Social Distancing Readathon #311 - March 6 - 8

Talk75 Books Challenge for 2026

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Social Distancing Readathon #311 - March 6 - 8

1SilverWolf28
Mar 5, 9:04 pm

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

2cbl_tn
Mar 5, 9:38 pm

I'm in. I have a book I need to finish for a book club meeting on Sunday night.

3nrmay
Mar 5, 9:47 pm

I’m in. Thanks, Silver!

I’m reading
FUZZY SAPIENS, sequel to sci fi classic LITTLE FUZZY, and
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY?

4JayneCM
Mar 5, 10:17 pm

I'm in.
I have 3 500+ books to read in March, plus Les Miserables on the go. So I have lots of reading to get done.
Currently halfway through The Nurses War, then move onto a shorter one, Iqbal.
I'll see what else I have time for!

5alcottacre
Mar 5, 10:48 pm

I am in again! Thanks for hosting once again, Silver!

6nrmay
Mar 5, 11:01 pm

>4 JayneCM:
Oh, l remember IQBAL - a very moving story.

7JayneCM
Mar 6, 1:23 am

>6 nrmay: I can imagine it will be.

5.18pm on Friday in country Victoria, Australia

Currently up to page 368/577 of The Nurses War so should finish that tonight. Whenever I read anything about hospitals in the wars, the sheer waste of human life and potential is just overwhelming. I am not sure which is worse - the poor boys with permanent injuries who are shipped home or the terror felt by the ones who recovered sufficiently to be able to return to the battlefield. I cannot imagine facing the horror of knowing what you will be returning to.

8ReneeMarie
Mar 6, 5:09 am

>4 JayneCM: I first read this as "3,500+ books to read in March" -- what a goal.

9ReneeMarie
Mar 6, 5:12 am

>3 nrmay: I read Little Fuzzy back around junior high or high school and loved it!

10JayneCM
Mar 6, 5:48 am

>8 ReneeMarie: That could also be a goal! I know have 2000+ books in my house! :)

11benitastrnad
Mar 6, 10:37 am

I am in again and hope to have a quiet weekend devoted to reading, and baking cookies.

12PocheFamily
Mar 6, 11:55 am

I'm keeping up with the thread, but only getting a very limited amount of reading done at the moment. May get a couple hours today or tomorrow, but unlikely to get any on Sunday unfortunately. I'm still reading the same books as last weekend, too - that's the snail's pace I'm at! But I enjoy reading about others' reads and Read-a-Thon adventures even if not contributing much ... enjoy everyone!

13ChrisG1
Mar 6, 12:15 pm

I'm in again - currently reading The Hope by Herman Wouk.

14avatiakh
Mar 6, 4:50 pm

I'm in again too. Kerry from Auckland, New Zealand

10.44am Saturday
Books read from: Heliopolis by James Scudmore, Ephemera by Tina Shaw, The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Barbara Vine
Books finished: 0

Snacks: falafel pita, cafe latte
Thoughts: crisp autumn feel to the day. Must get to the library again.
Non-book activities: Morning visit to Carmel Israeli Bakery in the CBD

Total books finished: 0

Probably won't finish any this weekend at my current sluggish reading pace.

15benitastrnad
Mar 6, 11:52 pm

Friday Startup
Books read from: Bending the Law: The Story of the Dalkon Shield Bankruptcy by Richard B. Sobol. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy. My Venice and Other Essays by Donna Leon. My continuous reading book is still Katharine Graham's Washington by Katharine Graham. My computer book is Walking It Off by Doug Peacock. I am listening to Last Chairlift by John Irving and Dutch House by Ann Patchett. The Rocks by Peter Nichols is now on the backburner.

Books finished: Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy

Book Thoughts: It was a weird gloomy day and after all the running around I did this morning I spent the afternoon with books. I finished Code Girls and liked it so much I already put it on my Best of 2026 list. I can't believe that I have put three books on my Best of list already this year. It is certainly shaping up to be a good reading year. Code Girls was very well done. There was a great deal in there about the culture of the times and that just added to the pleasure of reading it. I read it for my real life book discussion group and I am sure that we will have a great discussion about it on Sunday.

Activities: Had a meeting at work today and then had to go to town to get the oil changed in the car. Wrote a couple of birthday cards and got them ready to mail tomorrow. I need to do a bit of cooking, so will have to get a grocery list together for tomorrow.

Reading Time Today: 2 hours
Time listening:
Time posting:
Food: tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, and left over Indian food for supper.

Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 570
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1737 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon starting in April of 2020.

16Dejah_Thoris
Mar 7, 8:33 am

Saturday morning, around 8:30 am - Georgia, USA

Weather: It's overcast, but we should have sunshine later. It's going to a bit unseasonably warm today; the high is predicted to be 83°.

Books read from: The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross; Under the Surface by N. R. Walker; The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis; Hamnet (Modern Plays) by Maggie O'Farrell, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti
Books finished: The Jennifer Morgue; Under the Surface

Thoughts: I have a rare weekend where I'm off both Saturday and Sunday, so I'm hoping to make substantial progress on my TIOLI Challenge books.

Total read from: 4 - The Jennifer Morgue; Under the Surface; The Iron Hand of Mars; Hamnet (Modern Plays)
Total books finished: 2 - The Jennifer Morgue; Under the Surface

17ChrisG1
Mar 7, 12:48 pm

Saturday morning, 9:45am Portland, OR

Finished The Hope last night & went straight into Pedro Paramo, just a short novella & just finished that. Going to start The Overlook next.

I've been in bachelor mode this week, as my wife is visiting her sister in Tulsa, OK this week. She had the excitement of a tornado coming through the area yesterday, but it didn't come too close to them, thankfully. Going to watch my grandson perform in a production of Footloose at the high school tonight.

18cbl_tn
Mar 7, 2:08 pm

Saturday afternoon update:

Books read from: The Darkness, Daughter of Daring, Agatha Christie: A Life in Theatre, Travels with Charley in Search of America
Books finished: The Darkness
Snacks: Lunch was chicken tenders, fries, and iced tea from Freddy's
Thoughts: I would like spring before summer, thanks!
Non-book activities: It's been a busy day so far. I put supper in the Crockpot first thing, then took trash to the dump, washed the car, got my nails done, walked Wally, called by brother, took Wally to his grooming appointment, and now I'm meeting a friend to help her with her research.

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 4

I need to finish Daughter of Daring for a book club meeting tomorrow night. I got distracted last night researching the subject of the book's family tree on FamilySearch because the author hadn't bothered.

19cbl_tn
Edited: Mar 7, 2:09 pm

Duplicate post. Sorry!

20avatiakh
Mar 7, 10:59 pm

Auckland, New Zealand

5pm Sunday
Books read from: Heliopolis by James Scudmore, Ephemera by Tina Shaw, The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Barbara Vine, Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 1 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Books finished: 1 Ephemera by Tina Shaw

Snacks: spinach feta pie, cafe latte
Thoughts: Enjoying the vibe from Tina Shaw's book
Non-book activities: Lots of food prep, making moussaka, lots of dips & rice soup.

Total books finished: 1 Ephemera

I ended up chugging through Ephemera, a dystopian river journey on the Waikato. I grew up on a farm beside this river so know it well. Shaw's inspiration was Conrad's Heart of Darkness and I think she did a good job in the end.

21benitastrnad
Mar 7, 11:01 pm

Saturday report
Books read from: Bending the Law: The Story of the Dalkon Shield Bankruptcy by Richard B. Sobol. My Venice and Other Essays by Donna Leon. My continuous reading book is still Katharine Graham's Washington by Katharine Graham. My computer book is Walking It Off by Doug Peacock. I am listening to Last Chairlift by John Irving. The Rocks by Peter Nichols is now on the backburner.

Books finished: Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy

Book Thoughts: I got little reading done today. It was busy at the Post Office. Then I had a DKG meeting that I enjoyed, but didn't get home until 2:00 PM. No time for reading today. Will read before going to bed.

Activities: Work first thing this morning and it was busy. I think that people that could have mailed stuff yesterday saved it for today. Then, I had a DKG (Delta Kappa Gamma) meeting that was great fun, but when I got home I was tired and had a bit of housework to do. I did get the groceries today and will do some of the cooking tomorrow after the book discussion meeting on Zoom.

Reading Time Today: 1 hours
Time listening:
Time posting:
Food: had a great burger for lunch and left over Indian food for supper.

Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 570
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1738 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon starting in April of 2020.

22nrmay
Mar 8, 9:03 am

>9 ReneeMarie:
I discovered LITTLE FUZZY when l read FUZZY NATION by John Scalzi, in which he retells the story of LITTLE FUZZY. I liked it so much, l then found the original by Piper and read that too. Now l’m about 1/3 way through the sequel, FUZZY SAPIENS.

23nrmay
Mar 8, 9:23 am

Sunday morning

Books:
finished
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY?
still reading
FUZZY SAPIENS, (sci fi) for the LT green challenge.

Sat. night dinner:
l made chicken and noodles, my sister’s favorite comfort food, and took it over to her house. She’s recovering from back surgery and doing fairly well.

Other:
Reading some this weekend while getting on with other things. Friday l caught up with Postcrossing. Saturday l was cooking.
The porch project is just about done after several months. I’m on the new sun porch right now with the door open, enjoying the exuberant birdsong!

Cloudy, breezy and mild.
67F/20C

24ReneeMarie
Mar 8, 12:22 pm

>22 nrmay: I might have to try Scalzi's remake. But not before rereading Piper's Little Fuzzy. I haven't read Scalzi yet, but a couple of his other books are on my radar.

25ReneeMarie
Edited: Mar 8, 12:30 pm

>21 benitastrnad: If women and war interest you and you haven't read it yet, you may also want to look at The Hello Girls by Elizabeth Cobbs. It's about the first women to go overseas when the US was in WWI. They were women who knew English & French and how to operate telephone switchboards. And I'm fairly certain Jennifer Chiaverini read it as research for her novel Switchboard Soldiers.

26Dejah_Thoris
Mar 8, 12:38 pm

Sunday, not long after noon - Georgia, USA

Weather: Overcast, again, with rain likely later. Actually, I think the rain just started. We've almost reached our projected high of 73°.

Books read from: The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis; Hamnet (Modern Plays) by Maggie O'Farrell, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti; A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao; Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian; Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik; Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South by Jon C. Stott; Agatha Christie: A Life in the Theatre by Julius Green
Books finished: The Iron Hand of Mars; Hamnet (Modern Plays); A Disappearance in Fiji; Star Shipped

Thoughts: The two short stories I've read from Buried Deep and Other Stories have been excellent, but as I dislike reading short story collections straight through, this one may take a while. Agatha Christie: A Life in the Theatre is also going to be a longer project. It's not a short book and it's very dense reading, but I'm not in a hurry to finish it. Aslong as I have it done by the end of the moth so I have the shared read with Carrie, I'll be happy.

Total read from: 9 - The Jennifer Morgue; Under the Surface; The Iron Hand of Mars; Hamnet (Modern Plays); A Disappearance in Fiji; Star Shipped; Buried Deep and Other Stories; Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South; Agatha Christie: A Life in the Theatre
Total books finished: 6 - The Jennifer Morgue; Under the Surface; The Iron Hand of Mars; Hamnet (Modern Plays); A Disappearance in Fiji; Star Shipped

27cbl_tn
Mar 8, 6:28 pm

Sunday evening update:

Books read from: Travels with Charley in Search of America, Daughter of Daring
Books finished: Daughter of Daring
Snacks: Supper was hummus and chips, granola
Thoughts: I miss the hour of sleep I lost last night, but I love that it's still daylight now!
Non-book activities: Church, lunch with a friend

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 4

28benitastrnad
Mar 8, 6:34 pm

Sunday Checkin
Books read from: Bending the Law: The Story of the Dalkon Shield Bankruptcy by Richard B. Sobol. My Venice and Other Essays by Donna Leon. My continuous reading book is still Katharine Graham's Washington by Katharine Graham. My computer book is Walking It Off by Doug Peacock. I am listening to Last Chairlift by John Irving. The Rocks by Peter Nichols is now on the backburner.

Books finished: Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy

Book Thoughts: I started reading the YA version of Code Girls and have read enough to know that it is not the same book. It is most definitatly a YA book. Wide margins, wide spacing between lines, pictures in the text instead of all in one batch in the middle of the book. Chapter titles are the same but the content has been changed. I am not going to devote a great deal of time to reading this book, but I do want to see what is changed between the two versions of the same story. I guess that is the old school teacher in me showing through.

Activities: Had our book discussion and we only had four people attend this time. We did have a good discussion, but one person thought the book Code Girls was dull and was disappointed because she had really liked The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by the same author.

Reading Time Today: 1 hours
Time listening:
Time posting:
Food: tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich

Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 570
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1739 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon starting in April of 2020.

29Dejah_Thoris
Mar 8, 9:00 pm

Sunday evening update - Georgia, USA

Books read from: Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik; Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South by Jon C. Stott; Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
Books finished: none

Thoughts: Ugh. I'm tired and headachy - I think I'm going to bed early. My thanks to everyone for sharing their reading!

Total read from: 10 - The Jennifer Morgue; Under the Surface; The Iron Hand of Mars; Hamnet (Modern Plays); A Disappearance in Fiji; Star Shipped; Buried Deep and Other Stories; Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South; Agatha Christie: A Life in the Theatre; Winter Solstice
Total books finished: 6 - The Jennifer Morgue; Under the Surface; The Iron Hand of Mars; Hamnet (Modern Plays); A Disappearance in Fiji; Star Shipped

30ChrisG1
Mar 8, 10:56 pm

Weekend Summary:

Books read from: The Hope by Herman Wouk, Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, The Overlook by Michael Connelly, Timelike Infinity by Stephen Baxter
Books finished: The Hope, Pedro Paramo, and The Overlook
Pages read: 600-ish

Finally got my wife back from her trip to visit her sister late last night. Went straight to the airport after watching my grandson perform in his high school production of Footloose. Enjoyable show & fun to see him try something new - no major part, just in the chorus, but he is loving the experience.

31PocheFamily
Mar 9, 12:53 pm

Finished Power & Empire, a novel with characters originally developed by Tom Clancy but written by someone else. It kept me entertained while driving all over this no-longer-frozen earth this weekend, so I shouldn't bash it. I like things actually written by Tom Clancy, less so those who borrow his characters for other stories.

Read: (listened) for about 6-8h, didn't have time for any physical reading with my eyeballs beyond the news.

32SilverWolf28
Mar 12, 9:45 pm

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/379488