If you missed it, here’s my stack.

Goals: Spend 3 hours cheering and finish 800 pages

Pages read: 987
Time spent reading: 7 hours 30 mins
Time spent cheering: 2 hours 15 mins
Titles finished during Read-A-Thon: Two — Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Scroll down for mini-challenges!

Reading:
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse – FINISHED
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
Crank by Ellen Hopkins – FINISHED
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

Updates:
7:00 – And go! Starting with Out of the Dust because it encourages me when I can get my page count up in the beginning.

8:00 – About halfway through Out of the Dust and having a great time.

9:15 – Done a little cheering and finished my first book. Thank you, YA fiction for making me feel like I’ve accomplished something this morning!

11:00 – Took a few breaks. One for breakfast and one to discuss purchasing a new computer with my husband. I’m a few chapters into Linger and enjoying it. Might take a break from it in a little while and start on some non-fiction. Having a lot of fun cheering here and there. Haven’t kept up with many of the mini-challenges though.

12:30 – Linger is great. Making myself get to page 100 before I switch to Crank by Ellen Hopkins. I knew I left one of my intended reads out of the stack. Now I’m going to go tackle a few mini-challenges before I get back to reading.

2:00 – Got caught up in Linger so I’m just now about to stark Crank. Temperature is changing here in OK. Think I may open a window and let in some of the fresh air.

3:51 – Three-hundred pages into Crank. This was one I picked up because all the kids in the age group that I work with are reading it. It’s rough content. It’s in verse and there’s so much more you can get away with when writing in verse. Flashes of images, insinuation…without spelling out the whole thing on paper. I had such a sheltered childhood and adolescence that it’s hard for me to imagine a 15-year-old girl living like this — even though I know it’s true because I grew up with girls just like this.

5:04 – Into Under the Banner of Heaven now. Fundamentalist crazies at their finest. I highly recommend this one. It’s full of well-researched information from the get-go. Maybe going back to Crank right now just so I can finish it. It’s depressing :/

7:13 – I should finish Crank soon and move onto something else. I distracted myself for about an hour watching the storms roll in.

Congrats to everyone who has made it halfway! Now, a totally random song for you to enjoy. Only maybe not so random because it’s some of my favorite reading music.

9:00 – I’ve been letting myself get too distracted so I’m not making the progress I’d like in this book, but I’m back in Under the Banner of Heaven. Good stuff.

10:30 – Under the Banner of Heaven is FASCINATING. Glad I’m finally reading it. As for how I’m fairing — not tired at all and enjoying my books, so I may be at it for a while tonight!

12:10 – Took a bath to try to soothe my poor shoulder (I must have done something in that shopping extravaganza yesterday), now I’m all relaxed and probably won’t make it much longer. If I don’t get anymore read tonight, I’m okay with it. I exceeded my goal by a bit. I’ll post again before I turn in for the night.

12:35 – Calling it a night. My sinuses are bothering me and I’m starting to fade. Knowing how early I tend to wake up I may be joining you all for the last couple of hours, but I’m not making any promises. It’s been fun and I consider this one another success!

Hour 1
1)Where are you reading from today? – Norman, Oklahoma
2)Three random facts about me… – I’m an oldest child, Mary Boleyn was my 15-great-grandmother, and I have a pair of hitch-hiker thumbs
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? – Fifteen or somewhere thereabouts.
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)? – I’d like to read 800 pages
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? – Take it slow and just have fun!

Hour 13
Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? Crank
2. How many books have you read so far? I’ve finished one, been reading 3 others.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Minotaur (see stack for more info)
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? My husband understands (this is the 5th?? Read-a-Thon I’ve done since we’ve been married) and my family knows not to call
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? None other than myself!
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How fast it has gone by this year.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? None that I can think of at this point.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? I think next time I’m going to work out a better schedule for myself instead of just willy-nilly doing whatever I want.
9. Are you getting tired yet? Not at all. I thought I was going to take a nap earlier, but I ended up reading my way through mid-afternoon slump.
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? Pace yourself with the caffeine!

Hour 16 Mini-Challenge: Rereading

Minotaur by Benjamin Tammuz has been one of my favorites since the first time I read it. It’s the beautiful and tragic tale of a Mossad agent who falls in love with a girl. There’s much more to it than that, but it is the most painful love story I have ever read. I chose to add it to my list this time around because it’s been so long since I last read it and I want to remind myself of some of my favorite things about the novel. The prose is breathtaking. Here’s a snippet:

He read through her letter again and again and for the first time considered the possibility that they might meet, and thus the last card would be laid on the table, and with the final victory, as far as was possible to tell, would also come the final blow. There was no doubt in his heart that Thea was ready to fall into his arms, but he also knew that he would have nothing to offer her apart from the initial giddiness. In the dance–which he was ready to join–he would be tottering to his end.

I only wish that I could read Hebrew, because I know I’m losing a lot in translation.

Related posts:

1. Read-A-Thon!
2. Read-A-Thon!
3. My Read-a-Thon Stack

Remember, Read-a-Thon isn’t about finishing all the books in your stack (though some people do aspire to such heights), but about enjoying the time you can devote to reading. And a massive stack is about having lots of options for any mood that may strike. In my stack this go-round…

(RR) indicates a re-read

Country Matters by Michael Korda — Been on my “to read” shelf for a long time and I want to get to it.
Minotaur by Benjamin Tammuz (RR) — This book is one of my most treasured possessions. When I was in 10th grade I saw the film on TV and the story stuck with me. I had to seek out the novel by Israeli author Benjamin Tammuz. This story means more that I can possibly tell. Putting it in the stack so I can travel back to the point in my life when I first read it, if just for a moment.
Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary (RR) — One of my favorite reads from childhood. It’s there for when I get tuckered out.
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (RR) — A verse novel set in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. It’s a quick and easy read, but poignant.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer — Started, but never finished. Hoping to make it all the way through this one.
(not pictured) Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer — Started this already and loving it. I’ll be surprised if I don’t finish this one on Saturday.
(not pictured) Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay — The next book I have to read in the Dexter series. This will be a quick read.
Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan — There’s a lot of controversy surrounding this as apparently the author stated it was inspired by actual events that happened to her, but when confronted by the Aboriginal people that she wrote about she admitted that the entire thing was made up. Interested to see what it’s all about.
Salt by Isabel Zuber — Been on the TR shelf for over a year now and I’m anxious to get to this story.
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson (RR) — Long-time favorite of mine. It’s been years since I’ve read this story and if time permits I would like to go through it again.
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater — Clearly, I’m starting with this one. I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series. Hopefully I will make it to Forever before the next Read-a-Thon.
Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski — When everyone else in my English classes wanted to marry Chuck Klosterman because of Sex, Drugs, & Cocoa Puffs, I was way out in left field pining after this guy. I can’t explain it. It’s weird.
The Complete Poems of E. E. Cummings — My all-time favorite poet. This is a very special book to me, given by a friend. Can’t wait to dive in again.

And if that’s not enough, I may, at some point, pick up Sarum. Again. That behemoth.

I have a handful of books on my Kindle that I have already been reading and will probably finish on Saturday. They include:

The Heart of Memory by Alison Strobel
The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards

I’m ready for Saturday!

Related posts:

1. Read-A-Thon Picks
2. Read-A-Thon!
3. Sunday Afternoon Readathon

It’s time for Dewey’s Read-A-Thon! I’ll be keeping track of my progress here and posting on Twitter whenever there is an update.

Pages read: 835
Titles finished during Read-A-Thon: Anne of Avonlea, The Walking Dead Compendium #1
(Not keeping track of time this go-round)
Scroll down for mini-challenges!

Reading:
Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery (started before Read-A-Thon)
The Walking Dead Compendium by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel; started before Read-A-Thon)
Quiet Reflections of Hope
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Updates:
8:27am – Finished Anne of Avonlea with a slow start to the morning. I’ve had my coffee and…umm…some beef jerky for breakfast (see my last blog post). Moving on to The Walking Dead to boost my page count a little

9:47am – Making some progress with The Walking Dead — but man, I’m not sure if I can handle this much apocalypse so early in the morning. It’s a page-turner though. Really good for Read-A-Thon.

10:00 – Might need to eat something else. (Excedrin Migraine + 1 cup of very strong coffee + 1 Diet Dr. Pepper) ÷ 3 hour time span = WOOOO! Eye twitch!

11:14 – Prepped some snacks, made it much further into The Walking Dead Compendium. Going to catch up on some mini-challenges!

2:03pm – Have my nose firmly in the middle of Anne of the Island (my favorite of the series!) and I’m feeling so good about this Read-A-Thon — I think it’s been the best yet for me. I might even be around for the whole thing. Crazy thought! Since it’s after 2pm, my husband is about to make a run to mail something and stop off at Sonic for a little happy hour sweetness — he’s bringing me back a cherry slush! That’ll help me through the next few hours for sure.

Oh, don’t worry. I haven’t had any caffeine since this morning. Reserving that for later. Back to herbal tea and mint/lemon balm infused water for me.

3:13 – Cherry slush in hand, I’m diving in for some Dexter.

5:20 – Pretty engrossed in the second book in the Dexter series. He’s so much darker in the books than in the TV series and the books are a lot different as well. Main characters that are still alive and well on TV have been dead a long time in the books — and vice versa.

I’m saving the rest of The Walking Dead for when my brain inevitably starts shorting out later.

7:12 – Added Mid-Event Meme (below)

8:31 – Realized I should probably read anything mildly scary that I have in my stack before my husband goes to bed. Otherwise my imagination will run wild and I’ll be paralyzed in my living room unable to walk from my chair to the bed later tonight without a light on. That means I’m returning to The Walking Dead and then probably finishing up Dexter.

11:44 – Woohoo! Finished The Walking Dead. Note: There is NO way they can make the TV show anything close to this graphic novel. For one thing, it would take like 10 years. Also, it’s usually frowned upon when you decimate nearly the entire cast of a TV show. Whew.

Feels kinda crazy, but I’m not tired!

6:45am – Well, not long after I said that I decided to call it a night. This Read-A-Thon was a success for me. I went over my page goal, finished two books (almost 3) and had a great time. See you all in October!

Hour 1 – Answering I Heart Monsters questions
1)Where are you reading from today? Norman, OK
2)Three random facts about me… I’ll go with the basics — my right foot is one inch longer than my left, my 15-great-grandmother was Mary Boleyn, and the only boy I ever really dated was my husband.
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? 5ish? I do have my Kindle in front of me so…154
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)? I’d like to read 700 pages, at least. Maybe 1000.
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Cut yourself some slack and do what works for you! You don’t have to read a full 24 hours, you can take breaks, you CAN take a nap…just enjoy!

Hour 12
1. What are you reading right now? Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
2. How many books have you read so far? I’ve hopped through 6; finished one.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Finishing The Walking Dead
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Nope, I just let everyone who might care know beforehand that this weekend was off limits
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Remarkably, my phone has only rung once the entire day! Others were self-imposed breaks.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? This one has been SO MUCH MORE FUN than I expected! More fun than any of the ones I’ve done before.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? More cheerleaders maybe?
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Nothing, this has been my best Read-A-Thon.
9. Are you getting tired yet? NO!
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? Snacking and staying hydrated (surprise!) keeps you pretty fresh.

Hour 24
1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Probably 17. That’s when I went to sleep.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? All the ones I read were great.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Not really.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? It seemed to be really well organized.
5. How many books did you read? 2, almost 3
6. What were the names of the books you read? Anne of Avonlea, The Walking Dead Compendium #1
7. Which book did you enjoy most? All of them
8. Which did you enjoy least? I didn’t read any bad ones this time.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? –
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? 100% — might think about helping to co-host?

Related posts:

1. Readathon!
2. Getting ready for Read-A-Thon
3. Read-A-Thon!

Related posts:

1. The sweet taste of victory
2. Thursday Thirteen
3. The Thirteen Say “AHs” of Atkins Induction

Total pages read: 728
Total time spent reading: 382 min
Titles finished: Love That Dog, What My Mother Doesn’t Know, Belle & the Beast (prequel graphic novel I’ve had since 2nd grade ), Behind You
Total finished titles: 4
Mini-challenges completed: The intro meme, Six Word Celebration, Show Me the Books, Indie Pride
Prize I’ve won: —

This is my Read-A-Thon post. I’ll be updating it throughout the day to keep everything tidy.

8:16AM – I stayed up too late last night (I started early on this thing) reading about my Saxon horde ancestors. And they totally bummed me out. Need some lighter fare this morning! And coffee. Where is my coffee! Oh yeah. I am the only one awake.

9:45AM – Best Read-A-Thon ever, so far? It just may be. Got a couple of light reads done, may hop into something scary since there’s daylight and I know I won’t be able to read anything the least bit creepy with my husband out of the house later today. Now, this girl needs some Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper.

12:32PM – Worst thing about epics: you can’t get attached to characters. THEY DIE.

2:17PM – Second worst thing about epics: UNPLANNED NAPS.

2:34PM – Husband just called from Barnes & Noble. He bought me Linger! It is my prize for finishing this thing strong, so I should probably get to reading Shiver again soon.

4:53PM – Back into Shiver now and making some progress on Sarum. Behind You was good; not sure how it would hold up if I hadn’t read the previous work featuring these characters. It’s lyrical and really isolates some tough issues in a way that might work even if you were unfamiliar with what happened to these characters before this book. I can’t honestly say though, having read If You Come Softly some years ago.

Saving my cheerleading for later in the evening, when it gets tough for a lot of people!

7:00PM – Read-A-Thon is officially over for me. Didn’t get in as many hours as I planned, but it’s been 24 since I started. I guess after a week of being sick I really did need that extra sleep. Ah well.

I finished more books this time than ever. Read more pages. Did more mini-challenges. Hosted my first one as well. I declare this Read-A-Thon a success.

And I will finish Sarum! Huzzah!

Related posts:

1. Dewey’s Read-A-Thon: Back-in-the-Day Children’s Book Mini-Challenge
2. Read-A-Thon Picks
3. Readathon!

Glad you’ve stopped by. Take a minute. Blink a little. Got those eye drops ready? (I DO.) Good. Now, relax that brain a little, we’re going back in time…

Read-A-Thon has taught me a few things. Namely, 2am is NOT always the best time to pick up a historical epic covering a couple millennia, in itty bitty type. It is a good time to pull some beloved children’s books off the shelf. Helps break up the monotony of plain old adult language. They’ve helped me get through some of the longer hours. Can you say 18pt font, anyone?

Green Gables, June 2009

I’m an Anne of Green Gables girl. Nothing can beat that imaginative redhead and her crazy adventures. The Boxcar Children, the Ramona books, and Hank the Cowdog were all childhood favorites of mine as well. As for more current titles, I’m a little rusty. It’s been a long time since I perused the children’s and young adult sections of my local bookstore (hello, Children’s Lit course in college that had a 500 book reading requirement).

What were some of your favorite children’s books when you were younger? Do you have any new favorites now that you’re an adult? Have you included any children’s or YA titles in your Read-A-Thon stack this year? Leave a comment and share!

11:00AM Central Time
Random number drawn — 122

Our winner is…

Kate at Read This Book!

I’ll be contacting you for your information, Kate. Congratulations and thanks to everyone for participating!

Enjoy your reading!

This is a mini-challenge for Dewey’s Read-A-Thon. This challenge will be open for entries (comments) for 3 hours. You must be signed up for Read-A-Thon to be eligible. After time is up, comments will close and a winner will be chosen using Random Integer Generator. The prize for this mini-challenge is a grab bag of Christmas/holiday themed titles by Louisa May Alcott, Mary Higgins Clark, and most likely some other folks as I’m fairly certain I’m going to throw in some other fun stuff for you! U.S. residents only, please.

Related posts:

1. Getting ready for Read-A-Thon
2. Readathon!
3. 200 Year Reading Challenge, Revisited

Homeplace by Beth Massie – I picked this up a while back because it’s listed as new Southern Gothic and I eat that stuff up. The short synopsis makes it sound creepy, so I doubt I’ll be reading any of this in the middle of the night.

Beach Music by Pat Conroy – A speech I was witness to by Pat Conroy was a true awakening for me as a writer. He’s got a touch of magic to him. This has just been on the list for a long time.

Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd – Because it’s time that I finished this behemoth. I trudged through some less interesting bits and finally got back into some action. And the arrival of Christianity on the British Isles. So you know it’s getting interesting.

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech – For the moments when everything else is too heavy. A story in poems.

What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones – Another book of prose poems. YA selection that I’ve read before about a young girl and her life at age 12. There’s some deep stuff in this one.

Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay – The second book in the Dexter series. The first one was decent, but I’m bound and determined to get through this series. I enjoy the TV show and I like to keep up with the differences.

Black Heart, Ivory Bones – An anthology of fairy tales, fictionalized for grown-ups. No idea what I’m getting into here.

Behind You by Jacqueline Woodson – I read the book that came before this when I was in 10th grade, I think. This one has been sitting on my shelf since not long after that.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel – I may be the last human alive who hasn’t ready this. Trying to get into it for a second time.

My Antonia by Willa Cather – Cather is one of my favorite authors. She captures something that I hope my own work will, someday. My Antonia is one of my favorite books to usher in winter.

Salt by Isabel Zuber – The premise sounds very interesting. I’m probably most excited about reading this one. I’ll let you know how it goes.

The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel – A guy I knew in college insisted that I read her work. Never have. Changing that.

Terrains of the Heart and Other Essays on Home by Willie Morris – When I was 7-years-old, I would rent a movie from The Movie House (as our rental place was called back in the day) called “Pirates of the Yazoo.” It was a WonderWorks feature that would sometimes show up on OETA (our PBS affiliate). I loved this movie. Years later I watched My Dog, Skip and noticed a lot of similarities. Because they are the same. It’s the same story, with a few tweaks here and there. Anyway, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Mr. Morris. I think if he were alive I would invite him over for a glass of tea and we would talk about just how much we love our grandmas, and front porches, and the way things used to be. Only he’d remember the way things used to be a lot better than me because by the time I was born Madonna was already on the scene and the world was never the same.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater – Re-reading this so everything will be fresh on my mind when I reward myself with Linger for FINISHING THIS READ-A-THON!

The Vigilante’s Bride by Yvonne Harris – A book I picked up for review because it sounded interesting. Love me a good western.

Birthing from Within – Because I’m a little bit of a hippie and I like to be well-informed before I jump in to something

A few last minute additions will be made this evening.

Related posts:

1. Sunday Afternoon Readathon
2. Read. Read. Readathon.
3. Book Review – Love & War by John & Stasi Eldredge

So I’m doing things a little differently. I will be starting sometime on Friday evening (hour TBD), reading through the night and into the morning, possibly grabbing a nap around 10am CST, and continuing on with the Read-A-Thon into the evening. Then, of course, I’ll be tuning in on Sunday morning to cheer on the people who have been awake for more than 24 hours at this point.

Since I’ve never done the full amount of time before, I really have no idea what those last few hours are going to be like. Possibly like the time my dad decided we were going to drive straight through from Oklahoma to Las Vegas in one day and I was so afraid that I was going to die in a fiery crash in the middle of the Nevada desert that I wouldn’t go to sleep. This fear did have some basis — I was the last person in the vehicle who was awake other than the driver and it was 2am. There’s usually some reason behind my seemingly insane decisions.

Anyway, here are my books!

I’ll go into more detail about why I chose them and explain why there are so many of them later!

Related posts:

1. A cold, quiet morning
2. The Countdown: 77 Days
3. Readathon!

Starting things off with Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.

10:25am – Talk about getting nowhere fast. I got distracted in the garden and NOW I’m really getting started. Good thing I’m dragging my readathon out into tomorrow.

Took a 2-hour nap, went shopping for herbs, and now they are planted. Reading now.

3:42pm – Starting Darkly Dreaming Dexter.

5:30pm – Read 83pgs/80mins. This book is a pretty quick read. Lots of similarities with the series so far. I know that’s boring to a lot of people, but I enjoy Dexter’s inner monologue.

Breaking to clean and do some dinner prep!

MIDNIGHT - I’m not feeling too well, but I’m not sleepy yet, so I’m going to try to get more reading in. Until the Benadryl kicks in…15pgs/11mins

5:55am – I started to fall asleep in the chair last night and took myself to bed after about 15 pages. But I’m up again and joining you all for the last hour! I won’t be updating again until it’s officially “over.”

7:00am – TIME! 65pgs/60mins. Congrats to all of you who went the distance and managed to stay awake for TWENTY. FOUR. SOLID. HOURS! Now get your behinds in bed. I still feel rotten, but I’m here in my chair, engrossed in this book, so I might be here a little longer. Anyone going to be dragging their readathon out longer into the day?

Mini-Challenges:
The Cliffhanger Challenge
The best cliffhanger so far has been the human head flying out of the refrigeration truck and hitting the side of Dexter’s car. We now know that someone has upped the stakes quite a bit. There’s no way I could put it down after that!

End of Event Meme
1. Which hour was most daunting for you? – Probably the one when I took the Benadryl. Yipes.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the only one I made progress on (that’s what happens when this thing occurs on my planting weekend!) and it’s really a page-turner. Maybe even more if you haven’t seen the TV show.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I’d rather see it start on a Friday night locally, but that’s just me. I might do that next time.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Saw a lot of fun mini-challenges. Didn’t participate in as many this year though.
5. How many books did you read? Most of one.
6. What were the names of the books you read? (Listed at the top.)
7. Which book did you enjoy most? The only one I made progress on.
8. Which did you enjoy least? N/A
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Spreading my time commitment (one hour) over the course of the 24 hours was a good idea. I’ll do that again next time.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Without a doubt, I’ll be here again! I think next time I might try to host a mini-challenge.

Related posts:

1. Sunday Afternoon Readathon
2. Readathon – October 2009
3. 200 Year Reading Challenge, Revisited

Today I am participating in Bethany’s Read. Read. Readathon. You can find out more here. Not too late to jump in!

It’s 11:31 and I’m starting off with Sarum. Maybe I’ll finish it today? We’ll see.

12:31 pm – I do not recommend reading books with tiny print for a readathon. It makes your reading totals look dismal. Taking a quick break for some laundry and to grab some lunch.

2:12 pm – Sarum was just not holding my attention for any length of time and the 8pt font wasn’t helping either. So I started a new book. No Country For Old Men. It’s been in my “to read” pile for a while and now I’m going after it. LOVE. IT. Fast paced and such great writing.

6:20 pm – So…I took a nap. Back to reading though! I’ve knocked out 110 pages of No Country For Old Men. Can’t wait to see the movie now.

7:28 pm – Reading in the bathtub. It’s the way to go. Oh, and I had some chocolate Malt-o-Meal earlier. I love that stuff. It’s like hot chocolate in a bowl. That you eat.

10:40 pm – I am turning in for the night. It’s been so much fun meeting and interacting with all the bloggers participating today. There are so many blogs I have added to my feed reader today and I just can’t wait to do this again! Goodnight, all!

Time spent reading: 260 mins
Total pages: 240 pages

Taking part in I Heart Monster’s Breaktime Shindig. I typed “Sindig” on accident, but fixed it. That’s a totally different thing.

1. Lose Your Cred – I love the colors she uses on her blog! They make my heart smile. What a bright, cheery place.
2. This Bookshelves of Doom lady? Hilarious. I mean, you can kinda gather that from the header. But yeah, I think she’s really funny.
3. Okay, Emily says that we don’t have to take her too seriously, but there is just something about the header at Seriously Reading that makes me feel like I should. I’m loving the header. The red is so striking against the black and white. Hey, Emily? I don’t have anyone to talk books with either. Glad we both have outlets for that!
4. tuulenhaiven has some awfully serene colors going on over at her blog. I love it.
5. Brown Girl has got some clean lines going on and I LOVE clean lines. A sucker for them even.

Related posts:

1. Sunday Afternoon Readathon
2. Readathon – October 2009
3. Readers: How do you approach a readathon?