Social Distancing Readathon #321 - May 15 - 17

Talk75 Books Challenge for 2026

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Social Distancing Readathon #321 - May 15 - 17

1SilverWolf28
May 13, 9:47 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:

2SilverWolf28
May 13, 9:48 pm

I'm posting this a day early because I'm going on a trip this weekend starting tomorrow and I don't know if I'll have wifi till I get back.

3alcottacre
May 13, 9:59 pm

>2 SilverWolf28: Thanks again for hosting, Silver, and have a wonderful time on your trip.

I am in once again!

4ChrisG1
May 14, 11:21 am

I'll be in. Just about to start On the Beach by Nevil Shute, and In the Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland.

5PocheFamily
May 14, 12:58 pm

I’m in, with too many “currently readings”. I’ll spare you the list and we’ll just have to see what actually happens this weekend. The weather forecast has become drier, so the yard will be competing for my energy. I still have bed shaping/clean-up to do, and I’ve only been able to plant two flats of flowers thus far… I’m just back from my favorite garden center with another 3 and the basic tomatoes and herbs. Don’t be too surprised if I’m mostly on audiobooks this weekend!

6PocheFamily
Edited: May 17, 10:53 am

* removed because a duplicate

7Kyler_Marie
May 14, 3:16 pm

It's been a little while since I have participated in a readathon, but excited to jump back in!

8nrmay
May 14, 8:05 pm

I’m in!
Last weekend was pretty much a bust for reading with Mother’s Day and my sis, her husband and 2 cats moving in for a time while they’re having renovations done on their home.
Hoping for more reading progress this weekend.

Current books:
THREE DAYS IN JUNE, Anne Tyler.
I got this at my book exchange meeting this week.
LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD
BORROWED LIFE OF FREDERICK FIFE

Other:
Finished my application for Canadian dual citizenship; ready to send it in this weekend. I think there’s about a 10 month wait at this point.
I don’t anticipate actually moving to Canada but l have strong ties there.
We have been catching up with the OUTLANDER tv series.

9PaulCranswick
May 15, 8:48 pm

I'm in too and busy in finish books mode!

10PocheFamily
May 15, 10:55 pm

Friday progress:

Books read from: Sea and Sardinia
Books finished: Cold Earth

Also saw a coyote run through the “wilds” of our backyard this evening. I haven’t seen any in years, and generally they just pass through and the way we know they’re about is we hear them at night. It was interesting to see the deer scatter - that’s what first caught my attention.

11rhondak101book
May 16, 8:10 am

Saturday Morning Update, South Carolina, USA

Books read from: 4
The Aran Islands by John Millington Synge, Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch, and The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie,

Books completed: 1
The Hangman's Daughter

12benitastrnad
May 16, 10:33 am

I am in for the weekend.

Saturday report
Books read from: Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys. 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 The Rocks by Peter Nichols.

Books finished: Jupiter Myth by Lindsey Davis

Book Thoughts: I finished Jupiter Myth and, as always with a Lindsey Davis book, I enjoyed it a great deal. This time the book was set in Londoninium. I especially liked the author's note at the end of the book in which the author tells the reader the modern-day sites of those ancient buildings and spaces. There were also lots of legal terms in the text that were defined and explained. I was surprised to learn that gladiators had no legal rights. They couldn't testify in court.

Activities: I plan on spending more time with my potting projects, but it is very hot here. Temperatures in the 90's F. Much too hot for this time of year. And no rain. I also have high school graduation parties to attend this weekend. What I really want to do is relax and stay indoors in the air conditioning.

Reading Time Today: 1 hour
Time listening:
Time posting:
Food: I am going retro and revisiting some of the old cold summer salads that I enjoyed in the past. Yesterday I made an old favorite from the 1980s - Chicken Ramen Salad. It has tons of cabbage in it and is very tangy. I like the cool tang of this one.

Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 587
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1780 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon starting in April of 2020.

13alcottacre
May 16, 1:00 pm

I did actually read (a little) yesterday, I am just late reporting in, so here is my Friday reading:

Books read from: The Good, The Bad, and The History by Jodi Taylor (audiobook), Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench with Brendan O’Hea, and Jubilee by Margaret Walker
Books finished: 1, Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent
Time reading: ~1.9 hours + listening to audiobook

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: ~1.9 hours + listening to audiobook

14nrmay
May 16, 2:13 pm

Sat. afternoon

Books:
Finished THREE DAYS IN JUNE late last night.
New ebook is THE BORROWED LIFE OF FREDERICK FIFE
Also starting BUCKSKIN RUN, a story collection by L. L’Amour, and
ADAM OF THE ROAD, a Newbery Medal winner.

Lunch was leftover meatballs my brother-in-law made. We are sharing the cooking while they are staying with us for several weeks.

Other:
Sending postcrossing cards. I’m pleased about the new USPS global postcrossing stamp. 🙂
Bingeing on the OUTLANDER tv series in the evenings.
My application for dual Canadian citizenship is ready to send off! I had 6 generations of ancestors who lived in Canada, starting with a British Tory who fled there from NY at the time of the Revolutionary War.

Sunny and breezy. 82F/28C
Very dry, need rain.

15ChrisG1
May 16, 10:24 pm

Saturday evening:

Finished On the Beach & about to begin All the Pretty Horses. Will continue on with In the Shadow of the Sword. Went to an estate sale & found 3 hardback copies in nice condition of Larry McMurtry novels to add to my collection: Texasville, Some Can Whistle, and Anything For Billy. Also got a nice copy of John DosPassos' USA trilogy (in one volume) and Isaacson's Einstein.

16alcottacre
May 17, 12:34 am

Saturday Synopsis:

Books read from: The Good, The Bad, and The History by Jodi Taylor (audiobook), Jubilee by Margaret Walker, Writing as Resistance by Rachel Feldhay Brenner, The Poet Empress by Shen Tao, and Never and Forever by Cressida Cowell
Books finished: 0
Time reading: 3.1 hours + listening to audiobook

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 6
Total time reading: ~5.0 hours + listening to audiobook

17rhondak101book
May 17, 7:02 am

Sunday Morning Update, South Carolina, USA

Books read from: 5
The Aran Islands by John Millington Synge, Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch, The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie, and The Secret of the Golden Pavilion (Nancy Drew) by Carolyn Keene

Books completed: 2
The Hangman's Daughter
The Aran Islands

18PocheFamily
May 17, 11:20 am

Brief Sunday morning update:

Books read from:
- The Windsor Knot
- Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
- The Antidote
- Pachinko

Books completed:
- The Sea and Sardinia

Expect to spend my reading time today finishing The Windsor Knot and with Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out. Still out in the garden, but today it's weeding/watering. Whew! and sweating!! Temps will plummet mid-week - will I be in wool socks and nursing a small sunburn?! The Husky is unhappy...

19alcottacre
Edited: May 18, 5:02 am

Sunday Summary:

Books read from: The Good, The Bad, and The History by Jodi Taylor (audiobook) and Never and Forever by Cressida Cowell
Books finished: 1, Never and Forever
Time reading: 49 whole minutes + listening to audiobook

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 6
Total time reading: ~6.0 hours + listening to audiobook

20rhondak101book
May 18, 5:45 am

Monday Morning Update, South Carolina, USA

Books read from:: 5
The Aran Islands by John Millington Synge, Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch, The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie, and The Secret of the Golden Pavilion (Nancy Drew) by Carolyn Keene

Books completed: 4
The Hangman's Daughter
The Aran Islands
Sea of Poppies
The Secret of the Golden Pavilion

Reviews Written: 4

21benitastrnad
May 18, 10:05 am

>20 rhondak101book: & >18 PocheFamily:
WOW! There are so many good books being read by people on this thread. I loved Pachinko and Sea of Poppies when I read them. I have Hangman's Daughter and Aran Islands in my collection of TBR books as well. I remember reading Adam of the Road and On the Beach many years ago. I am glad to see that they are still being read.

22benitastrnad
May 18, 10:23 am

Weekend Wrap-Up from Kansas USA
Books read from: Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys. 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 The Rocks by Peter Nichols.

Books finished: Jupiter Myth by Lindsey Davis

Book Thoughts: My reading time this weekend was spent with Fountains of Silence. I have read a couple of Ruta Sepetys books previously and have long had this one in my reading sights. It is the June book selection for my Zoom book club, and I needed to get started on it since it is 500 pages in length. I needn't have worried about the length because the book reads easy. It is written for YA and my local library had it in their collection with an AR (Accelerated Reading) level and point value on the cover. The reading level of the book is rated at 4.5. This is 4th to 5th grade reading level. For me that means it is easy reading, so in a weekend I have read 300 pages. I like the story and have to applaud the author for finding a way to write about the dictatorship of Franco in Spain and making it interesting for YA's. There is a hint of danger and romantic entanglements that carry the story along. For me there is a bit too much melodrama, but it is very well-done book and a relaxing read. My reading time was cut short both Saturday and Sunday due to electrical outages. On Saturday night the electricity went off at 11:00 pm and didn't come back on until 7:30 am on Sunday morning. On Sunday night the electricity went off at 8:30 pm and came back on about 2:30 am. The outage of Saturday was due to trees falling on a transformer and I suspect that the outage on Sunday will be attributed to the same thing.

Activities: I have most of my current plants potted and I think I will make a trip into town to get my eggplant and herbs to plant. I also hope to pick up some more begonias and a few more filler plants for the pots I have already got planted.

Reading Time Today: (on Sunday) 3 hours
Time listening:
Time posting:
Food: My Chicken Ramen salad turned out to be very tasty and that is a good thing because I will be eating it for the next week or so. There was lots of it made and a good amount of it eaten at the Community Game night on Friday evening, but there is still a good quantity of it left-over.

Total books finished since the Read-A-Thon Began: 587
Total Time Reading since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 1783 hours since I started doing the weekend Read-A-Thon starting in April of 2020.

23PocheFamily
May 18, 1:42 pm

Monday's weekend wrap-up:

Books read from:
- The Antidote
- Pachinko
- Life and Death are Wearing Me Out
- The Magician

Books completed:
- Cold Earth
- The Sea and Sardinia
- The Windsor Knot
- Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Okay, my problem right now is that I have so many really enjoyable reads that I find myself paying special attention right now to the books on Physics so that I can better understand how my mind is using quantum physics to jump from the Dust Bowl to Japanese occupied Korea to young Communist China to 1900-ish Germany to the Shetlands to 1921 Sardinia to 1990s Windsor Castle ... without being noticeably any wiser, just very, very contented. I guess it has to do with both being here and not here (okay, I must be absorbing SOME-thing if I'm willing to risk a Schrodinger's cat joke). Yes, it was a good reading weekend but I'm afraid I didn't track anything beyond the titles.

Oh, and I made the Chicken Ramen salad - delish! And fast ... thank you for mentioning it @benitastrnad. Also envious over those McMurtry finds ... placed the Aran Islands on the wishlist (my GGGfather was RIC there for a few years before the turn of the century, according to family legend).

24ChrisG1
May 18, 6:17 pm

Weekend summary:

Books read from: On the Beach by Nevil Shute, In the Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland, All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Books finished: On the Beach
Pages read: 400-ish

25Kyler_Marie
Edited: May 19, 3:33 pm

My summary of the weekend:

Book read from: Norwegian Wood
Books finished: None yet, but almost done!
Pages read: 150ish
Non-book activities: Went to a conference in Vancouver, WA on Friday, spent time with my friend (and went book shopping!) on Saturday, and worked on a house project on Sunday.

I expected to read more over the weekend but activities got in the way.

26SilverWolf28
May 21, 9:10 pm

Here's the Memorial Day readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/384526