Social Distancing Readathon #66 - June 18 - 20

Welcome to another readathon!

We generally run from Friday at 5 p.m. to Sunday at midnight in whatever time zone you choose, but feel free to start earlier on Friday and wrap up overnight Sunday/Monday, if that's what you want to do.

Here are some things to track throughout the weekend, if you choose:

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. SilverWolf (SilverWolf28) -- Tennessee, USA
2. Mary (bell7) -- Massachusetts, USA
3. Carrie (cbl_tn) -- Seymour, Tennessee, USA
4. Suzanne (Chatterbox) -- Rhode Island, USA
5. Benita (benitastrnad) -- Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
6. Luci (elkiedee) -- London, UK
7. Susanna (susanna.fraser) -- Seattle, Washington, USA
8. Cyrel (torontoc) -- Toronto, Canada
9. Lori (thornton37814) -- Tennessee, USA
10. Paul (PaulCranswick) -- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I will plan on joining in - I have some commitments on Saturday and Sunday but will read around them.

I will join in as I'm able. I have a jammed facet joint in my neck. My chiropractor adjusted it this afternoon and it helped a lot. However, he told me not to bend my head forward to read. I may be binge watching Leverage this weekend instead of reading.

OK, I'm going to try...

>3 cbl_tn: ouch, so sorry; that sounds dreadful.

I will be joining the group again this week. I am taking a knitting class on Saturday but will be free and plan to be spending Sunday at the swimming pool - with a book.

I will join in. I've just finished several books this week but there is one more that I might get to finishing this weekend.

Count me in again. Hopefully this weekend I'll actually get some reading done...

>4 Chatterbox: Thanks! It doesn't hurt unless I move the wrong way. I'm trying to keep it from getting any worse. The chiropractor recommended massage therapy, so I have an appointment next week with the massage therapist in his office. I am looking forward to that!

I'm in as well- I am just finishing The Windsor Knot and will move on to another book- I think that I am in a " summer" reading mode.( mysteries, light reading)

I'm not sure how much time I'll have to read this weekend, but I'll try to join for a few hours. I should finish an audio book on the ride home this afternoon. I should finish a non-fiction book either tonight or tomorrow. I'm meeting a fellow genealogist who moved to the area during the pandemic tomorrow. She needs to become familiar with the East Tennessee History Center. I suspect the reading time will be mostly Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.

I'm in but having my injection on Sunday morning so I hope I don't get too affected.

I just finished The Windsor Knot by SJ Bennett It is definitely a good summer read!

Friday noon check-in

Books read from: Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin for my real life book discussion group. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I started listening to Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh. For fun and mind candy I started and finished French Rhapsody by French author Antoine Laurain.

Books finished This Weekend: 0
Books finished Since Last Weekend: French Rhapsody by Antoine Laurain
Time reading today: 1 hour during my lunch
Time posting:
Food: lunch was a sandwich, orange, and a thawed out Rose Ginger cupcake. Supper will be better.

Thoughts: I love Antoine Laurain's books. This was the last one I had by him in my collection so from now on I will have to place ILL requests for any of his books that are translated into English. This book was so much fun to read. It started out like it was the French version of "The Big Chill" but it ended up somewhere else. Along the way there were simply great characters and fun situations. Smoke in the Sun is the second book in this YA fantasy series based on Japanese folk tales. The narrator is very good and so this is an enjoyable way to pass the miles. Crooked Kingdom is book 5 in the Grishaverse books by Bardugo and I love the intricate plotting of these fantasy thrillers. This is a 530 page book, so it may take me some time to read it - but then again - I may not be able to put it down and will read it straight through.

Non-book activities: work
Total books finished since the read-a-thon began: 135
Total read from: 143
Total time reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 387 hours since April 2020.

Seattle 8:45 PM Friday:

Books read from: The Hellion's Waltz
Books finished: none
Time reading: 2 hours
Food: chicken soup & salad
Thoughts: I'm just so glad it's the weekend.
Non-book activities: Work, laundry

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

Friday night check-in:

Books read from: A Comedy of Terrors by Lindsey Davis and Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang
Books finished: A Comedy of Terrors
Time reading: About 4.5 hours
Food: some bacon, egg & cheese bread (yes, all those ingredients in bread form...) and some fresh strawberries
Thoughts: Bloody hell, what a week
Non-book activities: Polishing some work that is overdue; watering the veggie garden; feeding felines and scratching their furry heads

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 4.5 hours

Saturday morning 7:30 am check-in:

Books read from: Black Diamond by Martin Walker, Bible (ESV), Near to the Heart of God by Robert J. Morgan
Books finished: Black Diamond by Martin Walker
Time reading: about 45 minutes
Time posting:
Snacks:
Thoughts:
Non-book activities: Zoom genealogy chat

Total books finished: 1
Total read from:3
Total time reading: 45 minutes (0.75 hours)

I told you I wouldn't get much done last night. I have about 3 more chapters in another book I hope to finish later today. I'm off to Knoxville before too long to introduce a friend who moved here during the pandemic to the area's best genealogical collection.

Hello friends, I'm in for the weekend.

Books:
Just finished It's in His Kiss and It's in His Kiss: The 2nd Epilogue by Julia Quinn. #7 in the Bridgerton series; light, whimsical romance with humorus dialogue (in case you missed the Netflix series.)
Currently reading Exit Strategy, Martha Wells. 4th of the Murderbot Diaries.

other activity:
watching birds, squirrels and brown bunnies in the garden.
Thinking of my mom. She died Sunday, age 99 and 3 months.

mostly sunny, 73 F. (23 C.)

I read Winter in Paradise - really a " beach read" and will now reread Actress for my book club meeting.
Lunch- left over spinach salad, banana and butter tart! ( the Farmer's Market near me has opened) I also snacked on wonderful Niagara cherries and had strawberries on my yogurt for breakfast.

Saturday 9.50 pm

Quite slow progress this weekend - I did finish 3 books during the week and think I might finish one more tonight or tomorrow - I'm about to pick it up after posting this.

Books read from: 7
Penny Vincenzi, A Question of Trust
Rupa Sepetys, Out of the Easy
Carol Shields, Collected Stories
Ellen Wilkinson, The Division Bell Mystery
Emma Donoghue, The Pull of the Stars
Peter Robinson, Not Dark Yet - STARTED 19.06.21
Francesca Wade, Square Haunting - STARTED 19.06.21

Pages read: 105
Books finished: 0
Book activities: Browsing Kindle offers and wishlists as a lot of price drops in the last couple of days, LT and Goodreads updates, book chat on Mumsnet and LT
Non-book activities: As usual, WhatsApp, Social media, radio, TV, Bejeweled Blitz - plus a lot of snoozing

Total pages read: 105
Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 7

>17 nrmay: Sorry for your loss, Nancy.

>17 nrmay: oh my,- I am sorry for your loss

>17 nrmay: So sorry to hear of your loss. No matter how long or how good a loved one's life has been, it doesn't make that final goodbye any easier to bear. Hope you have plenty of support; be kind to yourself.

Saturday late afternoon/early evening check-in:

Books read from: Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang and A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich by Lucas Delattre (via audiobook)
Books finished: none this period
Time reading: 6 hours?
Food: chicken curry; some peach bread (toasted) for breakfast.
Thoughts: Brain numb. Few thoughts. None worth repeating.
Non-book activities: Well, I've managed to put a load of laundry into the machine? Napping, trying to reset my brain.

Total books finished: 1 (A Comedy of Terrors by Lindsey Davis)
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 10.5 hours

Reading/listening to the audiobook about Fritz Kolbe, I realized that the story overlaps with that of a rather good TV miniseries I stumbled over (perhaps on Amazon?) about Berlin's Charité hospital in the final days of WW2. Kolbe is one of the supporting characters in that ensemble German drama.

>17 nrmay: My condolences on your loss.

Saturday afternoon:

Books read from: The Hellion's Waltz
Books finished: The Hellion's Waltz
Time reading: 1 hour
Food: watermelon
Thoughts: Looks like I now have a Northern Flicker among the regulars at my bird feeder stand--so huge compared to my usual round of chickadees, juncos, and finches!
Non-book activities: Farmers market, library

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

Thank you all for your kind thoughts.

Sat evening -

Books:
Exit Strategy, Martha Wells.
Latest audio book is Mrs Pollifax, Innocent Tourist. I always listen to this series because the reader, Barbara Rosenblat, is so good.

Deli sandwich out for lunch; seared tuna for dinner.

Other activity:
errands and laundry this morning.
afternoon spent on the porch reading, napping, holding my mom's old cat.

partly cloudy, 79 F. (26 C.)

Saturday evening update:

Books read from: Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang and A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich by Lucas Delattre (via audiobook)
Books finished: A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich
Time reading: 2.5 hours
Food: a diet soda (these days, caffeine free...)
Thoughts: Hope tomorrow is more productive
Non-book activities: Doling out treats to the resident felines. It's raining, so I don't need to water the veggie garden.

Total books finished: 2 (A Comedy of Terrors by Lindsey Davis; A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich)
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 13 hours

>24 nrmay: I enjoy Rosenblat's reading as well, but the Mrs. Pollifax novels (which I have been "re-listening to" this year) haven't held up terribly well for me, alas. I think I bogged down on "Golden Triangle", though since the audiobooks are available for free via Hoopla, I may give it another shot.

Saturday night check-in

Books read from: A small bit of Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin for my real life book discussion group to be held in July. My main reading effort is Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I started listening to Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh.

Books finished This Weekend: 0
Books finished Since Last Weekend: French Rhapsody by Antoine Laurain
Time reading today: 1 hour during supper
Time posting:
Food: I ate lunch at the South's best gourmet restaurant - Waffle House. I had the hashbrowns and coffee. I have to say that the hashbrowns aren't as cheap as they used to be. Time was when you could get them covered, chunked, and diced for under $5.00. $7.00 with coffee. Today it was $9.00.

Thoughts: I listened to a large part of Smoke in the Sun while driving to Gadsden for my knitting class today. It is the second book in this YA fantasy series based on Japanese folk tales. The narrator is very good and so this is an enjoyable way to pass the miles. Crooked Kingdom is book 5 in the Grishaverse books by Bardugo and I love the intricate plotting of these fantasy thrillers. This has proved hard to put down. I read late into the night last night.

Tropical Storm Claudette has come to visit Tuscaloosa. It has rained in Alabama all day. It wasn't so bad up in Gadsden because that city is about 100 miles rather north but it has been a rain soaked soggy mess in T-town. The streets are flooded and the Weather service has asked people to stay off the streets. Then, about an hour ago, the Tuscaloosa Police department issued a bulletin asking people to not go out tonight as there are many streets flooded and as a result there are a large number of cars stalled in streets. That, combined with the poor visibility due to the rain is resulting in hazardous driving conditions. Since I am now home, I will stay here. I had thought I would go out and get a hamburger, but it won't hurt me to eat a peanut butter sandwich for supper.

Non-book activities: knitting class at the yarn shop in Gadsden. I am working on an intarsia knitted scarf and that is a new knitting skill for me. I go back for the second class on July 10. I should have the scarf completed by then and that will be one Christmas present done.

Total books finished since the read-a-thon began: 135
Total read from: 143
Total time reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 389 hours since April 2020.

Saturday evening:

Books read from: Writing the Other: A Practical Approach, The Wars of Napoleon
Books finished: Writing the Other: A Practical Approach
Time reading: 2 hours
Food: Thai basil fried rice
Thoughts: I need more relaxing, unscheduled days like this.
Non-book activities: listening to podcasts

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 5 hours

Sunday Noon Check-In:

Books read from: Bible (ESV), Near to the Heart of God by Robert J. Morgan, The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel, Women on the Civil War Battlefront by Richard H. Hall, Where the Heart Takes You by Virginia Wise
Books finished: Women on the Civil War Battlefront by Richard H. Hall
Time reading: 2 hours 45 minutes
Time posting:
Snacks:
Thoughts:
Non-book activities: Church

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 6
Total time reading: 3.5 hours

All but about 15 minutes of the time reported was yesterday.

Sunday early afternoon in Rhode Island...

Books read from: Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang, Widowland by CJ Carey, a snippet of Two Women in Rome by Elizabeth Buchan, the audiobooks of Vanished Kingdoms by Norman Davies and a "re-read" of When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Penman
Books finished: none this period
Time reading: 7.5 hours
Food: more diet soda, water, two slices of peach bread (from Amish bakery in Philly, during stopover en route home from Atlantic City Wednesday.
Thoughts: Myst Do Work. Weather is humid, overcast -- it's going to rain. My head is thumping away.
Non-book activities: Trying to regulate my sleeping so I can get more than 2.5 hours. Trying to figure out how to wear my glasses.

Total books finished: 2 (A Comedy of Terrors by Lindsey Davis; A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich by Lucas Delattre)
Total read from: 7 (see above)
Total time reading: 20.5 hours

Sunday 8.50 pm

Still slow progress but I did finish a book.

Books read from: 5
Patrick McGrath, Last Days in Cleaver Square - FINISHED 20.06.21
Helen Cox, Murder By the Minster - STARTED 20.06.21
Penny Vincenzi, A Question of Trust
Rupa Sepetys, Out of the Easy
Carol Shields, Collected Stories

Pages read: 124
Books finished: 1
Book activities: LT and Goodreads updates, book chat on Mumsnet and LT
Non-book activities: As usual, WhatsApp, Social media, radio, TV, Bejeweled Blitz - plus a lot of snoozing

Total pages read: 229
Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 9

sunday night check-in

Books read from: A small bit of Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin for my real life book discussion group to be held in July. My main reading effort is Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I started listening to Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh.

Books finished This Weekend: 0
Books finished Since Last Weekend: French Rhapsody by Antoine Laurain
Time reading today: 3 hours while wiling away the afternoon at the swimming pool. It was a bit cool and windy for the pool today but the sunshine was glorious after the gloom and downpour of yesterday.
Time posting:
Food: Sunday morning cappuccino at Starbucks and coffee and a bagel this afternoon.

Thoughts: I am deep into the world of Ketterdam in the Grishaverse. So far it has been a fun place to be. My computer is eating up my databytes and I still haven't downloaded some of the operating system. Time to glom onto the free wifi at Panera!

Non-book activities: laying about at the swimming pool all afternoon instead of cooking for next week.
Total books finished since the read-a-thon began: 135
Total time reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 392 hours since April 2020.

Sunday afternoon:

Books read from: The Death and Life of the Great Lakes
Books finished: none
Time reading: 2 hours
Food: steak sandwich
Thoughts: I like Sunday afternoon naps, but hate it when I sleep just a bit too long and am left groggy.
Non-book activities: Took husband out for Father's Day brunch, nap

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

Sunday evening check-in

Books read from: Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang, Widowland by CJ Carey, the audiobooks of Vanished Kingdoms by Norman Davies and a "re-read" of When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Penman
Books finished: none this period
Time reading: 4 hours, mostly audiobooks
Food: some sashimi and rice; water.

Thoughts: I hate migraines.
Non-book activities: Watered the garden. Finished laundry.

Total books finished: 2 (A Comedy of Terrors by Lindsey Davis; A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich by Lucas Delattre)
Total read from: 7 (the above, plus Two Women in Rome by Elizabeth Buchan
Total time reading: 24.5 hours

I finished a reread of Actress by Anne Enright I think that I appreciated it more on the second reading.
Dinner -BBQ at my brother's house

Sunday 10:00 pm check-in:

Books read from: Where the Heart Takes You by Virginia Wise, See You on Sunday: A Cookbook for Family and Friends by Sam Sifton
Books finished: Where the Heart Takes You by Virginia Wise
Time reading: 2 hours 30 minutes
Time posting:
Snacks:
Thoughts:
Non-book activities: Zoom meeting for genealogy institute beginning in the morning

Total books finished: 3
Total read from: 7
Total time reading: 6 hours

It hasn't been a great weekend in hours logged, but I did complete 3 books! I'll probably start the Viveca Sten group read for June before I go to bed, but I will not count it in this weekend's challenge. I won't have time to post in the morning. I have a couple errands to run before my genealogy institute class begins at 9:30 a.m.

Sunday night between 9 pm and 1 am

Books read from: 1
Books finished: 1
Penny Vincenzi, A Question of Trust

Pages read: 49
Book activities: LT and Goodreads updates, book chat on Mumsnet and LT
Non-book activities: As usual, WhatsApp, Social media, radio, TV, Bejeweled Blitz - plus a lot of snoozing

Total pages read: 278
Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 9

Late wrap up for the weekend

Books
Finished the first four in the Murderbot series. Martha Wells.
Sending them to my brother who is recovering after a fall off his bike.
Now reading Apple Tree Lean Down, first in a an old-fashioned British family saga by Mary Pearce. Recommended by an LT member some time ago.

Breakfast was coffee, HB egg, bacon, toast.
My daughter-in-law gave me this dandy little egg cooker that does quick, easy, perfect boiled eggs every time.

Other activity:
Spent yesterday with my sis and her husband at their new house in Chapel Hill. It's wonderful to have her close by again.
Watching PBS crime series Halifax.
Planted a pot of marigolds and a tomato. I love my small garden with all the birds and bunnies.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/333192