Social Distancing Readathon #317 - April 17 - 19

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 am in again! Thanks for hosting, Silver!

Thank you, Silver.
I’m still reading in California.
This is the weekend we’re staying with the little girls while their parents have a get-away. There will be many kid oriented events.

Presently reading
WE BEGIN AT THE END
and
THE NIGHT WAR

For my weekend: The Ballad of Tom Dooley, The Murders in Praed Street, and maybe more stories from Grails: Quests of the Dawn.
I have a short article on Michael Chabon due in a couple of weeks, so I need to work on it more this weekend.

I will be participating again this weekend. I will be doing some traveling but will still be reading... and listening.

I'm in again - currently reading Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb.

I'm in, after skipping last weekend while I was down with upper respiratory virus. Uck.

I'm currently reading from two books, one fiction, one nonfiction. The fiction book is Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea, which was inspired by his mother's service in WWII as a Donut Dolly. It keeps reminding me of Frances Parkinson Keyes' Came a Cavalier, although they really don't have that much in common. Maybe it's time for a Came a Cavalier reread.

My nonfiction book is True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Summit of Annapurna by David Roberts. A team of French mountaineers was the first successful expedition to summit an 8000 meter (or more) peak in 1950, when they climbed Annapurna 1. The team leader, Maurice Herzog wrote what remains the best selling mountaineering book of all time Annapurna, about the expedition. It makes for interesting reading, but struck me as incredibly self-serving. Roberts' book looks at Herzog's Annapurna along with other materials (diaries, etc.) to take another look at the trip.

In but visiting family & friend in Ohio this weekend after a quick trip through Virginia, so not sure that my completion stats will match my desires.

My son had us listen to The Trials of Apollo as we started our trip, so now I hope to finish that - but probably not till Monday on the drive back home.

Also starting Life and Death are Wearing Me Out, as a friend wants to talk about it with me. Should be an interesting discussion as we’re reading it in different languages. It’s going to take me a while to get through- just hope to make a healthy start this weekend.

Enjoy your reads, everyone!

Friday Night:

Books read from: The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard (audiobook), The Feather Wars by James H. McCommons, Mythos by Stephen Fry, The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard, When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen, and March by Geraldine Brooks
Books finished: 1, Mythos
Time reading: 3 hours + listening to audiobook

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 6
Total time reading: 3 hours + listening to audiobook

Update from Friday night:

Books read from: My Name Is Leon, Replaceable You
Books finished:
Snacks: strawberries, cashews, and yogurt, garlic knots
Thoughts: I need to finish Replaceable You this weekend. My Libby loan will expire in 2 days and I can't renew it.
Non-book activities: Zoom chat with genealogy friends

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 2

I have a lot on my agenda today, but shoud still have some reading time. I need to take trash to the dump, wash the car, do at least a couple of loads of laundry, do some cleaning, take Wally to the groomer, take myself to the nail salon, and cook. I'm tired already!

I'm also participating in Dewey's 24 hour Readathon today, so I'll be updating through the day.

Friday

Media read from:

Feral Darkness,by Doranna Durgin 74 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 80 minutes
One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This by Omar El Akkad 10 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 164 minutes

7:00am - 10:00am

Books
Audio: One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This by Omar El Akkad 24 minutes
Audio: Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens 54 minutes
Ebook: Dragon Reborn, by Robert Jordan 20 minutes

Activities
Making gumbo while eating breakfast
Read in tub
Make Dad oatmeal and his bed

Food
Salad

10:00am - 1pm

Books
Audiobook: Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens 67 minutes
Dragon Reborn, by Robert Jordan 11 minutes
Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin 34 minutes
Audiobook: Feral Darkness, by Doranna Durgin 9 minutes
Activities
Laundry

Saturday Afternoon Update, South Carolina, USA

Books read from: 4 Sharyn McCrumb, The Ballad of Tom Dooley, Grails: Quests of the Dawn, an anthology edited by Richard Gilliam, Martin E. Greenberg, and Edward E. Kramer, Lingo by Gaston Dorren, and The Murders in Praed Street by John Rhode

Books completed: 1 Sharyn McCrumb, The Ballad of Tom Dooley

Reviews Written: 1

1pm - 4pm

Books
Feral Darkness, by Doranna Durgin 83 minutes
Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem 55 minutes

Activities
Driving for a Target pickup order
Cooking
Clean the Kitchen

Saturday afternoon

Book:
WE BEGIN AT THE END
About a third way through; making slow progress.

Lunch:
Pizza after 2nd softball game of the day.

Other activity:
I made pancakes for breakfast.
2 ballgames.
Girls are now making brownies in the kitchen. I can’t bear to look…
Next up - roller skating.

Mostly sunny, 71F/21C
on the San Francisco Bay.

Sorry, dup

Friday:

Books read from: Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie, a re-read; Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson; Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
Books finished: Sweetness in the Skin, Dreaming of You
Snacks: peanut butter Bob's bar, quesadilla, lemonade, blackberry Izze
Non-book activities: went to a former co-worker's retirement party and got the scuttlebut on my former workplace, cleaned the bathroom, started cleaning my room (dusting, washing the window), unloaded the dishwasher

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 3

7pm - 10pm

Books
Ebook: Dragon Reborn, by Robert Jordan 23 minutes

Food
Gumbo

Saturday Night:

Books read from: The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard (audiobook), The Feather Wars by James H. McCommons, The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard, When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen, and March by Geraldine Brooks
Books finished: 2, When the Cranes Fly South and March
Time reading: 1.55 hours + listening to audiobook

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 6
Total time reading: 4.55 hours + listening to audiobook

Today turned out to be more of a board gaming day than a reading day. . .

Sunday Morning Update, South Carolina, USA

Books read from: 5 Sharyn McCrumb, The Ballad of Tom Dooley, Grails: Quests of the Dawn, an anthology edited by Richard Gilliam, Martin E. Greenberg, and Edward E. Kramer, Lingo by Gaston Dorren, The Murders in Praed Street by John Rhode, and Gaslit Horror edited by Hugh Lamb

Books completed: 2 Sharyn McCrumb, The Ballad of Tom Dooley; John Rhode, The Murders in Praed Street
Reviews Written: 2

Saturday:

Books read from: Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie, a re-read; Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon; Yours, Eventually by Nura Maznavi; What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To by Mary Lucia
Books finished: 0
Snacks: Bobo's PB&J round, turkey sandwich, caffeine-free coke, jellybeans, gf double stuf Oreos, baked potato
Non-book activities: picked up my prescription, ordered groceries to be delivered, watched Jeopardy, played Knitten on my phone

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 6

Sunday evening - Georgia, USA

Thoughts: I didn't do a very good job of posting this weekend - I'm still not feeling very well, so although I worked Saturday, I still got plenty of reading time. I read an odd combination of literary fiction, lighter, fluffier fiction, and nonfiction. I managed to write a review of one of the books.

Total read from: 7 - Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea; My Kind of Guy by Sarina Bowen; Petty Treasons by Victoria Goddard; Fresh Ice by Riley Bauer; True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna by David Roberts; And If I Perish: Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II by Evelyn Monahan & Rosemary Neidle-Greenlee; Hide Nor Hare by Alice La Roux
Total books finished: 5 - Good Night, Irene; My Kind of Guy; Petty Treasons; Fresh Ice; True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna

Monday Morning Update, South Carolina, USA

Books read from: 6 Sharyn McCrumb, The Ballad of Tom Dooley, Grails: Quests of the Dawn, an anthology edited by Richard Gilliam, Martin E. Greenberg, and Edward E. Kramer, Lingo by Gaston Dorren, The Murders in Praed Street by John Rhode, Gaslit Horror edited by Hugh Lamb, and The Paddington Murders by John Rhode

Books completed: 2 Sharyn McCrumb, The Ballad of Tom Dooley; John Rhode, The Murders in Praed Street
Reviews Written: 2
Short Story Responses Written: 2
Other Writing Activities: I think I might have figured out the beginning of my encyclopedia article on Michael Chabon. I read intermittently some of his short fiction and non-fiction, not really counting that as reading for the weekend.

Weekend Summary:

Books read from: Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb, Your Detroit Tigers: The Great, The Good, The Top 400 by Tom Gage, Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.
Books completed: Ship of Magic
Pages read: 450-ish

Non-reading activities: Got a new Blackstone griddle grill, seasoned it up & made some delicious burgers to break it in - yum.

Sunday:

Books read from: Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie, a re-read; Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon; Yours, Eventually by Nura Maznavi; What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To by Mary Lucia; The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Books finished: Ancillary Mercy
Snacks: peanut butter Bob's bar, turkey sandwich, caffeine-free coke, jellybeans, gf double stuf Oreos, baked potato
Non-book activities: wrote with my writing group, played Knitten on my phone

Total books finished: 3
Total read from: 7

I read a grand total of 45 minutes or so yesterday. *sigh* I was just exhausted - I am really hoping it is not my CFS kicking in - and was in bed by 7:30pm.

Weekend wrap

I read some, but not much, on Sunday.
Now half-way through
WE BEGIN AT THE END

Other Sunday activity:
Up and out the door early to be at play field by 8am.
3 softball games, 1 basketball game, toy store visit for birthday gift, then on to the the BD party at a bounce house party place. These kids are definitely over-scheduled.
Parents have returned and we fly home tonight. I miss my cats and my sister!

Readathon wrapup:

Books read from: My Name Is Leon, Replaceable You, First Lie Wins
Books finished: My Name Is Leon, Replaceable You
Thoughts: My main goal was to finish Replaceable You before my non-renewable Libby loan expired, and I did it!
Non-book activities: It was a busy weekend. Saturday I took the trash to the dump, washed the car, weeded part of the flower bed at the entrance to our community, took Wally to his grooming appointment and went to my nail appointment while he was at the groomers, did laundry, and watched Banana Ball. Sunday I went to church, then went to see The Hiding Place drama at a local university. The Hiding Place is one of my favorite books so I am a tough critic for an adaptation. It passed with flying colors - both the adaptation and the performance were so, so good.

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 3

Weeked Wrapup
Books read from: Bending the Law: The Story of the Dalkon Shield Bankruptcy by Richard B. Sobol. I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong. Last Murder At the End of the World by Stuart Turton. Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo. My continuous reading book is still Katharine Graham's Washington by Katharine Graham. My computer book is Walking It Off by Doug Peacock. I finally finished listening to Last Chairlift by John Irving.

Books finished: Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo. Last Chairlift by John Irving

Book Thoughts: Into the Riverlands is book 3 in the Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo and it is another great novella by tordotcom. It continues with the adventures of the cleric Chih and her hoopoe, Almost Brilliant. In this episode of their adventures the cleric spends a memorable week traveling with angels unawares and gets involved in combat with the White Hand marauders. These are fun mind candy reading, and I have requested the last two books in the series through ILL and will read them as soon as they come into the library. I also finished reading/listening to Last Chairlift by John Irving. I thought I would give Irving's newest tome a try and checked out the recorded book from the library. Like many famous authors new works, this one needed an editor that would stand up to the author and cut, cut, cut. There was no reason for this totally boring book to be 912 pages. The first third of the book was good. The last third of the book was ok, but the middle part of the book was Irving's writing about his usual obsessions: script writing, homosexuality, sex, sexual organs, hand size, menstruation, and living in Vermont. I rated the book 1 1/2 stars. The only reason I stuck it out to the end, was that the sidekick characters were so interesting and I was simply more stubborn than the author in my determination to outlast him. Others shouldn't bother with reading this worthless tome, that I think was intended to be autobiographical fiction.

Activities: I made a quick weekend trip to Lawrence, KS to see friends and had a wonderful spring day to make the drive on Saturday. We had a great time together. I spent the night and we had breakfast the next morning and talked until 4 PM when I left to come back to Munden. It was the kind of refreshing and reaffirming weekend that we need sometimes. I didn't get much reading done on Saturday and Sunday, but the trip was worth it.

Reading Time Today: 4 hours
Time listening:
Time posting:
Food: leftover soup and banana bread

Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 580
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1778 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon starting in April of 2020.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/383891