April 9, 2011: It's time for another readathon! Come join me here as I post my progress and reading challenges. If you would like to leave a comment, please do so on the post on the main page.9:30 AM: Introduction
1)Where are you reading from today? East Tennessee
2)Three random facts about me…: I love peanut M&M's, I want to learn to play the guitar, my favorite hobby is scrapbooking.
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? 8-10
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? 16 hours, 750 pages
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Just have fun and don't try to do it all!
11:15 AM - I have read 100 pages so far - a slow start but I had to take two of my kids somewhere so I lost some time. I did listen to an audiobook while driving, however, so I'll try to add some pages to my total later when I figure out how many to add.
I am in the middle of The Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey. Her first book was The Yellow House which I reviewed last year.
12:15 PM - Plugging right along...... I just entered a mini challenge to name your favorite classic. My answer? I would say The Count of Monte Cristo, but Les Miserables is a close second. Both great books with godly messages.
Lunch time! Be back soon........
3:45 PM - I waited until now to post again because hubby was asleep next to the computer and I could tell I was bothering him.
The mini challenge for this hour was to recommend books for book groups. Here's my list:
Little Bee – Chris Cleave
So Cold the River – Michael Koryta
City of Veils – Zoe Ferraris
Sarah’s Key – Tatiana de Rosnay
Room – Emma Donoghue
I finished one book (The Linen Queen) and I'm now starting Push by Sapphire (the book that the movie Precious is based on). It's small, so I think I'll finish it quickly. We'll see. I'm getting some distractions, but I'm pressing on.
Almost 300 pages read so far.....
7:30 PM - Well, you see, I was reading and reading until I couldn't keep from dozing, so I decided to take a "little" nap (I slept for 1 1/2 hours!). I feel better now, and I have eaten supper, so I am ready to read some more.
I have now read over 400 pages.
The mini challenge for this hour is a mid-event survey:
1. What are you reading right now? The Corruptible by Mark Mynheir
2. How many books have you read so far? One completely, half of another, one I could not finish, and a chapter of a fourth.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? If I finish The Corruptible, I will start reading Jodi Picoult's Sing You Home. Not sure if I'll like it, but I have wanted to read it ever since I first heard about it.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Yes, I had to get off from work.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? A few, but my family knows I am doing this and they are pretty understandable about it. I did have to take time out this morning to take two of my children somewhere.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How sleepy I am. I have done this readathon before, and I was not as tired. But maybe that's because I didn't get much sleep last night.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Can't think of any.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Get more sleep ahead of time!
9. Are you getting tired yet? YES!
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Move around, reading in different places. Read in different ways, such as ereading, audio reading, and reading out loud (to yourself or someone else!).
Back to the books.........
9:30 PM - Mini Challenge: share your reading habits. Here are some of mine:
Habit 1: I read in bed every night before going to sleep.
Habit 2: I love to read in different places. I take a book with me wherever I go. One of my favorite places is my hammock in my front yard!
Habit 3: I usually have a snack while I'm eating (Hmmmm..... I need to be careful of that!)
Habit 4: After I read a book, it usually looks exactly like it did when I picked it up. If it is a new book, it still looks new when I am finished with it!
Habit 5: I read more than one book at a time - usually at least 3!
11:00 PM (one more hour for me!) - Mini Challenge: Book Sentence
I made a sentence out of book titles on books I have in my house:
http://seizethebookblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/readathon-mini-challenge-book-sentence.html
I have read almost 500 pages (too many interruptions in the last few hours).
12:00 AM - Okay, readathon is now over for me! I have church in the morning, so I'm heading off to bed now. I had fun!
I read 432 pages plus a few chapters on audio. Didn't reach my goal of 750, but that's all right. I had a good time!
Good night!
April 10, 2010: Whoops! I forgot about this page until after I posted my first two hours on my blog. I'll post here from now on today. This is my first read-a-thon, so I'm not sure what this will look like, but I hope to enjoy the process!
Hour 3:
Favorite Female Character in a book: Hadassah in Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion trilogy
Favorite Male Character in a book: The guy in Stephen Bly's book about the author who solves a mystery and talks to his book character (sorry, can't remember the name of the book).
Favorite Side Kick in a book: I can't remember any......
Favorite Couple in a Book: The couple in Mary Higgin's Clark book, The Lottery (I think that's the name of the book!)
Favorite Book Series: Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion trilogy
Favorite Author: Oh, too many. Some are: Jodi Picoult, Harlan Coben, Dean Koontz, Ted Dekker, John Piper, Paul David Tripp, David Powlison.......
Favorite Book Cover: Scared by Tom Davis is intriguing.
Favorite Book of 2009: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I've read approx. 150 pages so far
Hour 4:
I won't be doing the mini challenge this hour, but I will report my progress:
Title of book(s) read since last update: Finished In Harm's Way by Irene Hannon - now reading I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali
Number of books read since you started: 0
Pages read since last update: approx. 200
Running total of pages read since you started: approx. 200
Amount of time spent reading since last update: not keeping track
Mini-challenges completed: 3
Other participants you’ve visited: 4
Prize you’ve won: 0
Hour 5:
Mini-challenge:
1. Choose a song (sung or instrumental) that represents a chapter that you are currently reading or have read during the read-a-thon thus far. If the book was turned into a movie, and this chapter was shown, what music would you want in the background to convey the emotion or environment.
2. List the book/author/chapter that you choose along with the song(s) you choose.
I am reading Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez and I think "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" would fit this book well.
3. Give a quick synopsis about the chapter (No SPOILERS please!) or the circumstances that take place and why you chose the song to represent it.
I don't know too much about the book yet, but it's about four slave women who are at a resort with their masters. I just thought that a good, Negro spiritual would go well with this theme.
Hour 6:
Title of book(s) read since last update: I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali
Number of books read since you started: 1
Pages read since last update: 86
Running total of pages read since you started: 286
Mini-challenges completed: 4
Other participants you’ve visited: 4
Prize you’ve won: 0
If you want to comment today (and I hope you will), please comment under my last post!
Hour 7:
Title of book(s) read since last update: Still reading Wench
Number of books read since you started: 1
Pages read since last update: 34
Running total of pages read since you started: 320
Mini-challenges completed: 4
Other participants you’ve visited: 4
Prize you’ve won: 0
If you want to comment today (and I hope you will), please comment under my last post!
Hour 8:
Couldn't do much this hour. I had a some bad "malware" on my computer and the computer guy is still trying to get rid of it! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Hour 9:
Title of book(s) read since last update: Still reading Wench
Number of books read since you started: 1
Pages read since last update: 48
Running total of pages read since you started: 368
Mini-challenges completed: 4
Other participants you’ve visited: 4
Prize you’ve won: 0
If you want to comment today (and I hope you will), please comment under my last post!
Hour 10:
Title of book(s) read since last update: Decided to put down Wench for a while and read Guest House by Barbara Richardson
Number of books read since you started: see above
Pages read since last update: 32
Running total of pages read since you started: 400
Mini-challenges completed: 4
Other participants you’ve visited: 4
Prize you’ve won: 0
If you want to comment today (and I hope you will), please comment under my last post!
Ok, I've made a decision. I'm not going to get on the internet any more today, for 3 reasons:
1. The computer I'm using is dial-up and WAY too slow to keep up if I still want to read.
2. I would rather get more pages read than spend this much time on the computer.
3. I cannot participate in a lot of the mini-challenges anyway because I can't download pics on this computer and I can't do a lot of the other stuff requiring more than basic internet use bcause of this SLOW computer.
So, I will get off of this crazy machine and READ, READ, READ, which is the main reason I joined this readathon in the first place. Since this is my first readathon, I now know how to prepare for next time, and I hope I can get my laptop fixed so I can do all this faster and easier.
I'll write a wrap-up post tomorrow. Until then, good-bye!
If you want to comment today (and I hope you will), please comment under my last post.
