Read-a-thon March 20-21

Welcome! This read-a-thon will run from 10 am Sunday March 20 to 10 am Monday March 21, US central time zone. My name is Katie and I will be the hostess. I have participated in two so far, but it's my first time hosting. Keep in mind, you do not need to read the full 24 hrs to participate. Just stop in when you can throughout. I plan to be here for most of it, however I will be sleeping this time and will probably take a break or two. But the past read-a-thons have been great at keeping me motivated :)

If you plan on joining, post a message with your name and where you're joining us from so I can add you to the list!

THOSE JOINING US:

Katie (katelisim), Minnesota
Monica (crazy4reading), Pennsylvania
Jean (Majkia), Niceville Florida
Laura (chinquapin), Texas
(citizenjoyce)
Darryl (kidzdoc), Atlanta
(elkiedee)
Laura (LauraBrook), Milwaukee
Deborah (Cariola), Pennsylvania
Jessica (jessieb30), Charleston SC
Gemma (stgemma), N Ireland
Kerry (avatiakh), New Zealand
Michelle (Tanglewood), NYC
Lucy (Sibyx), Vermont
Karen (maggie1944), Seattle
Katie (katiekrug), Dallas TX
Madeline (squeakychu), Rockville Maryland
Elena (portnova), Maryland

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You can update in whatever format you choose. The popular format in the past has been this list:

I've been reading:
Books finished:
Pages read:
Posting time:
Reading time:

Total books read:
Total pages read:
Total time read:
Total time posting:

The Menu:
Comments:

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Opening Meme:

1. Where are you reading from?

2. What book are you starting with?

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities?

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon?

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon?

I'm going to join in off and on for this read a thon
Monica from Pennsylvania

Jean from Niceville FL. I'll be joining in off and on also. I'll be posting here.

Just started Among Thieves - A Tale of the Kin by Douglas Hulick an ER book, so I'll be reading that.

I am in also. I can't start until about 11:00 Central Time.....church :)
I'll fill out the Opening Meme tomorrow.

Thanks Katie for hosting!

Laura in Texas

It's going to be a busy day for me, but I should be here for at least a couple of hours.

Darryl from Atlanta. I'm in.

I'll join in when I can. I need to work out the time difference as I think it's normally 6 hours but your clocks have gone forward and ours haven't - does that mean it's only 5 hours? And is Central Time including places like Chicago?

Central includes Minneapolis and Chicago. I looked up a time zone converter. . . and it said that tomorrow's Central 10am is equal to GMT 3pm.

I'll be joining in too! Laura from Milwaukee.

I will be able to participate for awhile on Sunday. Deborah in PA.

Oh, I'm definitely going to join in this one. I've been doing no reading.
Jessica, from Charleston, SC

Count me in, at least for a while. Gemma from Northern Ireland.

I'll have a go too, it starts 4am Monday for me (GMT 13+), so I won't check in till later on in the morning.
Kerry from New Zealand, who has two books she really wants to finish.

Thank you, see you all later today

Hi, Michelle in New York City. I'll join in for Sunday.

Thank you Katie for hosting! I hope to be able to join in, Lucy from Vermont.

I am going to post my opening meme now so that I can start reading.

Opening Meme:

1. Where are you reading from? My TV room/living room

2. What book are you starting with? Fly away home by Jennifer Weiner

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? I would like to read from Their Eyes were watching god, Good Cop, Bad Cop and Kite Runner I seem to have misplaced those three books. Now I just need to find them so that I can read them.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? Just to read as much as I can.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? My tip is to just enjoy yourself and don't worry about making updates every hour. Make them when you want to.

Happy Reading all!!

Welcome everyone! Glad to see so many people will be stopping in. The read-a-thon officially starts in about 2hrs, but feel free to start earlier or post your opening meme beforehand as Monica has done.

Have fun!

I will join in for some of the hours while I procrastinate doing some taxes.... Karen from Seattle area

See you soon.

Ugh, I will have to take a break from the read-a-thon at some point to do my taxes. Just hope I don't owe much to the state.

I'll be doing some reading today, though I also need to get some stuff for work done. And laundry. And grocery shopping.

I don't post much. Usually just at the start and towards the end... But knowing y'all are out there reading hard keeps me motivated :-)

Katie in Dallas, TX

21: Katie, I'm with you on the work stuff, laundry, grocery shopping, and have to do some cleaning up around here too before Girls Night tonight. Since I'm already sitting here I'll do my opening meme an hour early!

Opening Meme

1. Where are you reading from? My living room, probably mostly from the couch. It's a nicely grey and rainy day today, perfect for lounging around and reading as much as possible!

2. What book are you starting with? If I'm doing work around the house, it will be from my audiobook The Black Circle (the fifth book in the YA series The 39 Clues), but if it's a book-book I'll probably try to finish up Evans to Betsy first.

3. Are there any other books you're planning to read from? Possibilites? Definitely! I need to read my ER book Henrietta Sees It Through, I've got bookclub in about 2 weeks so I need to read The Autobiography of Malcolm X, I just checked out Naked Heat from the library for a group read in the 1111 Group and that's due on Friday, plus I've got 3 other library books, and a small stack of others that are in my TBR Soon pile, so yeah - I've got a fair few to choose from today. :)

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? I'd like to finish both the audio and "Evans", and get a chunk out of either Malcolm or Henrietta, but if I don't meet my goal that's just fine.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Just enjoy yourself and don't worry about your goals so much. Have fun!

Okay, off to do some rambling around the house for the next hour!

I think I'll post this early, also, as I want to also watch Sunday Morning on TV, in about 10 minutes.

Opening Meme

1. Where are you reading from? Living room, next to the cozy pellet stove.

2. What book are you starting with? I will continue reading Progeny (The Children of the White Lions) by R.T. Kaelin. I am reading it on my Kindle so I can't be precise about how many pages I read.

3. Are there any other books you're planning to read from? Possibilites? I also have sitting next to me some others in case I need a break from the action. The Sweet Life in Paris, The Discovery of France, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? I want to enjoy some reading today, but I also want to package up some documents to send to my tax accountant, and to at minimum get the linens on the bed laundered and the bed made up with fresh sheets!

5. Any read-a-thon tips? No guilt!

This is Madeline from Rockville, Maryland, USA. I just jumped into your readathon. I'll be joining you for brief periods this weekend.

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Hour 1:

1. Where are you reading from? I'll start with my living room couch in Rockville, Maryland, USA.

2. What book are you starting with? I'll begin with the end (!) of Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson.

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? I'll definitely be dipping into Shake hands with the devil : the failure of humanity in Rwanda by Romeo Dallaire (hard copy) and Bonk : The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach. I'm not sure how to count the latter, though, as that's a CD I'll be listening to on my way back and forth to Catonsville, Maryland, USA, today.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? I'd like to finish Out Stealing Horses, a book that I thought I'd like much more than I really am.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? Enjoy the company. Read and share as you like. Pick a variety of readables so you can switch backa nd forth according to mood.

I won't start until 11 am EDT (10 am CDT), but I'll post my opening meme now:

1. Where are you reading from? At the moment, my living room, sitting on my glider, feet propped up on my ottoman.

2. What book are you starting with? The Anatomy of a Moment by Javier Cercas, one of the two LT Early Reviewer books I'll read from today. It's a novel based on the coup d'état that took place in Madrid on 23 Feb 1981, as soldiers of La Guardia Civil took control of the Congress of Deputies as it voted to elect Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo as the second Prime Minister of Spain after the end of Franco's regime.

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? I just received my LT ER copy of Harlem Is Nowhere by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, so I'll read that today, too. I'll probably mix in some poetry, and read selections from White Egrets by the Nobel laureate Derek Walcott.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? I'd like to finish both Early Reviewer books by tomorrow.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? Enjoy yourself above all else, and take frequent breaks.

Opening Meme

1. Where are you reading from?
Mostly from The Chair That Ate New Jersey in the "library" of my house in Dallas, Texas.

2. What book are you starting with?
Pride and Prejudice by some lady no one has ever heard of ;-)

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities?
I may do some reading from the stack of magazines that have piled up over the past couple of months - The Atlantic Monthly, Texas Monthly and Vanity Fair (my guilty pleasure). I also have The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and The Fixer-Upper for a couple of TIOLI challenges, as well as a pile of library books that I might dip into.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon?
None whatsoever. It's better that way.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon?
This is only my second so I have no pearls of wisdom to share.

Breaking News: My husband has offered to go grocery shopping AND to bring me lunch so I can get some good reading in. Love him!

Half hour til start! Just finished my German homework, so once I eat some breakfast I'll be ready to go!

1. Where are you reading from? My bedroom, in cold and rainy MN (at least it's not snow *excited flail)

2. What book are you starting with? Department 19 by Will Hill, LT ER book.

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? Short stories for class and Fables: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham--comics are a nice break. Other possibilities based on mood: The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld, Torment by Lauren Kate, Havoc by Chris Wooding. . . anything laying around, I guess :P

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? I need to finish the short stories. I would like to finish Fables, since it's a library loan. And I would like to make a good dent in Department 19.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? Don't worry about updates, use them as a mini break when you need it. And take real breaks every so often--get some food, watch a tv episode, or something that gets you up moving for few mins.

I've been reading: Oryx and Crake
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 55
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 55 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read:55
Total time read: 55 min
Total time posting: 5 min

The Menu: coffee w/ fluffed milk
Comments: Hi everyone! Happy reading.

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Opening Meme:

1. Where are you reading from? living room

2. What book are you starting with? Oryx and Crake

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? Three others (will name as I read them) and last Nyer Dec issue 2010

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? put away 2010 Nyer !

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? Post lean and mean to have more reading time! Bribe family members to cook for you!

GO TIME! Get your read on! I'll see you in a bit for updates.

Opening Meme:

1. Where are you reading from? My comfy blue chair, although I may move to the front porch later this afternoon when it warms up a bit.

2. What book are you starting with? Kim by Rudyard Kipling, which I am teaching in a class.

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? If I have time, I may read a little more in The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner, which I'm reviewing for another site. But more likely I will be reading midterm exams.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? To get ahead on Kim.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? Take breaks when you need them. Plan easy meals and snacks. If you start getting bogged down, try switching to a short story collection or a magazine.

I will be joining in too at least part time, Elena in Maryland. Thank you for hosting, Katie!

Opening Meme:

1. Where are you reading from? Couch in my leaving room

2. What book are you starting with? I'm planning to finish listening to After the Quake by Murakami (a short story collection) while walking the dogs, I'm down to the last story so it shouldn't take long.

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? There's a few books I'm currently reading, not sure which one I pick up next.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? Hopefully finish one book besides Murakami

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? Enjoy yourself and take plenty of breaks.

> 31

Hi Elena,

What a timely read! -- After the Quake by Murakami. Sad to say that (as we all know...) there's been another earthquake since the one in Kobe about which the short stories in this collection have been written. I was thinking about this book and about the author. Does anyone know if he's living in Japan now, and, if so, where?

I was a bit disappointed in this read after having enjoyed other short stories by Murakami much better. I'll be interested in your thoughts after you finsih this book.

I'm a bit confused about time zones and the like. Would I be right in thinking that the first hour of the read-a-thon is just ending right now? Oh well, I just got home and I'm getting ready to get down to it, whatever time it is xD

Opening Meme:

1. Where are you reading from? My room mostly, in Armagh, Northern Ireland.

2. What book are you starting with? Neil Gaiman's American Gods, which I started the other day.

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? I've got over 500 pages left in American Gods and I don't like reading more than one book at the one time, so it'll most likely be just the one for me.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? Just to make a good dent in my book.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? Take breaks when you need to, make sure you sleep at least a little, and have fun!

OK, "get ready,..... get set, ....... Go!

Reading Progeny on my Kindle: line # 5931-5936
Time is 9:03 am Pacific timezone

#33 Welcome! Yep, hour 1 just finished up!

Hour 1: 43 pages of Department 19
Ate a donut and drank some apple juice
And I know I will have a large break around 2-5 as a result of texting and a friend's dire want of a movie :P

Just had a macaroni and cheese lunch. I'm off to listen to more of Bonk now.

HOUR 1

I've been reading: The Anatomy of a Moment by Javier Cercas
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 17 (pp 54-70)
Posting time: 15 min
Reading time: 30 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 17
Total time read: 30 min
Total time posting: 15 min

The Menu: Nothing since breakfast; I'll have Chinese takeout (eggplant in garlic sauce) for lunch, and I need another mug of coffee (Peet's French Roast)
Comments: I listened to a couple of YouTube videos by Cannonball Adderley in the past hour, with cut into my reading time.

I'm home from church now, and eager to begin. I'll also be taking a break sometime in the afternoon to do some yardwork with my husband and son. It is a lovely sunny day here in Texas.

1. Where are you reading from? I am esconced in my reading and craft room upstairs with my faithful reading companion, Oliver the tabby.

2. What book are you starting with? Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? Just read, read, read.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? This is my first one, so I'll read everyone else's advice :)

I'm posting in PDT, so it's 9:28 here.

1. Where are you reading from? I started out in bed, now I'll go to the kitchen then to the couch in the living room.

2. What book are you starting with? Darkness Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? I'll listen to Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl on and off and maybe will get to Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Shaffer if I get my Nook back from my daughter.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? Just to enjoy the read. Saying I want to finish the Lehane book is like saying I want to finish a piece of cherry pie, that's not a goal it's an inevitability.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? Eat something fun because we all like to read your post about it.

First hour:

I've been reading: Darkness Take My Hand
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 22
Posting time: 35 min
Reading time: 30 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 22
Total time read: 30min
Total time posting: 35min

The Menu: nothing yet
Comments: First I have to feed dogs, back yard birds and myself, then on to the read-a-thon

I'm not going to be reading for a bit since I need to recover from doing my taxes, but here is my opening meme.

Opening Meme:

1. Where are you reading from? Well, I will be reading from my comfy chair.

2. What book are you starting with? A Game of Thrones. This is a re-read for me and I'm still loving it the second time around.

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities? I have several books that I've partially read but I've been eyeing the new Cleopatra biography.

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? I'd like to finish A Game of Thrones but I'm not sure that's doable today.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Just enjoy yourself!

HOUR 2

I've been reading: The Anatomy of a Moment by Javier Cercas
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 20 (pp 71-90)
Posting time: 15 min
Reading time: 25 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 37
Total time read: 55 min
Total time posting: 30 min

The Menu: I had lunch (eggplant in garlic sauce, cold green tea), and I'm working on a mug of coffee (Peet's French Roast).
Comments: I didn't sleep much (or well) last night, so I'll probably take a nap soon.

Hour 2
Total pages read: 78 from Department 19

HOUR 1

I've been reading: Progeny by R.T. Kaelin
Books finished: 0
Pages read: line # 5931-5936 to line # 6614-6619
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 60 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 688 "locations" (whatever Kindle means by that, maybe it is lines?)
Total time read: 60 min
Total time posting: 10 min

The Menu: water, wasabi almonds, popcorn with butter!
Comments: I am very comfortable and enjoying the book, but I think I'll take a bit of a break and see if I can make some small progress on the taxes issues.

Hour 2 1/2

I've been reading: The Black Circle, audiobook
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 0
Posting time: Guessing somewhere around 20 min
Reading time: 2 hrs

Menu: Veggie soup with croutons, chocolate chip cookie, water.
Comments: Been putzing around the house, had some unfulfilling lunch. Getting ready to take a nap in a little while, been sleeping weird the last couple of nights. Hopefully will at least finish this third CD first! Maybe I'll try and finish up my taxes before laying down.

Hour 1

I've been reading: Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
Books finished: 0
Pages Read: 38
Posting Time: 15 minutes
Reading Time: 45 minutes

Menu: Breton crackers withs Swiss cheese and Sweet Tea for me, and little shredded corned beef for Oliver.
Comments: Just started the book and it is a fun, easy read with lots of knitting tidbits. It makes me want to knit some, so maybe I'll listen to an audiobook and knit for awhile.

Hour 3
Total pages: 108 of Department 19

Time for a lunch break, watch an episode of something. Then I'll prolly work on some short stories.

OK, I emailed some data to the tax accountants so I can read in peace now, if I can stop worrying about how I will pay my taxes this year.... but that is what reading is for, isn't it, in part, to stop thinking about other stuff.

Back to The Progeny....

4th hour
I've been reading: Darkness Take My Hand and listening to Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 16 plus 4/14 of a CD
Posting time: 10 min
Reading time: 55 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 38 + 4/14 of a CD
Total time read: 85min
Total time posting: 45min

The Menu: oatmeal with blue berries and banana, a sliced kiwi, french roast coffee with milk
Comments: Now I can have a little concentrated read before getting ready to go out.

#35- Thanks- I wasn't sure whether daylight saving time applies or not.

HOURS 2 and 3

I've been reading: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 53

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 53

The Menu: Some pasta for dinner (It's after 6 here)
Comments: I'm really getting into American Gods. Neil Gaiman's imagination never ceases to amaze me.

I'm going to be taking this read-a-thon fairly leisurely, because it's Sunday night, after all :) Might take a break for a while to surf about for a bit, maybe watch some TV.

End of 3rd Hour:
I've been reading: Helliconia Spring
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 54
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 65 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 109
Total time read: 120 min
Total time posting: 5 min

The Menu: BLT, water
Comments: Spent an hour outside walking! Sunny! Bliss!

4th hour

I've been reading: Freshman Intro to Lit midterm exams.
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: Hard to say . . . probably the equivalent of 44 pages.
Posting time: 10 min
Reading time: 90 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 44
Total time read: 90 min
Total time posting: 10 min

The Menu: Still debating . . . I really want a salad but don't have any lettuce in the house, so I may go drive through Wendy's or Panera.

Comments: I'm going to shower, decide what to have for lunch, then get back to the exams for awhile before picking up Kim.

End of my 2nd hour:

I've been reading: Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
Pages read: 30 for this hour, making 68 total
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 50 minutes this hour, making 95 minutes total

The menu: trying to stay out of the kitchen to avoid snacking.
Comments: I am going to take the dog out for a walk, but I should still get some reading accomplished in the next hour. I am also going to thank my husband for doing the taxes.

Almost-Hour 5

I've been reading: The Black Circle, and Shakespeare by Bill Bryson, both audiobooks
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 0
Posting time: 20 min
Reading time: 1 hr 15 min

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 0
Total time read: 3 hrs 15 min
Total time posting: 40 min

Menu: Water. Getting a little hungry again (veggie soup doesn't stick around long), might make a turkey sandwich.

Comments: Glad to have finally finished The Black Circle. I've only been listening to it for a couple of days, but this is my fifth 39 Clues book in a row and I need a break from the storyline. Shakespeare is interesting so far (started it last night on the way home from the LT Chicago Meet-up!), but since it's still raining and seems to be getting darker I think a nap is in the near future.

Hour 4
Total
108 pages of Department 19
short story "Storm Country" by Paul Crenshaw for class

Will be heading out shortly, so I'll see you all in a few hours!

HOUR 3-4

I've been reading: Harlem Is Nowhere by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 18 (pp 3-20)
Posting time: 10 min
Reading time: 20 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 55
Total time read: 1 hr 15 min
Total time posting: 40 min

The Menu: A handful of Cheez-Its.
Comments: I haven't read much over the past two hours, but I'm ready to get going now.

I've been reading: Pride and Prejudice
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 80
Posting time: 5 mins
Reading time: 132 mins

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 80
Total time read: 132 mins
Total time posting: 5 mins

The Menu: Chicken sandwich from Whataburger, thanks to the hubby
Comments: I've been breaking up my reading with catching up on LT threads, playing with the dog, and doing laundry. Will have to take an extended break soon to do some emailing and other stuff for work.

>31 portnova:: Madeline, by an eerie coincidence I picked this book a day before the earthquake in Sendai and decided to listen to it anyway. I've only read a couple of early novels and none of the short stories by Murakami, so there were no ruined expectations. Overall I quite liked it, some stories more than others, can't say much more at the moment, I always need time to come up with a more or less intelligible opinion.

Hour 1-4 (11am-3pm EDT)

I've been reading: After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
Books finished: 1
Pages read: about 30
Posting time: 30min
Reading time: 1h

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 30
Total time read: 1h
Total time posting: 30min

The Menu: Green salad with leftover chicken cacciatore, water

Comments: Had a nice long walk with the dogs and finished listening to the story while at it. Since then had lunch, did a bit of housework, and now looking forward to an afternoon of reading.

Here is my first post. I don't know what time I started.

I've been reading: Forever Amber Brown by Paula Danziger, Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
Books finished: Forever Amber Brown
Pages read: 150
Posting time: 20 min
Reading time: 2 hours

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 150
Total time read: 2 hours
Total time posting: 20 min

The Menu: I have only been drinking water and taking medicine. I did eat some cashews just as I finished reading.
Comments: I decided to start with a very easy book this time plus I can now give this book to either goodwill or a school.

Kidszdoc I wish I had some Cheez-Its right now. I love to snack on them.

Some very interesting books I see. I am now going to go and see what I can make for dinner. My son and I both have a craving for mashed potatoes but not too many meats in the house. Will be back later to see what everyone is up to.

HOUR 5

I've been reading: Harlem Is Nowhere by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 38 (pp 21-58)
Posting time: 10 min
Reading time: 40 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 93
Total time read: 1 hr 55 min
Total time posting: 50 min

The Menu: Sending Cheez-Its to Monica.
Comments: Nada.

Hour 5

I've been reading: Shakespeare by Bill Bryson, audiobook
Books finished:
Pages read: 0
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 1 hr 10 min

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 0
Total time read: 4 hrs 25 min
Total time posting: 45 min

Menu: Nothing, but I need to eat again soon, I'm getting a little crabby.

Comments: Going to take a break, have a shower, get dressed. Maybe will actually finish my taxes.

End of 3rd hour:

I've been reading: Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs
Books finished: 0
Pages Read: 18, making 86 total
Posting Time: 5 minutes, making 30 minutes total
Reading Time: 20 minutes, making 115 minutes total or 1 hour and 55 minutes

The Menu: I have not eaten anything this last hour.
Comments: I walked the dog for 30 minutes or so. It is so pleasant outside, that I think I might go read out on the front porch for awhile. I am going to do some yardwork soon that will probably keep me busy for a couple of hours, but then I'll be ready for an evening and night of books.

6th hour
I've been reading: Darkness Take My Hand
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 50
Posting time: 10 min
Reading time: 90 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 88 + 4/14 of a CD
Total time read: 175min
Total time posting: 55min

The Menu: french roast coffee with milk
Comments: I'm off to see Limitless then to dinner. I'll finish Darness when I get back.

My hours 2-4 ish
I've been reading: Progeny and The Sweet Life In Paris
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: a bunch in the Kindle, and 9 in The Sweet Life
Posting time: 10 min
Reading time: 50 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: oh, I don't know
Total time read: 120 min.
Total time posting: 15 minutes

Menu: crackers and cheese
Comments: I am really enjoying The Progeny and expect I'll read quite a bit more today. I did squeeze a nice bath, and brief nap, into the above mentioned hours when I was not reading.

HOUR 6 (I think?)

I've been reading: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 20

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 73

The Menu: Sushi
Comments: I'm making slow and steady progress :) This might be my last update until the morning, it's 9pm here and other people want the computer.

HOUR 6

I've been reading: Harlem Is Nowhere by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 6 (pp 59-64)
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 10 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 99
Total time read: 2 hr 5 min
Total time posting: 55 min

The Menu: Nothing; I'm not remotely hungry at the moment. I'll decide whether to have a salad (most likely) or broil fish for dinner in the next couple of hours.
Comments: I took a nap for ~30 minutes, so I didn't read much. Harlem Is Nowhere is fairly good, but a bit disjointed.

I've been reading: Pride and Prejudice
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 45
Posting time: 5 mins
Reading time: 82 mins

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 125
Total time read: 214 mins
Total time posting: 10

The Menu: Nothing since lunch but diet coke
Comments: A few interruptions have cut into my reading, but I'm still plugging away. God, I love P&P! I've got about 85 pages left and hope to finish it tonight, but I REALLY need to get some work done... Procrastination, thy name is Katie!

HOUR 7

I've been reading: Harlem Is Nowhere by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 49 (pp 65-113)
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 50 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 148
Total time read: 2 hr 55 min
Total time posting: 60 min

The Menu: More coffee.
Comments: Nada.

Hour 5-8 (3pm-6pm EDT)

I've been reading: Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Books finished: 0
Pages read: about 57
Posting time: 10min
Reading time: 1h 15min

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 87
Total time read: 2h 15min
Total time posting: 40min

The Menu: a handful of nuts, an apple and water
Comments: Enjoying the book and a quiet Sunday evening very much. Getting ready to have dinner and back to reading after it.

Great job everyone. It's wonderful to see those page counts go up. I just got back from seeing I Am Number Four. While not the best, it was very entertaining and a great way to break up the reading. Now I'm ready to get back to my book!

64- See you in the morning Gemma.

HOUR 8

I've been reading: Harlem Is Nowhere by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 73 (pp 114-186)
Posting time: 25 min
Reading time: 35 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 221
Total time read: 3 hr 30 min
Total time posting: 1 hr 25 min

The Menu: Nothing. I may just have Greek yogurt and grapes for dinner.
Comments: Harlem Is Nowhere has been a disappointing read, so I'm skimming through the rest of it. I'll finish it in the next hour, and then resume reading The Anatomy of a Moment.

HOUR 8

I've been reading: Students' applications for freshman scholarships
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: ?? about 50?
Posting time: 20 min
Reading time: 2 hr 20 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 94??
Total time read: 3 hr 50 min
Total time posting: 20 min

The Menu: I went to Panera and picked up a Greek Salad for lunch. I'll be having leftover corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots for dinner.

Comments: I will never get all of these applications read by Tuesday afternoon! There are over 120 of them! It's crazy--they only give us about four days to do all this reading and evaluating. I am giving up for now and will get onto Kim.

HOURS 1-8

4am-12noon

I've been reading: Sunday Best by Bernice Rubens & listening to Venice for Lovers by Louis Begley (should be titled 'For Lovers of Venice').
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 34pgs
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 50min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 34pgs
Total time read: 50 min
Total time posting: 5 min

The Menu: yoghurt with LSA for breakfast and just had a kumera salad for lunch.
Comments: Most of this time I've spent either asleep or at the gym, but I've managed to squeeze in some reading and hope to fit in longer stretches of reading this afternoon.

I've been reading: Pride and Prejudice
Books finished this hour: 1
Pages read: 84
Posting time: 5
Reading time: 1h 40m

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 209
Total time read: about 5 hours
Total time posting: 15

The Menu: still just diet coke
Comments: I finished P&P which I am re-reading for the group read. I've seen the two most recent film/tv versions several times, but don't think I've actually read the book since high school - maybe college. The tone was much different than I remembered, but I still loved it.

And that will be all from me for this Read-a-thon. I'll be buckling down to write some reports for work. Thanks to (the other) Katie for hosting!

HOUR 9

I've been reading: Harlem Is Nowhere by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, and The Art of Fiction Interview of Louise Erdrich in the Winter 2010 issue of The Paris Review
Books finished this hour: 1
Pages read: 96 (pp 187-267 of Harlem Is Nowhere, and pp 132-146 of The Paris Review)
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 50 min

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 317
Total time read: 4 hr 20 min
Total time posting: 1 hr 30 min

The Menu: Still nothing, but I'll have Greek yogurt and some grapes shortly.
Comments: Harlem Is Nowhere partially redeemed itself with a brilliant last chapter, about the African American Day Parade and its aftermath. I decided to read The Art of Fiction interview of Louise Erdrich this morning, after rebeccanyc reviewed her latest novel, and I'm glad I did. I'll finish it soon, and then resume reading The Anatomy of a Moment, although I'm tempted to start The Plague of Doves by Erdrich.

Hour 9-10 (6pm-8pm EDT)

I've been reading: Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Books finished: 0
Pages read: about 32
Posting time: 10min
Reading time: 1h

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 119
Total time read: 3h 15min
Total time posting: 50min

The Menu: grilled pork chop with teriyaki glaze and fried rice with vegetables for dinner, water, tea

Comments: I have a little over 100 pages left of Unwind to read and going to try and finish it tonight. It's a pretty quick read, and I like it a lot.

Hour 9
Totals:
162 pages from Department 19
short story "Storm Country" by Paul Crenshaw
---would've had a few other short stories for class, but Acrobat is being dumb

We're nearing the half-way point. Fill it out whenever! You can do it now, wait until hour 12, before you go to sleep, or when you come back in the morning.

Midway Meme

1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon?

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half?

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading?

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far?

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc.

Hour 11

I've been reading: bonk, Shake Hands with the Devil, and Out Stealing Horses
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 18 + 59/97 CD tracks
Posting time: 12 minutes
Reading time: 3 hours

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 18 + 59/97 CD tracks
Total time read: 3 hours
Total time posting: 12 minutes

The Menu: Peanut butter and blueberry jelly on white bread. I'm going to make some decaf coffee. Oh, yeah! I did also have a pistachio muffin earlier today with some great coffee in a cafe in Ellicott City, Maryland, USA.

Comments: I hate counting posting time. :(

Madeline, you don't need to count posting time if you don't want to. Use whatever format you like best. I've only been counting pages and using hour benchmarks of the read-a-thon, not the actual hours I've read.

Ok, I like participating but have to say I don't like the posting of data.... so, I've been doing chores, eating dinner, walking the dogs after feeding them, and so forth. Now I am ready to go back to reading and I'll not be posting here again today. Just saying.... I love the reading part. Have a great week, all!

Midway Meme

1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon? Bonk, Shake Hands with the Devi, and Out Stealing Horses

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half? I like reading Shake Hands with the Devil best, but I want to finish Out Stealing Horses.

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading? I spent the day with a friend visiting an assisted living facility. I'll get back to reading later this evening.

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far? Definitely the pistachio muffin! :)

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc. I like the following quote from Shake Hands with the Devil: "May this book help inspire people around the globe to rise above national interest and self-interest to recognize humanity for what it really is: a panoply of human beings who, in their essence, are the same."

*no longer counting posting time*

Midway Meme

1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon? I have been reading Fly Away Home and it is interesting. I have been wanting to keep reading it during this read-a-thon.

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half? No because I will still be reading this book and then going to work.

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading? Nothing. I break I have had has been picking up my son's friend and then watching Law & Order SVU and trying to read during the commercials

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far? I only ate some pasta so I guess that would be my favorite.

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc. I recently read So Many Books, So Little Time and I just feel that that book is my mantra.

I haven't read that much during the past couple of hours. I only read 18 pages. I will try to read a little more before going to bed.

Hours 4-7

I've been reading: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 25
Posting time: 10 minutes
Reading time: 30 minutes

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 111
Total time read: 2 hours 25 minutes
Total time posting: 40 minutes

On the menu: Corned beef sandwich made from leftovers and some English Toffee ice cream from Braums.
Comments: I am back now and should be able to read the rest of evening. Not sure how long I'll be able to stay awake. I have to think a bit about the last question on the midway meme.

HOURS 9&10

12-2pm

I've been reading: Sunday Best by Bernice Rubens
Books finished this hour: 1
Pages read: 18pgs
Posting time: 15 min
Reading time: 10min

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 52pgs
Total time read: 1 hr 5 min
Total time posting: 20 min

The Menu: coffee
Comments: Finished Sunday Best which was another good read from Bernice Rubens. I think I'll try to finish Les Miserables now, I only have about 80pgs to go, I've been reading at a rate of 100pgs per week since the start of the year.

Opening Meme:

1. Where are you reading from? on the treadmill at the gym to start with

2. What book are you starting with? Sunday Best by Bernice Rubens - I had about 50pgs left

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities?
I'd like to finish two more books today, I'm in the final stages of both - Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and The General in his Labrinth by Gabriel García Márquez.
Others I'm reading include A Game of Thrones and Arthur Slade's Dust

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? to finish 3 books I've had on the go for a while

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? Enjoy your reading time, try not to get too distracted by household chores.

I'll do the midway meme at my next post.

edit: touchstones

(Almost) 12th Hour:
I've been reading: Helliconia Spring
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 62
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 70 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 171p.
Total time read: 190 min (3 hrs 10 min)
Total time posting: 20 min

The Menu: turkey samosa, mashed potatoes (leftovers), peas, lemon meringue pie
Comments: Spent some time entering sf books into LT library, took second walk! Meant to read from my other two books, but I'm sort of absorbed in Helliconia for the moment.

The Mid-meme:
Midway Meme

1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon?MainlyHelliconia Spring, a little of Oryx and Crake both of which are excellent. I've been reading HS longer and I think I have that itch move on.
2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half?
I'll mostly be sleeping. Two more hours TOPS if that.
3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading?
taking walks, enjoying ground beneath my feet instead of snow (though there is still plenty of the white stuff underfoot.
4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far?
That's easy, the lemon meringue pie.
5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc. While cataloging books came across the Science Fiction No Frills book -- very silly 'generic' sf spoof. And also National Lampoon's Doon. I remember laughing over those a million years ago.

Opening Meme:

1. Where are you reading from?

My desk in the sitting room

2. What book are you starting with?

As ever I have 7 books on the go, the first one that I picked up was Ruby's Spoon by Anna Lawrence Pietroni

3. Are there any other books you are planning to read from? Possibilities?

Other 6 are:

Amy Chua, World on Fire
Annalena McAfee, The Spoiler
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Aifric Campbell, The Loss Adjustor
Joan Aiken, The Serial Garden
Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

4. Do you have any goals for this read-a-thon? Just to read as much as I can.

5. Any read-a-thon tips? Or if you're a newbie, anything you hope to get out of this read-a-thon? My tip is to just enjoy yourself and don't worry about making updates every hour. Make them when you want to.

10th hour
I've been reading: Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 8/14 of a CD
Posting time: 15 min
Reading time: 60 min

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 88 + 12/14 of a CD
Total time read: 4hr
Total time posting: 1hr
The Menu: a big green salad with lots of beans and veggies, pea and barley soup, chocolate mouse, Earl Gray Tea
Comments: I'm so glad to be back to Darkness

Midway Meme
1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon? Darkness Take My Hand and listening to Special Topics in Calamity Physics, I'm kind of sorry I had to take time away from reading to go out.

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half? Very much looking forward to finishing Darkness

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading? went to see Limitless. I'm ready to get some NZT as soon as it comes on to the market.

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far? Chocolate Mousse, yum and double yum

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc. This is a quote from Darkness to show just how dark it is:
There's enough evil in the average person who gets up every day, goes to work, thinks of himself as good as much as possible. But maybe he cheats on his wife, maybe he f***s over a co-worker, maybe, in his heart of heats, he thinks there's a race or two of people who are inferior to him.
Most of the time, our powers of rationalization being what they are, he never has to face it He can go to his death thinking he's good.
Most of us can. Most of us do.
But the man who wrote this letter had embraced evil. He enjoyed the pain of others. He didn't rationalize his hate, he reveled in it.

11th Hour:

I've been reading:

Anna Lawrence Pietroni, Ruby's Spoon
Amy Chua, World on Fire
Annalena McAfee, The Spoiler
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Aifric Campbell, The Loss Adjustor
Joan Aiken, The Serial Garden
Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

Books finished: 0
Pages read: 135
Total books read: 7

The Menu: A late lunch of fish and chips - I didn't start reading until about 5.30 pm and then haven't been reading all the time

The Mid-meme:
Midway Meme

1. What have you been reading?

See above. They've been fine but I haven't been in a position to sit down and read for that much of the time since 3 pm

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half?

All of them

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading?

Lots of interruptions

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far?

The fish was nice!

Yay Read-a-thons! I just found this and am bummed because I'm on my way to bed. But enjoy everybody! Yay reading!

HOUR 11

I've been reading: The Art of Fiction Interview of Louise Erdrich in the Winter 2010 issue of The Paris Review, and The Anatomy of a Moment by Javier Cercas
Books finished this hour: none (but I did finish the Erdrich interview)
Pages read: 32 (pp 147-166 of The Paris Review, and pp 91-102 of The Anatomy of a Moment)
Posting time: 20 min
Reading time: 30 min

Total books read: 1 + an article in The Paris Review
Total pages read: 349
Total time read: 4 hr 50 min
Total time posting: 1 hr 50 min

The Menu: Greek yogurt and grapes; I'll probably make a mug of hot tea soon.
Comments: The Art of Fiction interview of Louise Erdrich was superb! I'll read The Anatomy of a Moment for the next hour or two, and I might switch to something a bit less dense for the late evening hours, if I'm still awake.

80--Karen, thanks for stopping in! Nice to hear from the non-data-posters every so often :)

Hour 10
Totals:
162 pages of Department 19
FINISHED:
Storm Country
Fables: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham

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

Midway Meme

1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon?
The above listed. Department 19 has been pretty captivating. And Fables was nice to break it up with--comics go fast.

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half?
I think I'll stick with Department 19. It would be nice to get half-way through--end of spring break and I tend to not read much for fun with classes going.

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading?
I went and saw I Am Number Four at the theatre with a couple friends. It was nice to switch to visuals for a bit and have a little chat.

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far?
I had a yummy giant soft pretzel at the movie.

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc.
Favorite interaction in Department 19 so far:
"Where are we going?" he yelled.
"Arrivals," the doctor yelled back. "Something's inbound, so it's the safest place for you to be."
"Why?"
"Because it's where the guns are."

Midway Meme

1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon?
I have read from Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton, Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs, and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is my first read-a-thon, so I have nothing to compare it to.

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half?
Not really one in particular. I am enjoying them all.

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading?
Walking the dog.

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far?
English Toffee Ice Cream

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc.
Recently finished The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig and I am near certain that it will be on my top 10 list for 2011.

HOUR 12

I've been reading: The Anatomy of a Moment by Javier Cercas
Books finished this hour: none
Pages read: 16 (pp 103-118 of The Anatomy of a Moment)
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 20 min

Total books read: 1 + an article in The Paris Review
Total pages read: 365
Total time read: 5 hr 10 min
Total time posting: 1 hr 55 min

The Menu: Nada.
Comments: I've run out of steam. I'll either call it a night or at least sleep for a few hours. I'm not working on Monday, so I can probably go for a few more hours before the Read-a-thon ends.

Hour 13

I've been reading: nothing
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 0
Posting time: 30 min
Reading time: 0

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 0
Total time read: 4 hrs 25 min
Total time posting: 1 hr 15 min

Menu: half a turkey sandwich, the last bit of whoppers eggs, a slice of cheese pizza, beer, spicy hummus with pita chips, a brownie cookie, lots of water.

Comments: Had girls night at my friend's house instead of mine - hence all of the food and zero reading. I got home about a half hour ago and have been catching up here since then. Have the day off tomorrow so if I stay up late it's no biggie. Not sure what to pick up now, will fly by the seat of my pants.

Midway Meme

1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon?
A 39 Clues book and a little of Bill Brysons book about Shakespeare. Yeah, the 39 clues books are usually good - not much depth, but a lot of history (aimed at teens) with some action thrown in to make for entertaining listens.

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half?
Not particularly.

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading?
Haven't been fidgety yet, but I'm sure it will happen sooner or later.

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far?
Honestly, the Whoppers Eggs were wonderful - thankfully they're all gone now!

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc.
When I was a teen (way back in the 90's) I used to read upside-down. Physically upside-down. We had these old 70's chairs in the living room with quite a lot of padding, and I'd scooch myself all the way back so my legs were sticking straight up along the back of the chair, lay my torso on the seat and then hang my head over the edge to read. For hours. And, I've always had major issues with balance, dizziness, motion sickness, etc, but for some weird reason this didn't bother me.

HOURS 11&12

2-4pm

I've been reading: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, How to Cure a fanatic by Amos Oz and listening to Venice for Lovers.
Books finished this hour: 1
Pages read: 44pgs
Posting time: 8 min
Reading time: 35min

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 96pgs
Total time read: 1 hr 40 min
Total time posting: 28 min

The Menu: coffee & muesli slice
Comments: Finished Les Mis which has been on the go since January. Overall a wonderful book. Started How to cure a fanatic which is two essays by Amos Oz. And listening to Venice for Lovers.

Meme
1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon? I've been finishing off a couple of books that have been on the go for a while.

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half? I'll be tackling The general in his Labyrinth which is proving to be a slow read so am looking forward to breaking it with a YA novel or Game of Thrones at some point.

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading? I haven't really been concentrating on reading yet, there's been lots of interruptions.

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far? Probably the muesli slice.

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc.
My new favourite writer is Bernice Rubens, I've enjoyed all her books so far.

Hour 13
Totals:
178 pages Department 19
FINISHED:
Storm Country
Fables: Animal Farm

I may be nodding off soon. . . if that's the case, I'll be seeing you wonderful readers in the morn! Happy Reading!

I've read another 19 pages of my books, 14 of them from The Portrait of a Lady. I've also written a review of a children's book set during WWII, which I will submit to the Bookbag editor tomorrow.

12th hour
I've been reading: Darkness Take My Hand
Books finished this hour: 1
Pages read: 65
Posting time: 5 min
Reading time: 110 min

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 153 + 12/14 of a CD
Total time read: almost 6hr
Total time posting: about 1hr
The Menu: Yogi Egyptian Licorice tea (my favorite)
Comments: I love Dennis Lehane, but I'm not sure why. He has such terrible things to say about humanity's possibilities. Now I'll start one less distressing, I hope, Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Shaffer

Hour 10-13 (8pm-12am EDT)

I've been reading: Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 106
Posting time: 30min
Reading time: 1h 45min

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 2
Total pages read: 226
Total time read: about 5h
Total time posting: 1h 20min

The Menu: tea with cookies
Comments: Finished Unwind and about ready to call it a night. I might read in bed but probably won't post again until morning. Happy reading!

Midway Meme

1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon? Last story of After the Quake short story collection and Unwind, a gripping YA novel which was hard to put down, very read-a-thon material.

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half? Haven't picked one yet.

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading? Having dinner with my husband and our friend, catching up on world news.

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far? A friend have been experimenting with peanut butter cookie dough and jelly/chocolate, had to have some in spite of the late hour.

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc. A quote from Unwind, uttered by one of the minor characters (value of life is one of the main themes of the book):
"I was never going to amount to much anyway, but now, statistically speaking, there's a better chance that some part of me will go on to greatness somewhere in the world. I'd rather be partly great than entirely useless."

Hour 13 - Past the Halfway Point

I've been reading: The Book Thief - 85 pages., Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs - 29 pages, and Artemis Fowl (family read aloud - 18 pages
Pages Read: 132 pages
Reading Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Posting Time: 5 minutes

Total Books Read: 0
Total Pages Read: 243
Total Reading Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Total Posting Time: 45 minutes

Menu: Peppermint Herbal Tea
Comments: It is 11:34 PM here and I am not feeling sleepy yet. I get my best reading done at night when the family is asleep. But I am going to take a short break and surf the 'net for a lwhile now, before reading some more.

Hour 14

I've been reading: Alfons Mucha by Renate Ulmer
Pages read: 95
Reading time: 37 min
Posting time: 5 min

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 95
Total reading time: 5 hrs 2 min
Total posting time: 1 hr 20 min

Menu: Water, small glass of apple juice
Comments: Just starting to get tired at nearly midnight. I'm freezing cold so I'm going to lay down on the couch with a blanket and a book - I'll probably be asleep within the hour. Good night everyone, and I'll be back here in the morning!

14th hour
I've been reading: Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 40
Posting time: 45 min
Reading time: about an hour

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 193 + 12/14 of a CD
Total time read: almost 7hr
Total time posting: about 1hr 45 min
The Menu: Yogi Egyptian Licorice tea (my favorite)
Comments: Great Philosophers is a light look at philosophers and their love lives, an easy read. I'm tired now so will watch Big Love then off to bed.

HOUR 17 (I think?)

I've been reading: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 25

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 98

The Menu: Cereal
Comments: Intended to read more last night, but I kept getting distracted. Oh well. I'm off to school in a bit and the read-a-thon ends while I'm out, so this'll be my last post until the end. I might get some reading squeezed into my day. Reading in class is an art to be learned ;)

Meme
1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon? I've been reading American Gods, which I'm really enjoying.

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half? American Gods again!

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading? Haven't discovered one! I 'take a break for half an hour' which turns into three hours far too easily.

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far? The sushi was good, as was my breakfast cereal.

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc.
Favourite quote from American Gods so far:
'Say "Nevermore"', said Shadow.
'Fuck you,' said the raven.

HOUR 18

I've been reading: The Anatomy of a Moment by Javier Cercas
Books finished this hour: none
Pages read: 32 (pp 119-150)
Posting time: 0 min
Reading time: 35 min

Total books read: 1 + an article in The Paris Review
Total pages read: 397
Total time read: 5 hr 45 min
Total time posting: 1 hr 55 min

The Menu: I woke up less than an hour ago. It's only 5 am EDT, a bit early for breakfast or coffee, so I'll make a cup of tea shortly.

Comments: I just finished Part Two of The Anatomy of a Moment, a dense historical account of the 23 Feb 1981 coup d'état that sought to dismantle Spain's young democracy. It's a good break point, so I'll put this aside for now, and start Morning and Evening Talk by Naguib Mahfouz, "an epic tale of Egyptian life over five generations", which I should be able to finish by the end of the Read-a-thon.

Midway Meme

1. What have you been reading? Has it been good for a read-a-thon? I've finished one book, Harlem Is Nowhere by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, read a significant portion of another, The Anatomy of a Moment by Javier Cercas, and read an interview of Louise Erdrich in a past issue of The Paris Review.

2. Are you looking forward to a certain book in the second half?
I think that Morning and Evening Talk will be very good.

3. What has been your best break activity to cure the fidgets and get you back to reading?
Listening to jazz and sleeping.

4. What has been your favorite food that you've eaten during the read-a-thon so far?
Hmm...probably the eggplant in garlic sauce that I had for lunch yesterday.

5. Share a favorite! Book, author, quote, book related memory, etc.
I liked Louise Erdrich's reply to The Paris Review interviewer's question about the bookstore that she owns in Minneapolis:

"There's something very wrong in our country—and not just in the book business. We now see what barely fettered capitalism looks like. We are killing the small and the intimate. We all feel it and we don't know quite why everything is beginning to look the same. The central cores of large cities can still sustain interesting places. But all across our country we are intent on developing chain after chain with no character and employees who work for barely livable wages. We are losing our individuality. Killing the soul of our landscape. Yet we're supposed to be the most individualistic of countries. I feel the sadness of it every time I go through cities like Fargo and Minneapolis and walk the wonderful old Main Streets and then go out to the edges and wander through acres of concrete boxes. Our country is starting to look like Legoland."

HOURS 13-18?

4-10pm

I've been reading: The general in his Labyrinth
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 64pgs
Posting time: 20 min
Reading time: 1 hr 10 mins approx

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 160pgs
Total time read: 2 hr 50 min
Total time posting: 48 min

The Menu: Dinner - Lemon Garlic chicken, roast potato, broccoli. To Drink: water.
Comments: Time spent in the kitchen and at the computer along with a struggle to read this Gabriel Garcia Marquez book. Slowly slowly I've read a good chunk tonight and will finish it over the next couple of days. Now I can relax for a while with Game of Thrones. Also took time out to watch The Almighty Johnsons, one of my new favourite tv shows.
I probably won't post again till the morning, a few hours after the readathon ends.

Just stopping by to say hello. I did a little bit of reading before bed and some since I woke up. I may post an update later at work. I won't be reading much more since I will be leaving for work in about an hour.

Happy Reading All!!

Hello Readathonners! Hope you are all having fun. :)

HOURS 19 & 20

I've been reading: Morning and Evening Talk by Naguib Mahfouz
Books finished this hour: none
Pages read: 24 (pp 1-24)
Posting time: 60 min
Reading time: 30 min

Total books read: 3 books read, one book completed, and one article in The Paris Review completed
Total pages read: 421
Total time read: 6 hr 15 min
Total time posting: 2 hr 55 min

The Menu: A power bagel from Einstein Bros and English breakfast tea. I'll make a mug of coffee shortly.

Comments: Morning and Evening Talk is conceptually interesting, as it consists of a series of very short stories about the members of three Egyptian families over a 200 year period, listed in alphabetical order by name. I can't say that I'm enjoying it, though; hopefully it will improve soon.

HOURS 12-21

I wrote a review late last night for the Bookbag, then had a few hours of sleep

I've been reading:
various books, as previously listed, plus a new one as I finished one - the new one is by Karen McQuestion and it's to review for Amazon Vine - she has published several books on Kindle including this one, a dead tree ARC
Books finished in this period: 1
Pages read: 109 pages

Total books read: 8
Total pages read: 263 pages

The Menu: Croissants, yoghurt and 2 cups of tea at breakfast

HOUR 21 (I'll have to correct the times of my earlier posts!)

I've been reading: Morning and Evening Talk by Naguib Mahfouz
Books finished this hour: none
Pages read: 70 (pp 25-94)
Posting time: 10 min
Reading time: 50 min

Total books read: 3 books read, one book completed, and one article in The Paris Review completed
Total pages read: 491
Total time read: 7 hr 5 min
Total time posting: 3 hr 5 min

The Menu: Coffee!

Comments: Morning and Evening Talk has become trivial and boring, filled with seemingly endless short bios about miserable people and conniving wives, husbands, and other relatives. I'll skim through the rest of it, and hopefully finish it in the next hour.

Hi, Luci! I'm glad that someone else is here.

Good morning! Glad to see a few of you kept at it in the wee hours--which I guess are normal hours for some elsewhere :P

About time for me to get back reading, see you in a bit!

HOUR 22

I've been reading: Morning and Evening Talk by Naguib Mahfouz
Books finished this hour: one
Pages read: 117 (pp 95-211)
Posting time: 10 min
Reading time: 50 min

Total books read: 3 books read, two books completed, and one article in The Paris Review completed
Total pages read: 608
Total time read: 7 hr 55 min
Total time posting: 3 hr 15 min

The Menu: Nothing new
Comments: I'm glad to be finished with Morning and Evening Talk. It was an experimental novel, in which (I think) the reader was supposed to connect the lives of the 67 ordinary Egyptians whose lives were briefly portrayed in the book, along with two or three times as many secondary characters, in order to create a tapestry that would display Egyptian society over a two hundred year period. Thanks, but no thanks.

I'll start Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord, which I need to review by month's end for issue 11 of Belletrista. I won't finish it by the end of the Read-a-thon, though.

Hour 22
Totals:
210 pages Department 19
FINISHED:
Storm Country
Fables: Animal Farm

Sorry I couldn't join you this time - keep up the good work for the last couple of hours!

I only read a few more pages last night, my weekday mornings are busy until I settle down to work (now, more or less, ha ha) and so I have no more to report.

I GREATLY enjoyed reading what folks put in the last meme, last question, favorite book or passage. Some funny, some deep, loved it.

HOUR 23

I've been reading: Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
Books finished this hour: none
Pages read: 12 (pp 1-12)
Posting time: 30 min
Reading time: 15 min

Total books read: four books read, two books completed, and one article in The Paris Review completed
Total pages read: 620
Total time read: 8 hr 10 min
Total time posting: 3 hr 45 min

The Menu: Nothing new
Comments: One more hour to go!

Hour 23
Totals:
240 pages Department 19
FINISHED:
Storm Country
Fables: Animal Farm

******************************
We've made it to the final hour! Here's the last meme to consider and fill out whenever is convenient.

Final Meme

1. What was your favorite book to read from?

2. What was your favorite part?

3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part?

4. Did you reach your goals?

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc.

Hour 23

I've been reading Ghost Canoe - 27 pages, The Book Thief - 41 pages, and Casting Spells - 42 pages
Pages Read since last post - 110
Time Reading since last post - - 1 hours, 45 minutes
Time Posting since last post - 5 minutes

Total Books Read - 0
Total Pages Read - 353
Total Time Reading - 6 hours
Total Time Posting - 50 minutes

The menu - English Breakfast Tea, oatmeal with blackberries
Comments - One hour left, should be able to read for most of it.

We've made it to the end! Thanks everyone for joining me in this read-a-thon. It was just what I needed for motivation. Hope everyone enjoyed themselves!

*******************************************************
Hour 24
Totals:
278 pages Department 19
FINISHED:
Storm Country
Fables: Animal Farm

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

Final Meme

1. What was your favorite book to read from?
Department 19--It's been much better and different than what I expected.

2. What was your favorite part?
Seeing everyone's progress--it motivates me to keep going :)

3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part?
I got tired much earlier than I anticipated. And I made all the memes spur of the moment, which was more difficult than I thought it would be.

4. Did you reach your goals?
Yes! I finished Fables and made it over half way through D19.
. . . sort of a blip. I wanted to do my class reading, but they are online and Acrobat Reader was not cooperating. Ah well, doesn't need to be done til Thursday.

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc.
I found hostessing was easier and harder than expected. Easy to set up. Harder to make memes. And I wasn't sure how much I should be posting encouragements. But really, once started, we all just kind of go.

HOUR 24

I've been reading: Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
Books finished this hour: none
Pages read: 38 (pp 13-50)
Posting time: 20 min
Reading time: 40 min

Total books read: four books read, two books (and one article in The Paris Review) completed
Total pages read: 658
Total time read: 8 hr 50 min
Total time posting: 4 hr 5 min

The Menu: Thinking about lunch: Greek salad or crab cakes?

Comments: Redemption in Indigo is an absolute delight! It's based on an African folk tale about an incredibly spoiled big man with an insatiable appetite and a propensity for misadventure, who seeks to reclaim his wife from her home village. It's well written and hilarious, and I'll definitely finish it today.

Final Meme

1. What was your favorite book to read from?
Redemption in Indigo, by a mile.

2. What was your favorite part?
I assume that you mean my favorite part of the Read-a-thon. That would be the last hour, which was spent snorting and giggling at the big man's exploits in Redemption in Indigo.

3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part?
Reading Morning and Evening Talk by Naguib Mahfouz was a huge disappointment, so that was easily my least favorite part.

4. Did you reach your goals?
Yes. I wanted to finish one LT Early Reviewer book (I finished Harlem Is Nowhere yesterday), and read a significant portion of the other (I'm a third of the way through The Anatomy of a Moment, and should be able to finish it by tomorrow). I was hoping to finish two books, although it wasn't a stated goal, and I did complete Morning and Evening Talk today.

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc.
I've become a huge fan of these Read-a-thons, as it helps me focus on my reading in a relaxed and supportive (online) environment. I wouldn't have read half the number of pages or books without it!

Thanks for hosting this Read-a-thon, Katie!

Hour 24

I've been reading: Henrietta Sees It Through by Joyce Dennys
Pages read: 70
Reading time: 1 hr
Posting time: 5 min

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 165
Total reading time: 6 hrs 2 min
Total posting time: 1 hr 25 min

Menu: Handful of pistachios last night, water & medication this morning. Going to make some tea soon.

Comments: I read for 20 minutes last night before I gave up and went to bed. I zonked out for almost 9 hours (!) and started in on Henrietta this morning, my ER win from January. So far I find myself smiling and even laughing occasionally at Henrietta & Co, getting on as best they can at home in Devonshire in WWII. I'm happy that I bought the first book, Henrietta's War, earlier in the year in anticipation of my liking HSIT so much.

Final Meme

1. What was your favorite book to read from? Henrietta Sees It Through

2. What was your favorite part? I'm really enjoying the small illustrations that the author has done of certain parts in most every letter (the book is epistolary in form.)

3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part? Least favorite was not being able to stay at home and read last night. But Girls Night is Girls Night and is rarely cancelled.

4. Did you reach your goals? Almost - I wanted to finish the audio book and get a good chunk read in Henrietta which I did, but I didn't get to read Evans to Betsy like I'd wanted to. Oh well!

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc.
I had a really nice time during this read-a-thon! I enjoyed the meme questions a lot, and everyone's answers to their reading memories/quotes/etc was especially fun.

Katie, you were an excellent hostess!

Stephen, good morning! Thanks for dropping by to wish us well.

Way back up there in message 102, Citizenjoyce, I love that Egyptian Licorice tea as well! Have you had the Mint version?

You're welcome! It was very fun being on this side of the read-a-thon. And I will probably host again. . . but not until school is out. Priorities *le sigh

Final Meme

1. What was your favorite book to read from? I really didn't have one. I am enjoying Fly Away Home but it is not a favorite for the read a thon.

2. What was your favorite part? When Diana is in a hospital room with a supposed patient and it turns sexy and her black berry goes off and she has to answer it. I don't care for the fact that she is married and cheating on her husband.
3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part? In the read-a-thon, just not being able to read for as long as I wanted to.
4. Did you reach your goals? Not really. Didn't get through as much of the book as I wanted to.

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc. "Did you have fun today?" Diana asked, and Milo swallowed a mouthful of sweet potato, nodded vigorously, and said, "Hey Mom? What's a dildo?"

I didn't get to read much after I got to work.

The end
I've been reading: Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love
Books finished this hour: 1
Pages read: 75
Posting time: about 1 hr
Reading time: 1 1/2 hr

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 268 + 12/14 of a CD
Total time read: almost 8 1/2hr
Total time posting: about 2hr 45 min
The Menu: English Breakfast tea with milk (I have had the Egyptian Licorice tea with mint, Laura, and I like it also)
Comments: The Great Philosophers were shown to be overwhelmingly misogynistic. Sad, but I was glad for the few exceptions, Bertrand Russell and Simone De Beauvoir.

Final Meme

1. What was your favorite book to read from? Darkness, Take My Hand

2. What was your favorite part? Dennis Lehane contemplating why people are good or bad, what makes them think they are either

3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part? descriptions of torture

4. Did you reach your goals? I finished 2 books, so though I didn't set a goal, I'm pleased.

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc. One character was a very bad guy in the last book. In this book his history was traced, his bad family life (bad fathers in these books), his early friendship, his erupting into an alcoholic wife beater then his recovery. He says, "however I became what I became, I did become that thing." Lehane shows some reasons a person could make bad choices but still makes him responsible for those choices.

Good read-a-thon, Katie. Thanks for hosting it.

HOUR 24 (I think?)

I've been reading: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 22

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 120

The Menu: PBJ sandwich
Comments: Sneaked 22 pages into my study periods. I'm surprised how much I read!

Final Meme

1. What was your favorite book to read from?
The one and only American Gods.

2. What was your favorite part?
There was a point yesterday where the story really started kicking off and I was having a blast.

3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part?
Reading during school when extremely tired (and trying to hide my book from the study hall supervisor o.O) isn't my favourite way to read.

4. Did you reach your goals?
I didn't read as much as I normally do during a read-a-thon, but I did read more than I do on a normal day. That's gotta be good, right? ;)

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc.
Just that this was my first read-a-thon in a long time and I really enjoyed it :)

Thanks for hosting, Katie!

I did not actually end up reading in the last hour, so my totals remain the same from the last time I posted.

Final Meme

1. What was your favorite book to read from? I suppose Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton because of the knitting, but I am enjoying them all.

2. What was your favorite part?
Starting, anticipating reading for several hours.

3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part?
Having too many other things that interrupted.

4. Did you reach your goals? Yes.

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc.
I read from several different books, alternating back and forth which is my usual reading pattern, but I think at my next readathon I will try harder to stick to one book, or at most two.

HOURS 19-24

10pm-4am

I've been reading: A Game of Thrones
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 24pgs
Posting time: 10 min
Reading time: 20 mins approx

Total books read: 2 finished & 3 others on the go
Total pages read: 184pgs
Total time read: 3 hr 10min
Total time posting: 1hr 8 min

The Menu: nada
Comments: I chose sleep over reading, so only read a few pages before switching out the light.

Final Meme

1. What was your favorite book to read from? Les miserables - those last few pages are just wonderful

2. What was your favorite part? Finishing Les mis, which I have been reading since the start of the year.

3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part? struggling with The General & his Labyrinth, I seriously considered not finishing it. Apart from that just the normal interruptions

4. Did you reach your goals? Yes, I finished 2 books

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc. Next time I'll try harder to streamline the dinner process, I lost a lot of reading time by mucking about in the kitchen.

My last entry, although I am a little late with it. Another great read-a-thon, Katie, thank you!

Hour 14-24 (12am-11am EDT)

I've been reading: Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 32
Posting time: 30min
Reading time: about 1h

Total books read from: 3
Total books finished: 2
Total pages read: 258
Total time read: about 6h
Total time posting: about 2h

The Menu: coffee, oatmeal
Comments: read a few pages last night and a little bit this morning.

Final Meme

1. What was your favorite book to read from? Unwind is the book I read most of and really enjoyed.

2. What was your favorite part? Having a very suitable book that I was able to finish.

3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part? Nothing too awful or difficult this time, just standard interruptions.

4. Did you reach your goals? I can say so, I finished 2 books I started earlier and dipped into the third one.

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc. I'm getting really addicted to read-a-thons! I am much more disciplined with my reading and the final results are immensely satisfying.

Final Meme

I tried to post earlier today, but LT went down (along with my post). :(

1. What was your favorite book to read from? Shake Hands with the Devil by Romeo Dallaire

2. What was your favorite part? I liked the line that said "The police were protecting the soldiers who were there to protect law and order." It made me laugh out loud.

3. What was your most difficult or least favorite part? I haven't gotten to the very difficult parts yet, but I guess for now it would be where Dallaire encountered the conditions within the refugee camp.

4. Did you reach your goals? No. I didn't finish the book I intended to finish because it (Out Stealing Horses) got boring so I left it to read more of Shake Hands with the Devil.

5. Open share! Anything you want to share about the experience. It could be a quote/passage, tip, moment, idea, etc. I decided that I don't like posting times - either for reading or posting. I'm just going to count pages.

Total books read partially: 3
Total books completed: 0
Total pages read: 124 pages + 59/97 CD tracks

Thanks, Katie, for hosting!

I forgot to note how many pages I read over lunch, which would have been the last time I was able to join in during Readathon hours. I'm going to say 37, though I think it was probably a few more, which would mean I read a total of 300 pages.

I finished reading Ruby's Spoon during the Readathon and World on Fire later, on my journey home from work.

Looks like everyone was very productive
Thanks again for joining!
I'll see you all around the threads, and I'm sure at another read-a-thon :)