for my sore throat.

Comments: Had potential. Faltered in the execution.

A) We didn't need to be told every other chapter how Dr. Impossible was a picked on nobody who later became a supervillain. His origin story was stretched way too thin over too many chapters. And dear lord the lists. There are only so many times you can rehash your litany of of cartoon supervillainy before it just gets repetitive.

B) The heroes on the other hand...I did not need fifty quadrillion origin stories. I didn't care. I didn't need a ton of names dropped. I like that the author included all the heroes to show how expansive this world with superheroes is. But you shouldn't be introducing new names to drop three quarters of the way through the book. Based on the sequel hook bits, it seems like Grossman was setting up for a sequel (like most superhero movies). If that were the case, he should have lightened up on all the origin stories. Just because he lampshaded the constant repetition of these origin stories doesn't mean that they work, even as a parody.

C) The climax. A twist that could have worked, but was handled poorly. All the heroes, who have presumably known each other for over a decade (save for the new cyborg woman Fatale, the one character I really cared about) should know each other's origin stories.

Maybe this book was meant to be a parody of superhero movies and comics and conventions. The parts describing Dr. Impossible's previous doomsday/take over the world devices (Fungus army?) were funny the first time around. The soap opera dynamics of the old Champions team (think Justice League) as seen through the eyes of the new recruit was fun and could have been even more fun if we spent more time in their present and less time recounting origins and backstory that was only tangentially related to the plot. It's obvious that the author loves the genre. But I think the book is too much a fanboy compendium and not enough of a story.

125: Hope your next read is more enjoyable.

I've been reading: Penguin...German Verse, Master and Margarita, WebMage
Books finished: Penguin...German Verse
Pages read: 28
Posting time/miscellany: 50 mins
Reading time: 40 mins

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 107
Total time read: 4 hrs 20 mins
Total time posting/miscellany: 135 mins

Menu: can of Mt Dew & leftover pizza
Comments: WebMage might keep me awake :)

I've gotten another 3 hours of reading in, and am now starting to fall asleep, even though it's only 10:30. I've read from p. 208 to p. 327, 119 pages. With the 52 pages read earlier I've read a total of 171 pages. I'm finding Invisible Man very slow going. It's dense and requires a lot of concentration.

Ellie- Thanks for your encouragement, it was a great success : I commend you for staying up so late, though! And haha, I rarely meet others who spell it my way :P

I've been reading: The Return of the Native by Hardy
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 401
Reading time: 375 minutes- 6hrs, 25mins

I really enjoyed it, in fact I can say I *loved* it :) Off to bed and then will start another in the morning. Keep on readin' everyone!

Ash - the book may have been rubbish, but your thoughts on it are wonderful!

Katie - I falled asleep, I sowwy... :-( On the plus side, now Stasia's arrived I can breathe a little easier knowing you're all in good company if my eyes spontaneously decide to gang up on me and close again!

HOUR 11

I've been reading: Holes by Louis Sachar
Books finished: None
Pages read: 14
Posting time: 0 minutes
Reading time: 15 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 343
Total time read: 7 hours 15 minutes
Total time posting: 2 hours 20 minutes

The Menu: Nothing
Comments: I slept... and I slept a bit more. For most of hour 10, then I snoozed right into hour 11, then I got up and read a little bit, then whaddya know, I slept again. I feel a little more human - and hungry - now so I think I'll go get something for breakfast and see if I can't wake up a bit, stop my eyes feeling so much like they want to close again for the next five hours...

My Hour 2

I've been reading: Over the Edge, Sea Whispers, and The Complete Works of Montaigne
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 141
Posting time: 1 minute
Reading time: 59 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 232
Total time read: 1 hour, 58 minutes
Total time posting: 2 minutes

The Menu: Diet Pepsi

Comments: Finished up Over the Edge as expected. Did some reading of the Jacobs book as well as 3 of Montaigne's essays. Tackling one of the 5 (!) ER books that I still need to read next. Just not sure which one.

HOURS 10-11/MY 9TH & 10TH

I've been reading: Room, by Emma Donoghue
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 73
Posting time: 0:07
Reading time: 1:50

Total books read: 2 (Oreo and Room)
Total pages read: 484
Total time read: 7:18
Total time posting: 1:07

Menu: 2 tbsp NyQuil xD
Comments: I was so involved in the last chapters of Room that I completely forgot to stop at the ten-hour mark and update! I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone prepared for the disturbing elements of the setting/situation. It was a great read, perfect for this kind of read-a-thon.

I'm going to stop for the night, though, and get some sleep before my class tomorrow morning. It's been a lot of fun, guys! Good luck to those of you continuing on; I'll think of you all as I plug in my headphones and queue up my audiobook for my morning commute in seven hours. :)

Hi all! I'm reading The Children's Blizzard under the electric blanket. This is only the second book I've read on my new Nook. When I first started the book, there was a map in the first few pages. When I went to check the map again, there is only the word "map" but no actual map. I don't know what happened. Anyway, the book itself is very interesting. I want to read for at least one more hour before I sleep for awhile.

Here's the midway meme, a little early, so people can do it when they want. The halfway point's less than an hour away!

THE MID-WAY MEME

1. What are you reading right now and how's it going?

2. How many books have you read so far?

3. What's the plan for the second half of the read-a-thon? Is there a particular book you're looking forward to getting to?

4. What else have you been up to when you needed a well-earned break from the books?

5. Are you getting tired yet?!

Total: hours 4 to 11

Well, only about 3.5 of those spent reading. Went to a movie (Black Swan; meh), then came back and picked up a book again. About to put it down, get some dinner (at 2 a.m.???) and read in bed for an hour.

I've been reading: The Crash of the Titans by Greg Farrell and The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
Books finished: one A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron
Pages read: (since last update) 246 pages
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 3.5 hours

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 428

I've just spent 2.5 hours in the kitchen and watching the news. The floods in Queensland, Australia are horrible. My brother lives in the Toowoomba area that received today's flashflood but luckily he was in Sydney at the time. His partner is home, marooned but on higher ground than most properties, so is safe. They have a small rural property, raise miniature ponies and foster stray animals. They usually have to worry about bushfires not floods.

So 3 more pages of Flora Segunda while demolishing 2 helpings of fattoush salad for my dinner. I also cooked chicken and spaghetti bolognese but it's too hot to eat all that. Now going to concentrate on reading for a couple of hours.

#115: Yes, thank heavens that's done with. Have moved on and getting over the trauma slowly. (just kidding_

#116: Krys: I don't hang on to most books I've read anyway unless I enjoyed them so much I know I'll definitely want to read them again. I wouldn't have any room to keep them otherwise!

HOURS 8-11 (11 pm-2 am)

I've been reading: Egon Schiele: The Leopold Collection by Rudolf Leopold and Doors Open by Ian Rankin
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 52 from Schiele, 77 from Door Open
Posting time: 40 minutes
Reading time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Total books finished: 1
Total books read from: 3
Total pages read: 256
Total time read: 5 hours 42 minutes
Total time posting: 2 hours 55 minutes

The Menu: handful of Smarties, rhum and Diet Coke (only managed to drink half)
Comments: I feel nauseous. Yuck. Not used to eating pizza. I have it maybe once or twice a year. Not tempted to eat it more often because it always ends up making my tummy hurt. Yuck. Almost finished with my Schiele book but it's an art book so makes no sense to rush through it. Enjoying Doors Open quite a lot. Easy reading as I go deeper into the wee hours of the night and into morning. Will read in bed for as long as I can, update before I got to sleep for a while if I can manage keep my eyes open at that point. Brining the laptop to bed with me in case walking over to the living room proves to be too much effort by then.

Everyone still in one piece, just about?

Ilana - Pizza + not enough sleep isn't doing me an awful lot of good either - but it's just so darn YUMMY! I'm switching to breakfast foods now for a bit, but I'm sure I'll have another nibble at the leftovers again in a while... :-)

HOUR 12

I've been reading: Holes by Louis Sachar
Books finished: None
Pages read: 29
Posting time: 25 minutes
Reading time: 35 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 372
Total time read: 7 hours 50 minutes
Total time posting: 2 hours 45 minutes

The Menu: A handful of M'n'Ms when I woke up properly
Comments: Well, I managed to stay awake a whole hour on the run-up to the halfway point! A good hour's reading too. I'm nearly at the end of Holes now, which is fantastic, so once again it'll soon be time to start thinking about what to read next. My stomach feels a bit dodgy at the moment - as it always does whenever I try to pull something like this that involves not enough sleep - but I think I'll take a gamble on some form of breakfast this next hour. It's getting light, a new day has begun, and I'm halfway to being able to crash out again!

THE MID-WAY MEME

1. What are you reading right now and how's it going?
I'm nearly at the end of Holes by Louis Sachar, which has been wonderful thus far. A little magical, brilliant touches of humour, some dark undertones, a moment that made me want to cry...

2. How many books have you read so far?
I finished the second half of Lauren Kate's new novel The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove, then moved onto Holes.

3. What's the plan for the second half of the read-a-thon? Is there a particular book you're looking forward to getting to?
Hmmm, I'm not quite sure what to read next! I'm tempted to pick up Room after Krys's effusive praises every hour so far, but I'll see what grabs me at the time I think.

4. What else have you been up to when you needed a well-earned break from the books?
I've had about an hour and a half's sleep, which has probably done me some good. I thought I might this time, I felt a little tired before I even started! I've had some bites to eat while I've been reading, but other than that the only break was to listen to Camaron de la Isla's Caminando for a couple of minutes while I chose a new book!

5. Are you getting tired yet?!
Understatement of the century. If I wasn't hosting I'd have had a night's sleep this time, I think... On the plus side, I've nearly finished a second book already, so all in all I think the two just about balance each other out! :-)

My Hour 3

I've been reading: When Doctors Kill
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 38
Posting time: 1 minute
Reading time: 44 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 270
Total time read: 2 hour, 43 minutes
Total time posting: 3 minutes

The Menu: Diet Pepsi & pizza (the perfect Readathon food, IMHO)

Comments: I picked up a different ER book and then saw this one and grabbed it instead. I think it has the smallest book type known to man, making it difficult for me to read. Thus far, I am not liking the book all that well - numerous typos, changes in tone that I think are supposed to be funny

Way to go all you Read-A-Thoners, keep on going!!

3:11 my time and just past the halfway point.

THE MID-WAY MEME

1. What are you reading right now and how's it going?

Working on The Children's Blizzard, and it is very interesting. The first part of the book is describing the settlers who came to the midwest and will feature later during the blizzard.

2. How many books have you read so far?
Finished one book which was already started before the read-a-thon.

3. What's the plan for the second half of the read-a-thon? Is there a particular book you're looking forward to getting to?

It would be great to finish or almost-finish TCB.

4. What else have you been up to when you needed a well-earned break from the books?
Took the dogs out, watched an episode of Qi. That's pretty much it.

5. Are you getting tired yet?!
Yes! I am off to sleep for a few hours and I'll resume in the morning.

Happy Reading to all!!

THE MID-WAY MEME

1. What are you reading right now and how's it going?
WebMage, going pretty well. Nothing spectacular, but yummy brain candy set near my home :)

2. How many books have you read so far?
From 3: German Verse I finished after picking at it for over a year. A few more chapters of the group read Master and Margarita. Now hoping to get mostly or all the way through WebMage.

3. What's the plan for the second half of the read-a-thon? Is there a particular book you're looking forward to getting to?
WebMage. If I need to switch, which is completely possible, maybe fluffy YA series continuation.

4. What else have you been up to when you needed a well-earned break from the books?
Hmmmm, catching up on posts, dinner after midnight, shower, TechnoBeatsDancePartyTime!!!

5. Are you getting tired yet?!
Uhhh, doesn't TechnoBeatsDancePartyTime answer that? A big whopping YES! LOL

Oops, forgot to do the Meme:

THE MID-WAY MEME

1. What are you reading right now and how's it going? When Doctors Kill - I am unimpressed

2. How many books have you read so far? 4 (bits and pieces of each)

3. What's the plan for the second half of the read-a-thon? Is there a particular book you're looking forward to getting to?
Hopefully I can finish the ER book I am reading within the next few hours and then pick up another one (or two). I really need to catch up on these!

4. What else have you been up to when you needed a well-earned break from the books? I took a break last hour to eat pizza, but I have not been reading that long

5. Are you getting tired yet?! No

My Hour 4

I've been reading: When Doctors Kill
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 56
Posting time: 3 minutes
Reading time: 57 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 326
Total time read: 3 hour, 40 minutes
Total time posting: 6 minutes

The Menu: Diet Pepsi

Comments: The book is not improving with age

Stasia - What is it with ER books and being generally a bit crap? *looks dubiously at the ones sitting on her own shelf right now* At least you have pizza!

Sherlyn - Hmmm. I wonder what I can find on iPlayer if I need a break? *skips off to check last week's TV listings for possible candidates*

Katie - well, hold onto your hats, people, she's away!

Past the half-way point! Go, go, go!

HOUR 13

I've been reading: Holes by Louis Sachar; The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Books finished: Holes by Louis Sachar
Pages read: 22
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 30 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 394
Total time read: 8 hours 20 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours

The Menu: The first half of a rather naughty breakfast of coffee and a big chocolate chip muffin
Comments: I finished Holes! With a tear or two in my eye at the happy ending, I must admit! I might have to get hold of the movie again at some point now I've read the book. Anyway, I have breakfast *points to muffin* and I decided on The Reader as my next read. The chapters seem fairly short and I'm hoping it'll be absorbing enough to carry me on through the hours fairly painlessly!

HOURS 11-13 (2-4 am)

I've been reading: Doors Open by Ian Rankin
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 35
Posting time: 35 minutes
Reading time: 44 minutes

Total books finished: 1
Total books read from: 3
Total pages read: 291
Total time read: 6 hours 26 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours 30 minutes

The Menu: a handful of Smarties and an orange
Comments: Barely making sense out of words. Only 44 minutes of reading in the last two hours—where does the time go?? Off to sleep for a while. See you all later.

See you later Ilana - I know the feeling well and it's definitely a signal that it's time for some sleep!

HOUR 14

I've been reading: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Books finished: None
Pages read: 11 pages
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 25 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 405
Total time read: 8 hours 45 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours 15 minutes

The Menu: The rest of the coffee and choc chip muffin. So good!
Comments: I had another brief zzzz after I made the mistake of stretching out on floor trying to get comfy... I might have to switch from The Reader at some point - I think it's going to be a great read but all the short chapters in the world won't save me from nodding off if they stay this reflective and lyrical. It's just sending my brain in circles trying to stick with it! I'll persevere a little longer and see how I get on.

My Hour 5

I've been reading: When Doctors Kill
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 70
Posting time: 1 minute
Reading time: 59 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 396
Total time read: 4 hour, 39 minutes
Total time posting: 7 minutes

The Menu: Diet Pepsi

Comments: A little bit of improvement in the book this hour, although I am rather disgusted with the typos (one page had 2 sentences repeated) and the attempts at 'one-off' lines seem inappropriate to me. Somehow, I do not think of murder as being a funny subject. I am determined to finish this book though!

Am I the only one still awake? Hello? Anyone?

HOURS 11-14 (8-11 pm)

I've been reading: Flora Segunda by Ysabeau Wilce
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 42
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books finished: 1
Total books read from: 3
Total pages read: 132
Total time read: 2 hours 10 minutes
Total time posting: 15 minutes

Time for a coffee

Ah, good! It was beginning to echo in here - I was thinking I was the only one left reading :)

I'm here! I'm awake!
Total pages read: 157
I'm all over the place right now o_0; *yawn

My Hour 6

I've been reading: When Doctors Kill
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 64
Posting time: 2 minutes
Reading time: 53 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 460
Total time read: 5 hour, 32 minutes
Total time posting: 9 minutes

The Menu: Diet Pepsi

Comments: Posting a few minutes early as I finished the book. I need to go make the broth for the Homemade Chicken Soup I am making for dinner tonight, so will not be reading much in the coming hour.

Stasia - I'm still here! Struggling horribly though. Maybe moving onto a new book will help this next hour. You posted eight minutes after me before so we crossed paths a bit last time...

Katie? All over the place? Really? ;-)

HOUR 15

I've been reading: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink; Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Books finished: None
Pages read: 21 pages
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 426
Total time read: 9 hours 25 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours 25 minutes

The Menu: A few gulps of nice cold red grape juice!
Comments: I've set The Reader aside for the time being. Not that it wasn't holding promise or anything, but my mind just can't cope with the philosophical musings and lyrical text right now. Maybe later... So instead, I've turned my mind to Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast. Yes, it's got smaller type, and yes, it's meandering in its own way - but it's got BOOKS in it, and its quite funny and whimsical, so I'm hoping for the best!

Just dropping by to report another 74 pages read this morning, 53 of those from South Riding, so a total of 170 so far. I still have lunchtime and the journey home.

I've been reading: Flora Segunda by Ysabeau Wilce
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 62
Posting time: 4 minutes
Reading time: 35 minutes

Total books finished: 1
Total books read from: 3
Total pages read: 194
Total time read: 2 hours 45 minutes
Total time posting: 18 minutes

Flora Segunda is fun and I'll probably finish it tomorrow. I'll switch books soon to A thread of grace which I'm finding a little staid. It's just gone midnight here and I'm fairly tired but should be able to do another hour or so.

Hi everyone. You are all doing a great job. I am just stopping in to say hello. I slept and just woke up so I haven't read since my post last night. I will try to get some reading done at work today.

Erika - I am enjoying Wolf Hall mainly because it is making me look at the history of England more then usual. I have to finish the book by next Wed and I know that if it hadn't been for this read a thon and the one this past weekend I wouldn't be this far in the book by now.

We are due to get snow late this afternoon so I hope I am able to finish the book if I happen to either have off on Wed or a late start for work.

Keep going everyone!!

Well, I've lost track of actual time reading vs miscellany. . . but have a total of 173 pages. Dreadful numbers really, but with my mind as it's been today--well, I'm just glad any reading got done.

Oh 5am, you have punched my awakefulness so hard. UGH!!

Hey everyone! It's 6:45 in Ohio and I'm ready to get started again in 15 minutes. I've been trying to catch up on all the late-night posts but there's just too many of them, so maybe I'll come back to it later.

Well, I'm wide-awake and raring to go! I'll eat a quick breakfast now and then hit the books! :)

How's everyone doing? Suddenly the hours seem to be flying by again - though I really shouldn't speak too soon with another eight still ahead...

Katie - you're doing just fine while you ARE reading, and providing all of us with a ray of sunshine when you're NOT. I salute you!

Stephen - Hooray for returning to the books! Maybe we're having a positive influence on you after all... :-)

HOUR 16

I've been reading: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Books finished: None
Pages read: 16 pages
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 442
Total time read: 10 hours 5 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours 35 minutes

The Menu: A teensy bit of sweet popcorn and some water
Comments: Hallelujah! Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast: the book I SHOULD have started when I finished my last book. It's a little slower to read, but delicious. Bookish, whimsical, funny, charming, wonderful. And thanks to a little time awake at last, and some peppermint capsules to calm my stomach back down again from its sleep-deprived grumblings, I feel much better. Onwards, fellow readers!

Ah Ellie, sunshine? Really? That makes me feel like giddyness in Kindergarten when I got a gold star (and not the infinitesimally inferior silver stars) :D

I just started reading again after an hour off taking care of household stuff and posting the review of my ER book. I am now starting again - another ER book.

I read another 30 or so pages of Flora Segunda and will probably fall asleep this hour. So catch up with everyone in the last hour or so.

A big cheer from me to all who are still reading!

Katie - or worse, when you were expecting a gold star and you got an ink stamp instead. A lacklustre flower saying 'Well done!' is just NOT in the same league, is it?

Stasia - May it be infinitely better than the last one...

Kerry - Sweet dreams! I suspect a few of us may be with you in spirit... :-)

Thanks Genny! Amazing how much that helps!

HOUR 17

I've been reading: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Books finished: None
Pages read: 16 pages
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 458
Total time read: 10 hours 45 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours 45 minutes

The Menu: A slice of pizza, a Spanish tortilla square, Ovaltine and a sprinkling of sweet popcorn. I guess I'm getting the waking-up munchies!
Comments: Thoroughly enjoying BBB&B - it might turn out to be one of my favourites of the year at this rate! My stomach's settled right down and my appetite's woken up again, which is a good indicator that the next couple of hours, at least, might be fairly productive. I have a heap of newly-arrived parcels of clothes to try on later, and I took a five-minute breather at the end of the hour to randomly listen to this, one of my favourite pieces and one of my favourite renditions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8uoY9e5YVY&feature=related

Thanks, Genny!

My Hour 6

I've been reading: My Nine Lives
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 53
Posting time: 1 minute
Reading time: 53 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 449

The Menu: Diet Pepsi

Comments: I am liking this book much better than the previous ER book.

Hour 17(?)
7am-8am
Currently reading: Southern Storm by Terri Blackstock

Pgaes read this hour: 48
Total pages read: 136

Wow! That was one productive hour. I had everything taken care of and out of the way, so I could sit and read the whole time. It helps that the chapters seem to be getting shorter and shorter (lots of blank space on the pages) and this 'mystery' is finally coming to a conclusion (slightly more exciting now...). Another hour like that and I'll finally be through with this book!

I'm back! A bit later than I would've liked, but back none the less. It sounds like everyone has been very productive. I'm still running around taking care of dogs, making coffee, etc. but I'm itching to get back to The Children's Blizzard.

Welcome back, Sher! I hope you continue to like The Children's Blizzard. I really did.

My Hour 7

I've been reading: My Nine Lives
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 66
Posting time: 1 minute
Reading time: 59 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 515

The Menu: Diet Pepsi

Comments: This book is really moving along!

Edited to fix the hour

Hour 17

Figuring I don't have time to read everyone's posts now, I'll do that after work and after the readathon. I like this book and read more after I went to bed.

Here's where I stand now:

I've been reading: Losing Eddie by Deborah Joy Corey
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 41
Reading time: 27 minutes
Posting time: 10 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 91 pages
Total time read: 1 hour, 19 minutes
Total time posting: 23 minutes

THE MID-WAY MEME

1. What are you reading right now and how's it going?
I'm reading Losing Eddie which is going really quickly. It's narrated by an nine-year-old so is rather uncomplicated but the story is interesting.

2. How many books have you read so far?
I started two, but finished none.

3. What's the plan for the second half of the read-a-thon? Is there a particular book you're looking forward to getting to?
I'm going forward with Losing Eddie as I like it very much. I'll be taking it to work with me today to read on my commute.

4. What else have you been up to when you needed a well-earned break from the books? Sleeping, eating. Now I'm having peppermint coffee and rye bread toast! Weird, I know! Plus my younger son came to visit and wanted to talk again last night. I loved that, though.

5. Are you getting tired yet?! I had a full night sleep, but the thought of going to work makes me tired. :)

Welcome back Sherlyn! How long have you been away? Time seems to have sped up these past few hours, for some reason. I swear, only five minutes ago it was still dark... Now it's 2pm!

Glad you've settled into a good ER book this time, Stasia!

HOUR 18

I've been reading: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Books finished: None
Pages read: 15 pages
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 30 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 473
Total time read: 11 hours 15 minutes
Total time posting: 4 hours

The Menu: Pretty much the same as the last hour - I'm just skipping about between the pizza/tortilla leftovers, the juice carton, and an open bag of popcorn.
Comments: Another decent hour, though I did spend fifteen minutes retrieving muffins/quiche from down at the house (thanks Mum!) and laughing at Millie (small kitten) who was chasing her tail round and round on the stairs, falling down one step at a time until she freaked herself out and came tearing down the rest full pelt and skidded into the kitchen to see Mum... :-)

6 in the morning here, and I'm up. I did finish Rules before falling asleep last night.

I've been reading: Rules by Cynthia Lord
Pages read: 84
Posting time: 0:05
Reading time: 0:21

Total books read: 3 (finished Rules and The Bards of Bone Plain, read some of Unclutter your life in one week!!
Total pages read: 570
Total time read: 4:26
Total time posting: 0:25

Menu: coffee and oatmeal
Comments: I'm going to start Sense and Sensibility for the group read.

THE MID-WAY MEME

1. What are you reading right now and how's it going?

I'm between books, waking up from 7 hours sleep, and ready to read for an hour or two before starting other things I need to do. Just let me skim the threads first. ;-)

2. How many books have you read so far?

I've read two complete books and 40 pages out of another.

3. What's the plan for the second half of the read-a-thon? Is there a particular book you're looking forward to getting to?

I'm thinking I will start Sense and Sensibility. I'm going to be doing some housework this morning as well, so it won't all be reading.

4. What else have you been up to when you needed a well-earned break from the books?

A good night's sleep.

5. Are you getting tired yet?!

No. (see above)

Ellie, I slept for about five hours! I now have my Starbucks Verona coffee which is my favorite. I received a package in my stocking for Christmas. Continuing on...

Menu: those little powdered donuts, dunked in the coffee.

After realizing I was missing the page count from a book. . . my total so far is 328. Still awake, been that way for 26 hrs. Am now eating pretzels and Mt Dew.

Just got up about half an hour ago, so there's no update on my reading from last night.

THE MID-WAY MEME

1. What are you reading right now and how's it going?

Mrs. Dalloway. I read it maybe 30 years ago, so this is a reread; I'm teaching it next semester, paired with Michael Cunningham's The Hours. It's going fine, although at the point I left off, I wanted to get back to Septimus Warren Smith's story.

2. How many books have you read so far?

One.

3. What's the plan for the second half of the read-a-thon? Is there a particular book you're looking forward to getting to?

I have an appointment at the office at noon and a dental appointment at 2:00, so I'm not sure I'll get much reading done before then (although I know enough to take a book with me to the dentist!).

4. What else have you been up to when you needed a well-earned break from the books?

Went to see 'The King's Speech' and had dinner with a friend; did two loads of laundry; watched a half-hour show on 'The King's Speech,'; checked in here; got some much-needed sleep.

5. Are you getting tired yet?!

No, but my answer might have been different at midnight!

128> I listened to The Return of the Native on audio--read by Alan Rickman. (Need I say more?)

Oops. Okay, I'm really going to stop reading LT threads and go get my book now.

SHERLYN! Ohhh, that sounds so good and now I want donuts dunked in coffee even though I've got about eight million muffins on my kitchen counter!

Almost into hour 20 people, then you know it's just a count-down of the last stretch to the big 2-4... It's nice to have readers waking and joining the fray again, bringing a bit of energy back to revive spirits across the read-a-thon!

HOUR 19

I've been reading: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Books finished: None
Pages read: 6 pages
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 10 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 479
Total time read: 11 hours 25 minutes
Total time posting: 4 hours 15 minutes

The Menu: Spanish tortilla (just one square left now), a Starbucks coffee milkshake that I spiked with a little TOO much Baileys, making me pull a startled face every time I take a gulp
Comments: I pulled another Sleeping Beauty (or Flaming June!) again this hour. Suddenly and inexplicably my eyes would stay open no more, so I crawled onto the chair and was asleep in seconds. The book's slowed off a little and one of the two brothers is starting to wear on me more than the other, though perhaps that was the tiredness making judgements again. Hopefully I'll do better again in the run-up to 4pm...

Hour 18
8am-9am

Pages read this hour: 45
Total pages read: 181

Another very productive hour! I actually read faster than the last hour, even though I read less pages, because I spent the first 15 minutes posting. :)

Hour 19
9am-10am

Pages read this hour: 21
Total pages read: 202

That's it! It's over! It's done with! I have completed Southern Storm. Ah, sweet relief! I was so happy to finally get that done I spent the rest of the hour savoring a piece of cheese and garlic Texas toast and browsing LT a bit.

Oh, and it's snowing! I didn't think it was supposed to start so early, and to be honest I'm not even sure when it started actually... sometime in the past 2 hours I suppose. :P

I'm going to take Shyanne out for a bit and take a shower before settling into the final stretch. Next up I'll be starting The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford. I read The Fall of Rome last year and really liked it so I'm looking forward to it.

Congrats on the finishing such a wonderful book Stephen! (That was sarcasm, btw. Just in case you thought I was so tired I'd gone REALLY mad!) See you when you get back from walking the doggy in the snow, x

My Hour 8

I've been reading: My Nine Lives
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 81
Posting time: 1 minute
Reading time: 59 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 596

The Menu: Diet Pepsi & a peanut butter sandwich

Comments: Really enjoying the Fleisher book, but I keep stopping to listen to music he refers to throughout!

I called Peggy (LizzieD) and encouraged her to join in the Readathon, so I am hoping she will although it will probably only be for a couple of hours.

Is Southern Storm one of your grandmother's Christian fiction books, Stephen?

I read another 36 pages over lunch, mostly from South Riding and Just Kids, so 206 pages during the readathon.

My Hour 9

I've been reading: My Nine Lives
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 57
Posting time: 1 minute
Reading time: 45 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 654

The Menu: Diet Pepsi

Comments: Got sidetracked this hour, so I did not read the full time. I should be able to finish the book though and move on to the next one on the stack, although a library book this time.

A recruitment drive, Stasia, I like it! And little music never hurts to give the eyes a wee rest... Anyone else resurfacing for the last few hours, y'think?

Luci - You're going strong today! :-)

HOUR 20

I've been reading: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Books finished: None
Pages read: 16 pages
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 495
Total time read: 12 hours 5 minutes
Total time posting: 4 hours 30 minutes

The Menu: A slice of pizza (I'm nearing the end of these leftovers now!) and a little more of the spiked milkshake - though I think I might have to chuck that now. Too much Baileys, it's supersweet and a bit icky!
Comments: Well, I managed not to sleep at all this hour, which made a nice change from keep wanting to drop my head onto my arm and snooze these past few... but I did get up and have a bit of a singalong to a couple of songs on my iPod, just to wake me up a little, give my eyes a break. It's starting to sink towards darkness again now, my sister's loading up the car to go back to uni tomorrow, and there's four hours left to read. I'm over halfway through BBBB, to my surprise, so maybe that'll be spur me on a bit over this last stretch!

*yawn*
Back from a long winter's nap. Well, not long enough, but...
Updating my pre-sleep, curled up in bed reading from v. late last night:

I've been reading: The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer; The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood.
Books finished: total of 1 A Flaw in the Blood
Pages read: 152 pages
Posting time: nada
Reading time: Approx 2 hours

Total books read: 1 (see above)
Total pages read: 580

The Menu: Sesame beef; jasmine rice

Plan to finish Crash of the Titans today, but I have a work lunch at 12:15 (just about an hour away) and need to look respectable. Gulp.

I just found out about this thon from Stephen's thread, so I'll be joining in for the last ... um ... however many hours are left! *pokes around for an ending time*

Ellie, dunking muffins just doesn't have the same effect as the donuts. Your milkshake sounds good...but I don't think I could handle something cold right now.

It recently started snowing here again. Maybe reading about the great blizzard is jinxing me? I would love to be off work for one more day but I actually would like to work on Thurs and Friday.

continuing with The Children's Blizzard.

Menu: hmmm.. I'll get something together for lunch in the next hour or so, but I don't know what to choose.

#185: Laura, if you are in CT it ends at 2PM. If ET, 3PM.

Thanks Stasia! I'm CT, so 2:00 it is!

I always read for awhile before work but, due to the snow today, I left early, not reading at all.

I still ought to get some reading in at lunch today.

Good luck to everyone for the last 3.5 hours!!

181: Yep, she gave me 3 of the Cape Refuge books! All but the first one, and that's only because she accidentally gave me Bad Ground instead.

Regardless, NO MORE Christian fiction for me. Nope, I just can't do it. Reading Southern Storm should make for an interesting review though...

Hour 20
10am-11am
Currently reading: The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford

Pages read this hour: 4
Total pages read: 206

Not much reading this hour, by the time I took Shyanne out and got a shower it was 10:30, so I ate another chunk of lasagna and read the 'historical note' bit in the beginning before officially starting the book at 11am.

Hour 21
11am-12pm

Pages read this hour: 13
Total pages read: 219

Oh! Ok, I'm glad I started The Ten Thousand because I'm really liking it! It's a bit of a slow start in terms of page numbers, but I didn't read the whole hour either. This will definitely be slower than the mystery book, but since I'm enjoying it so much I don't think it'll be too much slower. :)

Three hours to go! *jumps up and down waving read-a-thon flag in a burst of crazy home-stretch energy*

Laura - welcome to the last few hours! :-)

Sherlyn - Ah, see, I'm okay. I have a nice big chunky cardigan on, and the fan heater has been blasting straight at me for the last 21 hours, so I'm good to go on whatever comes my way! Donuts and coffee still sound better though. I think I have cookies somwhere - maybe I could have tea and cookies when we're done???

Linda - Happy reading for the final stretch!

MORE lasagne, Stephen? Wow, you are SUCH a guy.

HOUR 21

I've been reading: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Books finished: None
Pages read: 22 pages
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 517
Total time read: 12 hours 45 minutes
Total time posting: 4 hours 45 minutes

The Menu: Okay, so I carried on with the Bailey's-laden milkshake. When I have trouble concentrating I read the book to myself under my breath so my throat get a little sore - any liquid does the job so I kept at it! And I had the last piece of that Spanish tortilla. Just one slice of pizza left!
Comments: Brief musical interludes may be the way to go for the last couple of hours. It was Eva Cassidy's Songbird, as sung by All Angels, this hour. Refreshes everything a little anyway. Perhaps I might even outdo myself and finish a third book this read-a-thon? BBBB is flowing by on a frothy tide of bookish musings and whimsical memories and quirky lists, it'd be a nice way to round off the day come 8 o'clock...

My Hour 10

I've been reading: My Nine Lives and The Golem's Eye
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 59
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 45 minutes

Total books read: 3
Total pages read: 713

The Menu: Diet Pepsi

Comments: Finished another ER book and posted the review. That makes 2 reviews posted for me today, a record, considering I normally post a review once every six months or so.

ETA: I was trying to find a Readathon flag for Ellie - no luck - but I stumbled across this photo and liked it a lot.

Mid Way Meme (Late :P)

1. What are you reading right now and how's it going?
I am about to start The Castle by Kafka

2. How many books have you read so far?
One.

3. What's the plan for the second half of the read-a-thon? Is there a particular book you're looking forward to getting to?
Well I was hoping I could cancel some plans I had with a friend to go into DC because of snow but it won't start until early evening so that didn't work out :P I'll be able to read some before I leave and then on the train there.

4. What else have you been up to when you needed a well-earned break from the books?
Sleep! Taking care of my dog (my son :P), catching up on some tv

5. Are you getting tired yet?!
If I didn't have anything to do today I would have tried to stay up! But no, I am wide awake now

175- Man, I should've done that!

MORE lasagne, Stephen? Wow, you are SUCH a guy.

I'm not disputing that one. :)

Check-in: The Children's Blizzard is getting very good. Temperatures of 46 below zero!! (F) As the author says: "It's hard to find vocabulary for weather this cold."

Menu: ..no decisions on food yet..

Stasia - of course you only post a review every six months or so - where would you find time to write them when you finish a book every six minutes? :-)

Beautiful picture - makes me kinda want to go check out the blog, had the read-a-thon in question not probably be defunct by now...

Nearly at the end now... Is it just me or is everyone a little more ready to crash out at the end of this one than last time? Perhaps it was just the headache yesterday that made me sleepier this time, I don't know... But I've read more in book terms, if not in pages, so I'm rather happy with the result nevertheless! Now I just have to hope that I don't get assigned TOO many chores tomorrow while Mum's taking my sister back to uni, see if I can get away with not getting out of my PJs all day... *perks up considerably at the thought*

HOUR 22

I've been reading: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Books finished: None
Pages read: 12 pages
Posting time: 20 minutes
Reading time: 25 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 529
Total time read: 13 hours 10 minutes
Total time posting: 5 hours 5 minutes

The Menu: The last piece of that ever-present pizza, and a few more swigs of the not-so-innocent coffee milkshake...
Comments: Just reading. No music, no messing. Just reading. Slowly, slowly reading. Like the little donkey, plodding onwards... journey's end in sight... I'm feeling a little sleepy again, can you tell?! :-)

My Hour 10

I've been reading: The Golem's Eye
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 100
Posting time: 1 minutes
Reading time: 59 minutes

Total books read: 3
Total pages read: 813

The Menu: Spiced Apple Chai

Comments: Not enough Bartimaeus. Other than one short scene at the beginning of the book, he does not show up again until page 100 or so.

ETA: I checked out the blog page, Ellie. You are right - that Readathon was last year. It lasted for a week!

Finished book #2: WebMage
Pages: 390
Food time!

I've been reading: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Posting time: 0:05
Reading time: 0:40

Total books read: 4 (finished Rules and The Bards of Bone Plain, read some of Unclutter your life in one week!!
Total pages read: 610
Total time read: 5:06
Total time posting: 0:25

Menu: Assam tea
Comments: I've gotten the kitchen cleaned up, rugs vacuumed, Christmas linens in the washer, and 40 minutes of reading done. Problem with an omnibus edition--small print and low page count! But I read through Chapter 10 so I am on schedule with the group read.

Hour 22
(12pm-1pm)

Pages read this hour: 17
Total pages read: 236

I'm trying to keep up with the snow. I like to just sweep the porch and walkways off with a broom instead of letting it build up and then needing to use a shovel. It's coming down FAST though. I've swept it twice now and... *looks outside* Yep, just about covered again. Might as well prepare that snow shovel!

I did get a nice little bit of reading done though. And look, only 2 hours remaining! C'mon people, that's not so much, right!? :)

Right, Stephen! Let's go people!

Oh my! I've been dead to the world. Went to sleep around 4 am and then woke up at 7 so decided to get back in the saddle but within minutes I was reading with just one eye open to keep the words from moving around too much. Went back to sleep and now... well... here I am. And I've missed all this time and it's almost over now. Boo hoo :-(
Will try to read the remainder of the time and come back to catch up on everyones posts later.

Go gang! (go me!)

My Hour 11

I've been reading: The Golem's Eye
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 112
Posting time: 1 minute
Reading time: 59 minutes

Total books read: 3
Total pages read: 925

The Menu: Spiced Apple Chai & Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Comments: Things have definitely picked up in the book since Bartimaeus showed up.

Last hour! Let's make it a good one! Come on gang!

Way to go everyone!! Only about an hour left!! You all did a fantastic job!!

I was only able to get in about 30 more minutes of reading before leaving for work. I haven't been able to read since I got here.

Stasia - a week?! *keels over and gasps for water*

Go Katie! All the way to the end!

Roni - Sounds like an all-round productive day...

Stephen/Ilana - nearly there! Keep goin'! :-)

HOUR 23

I've been reading: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Books finished: None
Pages read: 17 pages
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 40 minutes

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 546
Total time read: 13 hours 50 minutes
Total time posting: 5 hours 15 minutes

The Menu: The last of that darn milkshake. My stomach feels awful now... Time to hit the peppermint oil again and try to be sensible for the last hour!
Comments: It's been a good hour again. It's amazing how one hour can fly by in total absorption, and the next I'll be squirming about like a cat on hot bricks, word swimming meaninglessly in front of my eyes, trying to settle down and read just a few more pages. I had a little break for a burst of REM and a dose of Gene Wilder crooning 'Pure Imagination' to wake me up again. *sighs whimsically* Now, onwards - if I can finish this book before the end of the read-a-thon that would be the icing on the cake!

Here's the end-of-readathon meme in advance:

1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?
4. What books did you read from over the day?
5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?
7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?

8am checkin
I've been back reading this past hour and with 60pgs left in my book, Flora Segunda, have decided to stick with it.

The Breakfast menu: cereal with banana and coffee

Less than an hour to go! I'm sticking with the same book but I certainly won't finish it.

Menu: diet pepsi, lentil soup

I've been reading: Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

Books finished: 1 (Going, Going, Gone! The Art of the Trade in Major League Baseball).

Pages read: 210
Reading time: 5.0 hours

That's it. Even though my total reading time was less this time, when I was reading, it was all I was doing, for the most part, so I got more read.

I'm up to 35% in Skippy Dies.

Lunch was a meatball sub with a Coke Zero. Got marinara sauce all over everything but, thankfully, not my Kindle.

While eating/reading, I had a beautiful view of the snow falling in the forest. With no wind, it's very still/very beautiful out.

I've been reading: The Golem's Eye
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 155
Posting time: 1 minute
Reading time: 59 minutes

Total books read: 3
Total pages read: 1080

The Menu: Spiced Apple Chai

Comments: I could not turn the pages fast enough during this hour!

End-of-Readathon MeMe:

1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul? I cannot think of anything

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this? The Golem's Eye - it reads fast for such a long book; lots of action

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally? 3 completed books/1080 pages/14 hours

4. What books did you read from over the day? Sea Whispers, The Complete Works of Montaigne, When Doctors Kill, My Nine Lives, and The Golem's Eye

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience? I enjoy just getting a lot of reading done and seeing what other people are reading along the way

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day? Yes, When Doctors Kill was not the best read (if that is what 'duff' means)

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime? Oh, you know I will.

Off to see if I can finish The Golem's Eye before I sneak in a nap :)

Edited to correct Touchstone

Time's up! I got 15 more minutes and 15 more pages done since my last post, and am now through Chapter 15 of Sense and Sensibility. Total time read was 5 hours and 21 minutes, total pages were 625, with two books completed and two books partially read.

ETA meme responses.

1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?

Nothing because I wasn't marathoning it, just setting aside some time for it.

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?

The children's book was quick and easy--those are always nice. The declutter book was way too intensive for this.

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?

See above. 4 books, 625 pages, 5 hours and 21 minutes of reading.

4. What books did you read from over the day?

The Bards of Bone Plain, Rules, Unclutter Your Life in One Week!!, and Sense and Sensibility

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?

I set aside more time for reading than I normally do within that time period, and that was nice. All the books were good. It was nice to do it as a team.

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?

No.

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?

Yes.

Hour 23
(1pm-2pm)

Currently reading: The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford
Pages read this hour: 29
Total pages read: 265

Ah, I was really able to sink my teeth into the book this hour! I'm really enjoying it. :)

Hour 24
(2pm-3pm)

Pages read this hour: 23
Total pages read: 288

Phew! That's the end of it. 288 pages...well, it's not great, but I'm still quite happy. I've been lucky to get 10-15 pages read per day lately, so this is quite an accomplishment. Esecially since I only read during about 11 of the 24 hours (and that's counting the one in which I only had time to read 4 pages.) Once again, the readathon has helped me get out of my pedestrian winter reading pace. I finished 1 book and am deep into another. Hurray!

#210: I hope you are enjoying S&S, Roni!

#211: Good for you Stephen!

Time for my readathon wrap-up:

I've been reading: The Blind Side by Michael Lewis
Books finished: None
Pages read: 98 pages
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: about 2 hours

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 305
Total time read: 6-7 hours.
Total time posting: 30 minutes

The Menu: More tea and honey. Redbush tea to be exact.

1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
When I go to sleep, I don't take cat naps. I sleep for hours on end.

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
I think The Blind Side is better for the readathon than Soon I Will Be Invincible but that's because I liked it better. I think the The Blind Side has more "forward momentum" than Invincible and ironically enough didn't get bogged down in exposition. Odd considering that Invincible is a superhero novel and Blind Side is about the stories of the rise of Michael Oher and the position he plays in the NFL (left tackle).

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?
Again, since I wasn't precise with the counting, I would say 40-50 pages an hour.

4. What books did you read from over the day?
Soon I Will Be Invincible and The Blind Side.

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
When I could get engrossed in the story being told. Ironically enough, that happened more with the nonfiction book than the fiction book.

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?
Invincible. I ranted about it earlier in the thread. Post 125.

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?
The weather made this my most successful readathon yet. I think it really depends on when exactly it is. I think I'll make my goal for that one to hit 400 pages.

What a fun experience! Thank you, Ellie, for doing a great job hosting us!!

1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
Being sleepy.

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
I'm reading a book suitable for the weather! The Children's Blizzard was on January 12th, 1888; 123 years ago tomorrow.

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?
Other than performing a few chores here and there, an hour break last night, and a five-hour sleep, I read continuously. So that's....approximately 18 hours of the 24. I finished one book previously started and am about halfway through the next one.

4. What books did you read from over the day?
The Serpent's Tale and The Children's Blizzard

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
Checking in with everyone and reading what everyone else was up to.

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day? Nope. I was lucky.

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?
Absolutely! Next time, I think I will get an audio book and alternate so that I can move around more. I am getting a stiff neck and shoulders from sitting and reading.

Off to do some chores and get the circulation going again!!

1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?

Definitely when I'm 'between' books. I just want to relax and let the book sink in, instead of rushing on to the next one. Granted the book I finished was aweful, but still!

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?

Technically yes, but I refuse to type it in this answer for fear someone else might try to read it.

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?

288 pages! :)

4. What books did you read from over the day?

I finished Southern Storm and started The Ten Thousand

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?

Finishing up That Book was quite enjoyable...

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?

... *grumbles*

Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?

Not for awhile, and I mean it this time! After I finish The Ten Thousand I really want to get to these science books!

Final Meme
1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
4:30-5:30am. . . I hit my wall. Then ended up standing for 8hrs without realizing it. Oh, and the excessive hyper didn't help with productivity levels.

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
WebMage had lots of action, so there weren't any slow parts to sleep through

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?
2 completed books and 2 other unfinished books
436 pages
I lost all traces of my time expenditures

4. What books did you read from over the day?
Penguin Book of German Verse finished
WebMage finished
Master and Margarita
The Demon Trapper's Daughter

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
I like our random sleep deprived conversations and everyone cheering everyone else to keep going :)

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?
Well, Master and Margarita is not for a read-a-thon, imo, but I only planned to read a few chapters anyway.

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?
As long as the times keep fitting in my schedule. Might get tricksy with school. . . .

Here to report my sad results.

1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
That I didn't know this was happening until a few hours ago.

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
Yep.

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?
0 books finished / 180 pages / 1 hour 45 minutes

4. What books did you read from over the day?
Spying in High Heels by Gemma Halliday

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
See above. I'm really enjoying. Reminds me of Stephanie Plum, only blonder and California-er.

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?
Nope.

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?
Heck yes! Only hopefully I'll be here from the get-go. :)

OK, time for some overdue lunch and then I'll probably finish the book up. (Only 140 pages left, shouldn't be too hard.) Thanks for hosting this one, Ellie! And congrats everyone on such great reading!

Finished! *sigh of relief and a tiny glow of pride* Thanks to everyone who read along for another marathon reading blitz, it was once again lovely to spend a day in such good company, whether you popped in a couple of times to say hi or plodded along for the full day!

> Katie, you've been a dream! You're the new light of my read-a-thonning life...

> Laura - given that we seem to have created an unstoppable monster here, I'm sure you won't be waiting long. And every little helps, right?

HOUR 24

I've been reading: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Books finished: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Pages read: 20 pages
Posting time: 15 minutes
Reading time: 30 minutes, plus an extra 10 to finish my book

Total books read: 3
Total pages read: 566
Total time read: 14 hours 30 minutes
Total time posting: 5 hours 30 minutes

The Menu: Nothing at all. Just crazy reading!
Comments: And another read-a-thon comes to its close! My stomach's been feeling SO awful this last hour - stupid milkshake - but I got stuck in, read a little over time and finished my third book of the day, which is amazing. Now I'm just going to stack them all on one side, go see my mum and sister for a few minutes, then crash out and watch TV for a bit with some form of supper before BED! :-)

THE END-OF-EVENT MEME

1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
I found that the tiredness affected me a bit more this time than it did last week. I felt generally more icky over the day and it's affected my stomach more despite several batches of various pills and capsules. That part sucks!

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
I thought Holes by Louis Sachar was perfectly suited to the day. It had short chapters, was really easy to read and follow, but also had a pretty absorbing storyline to keep me glued to the pages. I loved it!

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?
3 books and 546 pages finished, which I'm really pleased with. And a total of nearly 14 hours of reading and over 5 hours of posting, which adds up to about 19 hours of read-a-thon focus over the 24. *flops down and mops her brow*

4. What books did you read from over the day?
I read the second half of Lauren Kate's new novel, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove, then read Holes in its entirety. I read a few pages of Bernhard Schlink's The Reader but was finding it too hard to concentrate on it enough to appreciate it properly, so I put it down in favour of Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson which took me through to the end of the day.

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
I was so pleased to have read two books from my TBR pile - including Holes which is on the list of books I've opted to read for one of my blog challenges - AND finished a review book for Random House. That's a productive day by any standards! It was great catching up with what everyone was doing over the day, and may I just say, Katie's sleepy hyper-drive is rapidly becoming a highlight of my read-a-thons... :-)

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?
The Reader's definitely not going to be a duff book, but it just wasn't sinking in so far into the read-a-thon so I've put it back up on the shelf for the time being. I'll start it again when I can appreciate it properly...

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?
Yes... though not a full-on 24 hour-er for a little while, I don't think! I'd participate in and/or host one again before that, but spend less of it reading and more time sleeping, keep to more normal hours. Maybe then I'll be ready for another all-nighter in a few weeks!



Goodnight and thank you all! Reviews coming tomorrow over on the normal thread when I'm less... dead. :-)

Time for my readathon wrap-up:

I've been reading: Flora Segunda since I woke up

Total pages read: 397
Total time read: 4-6 hours.
Total time posting: 30 minutes

Final Meme
1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
Dinner time - it took me so much longer to prepare food.

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
All three books had enough humour to keep them enjoyable.

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?
2 completed books and 1 other unfinished books
397 pages approx 4-6 hours of interrupted reading

4. What books did you read from over the day?
Under the Frog
Vile bodies - finished (audiobook)
Flora Segunda - finished

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
The humour in all three books I read especially Under the Frog

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?
I picked up my slower read, A thread of grace, and put it down again without reading a page.

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?
I'll do another but probably not for a while (at least a week).

Ah Ellie, you're giving me the warm fuzzies like hot cocoa with mallows :)
But be honest, it's because the crazy comes out, isn't it?

I've read another 56 pages, making a total of 262 pp during the Readathon. 40 were from The Secret Shopper's Revenge by Kate Harrison.

I've been reading: The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer; Die With Me by Elena Forbes
Books finished: total of 1 A Flaw in the Blood
Pages read: 126 pages
Posting time: nada
Reading time: Approx 1.5 hours

Total books read: 1 (see above)
Total pages read: 706
Total reading time: about 8 hours?

I just got home from a work lunch and will be reading for another hour. May count it toward the lunch hour gap. Hoping to finish Crash of the Titans by Greg Farrell; about 75 pages to go.

HOUR 24

I've been reading: Mrs. Dalloway and Wait for Me!
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 28
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 55 minutes

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 215
Total Posting: 30 minutes
Total Time Reading: 4 hours 35 minutes

The Menu: Nothing as I just got back from the dentist and have flouride painted on my teeth!

Comments: I had a lot planned today that interfered with my reading. I read eight pages of Mrs. Dalloway in the dentist's waiting room, and I counted in the 40 minutes of listening to Wait for Me! during my drive.

End-of-Readathon Meme:

1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?

I don't know how you all can read for 24 hours straight. The mind is willing but the body was weak.

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?

Granta 111. Granta is usually a themed issue with many different stories, articles, and poems, most by well-known writers. I read letters of Iris Murdoch, a Seamus Heaney poem, prose by Leila Aboulelah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, Richard Russo, and more. Short pieces made the time go faster and added some variety.

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally? 1 completed book/215 pages/4 hours 30 minutes.

4. What books did you read from over the day?
Granta 111, Mrs. Dalloway, Wait for Me!.

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?

I was actually frustrated that I couldn't devote more time to reading. Loved reading what everyone else was enjoying and eating/drinking!

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?

Parts of Granta 111 didn't do it for me, so I skipped them.

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?

Definitely!

(Note: tried to correct the touchstone but the system isn't cooperating. Wait for Me! is the autobiography of Deborah Devonshire, not the book by An Na.)

Katie - hey, like seeks like, right?! *crazy grin*

Deborah - The naps were definitely a must! I couldn't cope for 24 hours without a few cosy slumber sessions dotted in there...

Yes, I know I was supposed to be going to bed, but I've ended up down in the main house for ages, it's too late for a decent tea and now I can't seem to switch off! Hmmm, Gilmore Girls or should I, heaven forbid, pick up a new book to start flicking through? Nope, that thought makes my head hurt. TV it is!

Ellie, we really must do this again some time! lol

I think it would be fun(ny) to attempt a RL one of these. . . but I know no reading would get done ;P

I've been reading: The Return of the Native and The Castle
Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 460
Total time read: 425mins, 7hrs 25 mins

End of Event Meme
1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
Getting tired and being worried that I'm not absorbing the book properly :P
2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
Actually, no :P I was surprised that I couldn't put down a classic! It was a pleasant surprise, though.
5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
Reading the thread during the breaks :)
7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?
Yep! My goal is to try and stay up most of the time for the next one.

Ellie, a BIG THANK YOU! for being a great host xx

It would be great to try to do one of these over a weekend sometime... Then I might actually be able to stay up and read or fail to be distracted by work...

OK, off to read the final 20 pages of The Crash of the Titans.

HOURS 16-24 (7 am-3 pm)

I've been reading: Doors Open by Ian Rankin
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 35
Posting time: 25 minutes
Reading time: 48 minutes

Total books finished: 1
Total books read from: 3
Total pages read: 326
Total time read: 7 hours 14 minutes
Total time posting: 3 hours 55 minutes

The Menu: an orange
Comments: Couldn't keep my eyes open today for more than 15 minutes at a time. So while technically I had plenty of time to read, I was dead to the world unfortunately. Sigh.

1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
The last 11 hours of the read-a-thon, which, except for 2 short 20 minute stints, I ended up sleeping right through.

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
Yes, Doors Open was a good choice, and strangely enough, so was Super Sad True Love Story which, even though I wasn't crazy about, was easier to read in this context for some reason.

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?
Read from 3 books
Finished one and a half books
Read a total of 326 pages
Read for 7 hours and 14 minutes

4. What books did you read from over the day?
Super Sad True Love Story
Egon Schiele: The Leopold Collection
Doors Open

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
I enjoy reading in good company

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?
I'm sorry... 'duff'??

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?
Yes. But hopefully won't be taken over by narcolepsy!

Wrap-up
I just got home from work. I was able to read on my train commute to work and at lunch.

I've been reading today: Losing Eddie by Deborah Joy Corey
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 44 pages
Posting time: 0 during the day today
Reading time: 25 minutes

Total books finished: 0 ... but that's okay
Total books read from: 2
Total pages read: 135 pages
Total time read: 1 hour, 44 minutes
Total time posting: 25 minutes

Meme:
1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
Staying awake last night while I was reading on my sofa. I actually read more after I got into bed!

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
The one book I read today was very good because it was quick reading.

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?
See above.

4. What books did you read from over the day?
The book I mentioned above.

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
It was the fun of reading a book I knew nothing about prior to reading it.

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?
No.

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?
Sure.

Thanks, Ellie, for hosting!

#228: It would be great to try to do one of these over a weekend sometime.

Suz, why don't you host one? Just pick a weekend that would work for you! I know people would join in :)

> 228 - Ilana's read-a-thon this week was Friday/Saturday. Anyone can start one any time, I'd definitely join in from work even though I couldn't read for the full 24 hours! I've just hosted mine Monday/Tuesday because I have Tuesdays and Wednesday off at the moment and work all weekend...

Ilana - Duff = rubbish, crap, disappointing... You don't have anything like that slang where you are? Dud book, maybe?

You know, I think these read-a-thons are doing wonders for my reading in between times as well. Perhaps because it's an extended period of absolute focus on each book. Sometimes I go through spells where I just can't concentrate on a book and not a word goes in, but the read-a-thons are actually helping! This morning I got up at a decent hour (amazingly, since I was so over-tired last night I had to pick up another book in the end, just to push me towards sleep) and have read a big chunk of a difficult natural science book that I've been enjoying - but struggling with - for nearly a month now. It's all making sense, I'm following it much more clearly, it's great! And I've doubled my reading this year so far overnight. Wow.

#232: That is terrific news, Ellie! So, another Readathon next week?

How about adding to the meme on the next Readathon: my best Readathon reading time?

Ellie, I thought 'duff' might be something like that and when in doubt, I usually google stuff like that but I was too out of it to even think of doing that. Isn't it nice getting all the reading done?

Stasia: you're our readathon pusher! They are kind of addictive too. lol. I'm sure YOU would do a terrific job hosting our next one! (not at all a subtle hint) ;-)

Ellie: lol. Helps your concentration, helps my ability to sleep. Seriously, I almost slept a normal-person amount last night--7 whole hours! Granted, it took 37 hrs of being awake to hit that point. . . and my eyes were playing strange tricks by the end.

#235: Well, I cannot do a Readathon next week, that is for sure. I do not think I would be a good host either. I do not know anything about picking out questions for Memes :)

> Katie - Yeah, so were mine. I kept thinking there was a spider running across the floor but it was just my tired eyes making the pen at the edge of my vision move... And there was a funny flickering thing going on in front of my eyes as well. It's kind of fascinating, in a slightly perverse way!

> Stasia - Meme questions are easy! It's pretty much the same ones every time, except this time I omitted one or two of the questions that were more along the lines of 'Am I hosting okay?' and changed the '3 things about me' to something more fun that people haven't already done at least once. Not too tricky... Most of them stand each time if they're about the books people are reading and what they've been up to!

I'll happily do another read-a-thon, but host or not I'm sleeping a bit more this time! Well, sleeping more if I feel as crap as I did overnight this time, anyway. Last time wasn't so bad. If I don't recover properly from an all-nighter it can contribute to bringing on a bipolar episode so I have to be a LITTLE bit careful!

On the plus side, I FINISHED that science book I've been plowing through! I just sat and read a whole swathe and voila! Finished! 4 books in 2 days, marvellous. :-)

My stereo/dvd speakers looked like a dancing robot. . . and things on my walls started being 3D instead of normal 2D

I did not have any eye problems, other than them being tired. No weird things crawling across the walls or other such stuff.

I may do a Readathon some time, but it will not be next week. Kerry is off Monday and Catey has an ortho appointment Tuesday. Mondays and Tuesdays are pretty much the only days I can do Readathons because of my work schedule.

#238 I know what you mean about the risks of all-nighters. Not getting proper sleep impacts my mood very negatively which is why I didn't even consider NOT getting proper sleep when I hosted last weekend. Go easy on yourself girl!

Stasia - same timing works for me too... Maybe we should both take a breather this Monday/Tuesday, take part in any others that are going in the meantime that we can just chip into in normal reading time, and come back after that ready for another go?

Ilana - yup, occupational hazard! That's why I started it post-work on Monday, rather than on Tuesday, so I could have today to recuperate, catch up, relax, before work again tomorrow! As long as I have the Wednesday totally to myself, nothing like an outing or anything to stress me out (agoraphobia as well, joy), I'm good to go by Thursday. Though actually, I haven't even felt drowsy today... I've been reading! :-)

#242: That sounds like a good plan, Ellie. With Kerry being off work Monday, my day will be taken up with sleeping (since I get off at 8am) and doing stuff with him.