Social Distancing Readathon #287 - September 19 - 21
Talk 75 Books Challenge for 2025
Join LibraryThing to post.
1SilverWolf28
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
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
2ChrisG1
I'm in - currently reading Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, and The Very Best of the Best, edited by Gardner Dozois.
3nrmay
I’m reading in the Northwoods of Wisconsin this weekend.
Books:
THE INNKEEPER’S SONG
And l just checked out this ebook -
UNDER FALLING SKIES
Books:
THE INNKEEPER’S SONG
And l just checked out this ebook -
UNDER FALLING SKIES
4avatiakh
Friday 7pm
I have three books on my radar this weekend - Becoming Dinah by Kit de Waal, Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik & Drive your plough over the bones of the dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
Snacks: Last night's dinner again - burritos
Non book activities: Culling more books from the home, food prep, watching Chinese historical dramas on Viki.
I have three books on my radar this weekend - Becoming Dinah by Kit de Waal, Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik & Drive your plough over the bones of the dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
Snacks: Last night's dinner again - burritos
Non book activities: Culling more books from the home, food prep, watching Chinese historical dramas on Viki.
5PawsforThought
I will, once again, do my best to join in. No visitors this week but my mum and I are going to the summer house to close up for the season. I need to finish The World of Yesterday, get as close as possible to the end of The Collector and make as much headway as possible with Farligt att förtära and Billiards at Half Past Nine.
6benitastrnad
You guys are all reading things that I have wanted to get read for a long time. I have the series First Law and I just unpacked the Temeraire series yesterday. I also have a copy of Billards at Half Past Nine that I want to get to. I want to read some of Heinrich Boll's work so that I can try to understand why he got a Noble Prize. Not that I think he shouldn't have, but I don't think it can be fully understood why somebody gets a prize that big unless they read some of that author's work.
Oh - I plan to participate this weekend as well. Nothing on my plate for the weekend except cooking.
Oh - I plan to participate this weekend as well. Nothing on my plate for the weekend except cooking.
7avatiakh
Saturday 11.30am
Books read from: Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik, Becoming Dinah by Kit de Waal, Drive your plough over the bones of the dead by Olga Tokarczuk, Sisters of Fortune by Esther Chehebar, Star without a sky by Leonie Ossowski
Books finished: 0
Snacks: Breakfast - coffee with egg sandwiches
Nonbook activities: catch up on news, tidy up in kitchen, consult a recipe book Julie Biuso's Italian Cooking for dinner plans, might try her 'suffocated' cauliflower recipe instead of the standard cauli cheese. I was going to cull this cookbook but its full of great simple recipes so will work through the book. Biuso was on NZ tv, radio & magazines a lot back in the 1990s.
I couldn't sleep so read for an hour or so, then slept in so having a slow start to the weekend.
Made the egg sandwiches as had left over fresh sliced bread from making cheese rolls yesterday.
My first time making these cheese rolls, a simple but effective New Zealand speciality from Southland. Very tasty and cheap snack, lots of variations and this recipe is the basic starter:
https://www.cheeseloversnz.co.nz/recipes/kiwi-cheese-rolls
Books read from: Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik, Becoming Dinah by Kit de Waal, Drive your plough over the bones of the dead by Olga Tokarczuk, Sisters of Fortune by Esther Chehebar, Star without a sky by Leonie Ossowski
Books finished: 0
Snacks: Breakfast - coffee with egg sandwiches
Nonbook activities: catch up on news, tidy up in kitchen, consult a recipe book Julie Biuso's Italian Cooking for dinner plans, might try her 'suffocated' cauliflower recipe instead of the standard cauli cheese. I was going to cull this cookbook but its full of great simple recipes so will work through the book. Biuso was on NZ tv, radio & magazines a lot back in the 1990s.
I couldn't sleep so read for an hour or so, then slept in so having a slow start to the weekend.
Made the egg sandwiches as had left over fresh sliced bread from making cheese rolls yesterday.
My first time making these cheese rolls, a simple but effective New Zealand speciality from Southland. Very tasty and cheap snack, lots of variations and this recipe is the basic starter:
https://www.cheeseloversnz.co.nz/recipes/kiwi-cheese-rolls
8avatiakh
>6 benitastrnad: I'm slowly reading through the Temeraire books, I read the first one in 2015. Book 4 ends on a bit of a cliffhanger so had to pick up book 5 within a few weeks.
9lottpoet
Friday:
Books read from: Deep Diversity by Shakil Choudhury, The Good Ally by Nova Reid, Otros Valles by Jamie Berrout, Out of Time by Samira Azzam
Books finished: Deep Diversity
Snacks: fresh baked gf chocolate chip cookies, apple crisp with oat milk ice cream, 1919 root beer, a dinged up banana, raw pistachios, Bob's chocolate chip bar
Non-book activities: Reconciliation between my LibraryThing, StoryGraph, and GoodReads accounts. LT is the OG & most updated for me, but I still found some LT books that were not completely tagged and categorized, although most of the missing information was in my other two accounts.
Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 4
Books read from: Deep Diversity by Shakil Choudhury, The Good Ally by Nova Reid, Otros Valles by Jamie Berrout, Out of Time by Samira Azzam
Books finished: Deep Diversity
Snacks: fresh baked gf chocolate chip cookies, apple crisp with oat milk ice cream, 1919 root beer, a dinged up banana, raw pistachios, Bob's chocolate chip bar
Non-book activities: Reconciliation between my LibraryThing, StoryGraph, and GoodReads accounts. LT is the OG & most updated for me, but I still found some LT books that were not completely tagged and categorized, although most of the missing information was in my other two accounts.
Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 4
10benitastrnad
Saturday Report
Books read from: My continuous reading book is Worshipful Lucia by E. F. Benson. My computer book is Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe. I am still working on Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, but both are sitting on the sidelines right now. I finished Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee. I am reading An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker. I am listening to Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and finished listening to Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers.
Books finished: Mapp and Lucia by E. F. Benson. Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee. Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
Book Thoughts: I finished Uncommon Carriers last night and as always John McPhee produced a very readable and excellent book. I read this one for the Nonfiction Challenge. The September prompt was Transportation and this book fit that category to a tee. It had 6 essays in it that were all about different modes of commercial transportation. There was, trucking, river barge towing, ocean going commercial ships, UPS and the explosion of the package delivery system, and coal trains. There was even an essay on a reenactment of Henry Thoreau's five day canoe trip up the Merrimac River. The author concluded that it was easier to travel up that river in Thoreau's day than now. Back in the 1850s it was basically and industrial canal. Today it is a wild river with few remnants of the former lock and dam system.
Non-Book Activities: brought in more stuff from one of my kitchen dish barrells from the move. It has been mostly spices. My spice turntable got damaged during the shipping so I will have to sit down tomorrow and repair that. Then I will have to throw some of the contents away because I simply don't need them here, but I need to find my good skillet spatula's and other's that I use for baking. I suspect they are in the bottom of that barrell. Then I can get rid of the box. Oh happy day! It was nice doing very little today. I needed a day off.
Reading Time Today: 3 hours
Time Reading this weekend: 5 hours
Time listening:
Time posting:
Food: No cooking today because I spent most of yesterday cooking. I tried a new recipe for cauliflower and green bean salad. I like the recipe, but forgot to get salt and Parmessan cheese yesterday. Will have to go grocery shopping on Monday when I go to return my ILL books.
Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 532
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1641 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon starting in April of 2020.
Books read from: My continuous reading book is Worshipful Lucia by E. F. Benson. My computer book is Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe. I am still working on Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, but both are sitting on the sidelines right now. I finished Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee. I am reading An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker. I am listening to Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and finished listening to Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers.
Books finished: Mapp and Lucia by E. F. Benson. Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee. Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
Book Thoughts: I finished Uncommon Carriers last night and as always John McPhee produced a very readable and excellent book. I read this one for the Nonfiction Challenge. The September prompt was Transportation and this book fit that category to a tee. It had 6 essays in it that were all about different modes of commercial transportation. There was, trucking, river barge towing, ocean going commercial ships, UPS and the explosion of the package delivery system, and coal trains. There was even an essay on a reenactment of Henry Thoreau's five day canoe trip up the Merrimac River. The author concluded that it was easier to travel up that river in Thoreau's day than now. Back in the 1850s it was basically and industrial canal. Today it is a wild river with few remnants of the former lock and dam system.
Non-Book Activities: brought in more stuff from one of my kitchen dish barrells from the move. It has been mostly spices. My spice turntable got damaged during the shipping so I will have to sit down tomorrow and repair that. Then I will have to throw some of the contents away because I simply don't need them here, but I need to find my good skillet spatula's and other's that I use for baking. I suspect they are in the bottom of that barrell. Then I can get rid of the box. Oh happy day! It was nice doing very little today. I needed a day off.
Reading Time Today: 3 hours
Time Reading this weekend: 5 hours
Time listening:
Time posting:
Food: No cooking today because I spent most of yesterday cooking. I tried a new recipe for cauliflower and green bean salad. I like the recipe, but forgot to get salt and Parmessan cheese yesterday. Will have to go grocery shopping on Monday when I go to return my ILL books.
Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 532
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1641 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon starting in April of 2020.
11avatiakh
Sunday 6.30pm
Books read from: Becoming Dinah by Kit de Waal, Drive your plough over the bones of the dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Books finished: 1 Becoming Dinah
Snacks: Dinner - homemade pepper pie with potatoes & broccoli
Nonbook activities: Genealogy zoom meeting this afternoon, I'm secretary so can't just not turn up. Already sent out the minutes which is better than last time, took me five weeks to send them out.
Made filling for pepper steak pies & mince pies. Made bread and butter pudding. Baked sausage rolls.
My 'suffocated' cauli was ok and worth pursuing the idea with some Sicilian recipes for Cavolfiore Affogato.
I have another book by Kit de Waal out from the library, The Best of Everything.
Very windy with bouts of rain. I know it's spring as we see ducklings by the creek when driving to the shops. Today it looked like mother duck was going to take them across the busy road to the shops.
Books read from: Becoming Dinah by Kit de Waal, Drive your plough over the bones of the dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Books finished: 1 Becoming Dinah
Snacks: Dinner - homemade pepper pie with potatoes & broccoli
Nonbook activities: Genealogy zoom meeting this afternoon, I'm secretary so can't just not turn up. Already sent out the minutes which is better than last time, took me five weeks to send them out.
Made filling for pepper steak pies & mince pies. Made bread and butter pudding. Baked sausage rolls.
My 'suffocated' cauli was ok and worth pursuing the idea with some Sicilian recipes for Cavolfiore Affogato.
I have another book by Kit de Waal out from the library, The Best of Everything.
Very windy with bouts of rain. I know it's spring as we see ducklings by the creek when driving to the shops. Today it looked like mother duck was going to take them across the busy road to the shops.
12lottpoet
Saturday:
Books read from: The Good Ally by Nova Reid, Otros Valles by Jamie Berrout, Out of Time by Samira Azzam, Song of the Dark Wood by Sheila Masterson
Books finished:
Snacks: 1919 root beer, homemade gf vegan sweet potato muffins, Bob's peanut butter bar, bbq Wavy Lays
Thoughts: I try to keep the worldbuilding and character work of my stories in my head because I don't want to spend the time to write it all down when I could spend that time writing the actual text of the stories. I apparently still feel urgent about writing. (Maybe other things, too. Thanks, pandemic!) Hmm, maybe writing it long hand in the interstices of the day could work.
Non-book activities: Visited my nibling at the hospital. Started homework for my writing class on worldbuilding. Watched the last week's Jeopardy episodes on Hulu with my sister, then we found Ken Jenning's streak from 2004 and started watching that. We found the older Jeopardy clues much easier and spent some time speculating why that might be. (We definitely don't remember the questions from that long ago. So much has happened to all of us (and the world!) since.)
Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 5
Books read from: The Good Ally by Nova Reid, Otros Valles by Jamie Berrout, Out of Time by Samira Azzam, Song of the Dark Wood by Sheila Masterson
Books finished:
Snacks: 1919 root beer, homemade gf vegan sweet potato muffins, Bob's peanut butter bar, bbq Wavy Lays
Thoughts: I try to keep the worldbuilding and character work of my stories in my head because I don't want to spend the time to write it all down when I could spend that time writing the actual text of the stories. I apparently still feel urgent about writing. (Maybe other things, too. Thanks, pandemic!) Hmm, maybe writing it long hand in the interstices of the day could work.
Non-book activities: Visited my nibling at the hospital. Started homework for my writing class on worldbuilding. Watched the last week's Jeopardy episodes on Hulu with my sister, then we found Ken Jenning's streak from 2004 and started watching that. We found the older Jeopardy clues much easier and spent some time speculating why that might be. (We definitely don't remember the questions from that long ago. So much has happened to all of us (and the world!) since.)
Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 5
13nrmay
Sunday afternoon
Pouring rain at the lake cabin but supposed to stop within 20 mins.
Books:
At this moment reading
WOODS RUNNER by Gary Paulsen.
Also
ECHO MOUNTAIN by L Wolk and
THE INNKEEPER’S SONG.
Dining:
simple cabin fare - baked egg atop corned beef hash, raw veggies, cream cheese & jelly sandwich.
Other activity:
I met the girl who runs this lodge 2 yrs ago on postcrossing (my other hobby).
Last night she hosted a postcrossing meetup in the bar & grill, an event to introduce people to postcrossing, write postcards, and share stories and resources. It was a nice turnout for a remote place way up here in northern Wisconsin, both locals and out-of-towners. I first heard about postcrossing from someone here on LT and took to it right away!
And now l think the rain has stopped and the sun is coming out!
Pouring rain at the lake cabin but supposed to stop within 20 mins.
Books:
At this moment reading
WOODS RUNNER by Gary Paulsen.
Also
ECHO MOUNTAIN by L Wolk and
THE INNKEEPER’S SONG.
Dining:
simple cabin fare - baked egg atop corned beef hash, raw veggies, cream cheese & jelly sandwich.
Other activity:
I met the girl who runs this lodge 2 yrs ago on postcrossing (my other hobby).
Last night she hosted a postcrossing meetup in the bar & grill, an event to introduce people to postcrossing, write postcards, and share stories and resources. It was a nice turnout for a remote place way up here in northern Wisconsin, both locals and out-of-towners. I first heard about postcrossing from someone here on LT and took to it right away!
And now l think the rain has stopped and the sun is coming out!
14benitastrnad
Weekend Wrapup
Books read from: My continuous reading book is now Worshipful Lucia by E. F. Benson. My computer book is Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe. I am still working on Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, but both are sitting on the sidelines right now. My main book is An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker. I am listening to Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
Books finished: Mapp and Lucia by E. F. Benson. Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee. Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
Book Thoughts: I finished listening to Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. This is book 4 in the Wayfarer's series. I can't find that there are any more in the series and I am sort of glad. The first two books in the series were very good, but these last two have been very preachey. Even if I find that there are more books in this series I don't think I will read them. I am done with this series. Bored.
Non-Book Activities: I took a day off yesterday and did nothing but read. I had cooked all day on Friday and made a cauliflower, chick pea, and green bean salad. That will last me through the weekend. I will cook a meatloaf tomorrow and hope that lasts a few days. I will be taking some books back to the library and getting the oil changed in the car this afternoon.
Reading Time Today: 1 hours
Time Reading this weekend: 10 hours
Time listening:
Time posting:
Food: going grocery shopping this afternoon.
Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 532
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1646 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon starting in April of 2020.
Books read from: My continuous reading book is now Worshipful Lucia by E. F. Benson. My computer book is Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe. I am still working on Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, but both are sitting on the sidelines right now. My main book is An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker. I am listening to Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
Books finished: Mapp and Lucia by E. F. Benson. Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee. Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
Book Thoughts: I finished listening to Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. This is book 4 in the Wayfarer's series. I can't find that there are any more in the series and I am sort of glad. The first two books in the series were very good, but these last two have been very preachey. Even if I find that there are more books in this series I don't think I will read them. I am done with this series. Bored.
Non-Book Activities: I took a day off yesterday and did nothing but read. I had cooked all day on Friday and made a cauliflower, chick pea, and green bean salad. That will last me through the weekend. I will cook a meatloaf tomorrow and hope that lasts a few days. I will be taking some books back to the library and getting the oil changed in the car this afternoon.
Reading Time Today: 1 hours
Time Reading this weekend: 10 hours
Time listening:
Time posting:
Food: going grocery shopping this afternoon.
Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 532
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1646 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon starting in April of 2020.
15nrmay
Weekend wrap
Books:
Finished WOODS RUNNER and added it to the Little Free Library here at the lodge.
My other print book is THE INNKEEPER’S SONG that l hope to finish and donate before l leave on Wed.
Dining:
Bar & grill is closed on Mon. So l’m eating my cabin stores today - eggs, toast, coffee for breakfast. Apple slices and peanut butter for lunch.
Book activity: ordered books from Thriftbooks, including a copy of GREAT NORTHERN DIVER: THE LOON. This book has beautiful illustrations; I’ve become enamored by the loons on this lake.
Other: My friend took me all around Fisher Lake on a pontoon boat this afternoon; so quiet and beautiful with perfect weather today.
Books:
Finished WOODS RUNNER and added it to the Little Free Library here at the lodge.
My other print book is THE INNKEEPER’S SONG that l hope to finish and donate before l leave on Wed.
Dining:
Bar & grill is closed on Mon. So l’m eating my cabin stores today - eggs, toast, coffee for breakfast. Apple slices and peanut butter for lunch.
Book activity: ordered books from Thriftbooks, including a copy of GREAT NORTHERN DIVER: THE LOON. This book has beautiful illustrations; I’ve become enamored by the loons on this lake.
Other: My friend took me all around Fisher Lake on a pontoon boat this afternoon; so quiet and beautiful with perfect weather today.
16lottpoet
Sunday:
Books read from: The Good Ally by Nova Reid, Otros Valles by Jamie Berrout, Out of Time by Samira Azzam, Song of the Dark Wood by Sheila Masterson
Books finished:
Snacks: 1919 root beer, homemade gf vegan sweet potato muffins, Bob's chocolate chip bar, crock pot pork tenderloin in a wrap (so good, I made a second wrap), homemade gf vegan apple crisp with oat milk ice cream, Yum Earth halloween gummy candy (vampire teeth shapes and bat shapes)
Thoughts: In writing my own (first) novel, I've been having thoughts when reading about what I expect to happen in a novel when. I want the people I will need to care about most to have been solidly introduced by 10% in (preferable, 15% max). At 25% in, I want to start seeing what these people will do to enact some sort of change/difference. At 45% in, I start worrying that the book can't possibly tackle everything satisfactorily in the page count left. Interestingly 45% seems too soon to be expecting that I can see all the parts that will have things come together satisfactorily, but I think I, unfortunately, have read lots of novels that know how to set things up but then do little with that potential. If I love the novel, at 75% in I start mourning the coming end of the novel and feeling nostalgic for a thing I'm still experiencing. At 85% in, I breathe a sigh a relief because we're so close to the end and I start to cut the novel some slack and feel good fellow-feelings about the whole endeavor.
Reading the Masterson novel, I'm realizing how important it is for the writer to keep track of the tasks that have been assigned to characters (or that they have assigned themselves) and being sure to show adequate process. This novel feels like the author lost track of so many important things to the story and the world. Frustrating!
Non-book activities: Joined a writing accountability group on Clarion West Discord and wrote for two thirty minute sessions. Finished and submitted homework for my writing class on worldbuilding.
Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 5
Books read from: The Good Ally by Nova Reid, Otros Valles by Jamie Berrout, Out of Time by Samira Azzam, Song of the Dark Wood by Sheila Masterson
Books finished:
Snacks: 1919 root beer, homemade gf vegan sweet potato muffins, Bob's chocolate chip bar, crock pot pork tenderloin in a wrap (so good, I made a second wrap), homemade gf vegan apple crisp with oat milk ice cream, Yum Earth halloween gummy candy (vampire teeth shapes and bat shapes)
Thoughts: In writing my own (first) novel, I've been having thoughts when reading about what I expect to happen in a novel when. I want the people I will need to care about most to have been solidly introduced by 10% in (preferable, 15% max). At 25% in, I want to start seeing what these people will do to enact some sort of change/difference. At 45% in, I start worrying that the book can't possibly tackle everything satisfactorily in the page count left. Interestingly 45% seems too soon to be expecting that I can see all the parts that will have things come together satisfactorily, but I think I, unfortunately, have read lots of novels that know how to set things up but then do little with that potential. If I love the novel, at 75% in I start mourning the coming end of the novel and feeling nostalgic for a thing I'm still experiencing. At 85% in, I breathe a sigh a relief because we're so close to the end and I start to cut the novel some slack and feel good fellow-feelings about the whole endeavor.
Reading the Masterson novel, I'm realizing how important it is for the writer to keep track of the tasks that have been assigned to characters (or that they have assigned themselves) and being sure to show adequate process. This novel feels like the author lost track of so many important things to the story and the world. Frustrating!
Non-book activities: Joined a writing accountability group on Clarion West Discord and wrote for two thirty minute sessions. Finished and submitted homework for my writing class on worldbuilding.
Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 5
