Readathon wrap up post!

I made it to 2:45 in the morning.  I was super tired and that's when B got in from work so I told him goodnight and went to sleep.  Even if I'd been able to drink caffeine I don't know that I would have stayed up any later. 


I am pretty pleased.  I finished 2 library books I'd already started, one of my own I'd started, 2 of my own graphic novels, and 226 pages of an American Gods reread.  I also had a lot of fun following the #readathon on Twitter.  I've got a bunch of stuff to do next weekend for school but maybe the following one I'll try to get in a solid 5 hours of straight reading!  I also want to thank #teamwordsworth for cheering me on.  Maybe next readathon I'll be a cheerleader for a bit. 

Final stats!

Books finished: Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore and Rorouni Kenshin Vol. 1 by Nobuhiro Watsuki, Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye and March Book 1 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell, and Serenity: Better Days by lots of people, though all but March and Serenity I had previously started

Pages read of regular books since last update: 168

Pages read of graphic novels since last update:  126

Running total of pages read: 893

Amount of time spent reading: 2 hours 55 minutes

Running total of time spent reading: 9 hours 25 minutes

Snacks: Breakfast was milk and cinnamon rolls, I've also had a cup of herbal tea (cinnamon spice!), food truck snacks and Pad Thai for dinner, chocolate cupcake and milk

readathon update 3

Hopping on the exercise bike while reading for an hour really energized me!  I won't make it all night but I might make it until B comes home from work around 2!  I do need a snack and/or some sugar now. 

Ok, a reading update! 
Currently reading: American Gods by Neil Gaiman, though I might swap to another graphic novel 

Books finished: Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore and Rorouni Kenshin Vol. 1 by Nobuhiro Watsuki, Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye and March Book 1 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell, though all but March I had previously started

Pages read of regular books since last update: 258

Pages read of graphic novels since last update:  121

Running total of pages read: 599

Amount of time spent reading: 3 hours 25 minutes

Running total of time spent reading: 6 hours 30 minutes

Snacks: Breakfast was milk and cinnamon rolls, I've also had a cup of herbal tea (cinnamon spice!), food truck snacks and Pad Thai for dinner.  

I also listened to a bit of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while I was in the car.  I realized, for the first time, that since Hermione is using the time turner so much to get to classes, she undoubtedly lived her third year twice.  Which means that, instead of being about 7 and 10 months older than Ron and Harry, respectively, from that book on she's actually 19 and 22 months older than the boys.  No wonder she's so mature in Goblet of Fire!

not a proper update

just an entry in the My Name in Titles Mini Challenge!

Just in case you can't read these they are:

• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
• Endless Nights (A Sandman book)
• Lost and Philosophy
• American God
• Name of the Wind
• I, Robot
• Ex Libris

I had to go to librarything to find what books I had that started with A.  Also, I have a LOT that start with F.  Go figure.

readathon update 2

An update!!  

I took a break from 2 until now to go have some lunch and pick up a few things from the Farmer's Market.  Had some yummy brisket tacos and ice cream (not at the same time) and brought back collards and ham and cupcakes for later (again, these will be eaten separately).  
 

Brisket Tacos from Delta Bound

Dark Chocolate, Whiskey Pecan and Salted Caramel Ice cream from Jeni's

This event was definitely the thing you should go to with like 3 friends who don't mind letting you nibble off their plates!  here's a couple shots of the trucks.

Some Trucks

More Trucks

I also decided to jump in on the Shelfie mini-challenge!

Messy shot of our only bookcases

 We also have multiple boxes of books in another room that we really need to get out. 
 
And my status on the readathon:

Currently reading: Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye

Books finished: Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore and Rorouni Kenshin Vol. 1 by Nobuhiro Watsuki. 

Pages read of regular books since last update: 52

Pages read of graphic novels since last update:  0

Running total of pages read: 220

Amount of time spent reading: 40 minutes

Running total of time spent reading: 3 hours 5 minutes

Snacks: Breakfast was milk and cinnamon rolls, I've also had a cup of herbal tea (cinnamon spice!) plus the food I mentioned above.

Readathon Update 1

I slept late!  I didn't even get up until about 9:30 but I did start reading at 9:45, as soon as I had some cinnamon rolls in the oven and my contacts on.  As I usually do, I've started with books that I had begun prior to the Readathon and have therefore "finished" 2 books!  My stats so far:

Currently reading: Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye

Books finished: Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore and Rorouni Kenshin Vol. 1 by Nobuhiro Watsuki. 

Pages read of regular books: 96

Pages read of graphic novels:  72

Running total of pages read: 168

Amount of time spent reading: 2 hours 25 minutes

Running total of time spent reading: 2 hours 25 minutes

Snacks: Breakfast was milk and cinnamon rolls, I've also had a cup of herbal tea (cinnamon spice!)

and I suppose I'll do the startup meme too.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Nashville, TN

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?  March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell because I got to hear John Lewis speak at last year's Book Festival here in Nashville

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? toss up between homemade guacamole and whatever I get at the Farmer's Market in a couple hours.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!  I really should be studying, working on my resume, or finishing up some semester work for my practicum.  However, unless I fail said practicum, I will be a certified teacher and librarian in about a month!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?  For the last few years I haven't really been able to participate fully.  I've been in graduate school and they seem to fall either at midterm or just before finals.  I just want to get a good chunk of a few books read and have some fun.  

How is everyone else doing so far?

I am participating in the Readathon!

Dewey's Readathon is tomorrow!  I am not sure exactly how much of the day I will get to spend reading; I have a (rather easy) final Monday and I am going to hit the Food Truck Invasion at Nashville's Farmer's Market Saturday noonish.  Otherwise, I really want to get some good reading in.  Here's my preliminary stack.  I am going to work on the main ones in the picture, not that other stack that invaded on the right there.  Though there is a new atheism book on that stack...  I have a lot of graphic novels but those will probably be early in the day or late at night.  Also, they let you feel like you're really making progress.  I also have several on my kindle that I need to work on: Insurgent, Flora and Ulysses, and Wolf Hall.  I have a LOT of variety to try.  I really want to finish rereading American Gods. 

Ok, off to the grocery store to get some snacks!

Graphic Novels again!

Does anyone else long to read the "books" that the Tommy Taylor graphic novels describe?  In Tommy Taylor and the Ship that Sank Twice by Mike Carey and Peter Gross we get just that, mixed in with the story of the real Tommy's birth and first year. The book-within-the-book is pretty good, though if it was released as a real book today people would think it was plagiarized from Harry Potter.  There are similarities but there are supposed to be!  I give this one a 6 and a must read for fans of the series.

Locke and Key: Alpha and Omega by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez is the final book in the Locke and Key saga. It is a good final installment.  While nothing mind blowing (to me anyway) happens, everything does get wrapped up.  a 5. 

Fables 19:  I think I might be done with Fables.  I just loved it so so much through the War issues but since then I am just not feeling it.  I didn't much care about Mister Dark, I don't particularly care about Snow and Bigby's kids. I've heard Willingham has an end game in mind so perhaps I will continue on through that. a 4

Another few YA books

A bit of a roundup!  I get so far behind, especially on these YA type books that I can read relatively quickly.  I have to get back to regular blogging!

I finished Dodger by Terry Pratchett.  I loved the character of Dodger though the plot was just ok.  I liked learning about some of the historical detaiIs of life for the lower classes in Victorian England.  I also really liked the Afterward, describing some of the real lives of people in the story.  If Pratchett writes more adventures of Dodger, I will definitely read them.  a 5.


I also just finished The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.  I wanted to like it more than I did.  I rather thought it was going to be like The Series of Unfortunate Events books from the description.  It wasn't really, except that there are smart kids involved, fighting some wicked adults. It just didn't hold my attention very well.  I bet kids would enjoy it though.  a 5 from me.

Ash by Malinda Lo is a GREAT book! It is a Cinderella retelling, with rather dark Fae folk instead of a fairy godmother.  In addition, Ash isn't very interested in the prince; she has much more of a connection with the King's Huntress.  It feels like a true portrayal of young love that crosses class and other boundaries and I loved it.  a 7. 

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick is another really good one.  It was a Printz Honor book this year.  It is a series of interconnected stories featuring Merle and Eric, two people who connected in various ways.  The first story takes place in the future and as the book goes on it moves backwards in time.  It reminded me a lot of Cloud Atlas, in the best way.  a 7 and very worth a read.

Stealers of Dreams

The library's ebooks are just killing me!  I seem to get more as fast as I read them!  I read Stealers of Dreams by Steve Lyons, which is another Doctor Who book.  This one has Nine, Rose and Captain Jack landing on a planet where people can't lie, tell stories or make up fiction.  At first it seems like it is just a government crackdown but the Tardis team begins to see people actually go crazy from imbibing fiction.  When Rose has problems, Jack and Nine work to save her.  I liked this one ok but most of the time the trio is separate which is less fun.  overall a 5 from me.

Longbourne

I listened to Longbourn by Jo Baker by  over the course of a few weeks.  It is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice with a focus on the household staff.  Sarah is the young housemaid who has to wait on the Bennett girls while trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life.  There's the new footman, James, who maybe likes Sarah and brings a "mysterious past" with him.  I wanted to like it going in but I really ended up not enjoying it.  I felt the main character often made stupid choices and the whole "he pretends to hate her because he's really in love with her" plot is over-used. Also, I always feel like Wickham is bad enough, and the Lydia/Wickham couple are punished enough by their having to be married to each other, that I always feel retellings that make him worse are just piling on.  Wickham can be a bad guy without also being a child molester!  I kept listening (the reader is really very good) but ultimately this one fell flat to me.  a 3.

Gone on a bit of a binge

As I have been taking big, important tests these last 6 weeks, I've had very little time for reading.  I've just been studying, doing school work for the one class, doing my practicum hours, and trying to spend what little time I have left with B or occasionally exercising.  I finished up my last test on Friday (I won't know how I did for a few weeks) and this week is spring break!  Well, it is spring break for the school system in which i am doing my practicum, which means I don't have to go to it this week.  Anyway, before Saturday I was only reading very occasionally: 10 minutes before dozing off at night, 30 minutes while on the exercise bike, those kinds of things.  So it was a bit of a joy that i was able to gorge myself on words this weekend!  I read:

Death Cloud by Andrew Lane: the first in a series of books about a teenage Sherlock Holmes, authorized by the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  It isn't a bad book; it sets up many of the things that fans of the original stories will recognize.  It also seems to suffer a bit from being the first in a series; the author seems to be playing a bit of a long game as many of the characters and events are not fully explained.  I assume that these are going to be subplots that become important later on.  I still haven't decided if I will read any more but I might give the Young James Bond series a try.  a 4. 

The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal:  This is one of the Printz honor books this year.  I had managed maybe 50 pages prior to this past weekend.  I had thought it was a fantasy book but really it's historical fiction focused on females.  It takes place in medieval Scandinavia and revolves around the royal household.  The children all suffer from some sort of illness, as do the king and queen.  The story is mainly told from 3 different perspectives: the queen, a black slave named Midi who's had her tongue cut out but can write, and a seamstress turned maid Ava.  Their lives intertwine in strange ways.  Not a book for young kids.  There's the implication of sex with a 12 year old (she's a princess who's been married off), death, syphillis, miscarriages, sex and rape. It is weird.  So weird that for the longest I couldn't decide if I liked it or not or where it was even going.  It felt a little long to be honest.  But, it's also about fairy tales and stories and about stories creating reality, so it moves over to barely a 6 for me. 

Besides these books, I also read a few magazines and parts of Dodger by Terry Pratchett and The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.  Yeah, still YA heavy but I start at an elementary school next week. So then I'll be working on younger kid books!