Read-a-thon June 6-7

Hey all!

Welcome to another installment of read-till-your-eyes-burn-and-you-pass-out, aka 24 hr read-a-thon! This is very last minute and pretty much on a whim of 'I need motivation,' so sorry for the short notice folks. Any amount of participation is welcome, whether it's the full 24hrs or a 5 minute stop by to wish us well.

We'll start today at 3:30pm Central time and go until 3:30pm tomorrow.

Post in whatever format you're comfortable with, but here's the popular template of past read-a-thons:

HOUR X

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:

I'll get a meme up around start time.

Oh, and let us know who you are and where you're reading from so I can add you to the master list.

Participants
Katie, Minnesota
Monica, Pennsylvania
Deborah, Pennsylvania
Laura, Texas
Lynda, Ohio
chinquapin
Darryl, "Hotlanta"
Laura, Milwaukee
Suzanne, NYC
Sandy K, Ohio

Oh, I'll read. to the extent I can. Because I've got the beginnings of a cold, and can't work -- have no voice and sore throat. That said, it's a big work day tomorrow, so I'll only be around till midnight or so.

Suzanne, reading from NYC.

count me in. I will start around 4:30 pm my time (EDT)

Monica from Pennsylvania.

I will read for a little bit tonight and maybe some before work and maybe during lunch if I am able to.

Thanks for hosting

I've got a little more housework to finish, and I'll need to take an hour out later for yardwork, but otherwise, I'm in. I really need to finish one of two books I've been working on.

Deborah from Pennsylvania

I'm in also. I just got home from running some errands, but I'll start very soon. Have to make dinner and run my son to and from swim practice, but other than that, I can read away :)

Laura in Texas

HOUR 1 (4:30 PM EDT)

I've been reading: Tick Tock by James Patterson
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 134 pages
Posting time: 5 mins
Reading time: 50 mins

Total books read from: 1
Total books finished: 0
Total pages read: 134 pages
Total time read: 50 mins
Total time posting: 5 mins

The Menu: Vegetable soup, brought home by lovely upstairs neighbor after he took his toddler for a walk. It's about the only thing I could face with this sore throat.
Comments: And James Patterson is mindless enough that even with a fever starting up, I can follow the plot!

Welcome! It's start time! But join in whenever you can :)

Summer is here for us northern hemisphere dwellers, or at least the 90-something degree weather is telling me so. Let's have a summer themed opener.

Opening Meme
1. What's your favorite summer read?
I don't have a particular favorite, but I like to do a reread of a general favorite. . . might be Ender's Game this year.
2. How do you beat the heat?
Eventually we get our window a/c units hooked up. . . but right now I'm just laying in front of a fan. Occasionally, swimming happens.
3. What is something summer has to have? (vacation, beach, lemonade, etc?)
Cup 'n Cone ice cream, it's an awesome little summer ice cream shack.
4. Open share. Anything summer related.
I burn pretty instantly, so I tend to stay indoors during summer days. But at night I just like to go lay on the deck and stare at the stars.

Just a five minute stopping-by to wish you all well. Enjoy every minute of it. Don't linger too long over the breaks, and go back to your reading, or if not that: do whatever you can.

I've a very busy weekend and all the reading I'll be able to do will be the hour or so at bed time. So sad. But the other plans are mainly happy ones. So = mixed feeling.

You all read one for me!

Hi will try to drop in later

I'll come back later, Katie. I'm Lynda from Ohio. First off to a school function and then back home to read the night away.

I'm in, or will be in a bit- reading from the western US.

HOUR 1 (4:30 PM Central)

I've been reading: Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 25 pages

Menu: Ice cold Hawaiian Punch :)
Comments: I'm still only in the 'dumb people falling off the edge' section. Wow. Probably switch to some fiction after this chapter and go back and forth.

Whoops, I thought the start time was eastern...

Starting again, in that case:

HOUR 1 (5:30 PM EDT)

I've been reading: Tick Tock by James Patterson
Books finished: 0
Books read from this hour: 1
Pages read: 100 pages
Posting time: 15 mins
Reading time: 45 mins

Total books read from: 1
Total books finished: 0
Total pages read: 100 pages
Total time read: 45 mins
Total time posting: 15 mins

Menu: diet pepsi

Gotta head out now and run errands. Silly stuff, like pedicure before conference thing tomorrow...

I can read for about an hour before going out to do some yard work.

Opening Meme
1. What's your favorite summer read?
No seasonal favorites, but I love to pick up a fat book that I can actually read all the way through without work interruptions.

2. How do you beat the heat?
I'm not good with the hot weather. I mostly stay indoors with the A/C running.

3. What is something summer has to have? (vacation, beach, lemonade, etc?)
Corn on the cob and watermelon.

4. Open share. Anything summer related.
I can only handle about an hour of gardning in the early evening, when the sun is fading. My yard is a mess. I don't think I'll ever get all those weeds out and the beds mulched!

At 5:15 - posting a little early because I have to leave soon.

I've been reading: Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 52
Posting time: ?
Reading time: 60 minutes

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 0
Total pages read: 52
Total time read: 60 mins
Total time posting: ?

Opening Meme
1. What's your favorite summer read?
Cozy Mysteries

2. How do you beat the heat?
A/C and fans in every room. It got to 100F today.

3. What is something summer has to have?
Ice cream drumsticks.

4. Open share. Anything summer related.
My son swims doubles in the summer with his competitive swim team, that is he practices both mornings and nights. It is a lot of driving to and from the pool, and a lot of poolside downtime for me.

I haven't started reading yet. I needed to get some exercise in before hand. I am going to start reading after I post my opening meme. Then I will make updates when possible.

Opening Meme

1. What's your favorite summer read?
I have never really had a favorite summer read. I have never really gone on a vacation where I was able to just read for a little bit.

2. How do you beat the heat?
Usually turn on the central air, drink ice cold water and if I can I will go swimming.

3. What is something summer has to have? (vacation, beach, lemonade, etc?)
ICE CREAM!! ICE CREAM!! ICE CREAM!! I love having ice cream during the summer. It is so refreshing. I love mint Chocolate chip. We have a Dairy King which is our cheap version of Dairy Queen and I love to have their soft serve ice cream.

4. Open share. Anything summer related.
Well I am one that burns every time I am out in the sun. I always have to wear sunscreen and I have to reapply often. I love to sit outside during the summer and I love to do yard work if it isn't oppressively hot.

Now going to go read. I am not sure what I will be reading..

Opening Meme
1. What's your favorite summer read? I read Lonesome Dove last year. It was perfect for summer in Colorado.
2. How do you beat the heat? Central AC (which I haven't yet turned on, amazing for the first week of June) and fans in all my rooms.
3. What is something summer has to have? watermelon, ice cream, ice tea, some time with my grandson
4. Open share. Anything summer related This climate change thing is working out great for me this year.

Hour 2
I've been reading: The Cartoon History of the Universe Part 1 Volumes 1-7 by Larry Gonick and listening to Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 41 plus 6/20 of a CD
Posting time: 30 min
Reading time: 1 hr

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 0
Total pages read: 41 + 6/20 CD
Total time read: 1hr
Total time posting: 30 min

The Menu: yummy apricots and plums from my sister's trees and a grande non-fat latte
Comments: Yippee, a readathon. I really wanted to finish the Cartoon History today

lol, Suzanne, you didn't need to start over.

HOUR 2-3 (6:20 PM Central)

I've been reading: Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 37
Total pages read: 62

Menu: More ice cold Hawaiian Punch. Think I'll grab some green grapes soon.
Comments: Just finished the chapter on dumb people falling. *shakes head* I guess it's just Darwin in action. Switching to Infected now.

I'm in, for at least 2-3 hours. I'll start reading Great House by Nicole Krauss, starting from the beginning.

Darryl from Hotlanta

YAY, A READATHON!!!!!

Had a crap day today and was just thinking "oh, wouldn't it be nice if a read-a-thon were happening, but it's Monday, what are the chances" when I stumbled upon the link! Yippee! I'll be getting started in a few minutes, just have to make a phone call and pack my bags for work tomorrow, and then I can hit the books tonight!

I'm Laura, reading in hot and steamy Milwaukee!

Welcome Darryl and Laura!

My days off are Monday and Tuesday. Now that my summer schedule is in full swing, I can hopefully host a few more Monday/Tuesday readathons by the end of it. . . . that is, if people at work don't go crazy with vacations :P

Hour 3
I've been reading: The Cartoon History of the Universe Part 1 Volumes 1-7 by Larry Gonick
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 38
Posting time: 30 min
Reading time: 1 hr

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 79 + 6/20 CD
Total time read: 2hr
Total time posting: 1hr

The Menu: still yummy apricots and plums from my sister's trees and the last of a grande non-fat latte, but I'm going to make dinner now
Comments: I'm so happy to have finished A Cartoon History of the Universe Part 1, 13 billion years from the Big Bang to Alexander the Great in one book. One might call that ambitious. Now I'll start on my RL book club book The Hour I First Believed.

Well, my toes look lovely. The rest of me feels like something the "creature" discovered at the bottom of the black lagoon.

So I feel better about reading dreck!

HOURS 2-6?? (8:30 PM EDT)

I've been reading: Tick Tock by James Patterson and Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 107 in the former; 35 in the latter: 142
Posting time: 5 mins
Reading time: 1 hr, 40 mins

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 242 pages
Total time read: 2 hrs 25 mins
Total time posting: 20 mins

Sore throat, sore throat... but I'm going to try to coax some mezes down it. From a local Middle Eastern restaurant I've never tried before.

NY is heating up, too.

HOUR 4 (7:30 PM Central)

I've been reading: Infected
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 21
Total pages read: 83

Menu: Grapes
Comments: Oh man, it is steeeeeeeaaaaamy. I was hoping it would cool down a bit, but no such luck. As Sims puts it, "air so thick you could write your name in it." It's murder on my concentration, so I'm going to take a break for a while. Go watch tv with my mother in the only air conditioned room of the house.

HOURS 2-4

I've been reading: The Crossing Places
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 77
Posting time: ?
Reading time: 85 min.

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 0
Total pages read: 129
Total time read: 2 hrs 25 mins
Total time posting: ?

Menu: Sausage Ravioli with Pepper Pesto.
Weather: Very hot here today...peaked at just over 100F. Glad to sit under a fan and read.

I've been reading: Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 108
Posting time: 5 mins
Reading time: 55 mins

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 350 pages
Total time read: 3 hrs 20 mins
Total time posting: 25 mins

Speaking of heat, I'm now running a low fever, which is VERY annoying. Couldn't this have waited until the end of the month, after my trip to San Fran & after my deadlines?? Bah humbug.

the mezze are quite good. Best of the lot so far has been zucchini cake in yoghurt sauce, which was actually my final "wild card" pick. It actually looks like a kind of meatball, but is light and tasty, with yummy yoghurt sauce. The mushrooms are sauteed with garlic and perhaps a bit too much lemon, and mixed with chick peas. Tasty, but a bit too tart. The meatballs in pomegranate saucer were ok, but I think the flavor was a bit too strong for me. The final one, yet to be tasted, is eggplant & cauliflower in a green tahini sauce. All are very tiny -- two small meatballs; the mushrooms are about 1/4 cup -- and just the right size to appeal to my appetite. If I don't eat anything, I'm sure this cold will turn into a killer AND I'll have a migraine, to boot!

Going to try to finish the third Vera Stanhope mystery by Ann Cleeves before I go to bed -- only 140 pages, and it's turning into a very fast read.

I don't cope well with extreme heat -- my idea of an idyllic day is anywhere from 70 to 80 Fahrenheit -- and we're not quite at the point where I have to turn my A/C on again. Until I moved to NY, I had never owned an A/C in my life!

I've been reading: well, listening to The Book of Tomorrow
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 0
Reading time: 1 hr 2 min
Posting time: 5 min

Menu: glass of strawberry banana smoothie, water
Comments: enjoying the last couple of hours of the audiobook, while putzing around the house and smooching the cats. It's still nearly 90 degrees and humid and it's almost 9 at night - boooo! Going to be another day of the same tomorrow, so I can safely say that aside from having to work for a couple of hours in the morning I'll be happily lazing on the couch and reading in the air conditioning. Just about an hour left of the book - back soon!

Well I started reading late but I at least go some reading in tonight. I am getting ready to go to bed. Here is my update:

HOUR 1-2 (my hours from when I started reading)

I've been reading: Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli and Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Books finished:1 Fourth Grade Rats
Pages read: 144
Posting time: 15 min.
Reading time: 2 hours

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 144
Total time read: 2 hours
Total time posting: 15. min.

The Menu: beef bourguignon, water and a Klondike bar
Comments: I have to go to work tomorrow so I cannot stay up too late reading. I don't know if I will be able to participate tomorrow. I will try if I get some free time. Have a great night everyone and keep on reading!

I've arrived home from awards night at school and ready to kick it into gear.

I'll start with the meme:
Opening Meme
1. What's your favorite summer read?
One that I can read in long stretches and completely immerse myself in. Genre doesn't matter as long as it takes me aswy.
2. How do you beat the heat?
I don't try to beat the heat. I love it, so bring it on!
3. What is something summer has to have? (vacation, beach, lemonade, etc?)
Watermelon, lemonade, hot dogs, amusement parks and parties.
4. Open share. Anything summer related.
I love the sun but it doesn't love me. I turn red as a lobster and then fade back to my original pallor. I've given up trying to lay out in the sun, it only adds to my dermatologist's life savings.

9pm to 10 pm
I've been reading: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Books finished:zip
Pages read: 21
Posting time: 15 min.
Reading time:1 hour

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 21
Total time read:1 hours
Total time posting: 15. min.

The Menu: Smirnoff Cranberry and Lime mixed drink and Wheatable with cheese

Hour 5
I've been reading: The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb, listening to Gaudy Night
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 25 + 4/20 CD
Posting time: 15 min
Reading time: 45 min

Total books read from: 3
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 104 + 1 CD
Total time read: 2hr 45 min
Total time posting: 1hr 15 min

The Menu: Stir fried veggies (mushrooms, peppers, onions) and tofu over brown rice, a glass of cheap red wine
Comments: a great line from The Hour I First Believed: You now what you can get on pizza in metro Denver? Mesquite-flavored tilapia, with or without goat cheese. Jesus God. Alas, non pizza snob that I am, it sounds good to me - either with or without.
Carmenere, your Smirnoff Cranberry and Lime mixed drink sounds pretty good too.

Chatterbox, just keep looking at those toes, stay cool, drink lots and get better quickly.

Got distracted catching up on everybody else's threads!

Are we really in Hour 5?

I've been reading: Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read:34
Posting time: 45 mins
Reading time: 20 mins

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 384 pages
Total time read: 3 hrs 40 mins
Total time posting: 1 hr 5 mins

Hour 5

I've been reading: The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
Pages Read: 44
Posting time: ?
Reading time: 45 minutes

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 0
Total pages read: 173
Total time read: 3 hours 10 minutes
Total time posting: ?

I should finish The Crossing Places in this next hour, and move on to something else.

Hour 5

I've been reading: Infected & Death in Grand Canyon
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 20
Total pages read: 103

Menu: Lots and lots of ice water
Comments: It's still hovering around 90 here, and I checked tomorrow's forecast. . . . supposed to hit 100. GAH! So much dislike. Reading is going very sloooooow because of it. I need tv/movie breaks. Another one now. I hope it cools down in the next hour or two.

Just logged in to LT and found this. I'll join in, and forego reading all the threads I'm hopelessly behind on to read a real book. (First, though, I need to google "red and white" quilts, as this is a project my small quilt group has decided to undertake.)

I'll be reading The Garden Where the Brass Band Played by Simon Vestdijk, a Dutch coming-of-age story, which is on the 1001 list.

Is it too late to join? I just saw this thread. I've been reading a good chunk of the afternoon and evening today.

Opening Meme
1. What's your favorite summer read?

Sometimes in the summer I like to read a chunkster. I think it's because I read Gone with the Wind the summer I was 15 years old. It reminds me of having nothing to do but read all day during summer vacation. Nostalgic.

2. How do you beat the heat?

We don't have central air, but we do have a window air conditioner in our bedroom since it's on the second floor and it gets HOT up there. Honestly, I find that if I keep drinking liquids (usually water or iced tea) I stay pretty cool.

3. What is something summer has to have?

ICE CREAM. Ok, I eat it pretty much year round...I also love the in season produce, like sweet corn, tomatoes and strawberries.

4. Open share. Anything summer related.

This is the first summer in 6 years that I won't be performing in a play or musical. Just now starting to look forward to having evenings free to ride my bike, sit around the backyard, and find some good barbeque.

I've been reading: Summer in the South by Cathy Holton, and Directing Actors by Judith Weston
Books finished: 1
Pages read: never keep track--maybe 150?

Menu: corn on the cob, Munchies snack mix, iced tea, vanilla ice cream with hot fudge
Comments: My mom kept trying to make a break for it today, so I spent most time reading in the living room so could keep and eye on her. She finally went to bed, so now I can relax a bit!

Sandy K in Ohio

I've been reading: well, listening to, The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 0
Reading time: 1 hr
Posting time: 5 min

Total books read from: 1
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 0
Total time reading: 2 hrs 2 min
Total time posting: 10 min

Menu: water
Comments: That was a nice little book! Cheesy, sometimes dense and annoying teenage main character, but a few good mysteries throughout. And at any rate, this was listened to almost entirely while driving in horrible traffic, so just hearing the narrators' lovely Scottish accent was soothing. Am now ready for bed, but will read for a bit before shuffling off to sleep. Will update my totals tomorrow morning before I leave for work. Good night, all!

Opening Meme

1. What's your favorite summer read?
Geez, not sure. Going back to childhood though, every summer my Mom would read a chapter a day of Caddie Woodlawn to me while we sat under our apple tree. I'll be reading it again for my bookclub in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully it holds up!

2. How do you beat the heat?
Really, just stay inside with the central air conditioning and a couple of fans.

3. What is something summer has to have? (vacation, beach, lemonade, etc?)
A few more lazy days of nothing but napping and reading, hot dogs on the grill, and lots of iced tea.

4. Open share. Anything summer related.
Back in my grade school years and early teens, my friend Heather (essentially, my sister) and I would spend a week at each others houses, doing nothing but swimming, jumping on her trampoline, watching movies (mostly Footloose, Grease, Back To School, Sixteen Candles), going to the library and reading. We'd read each others books and pass them back and forth, reading 4 or 5 books a day, talking about the stories, what we thought. It was really great, all of this time to be in our own little world and we both whined and complained to our parents every time we had to go back to our respective homes, mostly because we lost access to each others books! Maybe I should ask her if she wants to do a "group read" of one of our favorite series this summer...

Hour 5

I've been reading: The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths and Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 96
Reading time: 1 hr, 10 min.
Posting time: ?

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 269
Total time reading: 4 hr. 20 min.
Total time posting: ?

Hour 7
I've been reading: The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 40
Posting time: 15 min
Reading time: 1hr

Total books read from: 3
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 144 + 1 CD
Total time read: 3hr 45 min
Total time posting: 1hr 30 min

The Menu: water, but I'm about to have an ice cream bar
Comments: The guy in this book is such a jerk. If a woman wrote the book she'd be called a man hater. He's the Joanna Russ kind of self centered guy.

Hours 6 - 7 (12:30 AM EDT)

I've been reading: Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves
Books finished this hour: 1
Pages read:107
Posting time: 15 mins
Reading time: 45 mins

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 2
Total pages read: 491 pages
Total time read: 4 hrs 25 mins
Total time posting: 1 hr 20 mins

Finished the second book I was reading and had a bit of a nap. Now off to bed, so that I can get up in the morning and make it to the first day of this two day special program for "selected journalists"...

Oh, Katelism, feel free to add me to the participants list -- Suzanne in NYC.

1 a.m. EDT (10 p.m. PDT)

I've been reading: The Garden Where The Brass Band Played by Simon Vestdijk

Pages read: 32 (p. 108-140)
Reading time: 1 hour

I'll probably be reading a couple more hours.

Hour 8

I've been reading: Infected & Death in Grand Canyon
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 18
Total pages read: 121

Menu: Lots and lots of ice water
Comments: About sleepy time for me. If I can't pass out upstairs in my bedroom, I might try the sofa downstairs. Ugh, I hate the heat.

Hour 9
I've been reading: The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 60
Posting time: 15 min
Reading time: 1hr 30 min

Total books read from: 3
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 204 + 1 CD
Total time read: 4hr 15 min
Total time posting: 1hr 45 min

The Menu: water and an orange ice cream bar
Comments: I'm going to watch a little Rachel Maddow and go to bed. More reading tomorrow.

I'm continuing to read The Garden Where the Brass Band Played
Pages Read: 50
Time reading: 1 hour

Total Time Rading: 2 hours
Total Pages Read: 82

Still reading The Garden Where the Brass Band Played

Pages Read: 52
Time read: 1 hour

Total Time Reading: 3 hours
Total Pages Read: 134

I'm really into this book now (and had a cup of coffee after dinner) so I will probably stay up to finish it (70 more pages), but will probably not post again tonight.

Overnight stats:

10 pm to 11pm
I've been reading: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Books finished:zip
Pages read: 15
Posting time: 5 min.
Reading time:1 hour

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 36
Total time read:2 hours
Total time posting: 20 min.

The Menu: Nothing

I'll begin again this mornings read at 7 ish.

Good job all you late nighters.

Everyone is doing a great job!! Keep it up. I haven't read anymore and I don't know if I will be able to. It was great just to participate for the short time that I did. I will keep checking in through out the day to see what everyone is reading and eating.

I've been reading: Love Thyself by Masaru Emoto
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 65
Reading time: 41 min
Posting time: 5 min

Total books read from: 2
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 65
Total time reading: 2 hrs 43 min (2 hrs 2 min on audio)
Total time posting: 15 min

Menu: water and vitamins
Comments: Running late this morning, really wiped out last night. But of course, I made time to update here at LT before heading out the door! Great job, you overnighters! Alright, will be back here before noon, hopefully closer to 11.

I got carried away with my much-needed gardening last night, so all I've got to report so far is a little bedtime reading.

I've been reading: The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy and Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? by Peter Walsh
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 26
Reading time: 45 min
Posting time: 15

Total books read from: 2
Total pages read: 26
Total time read: 45 min
Total time posting:

The Menu: I'm about to fix blueberry pancakes.
Comments: After breakfast, I plan to dig into Philip Sidney: A Double Life, which I've been picking at for weeks.

Just want to say, for what it's worth, how irritating it is that LT touchstones aren't working for IE9 users. I have to remember to open Firefox every time I want to post a message with a title in it. Apparently they've given up trying to fix this issue.

Good morning! Everyone's doing a great job. We're over half-way finished now. I think I'll skip the mid-way meme, if you all don't mind, and just do a final one.

Hour 17

I've been reading: Infected & Death in Grand Canyon
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 25
Total pages read: 146

Menu: Have some more cold water.
Comments: It finally cooled off enough to sleep around 2:30am. Still cool enough to comfortably read upstairs. We'll see how long that lasts.

Hours 14-17

I've been reading: The Killer Plot by Ellery Adams
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 104
Reading time: 1 hr. 30 min. approx.
Posting time: ?

Total books read from: 3 The Killer Plot, Knitting Rules!, and The Crossing Places
Total books finished: 1 The Crossing Places
Total pages read: 373
Total time reading: 5 hr. 50 min.
Total time posting: ?

Menu: Greek Yogurt, Coffee
Comments: I read at my son's practice this morning, but also chatted off and on with other parents, so my time is just an estimate.

Sorry I did not know about the Readathon until now. Drat my internet problems yesterday! I wish you all the best of luck in the last few hours!

Hour 19

I've been reading: Infected & Death in Grand Canyon
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 24
Total pages read: 170

Menu: Water, sugar cookie with sprinkles--thought I'd get my sugar fix before it got unbearably hot
Comments: Ugh, it's heating up again. Getting to the uncomfortable point.

I finished Garden Where the Brass Band Played last night. Today I will be reading The Corpse Walker by Liao Yiwu.

Time Reading (last night): 1 1/2 hours
Pages Read: 70
Books Finished: 1

Total Time Reading: 4 1/2 hours
Total Pages Read: 204
Books Finished: 1

I've been reading: Suspense and Sensibility by Carrie Bebris
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 45
Reading time: 20 min
Posting time: 5 min

Total books read from: 3
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 110
Total time reading: 3 hrs 3 min (2 hrs 2 min on audio)
Total time posting: 20 min

Menu: Just about to have lunch - an ice cold soda, turkey sandwich, pickles, fritos
Comments: At work today (well, the business that I give chair massages at on Tuesdays), the air was only sort-of working, so I sweated through 2 hours of appointments. Blech! Ran to the bank and grocery store, refilled the bird feeders. I'll eat lunch, finish an episode of Inspector Morse, hopefully before my mail lady comes to pick it up, and then I'll be back at a book! It's "only" 92 right now, with high humidity and a hot breeze. I'll only leave the house to refill/change/add ice to my bird baths and put some water on my newly-planted marigolds. Otherwise, it's definitely an inside kind of a day!

Hour 20.5

I've been reading: Infected & Death in Grand Canyon
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 20
Total pages read: 190

Menu: Ham & Turkey Sandwich, ice water
Comments: I might be done reading for this one. I think I'm just going to go get ice cream and watch tv until it cools down again tonight. . . hopefully earlier than 2:30am

I'll pop back in a bit with the Final Meme

Hour 21
I've been reading: The Hour I First Believed, Gaudy Night
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 25 = 5/20 CD
Posting time: 30 min
Reading time: 1hr 30 min

Total books read from: 3
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 229 + 1 5/20 CD
Total time read: 5hr 45 min
Total time posting: 2hr 15

The Menu: sliced strawberries, blueberries and cantaloupe with yogurt, Rwandan coffee with milk
Comments: I got such a late start, but I'm back

Only an hour left! Here's the final meme to write up whenever you've finished. It's waaaaaay too hot to keep reading where I am, so here's mine:

Final Meme
1. What books did you read from? Did you finish any?
I read from Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon by Michael P. Ghiglieri and Infected by Scott Sigler, didn't finish either.
2. Page total?
190, which is much lower than my normal readathon amount, but with this heat. . . I'm just happy I got any reading done.
3. A favorite from this readathon? (book, line, chapter title, character, food, etc)
At the end of chapter 1 in Grand Canyon, "The lesson? If you don't possess your own Jiminy Cricket, hike with a companion."
4. Best break activity?
Watching some old episodes of Eureka :)
5. Back to our summer theme: What's the best/your favorite way to end summer?
I either like to take a quick, cheap trip to Chicago to visit friends or go to the Renaissance Festival.

Hope everyone enjoyed the readathon! See you next time :D

Final Posting:

Hours 21 to 24
I've been reading: The Killer Plot and Knitting Rules!
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 67
Posting time: ?
Reading time: 1 hour

Total books read from: 3 The Killer Plot, Knitting Rules! and The Crossing Places
Total books finished: 1 The Crossing Places
Total pages read: 440
Total time read: 6hr 45 min
Total time posting: ?

The Menu: Went out to The Dixie House Cafe for lunch with a friend and had chicken fried steak with green beans and squash.

FInal Meme:
1. What books did you read from? Did you finish any?
I read from The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths, Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, and A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams. I finished The Crossing Places.

2. Page total?
440 pages

3. A favorite from this readathon? (book, line, chapter title, character, food, etc)
I really liked The Crossing Places, but Knitting Rules! is my favorite of these three. If you are a knitter, it is hilarious. Here are some quotes from a chapter on equipment.
"If you are ever in a yarn store full of knitters and decide (for reasons I can't imagine) you'd like to start the knitting-shop equivalent of a bar fight, take a deep breath and make the following statement, 'Straight (or circular) needles are stupid.' Then stand back and watch the wool fly."
"If you are having a really good time with a needle someone else (or maybe everyone else) says is crap, ignore the warnings. You can like crap if it works for you."

4. Best break activity?
Going out to lunch at the Dixie House Cafe with a friend.

5. Back to our summer theme: What's the best/your favorite way to end summer?
Read a good book.

I've been reading: Love Thyself by Masaru Emoto and The Royals by Kitty Kelley
Books finished: 1
Pages read: 127
Reading time: 54 min
Posting time: 5 min

Total books read from: 4
Total books finished: 2
Total pages read: 237
Total time reading: 3 hrs 57 min (2 hrs 2 min on audio)
Total time posting: 25 min

Menu: Water and Crystal Light, but I'll be grabbing a snack shortly.

Final Meme

1. What books did you read from? Did you finish any?
I read from 4 and finished two. The ones that I finished are The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern (on audio) and Love Thyself by Masaru Emoto. The two that I didn't finish are The Royals by Kitty Kelley and Suspense and Sensibility by Carrie Bebris

2. Page total?
237. Not bad, considering the time I spent reading.

3. A favorite from this readathon? (book, line, chapter title, character, food, etc)
I enjoyed reading Emoto's book. I have another one (or two) by him here, and while I was vaguely familiar with his work, this was a nice book to start with for me. It's technically the third book about water crystals, but during a 15 page intro/preface, you learn the basics of what he and his team do and how they do it. It's very interesting stuff, and made me think about the Rosemary & Thyme episode "The Memory of Water" more than a few times.

4. Best break activity?
Honestly? Sleeping. I could take a nap right now, but I need to pick up my house some more for an appointment I have in about an hour.

5. Back to our summer theme: What's the best/your favorite way to end summer?
Purge a few "summer reads" that I know I won't pick up again.

Thanks so much for hosting, Katie! You did an excellent job, and so did all of my fellow readers! See you at the next one!

Thanks for hosting this readathon, Katie.

Unfortunately, the day didn't pan out as planned so this one, for me, was a fail :} I'm willing to give it a try again. Nice job readers!

Hour The end
I've been reading: The Hour I First Believed,
Books finished this hour: 0
Pages read: 68
Posting time: 15 min
Reading time: 1hr 45 min

Total books read from: 3
Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 297 + 1 5/20 CD
Total time read: 7hr 30 min
Total time posting: 3hr

The Menu: toast and coffee

Final Meme
1. What books did you read from? Did you finish any? Cartoon History of the Universe Part 1, The Hour I First Believed, Gaudy Night - finished Cartoon History
2. Page total?297 + 1 1/4 of a CD
3. A favorite from this readathon? (book, line, chapter title, character, food, etc) my sister's apricots were a stand out
4. Best break activity? I agree with Laura, sleeping. I got to bed late last night and slept so long, and so hard, this morning that I didn't even hear the dogs usual wild response to the sprinklers going off.
5. Back to our summer theme: What's the best/your favorite way to end summer?
I always like to take a family trip. The funds are low this summer, but I hope we'll be able to get away for maybe a week end.

Great read-a-thon, thanks all. I'm finally starting to kind of like The Hour I first Believed. I hope the religion won't be overwhelming.

Belated update... I think I ended up reading about 50 pages on the newly-downloaded version of Unholy Harmonies, but couldn't swear to it!

Thanks for hosting...

You're all welcome :)
Keep an eye on the readathon thread, I'll probably be doing a couple more Monday/Tuesday readathons over the summer. . . . hopefully with a little more advance notice :P

Yes, thanks so much Katie! It was fun! I am sure that I will join more of the Monday/Tuesday ones as these days seem to work well for me.

I read all of 3 pages of Great House last night before I fell into a deep sleep a little after 9 pm. I woke up at 3:30 am today, thought about reading for a bit, then promptly fell back asleep until my work alarm woke me at 6:15 am.

Is there an award for the Read-a-Thoner who reads the least number of pages???

Darryl, you can have a special sleeper award. . . . you just stealth those books and read them when they least expect it, outside of (un)organized events :P