Social Distancing Readathon #9 - May 15-17

Number 9... Number 9...
Sorry, my dad is a Beatles fan and I can't help but think of Revolution 9. Can you believe we've been doing this for two straight months now?

I know we all have different dates that the shelter-in-place advisory/orders are being lifted over the next few weeks, so we may see our numbers rise or decline accordingly. My state (Massachusetts) has non-essential business closures through May 18, and even after some places slowly reopen the library where we work is looking at a staged reopening, most likely starting with just staff going in and limited hours (no weekends), so while I can't predict the timing it doesn't appear that we'll be "back to normal" anytime soon. I'll certainly continue to host the readathons as long as my weekends continue to be relatively commitment-free.

Welcome to those returning and any newcomers. The "rules" are pretty loose. We run roughly from Friday afternoon to Sunday at midnight in whatever time zone you choose. And of course some of us are having a harder time with focused reading than others, so don't feel like you have to be reading constantly - that's why we have the "Non-book activities" update too. As little or as much reading as you want to do is perfect.

Here are some things you might keep track of throughout the weekend -

Books read from:
Books finished:
Time reading:
Time posting:
Snacks:
Thoughts:
Non-book activities:

Total books finished:
Total read from:
Total time reading:

Who is participating -
1. Mary (bell7)
2. Richard (richardderus)
3. Susanna (susanna.fraser)
4. Cyrel (torontoc)
5. Anita (figsfromthistle)
6. Darryl (kidzdoc)
7. LibraryLover23
8. PawsforThought
9. Carrie (cbl_tn)
10. Benita (benitastrnad)
11. Jim (drneutron)
12. Kerry (aviatakh)
13. Rebeki (Rebecca)
14. Dejah_Thoris
15. Lori (thornton37814)
16. Suzanne (Chatterbox)
17. Lynda (Carmenere)
18. Kathy (kac522)
19. Janet (streamsong)
20. Charlotte (charl08)
21. Stasia (alcottacre)
22. Paul (PaulCranswick)
23. SilverWolf28

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our TBRèd dead.

Books read from:
Books finished:
Time reading:
Time posting:
Snacks:
Thoughts:
Non-book activities:

Total books finished:
Total read from:
Total time reading:

I'm in again.

I'm in as well- this past weekend I read about half of The Overstory and started Natasha's Dance A Cultural History of Russia-let's see what I will read next weekend!

I'm in as well as this will be my first weekend off since January. Hopefully, I will have time to read ;)

I'm in. I was called off from work on Thursday and Friday so I'll be ready to go by noon on Friday.

I'll join in again, thanks!

Well, the past few weekends haven't included much if any reading for me - this past weekend I ended up orienteering! Hopefully I'll get at least some reading done THIS time, so I'm being hopeful and signing up again.

I'm in again! Our local area is in a phased reopening, but since I have asthma I plan to work at home as long as I'm permitted to do so, as well as avoid large gatherings and unessential trips out. That means I will be home on weekends as likely as not. I do need to do some spring cleaning at some point, though.

I will participate again. Alabama is doing something called "Safer at Home" and I am not sure what that means since most accidental deaths are at home, but ... I am not going to be back to work until the end of the month, and plan unsaying out of the mass dining out that will start tonight. (Restaurants can open with restrictions starting tonight.) I do need to get groceries and will make a trip to Home Depot to get some plants for my spring planting. Home Depot can now stay open until 9:00 p.m. I guess we will see what happens next, but I will be here in my home office for awhile.

I’m in again.

I'm in once more. New Zealand will be going to Level 2 lockdown on Thursday which is fairly close to normal but with social distancing and group limits, regional travel allowed.

>13 avatiakh:
That sounds like a sane and thoughtful plan. As I see it, the failure here in Alabama was that there were no travel restrictions. People could get in their cars and go wherever they darn well pleased. Traveling except to the grocery store is not being quarantined. No wonder our numbers continue to rise - but you are not going to tell American's that they can't get into their cars and drive anywhere they darn well please. Especially with gasoline so cheap.

I'll be joining in again!

Is it Friday yet? For that matter, isn't it at least 2022?

>16 richardderus: If it were 2022, we'd probably have two more Murderbot novels to read....

I didn't see last weekend's readathon, but I will join in as I have time this weekend. I have a 4 hour genealogy society board meeting (online) Saturday, and I need to run through the presentations I'll be recording for a virtual conference a couple times each, but I'm hoping to still get some reading in.

>17 Dejah_Thoris: ...wait...we don't?! *wail*

I'm baaaack. I may start tomorrow evening. I have been trying to better organize my life and haven't been spending as much time reading as I could have or would have liked to; sleeping also has been a major problem for me. (Last night, I managed 2.5 hours... then fell fast asleep sitting bolt upright on the sofa with the laptop open in front of me earlier this afternoon...)

But I definitely will have a clear weekend this time around!!!

Ohio is opening slowly but I don't need to go out this weekend so inside reading is where I'll be. Count me in, too, Mary! Thanks

I plan to be here. Last weekend was a "lost" weekend, as our internet went down Thursday and didn't come back online until yesterday (Wednesday). I did read a lot--finished 3 books and started 2 more, since I couldn't waste hours online.

>14 benitastrnad: We can travel and fly around the country now. A few problems, many less flights, airfares really expensive and the govt put the homeless into many motels, so not really attractive to stay with large families, noise problems, lots of children etc etc
Our local mall is finally open and I found out my library will open Wednesday next week, so this weekend will see me trying to finish some of the final books in my library pile. Several of the Australian retailers as yet to open and one coffee shop has not opened and the business is for sale.

I'll be starting to read this afternoon, in about 4 hours time. Books I hope to spend time with include:
10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world by Elif Shafak
The Slaughterman's Daughter by Yaniv Iezkovits
Pain by Zeruya Shalev
My Michael by Amos Oz
Damascus by Christos Tsiolkas
The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay
The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley

I'm going to try and read for a couple of hours every day this weekend, but we'll see how successful I end up being.

My reading will be from the following books:
The Time Machine - H. G. Wells
A Handful of Dust - Evelyn Waugh
Five Run Away Together - Enid Blyton
Ture Sventon i varuhuset - Åke Holmberg
Emily of New Moon - L. M. Montgomery
and The Poems of Marianne Moore

Checkin: 9.30pm Friday NZ time

Books read from: 10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world by Elif Shafak
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 1 hr
Snacks: chicken corn soup, lamb tagine
Thoughts: very much Autumn weather
Non-book activities: organising dinner, talking, walk

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 1 hr

Didn't manage as much reading as I planned, too many interruptions

I'll join in sometime after work this evening. I hope to finish The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy. I've been slowly working my way through this one for at least a week. It's the kind of book you don't want to rush through as there is a lot of information to absorb. I'm also reading The Last Leonardo and hope to finish it as well. If I have time, I'll move on to The Girl of His Dreams.

I'll start tracking at noon, which is what I've done most weekends. I'm a good chunk of the way through a reread of The Number of the Beast and am currently listening to Bill Nighy narrate Moonraker. The book of short stories I'm working on is Cat Pictures, Please and Other Stories, so I'll dip into that over the weekend. Other than that, who knows?

1:30pm Cleveland, Ohio
A warm sunny morning turned into to rain-thunderstorms and a drop in temps so since the rain put a cabash on my gardening, I'll begin reading at 2pm.

Some of the books I may or may not be reading from include:
There there
Fish! Sticks
November's Fury The Deadly Great Lakes Hurricane of 1913

Good luck everyone

It's a beautiful afternoon. I have to go out later, so I'll start now:

Books read from: The Magic Faraway Tree
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 1h00m
Time posting: 1400 EDT
Snacks: penne alla vodka (yum)
Thoughts: Henry Bird, from The Great British Bake Off, mentioned this book as the inspiration for his gorgeous blackberry cake showstopper and it was free on Kindle.
Non-book activities: therapy, thank all the goddesses! What would I do without it?!?

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 1h00m

I'm going to try to join in again this weekend.

I'll be reading The Street by Ann Petry, a neglected ER book of short stories Nairobi Noir, and also I will finish the last chapter or two of When the Mob Ran Vegas.

Greetings from Georgia! This is my first update, covering noon to 4pm, Friday:

Books read from: 2 The Number of the Beast (ebook), Moonraker (audio book)
Books finished: none
Time reading: 16 minutes reading, 1:10 listening - 1:26 total
Thoughts: I'm enjoying Ian Fleming much more than I expected to.
Non-book activities: Trip to the grocery store, etc. Kitten observation.

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 1:26

I'm hoping to join in too. I've not done any reading as yet, but the TBR pile is large.

Also have plenty on the "currently" reading (which is more realistically a 'have started and put down somewhere' ) list.

The New Jim Crow
Celestial Bodies
Dominicana
Short Life in a Strange World: Birth to Death in 42 Panels
Black England
A Stranger City
Familiar Stranger: A Life between Two Islands
These Truths: A History of the United States
Black Sun
The Shadow King Maaza Mengiste
An Orchestra of Minorities
The Dutch House
Girl Meets Boy (Canons)

I hope to move a couple into the '2020' box this weekend.

I am in too! I am starting now and will read until I fall asleep. Given my state these days, that will probably be in about an hour, lol.

ETA: I did not even do a full hour - I pretty much watched videos instead of reading I was so tired. I am off to bed now and will start tomorrow instead.

It is 5:00 p.m. in summertime Tuscaloosa, Alabama and my work week has ended! I am going to go eat pizza outdoors with a friend now that we are no longer under quarantine.

Books planned to read from: Packing My Library by Alberto Manguel - my short book for the weekend. For We Are Many book 2 in the Bobiverse. On audio Sea of Gold: The Reader by Traci Chee
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 0
Time posting: 0
Snacks: plan to have pizza tonight
Thoughts: I continue with my "short" books plan of reading one book per weekend that is under 200 pages in length. I am really loving the Bobiverse and now have to order the 3rd book in the series, because I know I want to find out how it ends. Since I am not traveling much I am getting much listened to on my audio book.
Non-book activities: work

Total books finished since I started doing the social distancing readathon on the weekend of April 4, 2020: 19
Total read from since April 4, 2020: 30
Total time reading for Readathon: 50 hours

I got to see my YGC for a minute!

Books read from: The Magic Faraway Tree, Joe
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 1h15m
Time posting: 1620 EDT
Snacks: granola bar, some blueberries
Thoughts: Innocent, if waaay trippy, Enid Blyton juxtaposes *very* oddly with grimdark misery-guts Larry Brown.
I prefer Brown.
Non-book activities: wee tiny bit of canoodling

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 2h15m

It's 7 p.m. in Rhode Island.

Books read from: audiobook of Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 3 hours

Snacks: some lemonade
Thoughts: Had another migraine yesterday and it didn't start clearing up until 6 a.m., ruining today. Argh.
Non-book activities: Sleeping/napping to get back on track; talking to a friend/new biz partner

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 3 hours

Putting together a list of stuff I want to read from. I definitely want to finish "Putin's People" by Catherine Belton (e-galley) and some of the books I have out from the Athenaeum. I've got a LOT of partially-read books around as I've constantly had to stop reading for one reason or another.

I haven't settled down to read yet. I plan to get some steps in first.

I thought I'd share my beautiful roses with you. My rose bush makes me happy every time I go out my front door.

7 pm EDT update

Books read from: Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 40 minutes
Time posting:
Food/drinks: Nothing since lunch. I made Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes and Summer Herbs for lunch (pasta con salsa cruda), which I had just after noon. Contemplating what to have for dinner...
Thoughts: I didn't sleep well, and was awake from about 1:30 am to 1 pm or so, took a 4+ hour nap, and started reading at 6:15 pm
Non-book activities: Cooking, sleeping, engaged in online COVID-19 discussions on Facebook with colleagues and friends.

I hope to finish Petals of Blood and American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrence Hayes by Sunday night, and make at least some progress in Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America by Beth Macy. If for some reason I finish all three books before then my next book will be Beloved by Toni Morrison.

I do want to do a bit of cooking this weekend and early next week, and make at least one recipe a day. I'll probably make Gennaro Contaldo's Spring Time Risotto tomorrow, and Crusted Paella with Pork, Chicken and Sausage (Arroz con Costra) on Sunday, using a recipe from the cookbook Paella!: Spectacular Rice Dishes from Spain by Penelope Casas, as recommended by 75 Books's paella expert Erik (@Oberon).

Hmm. The pasta con salsa cruda was very tasty, and I have a ton of it, so I think I'll have it again for dinner.

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 40

Checking in at 7:15 p.m. to get started!

Books read from: Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
Books finished: 0
Time reading: about 45 minutes
Dinner: French bread pizza
Thoughts: I'm really tired, probably from waking up pretty early this morning and a full day. I have some things to finish up, but I'm looking forward to settling in with a book for the evening
Non-book activities: n/a this last 45 minutes

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 45 min.

>38 cbl_tn: Simply beautiful, Carrie!

Good evening, all. This update covers from 4pm to 8pm Friday:

Books read from: 2 The Number of the Beast (ebook), Moonraker (audio book)
Books finished: none
Time reading: 2:14 reading, 25 minutes listening: 2:39 total
Thoughts: I'm ready to be done with Number of the Beast.
Non-book activities: Kitten observation. Refilled the bird feeders. Cooked. A bit of LT time.

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 4:05

Good afternoon from Seattle. I took the day off and got an early start on the weekend’s reading.

Books read from: Crazy Rich Asians
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 4 hours
Food: chicken soup
Thoughts: I needed a good pure escapist book
Non-book activities: Target run

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 4 hours

Checkin: 9.30pm Saturday NZ time

Books read from: The Slaughterman's Daughter by Yaniv Iezkovits, The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 1 hr
Snacks: brunch - latte, eggs benedict
Thoughts: time for a walk
Non-book activities: trip to mall, brunch in cafe
Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 2 hr

Haven't made reading my main activity this morning, went to the mall which has been open for a few days now. The novelty of browsing in actual shops & visiting a cafe for brunch will wear off but very pleasant in the Autumn sunshine. The mall is an outdoor one.

Decided to pull the pin on Pain: a novel by Zeruya Shalev, have too many similar depressing reads about failing marriage on the shelf and My Michael by Oz is even more depressing but at least is much fewer pages. Both are excellent writers and describe life's unexciting moments in brilliant prose but I want some action, adventure and happiness.

9:30pm in Northern New Jersey

Books read from: The Rosie Project (audio), The End of October
Books finished: 0

Snacks: Dinner was yakisoba noodles with pork and veg, white wine
Thoughts: I should finish The End of October tonight. Then what?
Non-book activities: dinner, watching a random cooking show

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2

Last check in before bed - a little after 10 p.m.

Books read from: The overstory by Richard Powers
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Thoughts: I am most proud to have *finished* a book that took me nearly a week to read, and can't quite sum up my thoughts on it yet, but I will try to post a review tomorrow
Non-book activities: finishing up some laundry, though it's yet to be folded

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 2 hours and 15 minutes

10:05 pm in Toronto
I have been reading Natasha's Dance A Cultural History of Russia all this week and today- it is about 600 pages in length- I have read up to page 366- I read about 100 pages today and this evening
Supper-Butternut squash soup, baked chicken, mashed potato, fennel and celery salad, clementine.
I have found that going into 2 months plus of isolation - I prefer reading non-fiction lately.

Nighttime update

Books read from: The Magic Faraway Tree
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 2h45m
Time posting: 2230 EDT
Snacks: more blueberries
Thoughts: Innocent, if waaay trippy, Enid Blyton story made me wonder about them Brits.
I still prefer Larry Brown.
Non-book activities: GBBO.

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 5h00m

11:15pm in Northern New Jersey

Books read from: The End of October
Books finished: 1

Snacks: Half a KitKat
Thoughts: I was hoping for more thrills from The End of October
Non-book activities: nothing

Total books finished: 1 (The End of October)
Total read from: 2

11:18pm Ohio

Books read from: There there - Fish! Sticks
Books finished:
Time reading: 3.25 hours
Time posting: Bedtime
Snacks: Dinner of Red Curry sauce with Chicken and Veggies and Garlic Naan - Eskimo sandwich for dessert, Chocolate milk before bed
Thoughts: I am a blank slate tonight
Non-book activities: Watched High School Seniors parade down our street in their cars during a torrential downpour

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 3.25 hours

This update covers from 8pm to midnight Friday:

Books read from: 2 The Number of the Beast (ebook), Moonraker (audio book)
Books finished: none
Time reading: 1:53 reading, 0 minutes listening: 1:53 total
Thoughts: Not much in the way of higher thought processes tonight....
Non-book activities: Kitten observation. A bit of LT time. I read a great article in The Atlantic "A Biblical Mystery at Oxford" that continued part of the (true) tale from Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby which I read a while back and thoroughly enjoyed. The article can be read here.

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 5:58

Goodnight, all!

From 7 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. in Rhode Island

Books read from: audiobook of Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie, audiobook of The Divinities by Parker Bilal, and another chapter of "Putin's People" (touchstone for that one is tricky), an e-galley by Catherine Belton.
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 4.5 hours

Snacks: Chicken pot pie and diet soda for dinner
Thoughts: We had a tornado warning, followed by more rain, which explains the migraine (now over, at least for the time being...)
Non-book activities: Sleeping, drawing up a work schedule for the coming week & organizing a couple of meetings, doing dishes, playing an online game, etc.

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 7.5 hours

I've got two big non-fiction books that I've been reading/listening to for the last week or so that I really want to wrap up this weekend -- "Putin's People" and one by Adam Zamoyski about political paranoia in Europe following the French Revolution and Napoleon. Both are good, but VERY detailed and require careful, slow reading.

9:30 PM in Seattle

Books read from: Crazy Rich Asians
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 1.5 hours
Food: spaghetti
Thoughts: Escapism is totally the right choice just now.
Non-book activities: Listening to podcasts

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 5.5 hours

11pm in Montana

Books read from: The Street, Nairobi Noir, When the Mob Ran Vegas
Books finished: 1 When the Mob Ran Vegas
Time reading: several hours off and on
Food: dinner - sushi
Thoughts: I am beginning to like being a hermit!
Non-book activities: trip to town to drop off library books, mail Netflix DVD and buy a few groceries (Coffee! Bananas. Avocado etc). Horse chores.

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 3

>38 cbl_tn: Thank you for sharing your rose bush! It's beautiful!

I didn't get much reading done yesterday evening, so this is my first check-in.

Time: 07:59 in the UK
Books read from: She Came to Stay by Eleni Kyriacou, Spring Flowers, Spring Frost by Ismail Kadare
Books finished: 0
Pages read: 56
Thoughts: She Came to Stay is quite the page-turner, but it's time to get up.
Non-book activities: just drinking coffee so far today.

From 12:30 a.m. until 3:15 a.m. in Rhode Island

Books read from: Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Keener, and a bit more of "Putin's People" (touchstone for that one is tricky), an e-galley by Catherine Belton.
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 2.5 hours

Snacks: nothing....
Thoughts: Brain numb. Difficulty focusing or thinking! Quietly enjoying the warmer weather and the fact I can wear a t-shirt instead of bundling up in a sweater.
Non-book activities: Cleaning up after Sir Fergus the Fat's feline barf. Sigh.

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 4 (the above, along with audiobooks of Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie and The Divinities by Parker Bilal,
Total time reading: 10 hours

I'll probably listen to some more audiobooks before I go to sleep, but plan to watch an episode of "The Last Kingdom" on Netflix before heading to bed.

12.30 PM in the UK (Lancashire)

Books read from: Short Life in a Strange World
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 2 hours (regularly interrupted)
Food: Breakfast (toast. Lots of coffee)
Thoughts: The author has just made it to Vienna to look at Bruegel paintings, and I am thinking that I would like to go when this is over.
Or any gallery really.
Non-book activities: Trying to watch penguins online via FB live, and getting very annoyed with FB settings.
Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 2 hours. Ish.

~7:45am Texas Time

Books read from: The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda and Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis
Books finished: 1
Time reading: ~2 hours

Thoughts: I normally rotate books during these Readathons, but once I started Fifteen Dogs, that was it for me! Now, I need to check out more books by Andre Alexis
Non-book activities: Watching Cats while reading a book about dogs, lol; Talking to Kerry; Cleaning the bathroom; Unloading the dishwasher

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: ~2 hours

Off to get some breakfast. I will be back after while.

Yesterday was a failure, as I only read 35 pages of Petals of Blood due to being rather sleep deprived. I'm caught up now, though, and after a nice long online conversation with one of my favorite 75ers I'm ready to get back to the books, after I make a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs on a bialy, an orange and coffee.

Mary- sorry I am late to the party but I am participating as usual!

Update 20:53 Saturday

Books Read from : 6 Fidelity : Poems, Three Dog night, Death in Sardinia, The Shoes of the Fisherman, Boomerang & The Overstory

Books Completed : 1 Fidelity : Poems by Grace Paley

Time Reading : 8 hours

Thoughts : Shuffled my reading plan as in this Readathon I will rotate between books. Am enjoying the five ongoing and will add a re-read of Atlantic Fury shortly. Hope to finish a good handful of books this weekend.

Food : I broke fast just now with steamed sea bass, okra in a spicy sauce and fried rice. Copious amounts of coffee, water and my favourite mangosteen juice during and after.

I've read from a couple of fiction books so far--about 100 pages in each. I also read from my Bible and a devotional book.

9:20am Saturday in Northern New Jersey

Books read from: My Dark Vanessa
Books finished: 0

Snacks: coffee
Thoughts: Ugh, warmer weather
Non-book activities: sleeping

Total books finished: 1 (The End of October)
Total read from: 3 (The End of October, The Rosie Project, My Dark Vanessa)

10 am EDT update from Atlanta

Books read from: Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Pages read: 16 (pp 67-82)
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 25 minutes
Time posting: 10 minutes
Food/drinks: Two scrambled eggs on a toasted bialy with a mandarin orange and coffee for breakfast. I'll get started on lunch (spring time risotto (asparagus, courgette and peas) with a pan fried sockeye salmon fillet) around 11:30 am
Thoughts: Petals of Blood is very good so far, but dense. With a little more than 320 pages I'll be satisfied if I finish it and American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Sunday evening, especially since I'll be doing other things this weekend.
Non-book activities: Cooking and eating breakfast.

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total pages: 51
Total time reading: 65 minutes

Morning update: 10:35am - Cleveland, OH

Books read from: There there
Books finished: 0

Snacks: Breakfast of coffee, bagel, fresh fruit w/vanilla yogurt
Thoughts: I hope the grass is dry enough to mow the lawn - I hope the grass ISN'T dry enough to mow the lawn cause I'd love to finish There there, part III makes it unputdownable.
Non-book activities: sleeping

Time reading: 1 1/2 hours
Total books finished:
Total read from: 2 (There there and Fish! Sticks)

9:30 a.m. on Saturday in sunny Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Like others on this thread I have settled into a hermit like existence and am really liking it.

Books planned to read from: Packing My Library by Alberto Manguel - my short book for the weekend. For We Are Many book 2 in the Bobiverse. On audio Sea of Gold: The Reader by Traci Chee and my children's book that I am slowly working through is Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer. I am about to finish with the Bobiverse so will start reading Blood Safari by South African author Deon Meyer later today.

Books finished: 1 I finished reading Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions by the Argentinian author and Director of the Argentine National Library - Alberto Manguel. This was very enjoyed professional type reading. The last two chapters he outlines what duties a library should fill. He has 10 while Ranganathan had 5.

Time reading: 2 hours
Time posting:
Snacks: yogurt and coffee

Thoughts: I continue with my "short" books plan of reading one book per weekend that is under 200 pages in length and finished reading Packing My Library. April was adventure in South Africa reading and May has been spent in space with the Bobs of the Bobiverse. Two very different worlds, but both have made great reading. I have to order the final book of the Bobiverse series today, so tomorrow I plan to move back to reading about South Africa. Plan to plant an eggplant and a few more pot garden plants and I am done with planting for the year.

Total books finished since I started doing the social distancing readathon on the weekend of April 4, 2020: 20
Total read from since April 4, 2020: 30
Total time reading for Readathon: 52 hours

11pm in Montana whoops - didn't post this last night!

Books read from: The Street, Nairobi Noir, When the Mob Ran Vegas
Books finished: 1 When the Mob Ran Vegas
Time reading: several hours off and on
Food: dinner - sushi
Thoughts: I am beginning to like being a hermit!
Non-book activities: trip to town to drop off library books, mail Netflix DVD and buy a few groceries (Coffee! Bananas. Avocado etc). Horse chores.

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 3

>38 cbl_tn: Thank you for sharing your rose bush! It's beautiful!

>62 kidzdoc: I see that the Nairobi Noir I am reading has a short story called 'The Hermit in the Helmet' by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. The note says "Translated from Gikuyu by the author". It's almost the last story so I probably won't get to it this weekend.

I always enjoy the Akashic Noir series as they give me a chance to read a dozen or so authors local to the region.

Pretty, sunny, warmish Saturday. Pity about the plague keeping me inside.

Books read from: The Magic Faraway Tree, The Sorrows
Books finished: 2
Time reading: 2h35m
Time posting: 1135 EDT
Snacks: seem to have a self-renewing supply of blueberries
Thoughts: I finished the Enid Blyton story. Henry Bird of GBBO is a lot deeper than just a pretty face! Also skimmed over a long-ago read from Jonathan Janz as I've just realized he changed publishers and put out a second edition of the title.
Non-book activities: Skyped with Rob, ate *shudder* kosher chicken for lunch at 11am.

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 4
Total time reading: 7h35m

Good afternoon from beautiful middle Georgia! The AC is on - the warm weather has well and truly arrived, I think. It'll be 87 today...

This update covers from midnight to noon Saturday:

Books read from: 2 The Number of the Beast (ebook), Moonraker (audio book)
Books finished: 1 The Number of the Beast
Time reading: 1:31 reading, 43 minutes listening: 2:14 total
Thoughts: I like flowering weeds. I hate lawn mowers.
Non-book activities: Sleep. A bit of LT time. Roasting asparagus. Watering plants.

Total books finished: 1 The Number of the Beast
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 7:12

>38 cbl_tn:
Love the rose bush too!

Plants can give us such comfort. I have a small patio and am confined to a pot garden and a narrow strip of dirt right under my kitchen window. I planted 3 grape tomatoes and today will plant an eggplant vine. I planted basil and parsley as undercover for the tomato fines. That will fill up that small bed. Other than that all of my plants are in pots and they make my patio a really nice place for morning coffee. Or at least for the time being. Once summer gets here it will not be pleasant to be out there in the morning. ... But the evening will be a different story.

>52 susanna.fraser:
I agree with the escapism angle. In April I escaped to the world of South African adventure and murder mysteries/spy thrillers. In May I have gone to space with the Bobs and become completely immersed in the Bobiverse. What a fun place it is. Space Opera at its best. I think reading Crazy Rich Asians would be a wonderful place to escape as well.

17.30 PM in the UK (Lancashire)

Books read from: The End and Again
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 1.5 hours (regularly interrupted)
Food: Lunch and some cheeky chocolate buttons.
Thoughts: The author references Camus, which is a weird reading coincidence (I just read The Plague this week).
Non-book activities: Buying a birthday cake for family.
Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 4.5 hours. Ish.

Good afternoon! Meant to post earlier, but the morning got away from me. I probably won't be reading a lot until this evening. I spent the morning walking a 6K (venue was wherever we were in our own neighborhoods, due to social distancing), and after lunch will be calling my Little for a couple of hours.

I did finish The Overstory last night, so I'm happy about that. I'll plan on reading some in my book club book, Carnegie's Maid, later today as well as The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. I'm also hoping to get to Network Effect this weekend.

Happy reading!

Good morning from Seattle!

Books read from: Crazy Rich Asians
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 1 hour
Food: cereal
Thoughts: jumbled
Non-book activities: sleep

Total books finished: Crazy Rich Asians
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 6.5 hours

>70 benitastrnad: I haven't heard of the Bobiverse, but it looks like something I should maybe look into.

Well, I've - again - been busy with other things but HAVE managed to get a little bit of reading done.

I see a lot of people have had warm weather - we had SNOW today. It's been an unusually cold spring (still below freezing every night) and while we've been promised warmer temperature for next weekend, I don't have much hope for it.

Books read from: 2 Five Run Away Together and Ture Sventon i varuhuset
Books finished: 0
Time reading: Very little
Snacks: Roasted apples with ice cream. About to make some popcorn.
Thoughts: I should walk around the woods more often. Also, I should invest in waterproof walking boots.
Non-book activities: The radio musical crossword, our new Saturday entertainment of orienteering, watching movies and TV.

3:30pm Saturday in Northern New Jersey

Books read from: My Dark Vanessa, The Rosie Project
Books finished: 1

Snacks: Breakfast - scrambled eggs and an English muffin
Thoughts: Must.Do.Something.Productive.
Non-book activities: jigsaw puzzle

Total books finished: 2 (The End of October, The Rosie Project)
Total read from: 3 (The End of October, The Rosie Project, My Dark Vanessa)

The Rosie Project was utterly delightful on audio - I'm so glad I finally got around to it!

What a gorgeous afternoon this is here by the North Atlantic!

Books read from: I Don't Expect Anyone to Believe Me
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 1h15m
Time posting: 1535 EDT
Snacks: two pound-sized Honeycrisp apples *drool*
Thoughts: I finished the Villalobos read and am now in an epic sulk because Robert Rea reviewed it better than I could and said everything I wanted to say. *grumble*
Non-book activities: Skype-read with Rob while reading the same book. I loved it, he thought it was ~meh~

Total books finished: 3
Total read from: 5
Total time reading: 8h50m

Update as of 3:50 p.m. Saturday

Books read from: (in the last 12 hours or so) Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Keener, Treachery by S.J. Parris, and a bit more of "Putin's People" (touchstone for that one is tricky), an e-galley by Catherine Belton, as well as listening to Cashelmara by Susan Howatch, a real potboiler that at least is addressing my inability to focus on anything serious.
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 4.5 hours

Snacks: Very late breakfast of toast and tea
Thoughts: Where is the mail? (I'm waiting for a check.). Relieved by the warm/sunny weather.
Non-book activities: Changed sheets (it's a battle with the cats, who think this is a game). Laundry. Brooding.

Total books finished: 1 (Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie)
Total read from: 6 (the above along with a bit of The Divinities by Park Bilal.)
Total time reading: 14.5 hours

My 4 hour board meeting turned into a 6 hour one. I'm too tired at the moment to think about a book. Hopefully I'll be able to read again later this evening.

Friday's reading:

Books read from: 2: Mansfield Park (audiobook) and Dombey and Son
Books finished: 0
Time reading: about 3 hours

>38 cbl_tn: Absolutely lovely--I wish I could smell them!

5:14 pm
Still reading Natasha's Dance
I went for a walk this afternoon, did a little gardening( cut off dead rose branches and found some grass seed that I can use for the bare spots on the front lawn - too enthusiastic snow plower) and .. got rid of little ants that were congregating on my kitchen counter near a window -sprayed, cleaned area with soap , cleaned again.

10.30 pm UK time

Books read from: The End and Again
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 2 hours
Food: Chicken with roasted veg
Thoughts: This was a lovely, but sad read, with a beautiful scene in a bomb damaged library that will stay with me.
Non-book activities: Watching very cheesy Eurovision show and chatting to a friend online.
Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 7 hours. Ish.

Ed to fix touchstone

It's been a beautiful day here in Georgia!

This update covers from noon to 6pm, Saturday:

Books read from: 2 Moonraker (audio book), Earthquakes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Seismic Disruptions (print)
Books finished: none
Time reading: 51 minutes reading, 1:31 listening: 2:22 total
Thoughts: I hate it when something you just bought breaks.
Non-book activities: A bit of LT time. Yard work. Washable cloth mask ordering.

Total books finished: 1 The Number of the Beast
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 9:34

Checkin: 10.00am Sunday NZ time

Books read from: My Michael by Amos Oz, 10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world by Elif Shafak, The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 3 hr
Snacks: breakfast - coffee and bagel
Thoughts: quiet morning, don't feel like reading
Non-book activities: sleep
Total books finished: 1 The Skylarks' War
Total read from: 4
Total time reading: 5 hr

Managing a chapter or two of My Michael each day, quite beautiful descriptions of Jerusalem, though during a time of severe austerity.
The Skylarks' War deserves all the awards it received.

Checking in a little after 7 p.m.

Books read from: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
Books finished: 0
Time reading: about an hour
Dinner: grilled cheese with tomato and pesto
Thoughts: This is like coming home to a comfortable group of friends. I can relate to Nina quite a bit and I love the snarky narrator
Non-book activities: talking to my Little, cleaning the bathroom, generally puttering around

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 3 hours and 15 minutes

It's 7:15 p.m. in Rhode Island

Books read from: listening to Cashelmara by Susan Howatch, a real potboiler that at least is addressing my inability to focus on anything serious.
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 3 hours

Snacks: Nothing. Am about to make some dinner.
Thoughts: Suffering from the bleahs.
Non-book activities: Pulled out my vast array of colored pencils and tackled a mandala design.

Total books finished: 1 (Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie)
Total read from: 6 (the above, plus Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Keener, Treachery by S.J. Parris, and a bit more of "Putin's People" (touchstone for that one is tricky), an e-galley by Catherine Belton, as well as The Divinities by Parker Bilal)
Total time reading: 17.5 hours

~6:45pm Texas Time

Not a lot of reading done today!

Books read from: The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda, Sarah's Quilt by Nancy E. Turner, Explorers of the Amazon by Anthony Smith, and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel
Books finished: 1
Time reading: ~3.25 hours

Thoughts: Where did my Saturday go?
Non-book activities: Having a Google meet with Beth, talking to Catey, playing Atlantis Rising with Kerry, putting away groceries, making a fruit salad, and other stuff I cannot think of at the moment.

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 5
Total time reading: ~5.25 hours

It's off to bed for me in a few minutes. See you all tomorrow! Have fun reading!!

From about 3 p.m. Friday to about 7 p.m. Saturday:

Books: I read - start to finish - Sweep With Me, We Are Legion (We Are Bob), For We Are Many, All These Worlds.

Supper: mashed potatoes, Breakfast: Tacobell bean burritos, Lunch: vegetable chowder.

Early evening Seattle check-in

Books read from: The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 3 hours
Food: granola bar
Thoughts: I don't think I'm going to become an Agatha Christie fan.
Non-book activities: laundry

Total books finished: Crazy Rich Asians, The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 9.5 hours

Books read from: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman and Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 1 hr. 45 min.
Thoughts: I'm still getting used to the fact that I've been mispronouncing Andrew Carnegie's last name I'll my life. Also I'm wondering if maybe lining up Network Effect as my next book and Provenance as my next audio/ebook combo may not work all that well. (I read multiple books often, but usually in very different genres)
Non-book activities: reading LT threads a bit

Total books finished: 2 - The Overstory and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 5 hours

I have been AWOL today. It seems like I've done everything but read. Last night I read one chapter from The Last Leonardo. I read 2 1/2 chapters of The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy today. I blame spring fever. It was a beautiful day today, although just a tad too hot to suit me.

Books read from: The Last Leonardo, The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy
Books finished:
Time reading: Very little
Time posting: Even less
Snacks: cooked a potato & bacon omelet for brunch, salmon & pea salad for dinner, lemon custard ice cream
Thoughts: Where did the day go?
Non-book activities: walking, cooking brunch and dinner, laundry, picked up dairy order and prescription

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: Not enough

>75 katiekrug: I loved the audio of The Rosie Project! I keep meaning to listen to the sequels but haven't got around to it yet.

>79 kac522: The roses don't have much of a scent, which is a good thing for me since I have allergies!

>87 SilverWolf28:
Yeah! somebody else was in the Bobiverse. I now have to wait for book 3 All These Worlds to get here so I can finish these books.

Fourteen degrees colder tomorrow!

Books read from: A Gazelle Ate My Homework
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 1h00m
Time posting: 2200 EDT
Snacks: more blueberries--srsly y'all they're replicating in my fridge
Thoughts: Habib Fanny's funny
Non-book activities: Skyped with Rob while I surfed the web
Total books finished: 3
Total read from: 6
Total time reading: 9h50m

It is almost 9:00 p.m.. on Saturday night. It is getting to be summer in the south and warmer than I like it.

Books planned to read from: For We Are Many book 2 in the Bobiverse. On audio Sea of Gold: The Reader by Traci Chee and my children's book that I am slowly working through is Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer. Blood Safari by South African author Deon Meyer.

Books finished: 2 I finished reading Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions by the Argentinian author and Director of the Argentine National Library - Alberto Manguel on Friday night. This evening I finished For We Are Many book 2 in the Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor and loved the ride that book took me on.

Time reading: 2 hours
Time posting:
Snacks:

Thoughts: I am loving the Bobiverse but am about to reenter the world of the thriller by starting another Deon Meyer book. This one will be Blood Safari and is the first book in, what is now a duopoly. I read book 2 first because I didn't know it was book 2. I am sure this will be a thrill ride.

Non book activities: I finished planting one pot. I have three more to go. I am now satisfied with the look of this pot and will work on a second one tomorrow. Neither of them will have the same plants in them, as it is getting hard for me to find the plants I want. Oh well - I will roll with whatever I find!

Total books finished since I started doing the social distancing readathon on the weekend of April 4, 2020: 21
Total read from since April 4, 2020: 31
Total time reading for Readathon: 54 hours

Meant to read a bit more, but got distracted updating my TBR list and reading log spreadsheets. Looking forward to more reading tomorrow - I'll be speeding through Network Effect.

Bedtime: 10pm Ohio

Books read from: There there and Room
Books finished: There there
Time reading: I've no idea.
Time posting: 10pm about 5 minutes
Snacks: Beautiful day so we ate alfresco Beef, bean and cheese burrito's - red table wine (Spain)
Thoughts: I want to move wherever the weather is like this every single day
Non-book activities: Grass to wet for mowing - raked leaves out of butterfly garden and discovered the butterfly bush which was dead last year has resurrected :0)

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: IDK

>82 Dejah_Thoris: If you don't mind sharing the information, can you please tell me what reusable masks you purchased? There's so many on the market I don't know where to begin. Thx!

As I drift off to sleep, I'll be reading Room.

Books read from:American War
Books finished:0
Time reading:1 hour
Time posting:10:14 PM
Snacks: Supper was homemade stuffed peppers with mixed salad.
Thoughts:Why can't I focus on reading!?
Non-book activities: Grocery shopping, lawn cutting and two loads of laundry. Also watched an episode of Frasier.

11 pm EDT update from Atlanta

Books read from: Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Pages read: 36 (pp 83-118)
Books finished: 0
Time reading: ???
Time posting: ???
Food/drinks: The spring time risotto (asparagus, courgette and peas) I made tdday turned out great, and I had it with a pan fried crispy-skinned salmon fillet for lunch:



I had another bowl of the pasta I made yesterday for dinner.

Thoughts: Petals of Blood continues to be good so far, but it's been a slow go for me these past two days. I suspect this has more to do with me than the book, so I'll keep going, and I still hope to finish it by Sunday night.
Non-book activities: Lots of sleeping, listening to a R&B podcast by one of my closest friends.

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total pages: 87
Total time reading: ???

I'll keep at it for another hour or two.

Good evening, all!

This update covers from 6pm to midnight, Saturday:

Books read from: 4 Moonraker (audio book), Earthquakes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Seismic Disruptions (print), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (audio), The Janissary Tree (ebook)
Books finished: 1 Moonraker
Time reading: 1:42 reading, 1:28 listening: 3:10 total
Thoughts: The Bond books are turning into an unexpected pleasure - they are very different from the films.
Non-book activities: Started some seeds. Cooked a bit. Talked. Read threads on LT.

Total books finished: 2 The Number of the Beast, Moonraker
Total read from: 5
Total time reading: 12:44

>95 Carmenere: I would be happy to share information, Lynda!

I ended up buying from Lucky Brand - luckybrand.com I was working through a list of options, but kept running into extremely pricey masks (no, I do not need a silk mask) and/or sold out notices. I am familiar with Lucky Brand and their pleated, cotton, tie in the back face masks were in stock. They come in a pack of 5 for $25.00 - that price covers manufacture (USA), shipping (also from within the USA) and the donation and delivery of a set of five masks to a nonprofit working with the homeless in LA.

I was tired of looking and the price seemed fairly reasonable (compared to some I saw), so I ordered them. I've got one cotton mask and some disposables, but one of these days I will go back to work and I want to be prepared. I also signed up for a notification from an outdoor apparel company (I cannot remember the name) for notification when their interesting looking masks will be in stock - I'll let you know when I hear from them.

Making good progress with a few of the books I am reading, particularly The Shoes of the Fisherman, Atlantic Fury and Boomerang.

Hope to be able to report on finishing more than the solitary book before the weekend is out.

I'll do an update in the morning. I forgot my airbuds when I went for a long walk this morning so lost 2 hours of my audiobook. I'm hoping to finish 10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world later tonight.

I am having to withdraw from the Readathon. My eyes are blown right now. As a matter of fact, I am getting off the Internet entirely as well.

I will not be taking part in the next 2 Readathons, unfortunately. My daughter Beth and her boyfriend Shaquille are coming in from Arizona next weekend and the following weekend I will be heading to Longview to celebrate my mother's 81st birthday with her :)

10 am EDT update from Atlanta

Books read from: Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Pages read: 40 (pp 127-166)
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 55 min
Time posting: 5 min
Food/drinks: I had breakfast (oatmeal, banana, coffee) in the 8 o'clock hour; nothing since then.
Thoughts: After two poor reading days I am more engergized today, and I am determined to finish Petals of Blood by this evening.
Non-book activities: Reading the Sunday New York Times, catching up on Facebook and email.

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total pages: 134
Total time reading: ???

Books read from: 4 - The Witch's Book Of Self-Care: Magical Ways To Pamper, Soothe, And Care For Your Body And Spirit by Arin Murphy-Hiscock, Emma by Alexander McCall Smith, The Power Of One by Bryce Courtenay, and Cold And Pure And Very Dead by Joanne Dobson
Books finished: 1 - The Witch's Book Of Self-Care: Magical Ways To Pamper, Soothe, And Care For Your Body And Spirit by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
Time reading: 2 hours, 40 minutes
Time posting: close to 10:30am EST
Snacks: Just finished some hazelnut coffee a little bit ago
Thoughts: I love weekends.
Non-book activities: Hoping to get some yard work done today, have some cooking to do, etc.

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 4
Total time reading: 2 hours, 40 minutes

11 am EDT update from Atlanta

Books read from: Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Pages read: 44 (pp 167-210)
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 45 min
Time posting: 15 min
Food/drinks: I'll have lunch at noon, probably more of the pasta I made on Friday
Thoughts:
Non-book activities:

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total pages: 178
Total time reading: ???

11:25am Sunday in Northern New Jersey

Books read from: My Dark Vanessa
Books finished: 0

Snacks: Coffee and a few bites of cheesecake for breakfast...
Thoughts: I'm feeling very motivated to do some stuff around the house so not sure how much reading I'll get done today.
Non-book activities: Watched a movie ('Best in Show' RIP Fred Willard) last night; had a nice long sleep; puttering this morning

Total books finished: 2 (The End of October, The Rosie Project)
Total read from: 3 (The End of October, The Rosie Project, My Dark Vanessa)

>102 alcottacre: I hope you have wonderful visits with family over the next two weekends, Stasia!

No reading for me yet today - I had virtual church service and started baking bread so far today (yes, I have succumbed... but I'm using yeast I owned before the shortage). Going to heat myself up some leftovers for lunch and enjoy reading a bit of Network Effect while the bread rises.

12 pm EDT update from Atlanta

Books read from: Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Pages read: 44 (pp 211-254)
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 45 min
Time posting: 10 min
Food/drinks: I had half a dozen baby carrots dipped in jalapeño hummus to tide me over until noon. I'll take a break to make lunch and take an afternoon nap.
Thoughts: Petals of Blood has picked up considerably today, and after reading nearly 130 pages this morning I should have no problem finishing it by early evening.
Non-book activities:

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total pages: 222
Total time reading: ???

ETA: Please post a photo of the bread you make today, Mary! I'm long overdue to make my first loaf...I might do so tomorrow or Tuesday.

>102 alcottacre: Sorry to hear about your eyes, Stacia. That happened to me, too, with the first readathon I attempted a few weeks ago. Feel better soon! And enjoy your family. Game on!

10:30 am Sunday in Montana

Books read from: The Street - Ann Petry, The Wolf At Twilight
Books finished:
Time reading: several hours off and on
Food: oatmeal, banana, coffee for breakfast. I plan to have leftover curried pumpkin lentil soup over quinoa for lunch
Thoughts: Ann Petry is an amazing author. The Street was published in 1946 and was the first book written by a black woman to sell over a million copies. But it's like a Greek tragedy - you know how badly things are heading. This is another writer and book I wouldn't have found without the PBS Now Read This Bookclub.
Non-book activities: After a lovely lazy morning with extra coffee, I am on my way outside to do morning horse chores and then more weed wacking. Rain is supposed to move in late this afternoon and stay for the rest of the week.

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 4

Sunday afternoon update from East TN:

Books read from: The Last Leonardo; The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy
Books finished: The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy
Time reading: ?
Time posting: ?
Snacks: lunch was salmon & pea salad, green beans, & ice cream
Thoughts: Maybe I'll get more reading in today since it's too hot to go outside!
Non-book activities: online church, walking, snapping & cooking beans

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: ?

My Fitbit congratulated me on my 16 minute swim as soon as I finished snapping beans. :-)

It's an absolutely gorgeous day in my part of Georgia! It's going to be a little warm, but the tomatoes will like it.

This update covers from midnight to 1pm, Saturday:

Books read from: 2 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (audio), The Janissary Tree (ebook)
Books finished: none
Time reading: 1:15 reading, 9 minutes listening: 1:24 total
Thoughts: I should get outside before it gets any hotter.
Non-book activities: Sleep.. Lots of sleep.

Total books finished: 2 The Number of the Beast, Moonraker
Total read from: 5
Total time reading: 14:08

Still reading Natasha's Dance but am at page 531 ( gasp)
I did some gardening or really weeding this afternoon- now back inside to read.
I was out at 7:45 am to shop for groceries- very quiet.

It's almost 2:45 p.m. in Rhode Island.

Having a difficult day. Managed only 2.5 hours of sleep last night -- woke up at 5:30 and never got back to sleep -- and then had to struggle through an important video conference call with my occasional speech impediment (a side effect from migraine, my neurologist thinks) dialed up to high because of stress and fatigue. So, all my best-laid reading plans have fallen apart -- I'm too tired to read, but can't sleep. ARGH.

Books read from: finished listening to Cashelmara by Susan Howatch, surprisingly good for a potboiler. Now returned to "Putin's People" by Catherine Belton.
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 5 hours

Snacks: Two breakfasts instead. of one! Toast and tea early this morning, a bowl of cereal just now. Dinner will be leftovers from last night (grilled chicken in a smoky marinade, with a cilantro-based spicy sauce. Last night ate it with farro; tonight will probably be noodles.
Thoughts: Why can't I sleep? Why do I whine?
Non-book activities: The aforementioned conference call (which may lead to a big freelance project). Discussing and revising proposal with biz partner afterwards. Oh, and re-certifying my current status as unemployed for last week...

Total books finished: 2 (Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie and Cashelmara)
Total read from: 7 (the above, plus Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Keener, Treachery by S.J. Parris, The Divinities by Parker Bilal and the audiobook of Vagabond by Bernard Cornwell)
Total time reading: 23.5 hours

Re.bread discussion -- I'm going to seek out an amazing Swedish recipe for carraway bread that I got from a friend's mother when I was a teenager. Assuming I can find yeast and the right kind of flour, I'll try to make this again -- it has been MANY years.

Books read from: Network Effect by Martha Wells
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 1 hr. 10 minutes (a little more last night, so the time I'm keeping is basically a minimum while I've probably read more)
Snacks: slices of bread and jam
Thoughts: Enjoying being back with Murderbot
Non-book activities: reading LT threads, baking

Total books finished: 2 - The Overstory and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Total read from: 4
Total time reading: 6 hours, 10 minutes

Here is the bread:




The recipe is fairly simply to make as far as bread goes. I used potato water for a starchier bread and substituted olive oil for lard. It comes out with a deliciously crispy crust and soft center.

>108 kidzdoc: Looking forward to seeing what you make, Darryl! This is my second time using the recipe - the first was a couple of weeks ago during the vacation week I took in April.

Midday in Seattle

Books read from: Lady Susan
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 1.5 hours
Food: cereal--now I need to figure out lunch
Thoughts: Scattered
Non-book activities: watched my church's YouTube morning prayer service but skipped virtual coffee hour due to Zoom burnout

Total books finished: Crazy Rich Asians, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Lady Susan
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 11 hours

>115 bell7: Beautiful bread! And I hope your're loving Network Effect.

>117 Dejah_Thoris: Thank you, and yes I am! I took a brief break to finish my book club book, will leave in a short while to take a walk, and then I plan on spending the rest of the evening with Network Effect.

Books read from: Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 30 minutes
Thoughts: I'd better take a walk soon or my chance will slip away
Non-book activities: reading LT threads, apps on my phone

Total books finished: 3 - The Overstory by Richard Powers, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman, and Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
Total read from: 4
Total time reading: 6 hours, 40 minutes

>115 bell7: The bread looks delicious! I can almost smell it from here. :-)

4 pm EDT update from Atlanta

Books read from: Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes
Pages read: 38 (pp 255-284 of Petals of Blood, pp 21-28 of American Sonnets)
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 40 min
Time posting: 5 min
Food/drinks: I had the same lunch today as I had yesterday, leftover spring time risotto, and a salmon fillet.
Thoughts: I'm on the home stretch of Petals of Blood, and with 126 pages to go I'm on pace to finish it this evening. I may finish American Sonnets as well
Non-book activities: Cooking, eating, a long nap

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2
Total pages: 260
Total time reading: ???

>115 bell7: Well done, Mary! I may try a simple recipe for No Knead Bread from NYT Cooking as early as tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out. I should also make banana bread with the overripe bananas I have in my kitchen.

>115 bell7: Your bread looks gorgeous!

9.30 pm UK time - Sunday

Books read from: Short Life in a Strange World and Fish Soup.
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 3 hours
Food: Roast dinner
Thoughts: I want to get on a train and go across Europe.
Maybe next year.
Non-book activities: Sleeping, planting out tomato seedlings into bigger pots, weeding.
Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 10 hours. Ish.

>115 bell7: MURDERBOT! MURDERBOT! RAH RAH RAH!!

I've read nothing today. I spent most of it listening to Rob work through his father's impending death (that he's alive after two weeks in ICU being ventilated is amazing) and surfing the web for things to distract and amuse him.

Total books finished: 3
Total read from: 6
Total time reading: 10h00m

Final Checkin: 9.30am Monday NZ time

Books read from: My Michael by Amos Oz, 10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world by Elif Shafak, Storm Boy by Colin Thiele
Books finished: 1 10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world
Time reading: 2.5 hr
Snacks: breakfast - coffee and crumpets
Thoughts: must hurry up and finish at least 4 more library books
Non-book activities: cats, kitchen stuff
Total books finished: 2 The Skylarks' War 10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world
Total read from: 5
Total time reading: 7.5 hr

Ended up enjoying 10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world quite a lot. Started reading the children's classic, Storm Boy after finishing Salt Creek as both are set in the Coorong National Park of South Australia.

Update 5:20 am Monday morning KL time:

Books Read from : 3 Boomerang, Atlantic Fury & Three Dog Night

Books finished : 1 Atlantic Fury

Time reading 8 hours.

Thoughts : Got my reading going again this weekend so I'm pleased.

Food : Prawns with broccoli & spicy chicken stew. Tea, coffee, water and mangosteen juice

Total Books Read from : 7
Total Books Finished : 2
Total Time Reading : 16 hours
Pages read (approx): 630 pp

This update covers from 1pm to 7pm, Saturday:

Books read from: 2 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (audio), Earthquakes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Seismic Disruptions (print)
Books finished: none
Time reading: 1:15 reading, 1:11 listening: 2:26 total
Thoughts: Why haven't I accomplished more today?
Non-book activities: Planted more seeds. Cat herding. Posting on LT.

Total books finished: 2 The Number of the Beast, Moonraker
Total read from: 5
Total time reading: 16:34

Books Finished -1 Natasha's Dance A Cultural History of Russia by Orlando Figes
I finished the book! ( all 586 pages before looking at notes or bibliography)
It was a very satisfying read- now to either go back to The Overstory or find another non-fiction in my book piles.
Supper- hotdogs, fennel and celery salad, corn

>115 bell7: Your bread looks wonderful!

Would anybody be interested in a bread machine bread recipe? I have a really good recipe which I use all the time.

Thanks for the comments on the bread, everyone! I've got one loaf in the freezer and one will be eaten this week.

Checking in a little after 9 p.m.

Books read from: Network Effect by Martha Wells
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Thoughts: I'm kind of bummed I have to work tomorrow instead of finishing my book
Snacks: banana & cheese, apple, ice cream
Non-book activities: coloring, walk, eating, getting ready for bed

Total books finished: 3
Total time reading: 8 hours

Bedtime check in 10:41 Cleveland

>99 Dejah_Thoris: Thanks for the info! I'll check into it tomorrow!! :o)
>102 alcottacre: So smart of you to recognize the problem and taking swift action. Safe travels!
>115 bell7: O-M-G! Those loaves are just lovely! With jam, they're nearly a piece of art!

Well, today was a bit of a bust. I read 10 pages of Room before breakfast - then spent the remainder of the day in the yard. After dinner I felt yucky so I scrolled the internet and saw the latest SGN with John Kraszinski - Love that guy. 24/7 news should learn something from him.

Books read from: There there and Room
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 30 minutes
Thoughts: Why are all these people dining outdoors not wearing masks or social distancing.
Snacks: Coffee and toast for breakfast - Kielbasa with saurkraut and dumplings for dinner. Snack: 1 oreo cookie and ginger ale
Non-book activities: Mowing the lawn - pulling weeds between bricks on patio - slumming

Total books finished: 1
Total time reading: Does anyone really know what time it is. Does anyone really care?

Good night readers. Take care and stay safe.
Thanks, Mary!!

Evening check-in from Seattle

Books read from: Moon Over Soho (a re-read)
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 3 hours hours
Food: pizza
Thoughts: Sunday evening, with another week of remote work before me. So tired of Zoom meetings.
Non-book activities: listened to the new episode of the Common Descent podcast

Total books finished: Crazy Rich Asians, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Lady Susan
Total read from: 4
Total time reading: 14 hours

I'm definitely in again next week for the three-day holiday weekend.

It is 11:00 p.m. checkin on Sunday night. A thunderstorm came through earlier this evening and cooled things off. Not much rain, but I love the coolness. To bad it didn't come through earlier in the day when I could have set outside and enjoyed it.

Books planned to read from: On audio Sea of Gold: The Reader by Traci Chee and my children's book that I am slowly working through is Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer. Blood Safari by South African author Deon Meyer.

Books finished: 2 I finished reading Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions by the Argentinian author and Director of the Argentine National Library - Alberto Manguel on Friday night. On Saturday I finished For We Are Many book 2 in the Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor and loved the ride that book took me on.

Time reading: 3 hours today
Time posting:
Snacks:

Thoughts: I have really enjoyed the thrillers written by Deon Meyer and so last night I started Blood Safari and is the first book in, what is now a duopoly - the Lemmer series. I read book 2 first because I didn't know it was book 2. I am sure this will be a thrill ride. The book is full of information about the South African game parks and why they are privately owned and not publicly. I learned that as of 2007 the amount of money brought into South Africa through tourism is more than the amount brought in from gold mining. At that time tourism was well on its way to being the biggest industry in South Africa.

Non book activities: I planted some more pots for my pot garden and am rather disappointed in the selection of plants at my Home Depot. I can see that a trip to Birmingham to the garden center will be happening this week. I need a couple of showy tall plants to put in my pots and can't find anything suitable. I also went to my local Barnes & Noble and purchased two books. Normal People and American Spy. I won't read them now but will get to them later this summer. I have them tagged for my vacation books.

Total books finished since I started doing the social distancing readathon on the weekend of April 4, 2020: 21
Total read from since April 4, 2020: 31
Total time reading for Readathon: 57 hours

Good evening, all - I hope it's been a great weekend for everyone.

This update covers from 7pm to midnight, Sunday:

Books read from: 2 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (audio), Earthquakes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Seismic Disruptions (print)
Books finished: 2 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Earthquakes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Seismic Disruptions
Time reading: 1:21 reading, 1:09 listening: 2:30 total
Thoughts: Lots to do tomorrow. I doubt I'm getting to sleep any time soon, though. And how did these mosquitoes get in the house?
Non-book activities: Kitchen cleaning. Cat care. LT. Same old, same old.

Total books finished: 4 The Number of the Beast, Moonraker, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Earthquakes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Seismic Disruptions
Total read from: 5
Total time reading: 19:04

>111 Dejah_Thoris:
I read Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin several years ago and really liked it. I then read all the others in the series and thought that they were very good mysteries. I loved reading about the life in 19th century Istanbul and all that wonderful food. Yashim reminded me of Guido Brunetti, the Venetian detective, in his love for food and the proper preparing and eating of it. Goodwin has a cookbook out that has the recipes and cooking techniques featured in the books. I would like to get it someday. I wish that Goodwin would have published more than the 5 Yashim books that he did. I can't wait to hear what you have to say about them on this thread.

>113 Chatterbox:
Susan Howatch is making a comeback. At least here on LT. There are a couple of other LT people I know of who are reading her books. Somebody else recently read Cashelmara. Cashelmara is supposed to be the story of Edward I and his family set in modern times. Is that true?

>133 benitastrnad: I'm enjoying The Janissary Tree very much - it's definitely the setting that that appeals to me the most, although the descriptions of the food make me hungry! I've only finished about a third of it so far, but I can definitely see me reading the rest of the series.

>113 Chatterbox: Amazing bread! It's a good thing I looked at that pic AFTER eating, or I would have drooled all over my laptop. A common problem in this era of quarantine, when so many people are posting pics of their foodie creations...

>134 benitastrnad: Yes; I first read this (and Susan Howatch's other earlier sagas, before she started focusing on religious issues and wrote her six-book epic on the church of England) back in the 1970s, originally. Haven't re-read them in years, until one or two started coming out for audio. Cashelmara is narrated by a cycle of six individuals, each of whom briefly revisits some events in the past and then carries the story forward from their very distinct POV, so it's actually quite a fascinating construction. When combined with the way Howatch tries to transplant historical characters/plot lines into 19th/20th century settings, it's actually kind of impressive. So, in this book, the first character to narrate is the "Edward I" character, who is here known as, d'uh, Edward. It picks up when Edward is a man in his late 50s and marries a teenage wife (from America, in the book; from France historically) and addresses the tortured family relations with various children, especially his son Patrick (Edward II). The second narrator is Marguerite, Edward's second wife and mother of two sons with him; then Patrick (Edward II), shedding light on his envy of the favored elder son who had died in childhood (in real life, Alfonso, Edward I's heir for a number of years prior to his death). Then Sarah, niece of Marguerite who marries Patrick (Isabella of Valois, the she-wolf of France as she became known, who IRL staged a coup against her husband and his lover, Hugh Le Despenser). Finally, we get the POV of Roger Mortimer, Sarah/Isabella's lover and co-conspirator, who here is Maxwell Drummond, an Irish romantic patriot and farmer on the Cashelmara estate, followed by that of the teenage Ned (the Edward III character) who is portrayed as a replica of the tall and rather rigid Edward I, put upon the throne by Isabella and Mortimer, and who takes revenge for what he sees as the murder of a father and uncle.

Penmarric is based, loosely, on the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and their brood; two years or so I listened to the two-book series that puts Julius Caesar/Cleopatra/Mark Anthony/Octavian-Augustus in the 20th century, that starts with The Rich Are Different and then The Wheel Of Fortune, which focuses on the last days of Edward III, his heir Richard II and the usurpation by the Lancasters (but transplanted this time to Wales and an estate called Oxmoon). That's the one I have yet to re-read

It's 3 a.m. on Sunday night/Monday morning. Update from Rhode Island.

I ended up catching up on my lack of sleep last night by napping pretty much throughout the day. Got up to eat something for dinner and now will get another 5 hours or so, I hope!

Books read from: "Putin's People" by Catherine Belton, which is a slow, fascinating story. Listened to a bit of the audiobook of Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 3.5 hours

Snacks: Dinner was leftovers from last night (grilled chicken in a smoky marinade, with a cilantro-based spicy sauce. Last night ate it with farro; tonight was noodles. I think I used perhaps a bit too much garlic, but that's OK!
Thoughts: Hoping tomorrow will be more productive, both for work and reading. I have an online grocery order arriving. That process is getting easier, thankfully!
Non-book activities: Napping, after updating the proposal for a big ghostwriting project with my biz partner. The good news is that the contractor (we'd be part of a bigger marketing proposal) accepted our proposal and is incorporating our info into THEIR bid for the business. It seems likely that it will be accepted, but still not certain that the financial proposal will remain intact. So good news but still some uncertainty!

Total books finished: 2 (Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie and Cashelmara by Susan Howatch)
Total read from: 8 (the above, plus Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Keener, Treachery by S.J. Parris, The Divinities by Parker Bilal and the audiobook of Vagabond by Bernard Cornwell)
Total time reading: 27 hours

I've completed mostly audiobooks in the last week. Partly due to migraines, partly to fatigue. And part, I think, to my inability to get completely engrossed in the "real" books that I have on hand. Hope that will change this week. Audiobooks are great, but they are slower to complete.

It's Monday morning in Sweden now, and finished one of my books as I was eating breakfast.

Books read from: 3: Ture Sventon i varuhuset, A Handful of Dust, The Time Machine
Books finished: 1 - Ture Sventon i varuhuset
Time reading: Very little
Snacks: Breakfast (porridge)
Thoughts: How much I'm going to have to pay for a tooth extraction
Non-book activities: Making an insect hotel, sleeping, dentist appointment, work

Well thanks for another successful weekend of reading, all!

I'll be back in a few hours with a new thread - with it being Memorial/Decoration Day weekend, shall we extend it through Monday?

>139 bell7: Yea.

>139 bell7: We don't have Memorial Day in Sweden, but this weekend is a long one because Thursday is Ascension Day (public holiday) and thus Friday is also a holiday.

>107 bell7: Thanks, Mary! I am really looking forward to the visits.

>109 streamsong: The eyes are well-rested today, so I am hopeful of getting at least some reading in today. Thanks, Janet!

>115 bell7: Bread is really bad for me, but those loaves look so tempting!

>129 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda!

I am going to count today as my Sunday and hopefully have some reading to report later on :)

Final update:

Saturday's reading:
Books read from: 1: Dombey & Son, Charles Dickens
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 2 hours

Sunday's reading
Books read from: 1: Dombey & Son
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 4 hours
Food: Baked a comforting pan of brownies

Total weekend reading:
Books read from: 2
Books finished: 0
Total time reading: 9 hours

Thoughts: Even though I didn't finish anything this weekend, I made a good dent (about 300+ pages) in Dombey & Son, which is 900+ pages.

It is 1:00 p.m. check in on Monday afternoon that is reporting on my final reading for Sunday night.

Books planned to read from: On audio Sea of Gold: The Reader by Traci Chee and my children's book that I am slowly working through is Sea of Trollsby Nancy Farmer. Blood Safari by South African author Deon Meyer.

Books finished this weekend: 2 - I finished reading Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressionsby the Argentinian author and Director of the Argentine National Library - Alberto Manguel on Friday night. On Saturday I finished For We Are Many book 2 in the Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor and loved the ride that book took me on.

Time reading on Sunday night: 2 hours today
Time posting:
Snacks:

Thoughts: I read far into the night on Blood Safari and had problems waking up this morning. I had better not read until 1 a.m. tonight or I will be in trouble for the whole week.

Non book activities: Spent Sunday night with PBS. I love Call the Midwife and can't wait for next season. World on Fire is Meh. Baptiste was fantastic and I certainly hope that my local PBS station continues to broadcast this really good twisty mystery thriller.

Total books finished since I started doing the social distancing readathon on the weekend of April 4, 2020: 21
Total read from since April 4, 2020: 31
Total time reading for Readathon: 59 hours

>137 Chatterbox: You betcha, let's go through Monday... :-)

>138 PawsforThought: making an insect hotel
I had to google this and love what I found

>139 bell7: I'm happy to comeback for an extended weekend read.

I will join for next weekend. I have Monday off. It is only the 2 time in 25 years in Alabama that the University has given us Memorial Day off. I will be reading another Deon Meyer book.

New readathon thread is up for this weekend!

>146 avatiakh: Insect hotels are a bit of a trend over here, partly because people are worried about the decline in pollinating insects and the effect that could have on nature and crops, partly because people are staying at home more and interest in gardening has skyrocketed (we had to go to three different shop to find seed potatoes because they were all out). Mum and I saw a gorgeous insect hotel at the garden centre right at the start of this whole pandemic and we've used that as inspiration for the one we're making out of leftover planks, miscellaneous screws, garden waste, firewood, and pine cones and bamboo sticks we've picked up when out for a walk.

>149 PawsforThought: I'm definitely going to tell one of my brothers about this, he has a huge garden and orchard.