Social Distancing Readathon #199 - January 5 - 7

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

I'm in again. It's 5pm here in Auckland, New Zealand

I'm reading The Painted Garden by Noel Streatfield & various others

I will read along this weekend. Well, I already started as my time zone is Denmark (GMT+1), and the US and Canada are still asleep.

I will primarily read three books:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (hardcover)
If I Had Lunch with C. S. Lewis by Alister McGrath (ebook)
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (audiobook)

I'll try to join in. We're in the middle of a cold snap (-28 C here right now, but other places are around -40 C) and it's twelfth night weekend, which means I get of work early so I might just cuddle up with a good book and some tea.

I'll be reading more of Ragtime and Castle in the Air.

I have been reading The Tiger and the Wolf but am only about halfway through, so it's definitely on the weekend reading plans.

I will be in as much as I can be, Silver! Thank you again for hosting.

I am in - currently reading Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie & yes, it's a revenge tale...

Nic of the Woods by Lynd Ward

Nic goes on vacation with his family to a cabin deep in the woods. While they go on a fishing trip he is left behind with the cook, runs away, and becomes hopelessly lost. Will Nic find his family again?

This is an old fashioned yet entertaining story that should please dog lovers young and old.

The Wildlife Atlas by Sylvia A. Johnson

This appears to be a simple yet informative book of animals with realistic illustrations.

My copy's binding is so far gone the pages are about to fall out. I think I will send it to my grandchildren so they can enjoy the illustrations.

Joining in...I am dog sitting for a friend at her house and plan to read away the weekend.

I’m in.
This is my last weekend in CA. We have a special family outing on Sat and trip to Santa Cruz on Sun to see the rest of the family. Flying home on Mon. I’ll be reading in between.

Current books:
The Secret, Lee Child. Audio ed.
Winter in Thrush Green
Just started The Which Way Tree

Packed up books we got for Christmas to mail home.
Still reading fairy tales to the grandies. 😊

Lunch was leftovers from Benihana last night.

Sunny, 60 F. (16 C.) at 3p

It's just past midnight here in Copenhagen.

I've read around 100 pages of Frankenstein
and listened to about three hours of The Silent Patient.
I think I will finish both tomorrow.

Went to a friend for some sushi and a movie. We watched the excellent October Sky - I've thought about it before, but again tonight: Could be fun to read Rocket Boys, the memoirs of Homer Hickam, which the movie is based on. Such a fantastic, inspiring story.

Freezing here and a cold walk home tonight in the snow. -8 C.

Good readings.

I listened to Penny for Your Secrets by Anna Lee Huber today. I'm about halfway through it. I'm currently reading The Girls Who Fought Crime by Maj. Gen. Mari K. Eder for a book club this month. I've got a couple of year-long devotional reads that require a little time each day. One, of course, is the Bible. The other is a daily devotional and prayer by the late Charles Stanley. I have some other things I'll mix in to the devotional mix from time to time, but none of them are year-long. I have Louise Penny's World of Curiosities ready to start.

Saturday 3pm

Books read from: The Painted Garden by Noel Steatfeild, Shogun on audio by James Clavell, Go home, Cat by Sonya Hartnett, The Weeping Ash by Joan Aiken, The Gardener's Year by Karel Capek, The Donkey Rustlers by Gerald Durrell
Books finished: 1
Time reading: 3hrs

Snacks: sausage rolls, Thai tea
Thoughts:
Non-book activities: went out to library for a couple of pickups, had a latte at library cafe.

Total books finished: 1 Go Home cat!: a picturebook
Total read from: 6
Total time reading: 3hrs approx

>14 avatiakh: I love Shogun, have reread it several times. I like it much more than Tai-Pan

Friday night report
Books read from: Long Retreat: Doc by Mary Doria Russell and Unwarrented: Policing Without Permission by Barry Friedman. I am listening to Seveneves by Neal Stephenson.

Books finished: Long Retreat: In Search of a Religious Life by Andrew Krivak. Last Act in Palmyra by Lindsey Davis

Book Thoughts: I finally finished reading a couple of books and it was a struggle. Not because the books were hard, but because I have been so busy the last two weeks. I am reading Doc for my real life book discussiong group and Unwarrented for the Nonfiction Challenge here on LT. I really am enjoying the Marcus Didius Falco series by Lindsey Davis. This one is for the LT Mystery Challenge. It is not due to be read until May but I had it with me so decided to read it. I laughed out loud with this one.

Non-Book activities: I had coffee with a high school friend today and low and behold another high school classmate showed up at the coffee shop - just by chance. We had a nice visit. It is cold and snowy with just a dusting of snow on the ground in this part of Kansas. That isn't true in other parts of the state. Right now the sky is clear and the stars are shining.

Time reading: 1 hour
Time posting:
Food: I am going to be baking cookies tomorrow, but tonight I had a Subway Meatball sub for supper with a salad. I will be making a squash soup tomorrow as it is soup weather.

Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 380
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1072.5 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon in April of 2020.

Friday Night Update:

Books read from: A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (audiobook), Freezing Order by Bill Browder, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho, and Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Books finished: 2, Freezing Order and Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Time reading: 1.85 hours + listening to audiobook

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 4
Total time reading: 1.85 hours + listening to audiobook

I'll jump in this weekend. I have some errands to run this morning, but expect I'll still get some reading time in, and tomorrow we're getting our first snow of the season and I'm planning on hanging out at home.

Last night (Friday) -

Books read from: The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng and The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling
Books finished: 0
Time reading: not sure
Snacks: dinner was pizza on Italian bread

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: not sure - I'll time myself today & tomorrow

Books read from: Tar Baby by Toni Morrison, The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-Mo, Black Futures ed. Kimberly Drew, The Night Hunt by Alexandra Christo
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 4.5 hrs.
Food: banana, strawberry banana smoothie, Bobo's PB&J round, apple slices & peanut butter, squeezie applesauce
Non-book activities: phone meeting, played Knitten, watched Steven Universe, had a nap

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 4
Total time reading: 4.5 hrs.

I'm in as much as I'm able this weekend. I managed to read one chapter in Black Hearts in Battersea last night, but could not stay awake either to read or to watch TV. I have a couple of round trips to the groomer today and I'm hoping to finish the audio of So Shall You Reap in the car.

Saturday Update:

Books Finished: The Tea-Olive Bird Watching Society

Read for the RandomKIT and has been on my Kindle forever. Dark humor centered around women who decide to take things into their own hands to save their friend and their town. Loved being up early where I am dog sitting and just reading.

Going to start The Corfu Trilogy later today.

Saturday evening update:

I read several chapters of Black Hearts in Battersea and I finished the audio of So Shall You Reap this afternoon. I'm pleased with that! I'm using leftover ingredients from the holidays for dinner so I don't waste all that food. The menu is pork chops, cheesy potatoes, and carrot salad.

>15 fuzzi: I've really enjoyed listening and am now into the last 8 hours.

Sunday 4.30pm

Books read from: The Painted Garden by Noel Steatfeild, Shogun on audio by James Clavell, The Weeping Ash by Joan Aiken, The Gardener's Year by Karel Capek, The Donkey Rustlers by Gerald Durrell
Books finished: 2 The Donkey Rustlers & The Weeping Ash
Time reading: 4hrs

Snacks: french bread and cheese, Thai tea
Thoughts: Aiken's books are highly enjoyable
Non-book activities: visit to bakery to buy bread & rolls, made porchetta

Total books finished: 3 Go Home cat!: a picturebook, The Donkey Rustlers by Gerald Durrell & The Weeping Ash by Joan Aiken
Total read from: 6
Total time reading: 7hrs approx

Saturday Night Update:

Books read from: A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (audiobook), A War Like No Other by Victor Davis Hanson, The Best of S.J. Perelman by S.J. Perelman, The Tolkien Reader by J.R.R. Tolkien, and The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 3.65 hours + listening to audiobook

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 8
Total time reading: 5.5 hours + listening to audiobook

Saturday update -

Books read from: The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng and The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling
Books finished: The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (1)
Snacks: leftovers for lunch and dinner
Thoughts: I didn't read as much as I thought I would yesterday, but what I did read I enjoyed very much
Non-book activities: errands, starting season 2 of Call the Midwife, knitting

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 2

Saturday

Books read from: Tar Baby by Toni Morrison, The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-Mo, Black Futures ed. Kimberly Drew, The Night Hunt by Alexandra Christo
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 2 hrs.
Food: banana, Bobo's PB&J round, apple slices & peanut butter, squeezie applesauce, Starburst FaveReds, street tacos, roasted cashews
Non-book activities: yoga workshop, played Knitten, went to a friend's karaoke party, had a nap

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 4
Total time reading: 6.5 hrs.

Update from Copenhagen:

It's evening Sunday here, 18.30. Yesterday I finished two novels.
Frankenstein is a great classic; it is the third time I've read it. It is such a great romantic tragedy.
The Silent Patient - what a page-turner. And with a great plot twist that puts everything into a new perspective. No wonder it was a bestseller.

Besides reading Saturday, I binge-watched The Crown, season 6. So sad, and I liked the aftermath of Diana's death more than the events up til her death.

Sunday. Well, I went to church and afterward was invited to lunch with some church friends. I got home late in the afternoon. So, not a lot of reading today. I will continue tonight, finishing off The Crown, I guess.

So a good time reading this weekend, and I finished two novels. Reading also The Bible in the morning - I'm beginning the year with readings in Genesis and Acts of the Apostles.

>13 thornton37814: I've never been a good reader of devotionals, although I have a few I read from time to time, but not continuously day after day. Do you follow a reading plan for your Bible reading? Also, this has not been an excellent success for me. I tried the Murray M'Cheyne plan a few years ago, but reading four places daily was too much jumping around. I hope to be a little more organized this year so I can go through the Bible in one year.

Sunday afternoon:

Books read from: The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling and Big Tree by Brian Selznick
Books finished: The Lost Journals of Sacajewwea (1)
Snacks: breakfast was chia pudding with banana, lunch was an Italian bread pizza
Thoughts: The day has been going by so fast!
Non-book activities: not much, just getting my food together, but I spent much of the morning reading

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 3

>28 ctpress: I'm using one of the plans on the Bible App. I just select a different one each year. I'm doing "Life Journal Reading Plan" this year.
2023: Bible in a Year: 365-Day Reading Plan
2022: As It Happened (a chronological plan)
2021, 2019: Eat This Book: One Year Bible with Daily Psalm
2020: Taylor University One Year Bible
2018: Canonical
2017: I think I used one our church provided that year
2016: The Bible in a Year
2015: The One Year Bible

It's trying to load more, but that gives you an idea at least. I think the one I used last year and "Eat This Book" are my favorites. The one used last year offered OT, NT, and either a Psalm or Proverb each day. Eat This Book just has a Psalm each day with the OT and NT readings. I can't remember if the plan I'm reading in 2024 goes through the NT once or twice.

Sunday evening update:

I've read the first three chapters of The Girls Who Fought Crime this afternoon. The rest of the day has been taken up with church, lunch with a friend at our new Bojangles, a funeral home visitation for the wife of an old friend who died far too young, a short nap, and a walk with Adrian. I have a neighbor coming to eat leftovers with me in a little while. We might watch a movie so I'm not sure I'll get any more reading done this evening.

Monday 2pm

I read from a number of books last night to see which one would 'take' for me. How to kill your family is not really my thing so far but will persevere as my daughter recommended it. System Collapse is quite technical to begin with so I need full concentration. The Invisible is an ok crime read so far, it's set in the Prespes region of Greece which I had never heard of before.
Also read more of The Painted Garden by Noel Streatfield.

Sunday evening update:

Books read from: Big Tree by Brian Selznick and A Girl's Story by Annie Ernaux
Books finished: Big Tree by Brian Selznick (1)
Snacks: taco soup for dinner
Thoughts: It was a really pleasant snow & reading day. I may read a bit more in A Girl's Story, but I don't anticipate finishing another book tonight.
Non-book activities: shoveling, watching football, cooking dinner

Total books finished: 3
Total read from: 4

I'll try to do a final report in the morning reporting everything I read.

Sunday night report
Books read from: Doc by Mary Doria Russell and Unwarrented: Policing Without Permission by Barry Friedman, and Discord of Gods by Jenn Lyons. I am listening to Seveneves by Neal Stephenson.

Books finished: Long Retreat: In Search of a Religious Life by Andrew Krivak. Last Act in Palmyra by Lindsey Davis

Book Thoughts: I didn't get as much reading done as I thought I would. It was a cold and windy day here at the Prairie Redoubt, and a perfect one for sitting and reading. However, after the medical crisis with my mother on Friday night I just had to play catch-up all weekend. I did start reading with effort Discord of Gods by Jenn Lyons. This is the last book in the five book epic fantasy series Chorus of Dragons. I thought I needed some fantasy as a distraction.

Non-Book activities: Church today and taking care of Mom's needs. I had to call my sister for help late this afternoon.
Time reading: 1 hour
Time posting:
Food: I made a delicious squash soup last night and baked a batch of oatmeal dinner rolls. I hope these two things provide a few meals for the both of us for a couple of days. I am tired. I had my Aunt over for lunch today and she loved the soup, so I gave her a quart of it to take home. My mother didn't say yeah or nay regarding the soup.

Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 380
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1073.5 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon in April of 2020.

Sunday Night Update:

Books read from: A War Like No Other by Victor Davis Hanson, The Best of S.J. Perelman by S.J. Perelman, The Tolkien Reader by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson, Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor, and Hell Before Breakfast by Robert H. Patton
Books finished: 1, The Tolkien Reader
Time reading: 4.5 hours

Total books finished: 9
Total read from: 9
Total time reading: 10 hours + listening to audiobook

>30 thornton37814: Thanks for the info, Lori. You have used a lot of plans, for sure :) I like the one with one reading in each testament and perhaps some occasional readings in The Psalms. I'm doing my own pace reading this year and have begun in Genesis and Acts, but I hope it will be more structured and have an app to record what I've read.

We are going through Acts this winter and spring in the church and I will be on to preach one or two times, so I'm also studying it now.

I read the aforementioned two books and more of The Tiger and the Wolf. I really like Adrian Tchaikovsky's writing so far, but I'm barely halfway through the book.

Weekend summary:

Books read from: Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
Books finished: None
Pages read: 200-ish

This didn't turn out to be a big reading weekend, largely due to my wife's birthday & surrounding family activities.

Weekend Wrap-up
Books read from: Doc by Mary Doria Russell and Unwarrented: Policing Without Permission by Barry Friedman, and Discord of Gods by Jenn Lyons. I am listening to Seveneves by Neal Stephenson.

Books finished: Long Retreat: In Search of a Religious Life by Andrew Krivak. Last Act in Palmyra by Lindsey Davis

Book Thoughts: I didn't get as much reading done this weekend as I wanted, but it is snowing here and so I got some more read in it.

Non-Book activities: I scooped the decks and sidewalks around the house and watched the snow fall.
Time reading: 2 hours
Time posting:
Food: squash soup and dinner rolls.

Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 380
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1075.5 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon in April of 2020.

Friday-Sunday reading:

Books read from:
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny
Bible (NASB)
Trusting God with Today by Charles Stanley
Praying God's Will for Your Life by Stormie Omartian

Audio books listened to:
Penny for Your Secrets by Anna Lee Huber

Books Completed:
The Girls Who Fought Crime by Mari K. Eder

Sunday

Books read from: Tar Baby by Toni Morrison, The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-Mo, Black Futures ed. Kimberly Drew, The Night Hunt by Alexandra Christo
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 4 hrs.
Food: apple slices & peanut butter, squeezie applesauce, mini turkey burgers, roasted cashews
Non-book activities: played Knitten, support group

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 4
Total time reading: 10.5 hrs.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/357120