Readathon Master Post.

Hi everyone! :)

I am awake and ready to go for today's readathon. The husband is still sleeping, but he has promised to cook for me and keep me hydrated until he goes to work this afternoon. ;) Ahhh, husbands....they make reading more enjoyable.

Anyway, I decided that creating one master post with all of my readathon updates would be the best option. And here it is. Anytime I have an update to share, I'll add it down below. I am planning on popping online every three hours or so to check in. Any more than that and I'll neglect my reading.

Oh, and if you are participating, please leave me a comment below so I can come and visit you today! My Google Reader is a mess, so knowing outright who is reading their little brains out will be helpful when I come around to cheer. :)

Readathon Update 1:

For hour 1, it is kind of tradition to fill out the introduction meme.

1)Where are you reading from today?
My home in dear old Michigan. :) I will say that it is kind of chilly in here, so we might finally succumb to the fall weather and turn on the heat! As for where I will be reading in the apartment, I have a few lovely little places I like to cuddle in as I read. Mainly, my bed and the couch. I may also sneak off to the library this afternoon when Matt turns on football.

2)Three random facts about me…
I am obsessed with the color green. I really want a puppy (a basset hound). Last time I checked my database, I own over 1500 books. And all of them are stored IN our 900 sq. foot apartment (My husband loves me).

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
Well, I posted a pile of books on Thursday night and that pile included 5 titles. I am adding one more title to the list as a "fun" read:

• The Lost Stories by John Flanagan (this is my fun read)
• Hamlet
• Julius Caesar
• As you Like It
• Richard III
• Inferno by Dante

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)?
My main goal is to relax. I have been stressed out the last couple of weeks, so I just want a day where I can enjoy myself. But, I really want to get through the Flanagan title, a good chunk of Dante, and start one of the plays. If I can do that, today is a success.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Have fun! Visit other bloggers at some point to check in. Also, it is easy to get caught up in trying to participate in everything, so try and remember that some reading should be done too!

Readathon Update 2 (10:45 am):

I wanted to pop in and give an update before the next big post goes up on the main site.

I have had a relatively good reading morning. I took a little break to eat the wonderful breakfast my husband cooked (pancakes if you want to know), and I have already downed my first cup of tea. It has been a good morning, but now that the hubby is up, the TV is on, which is incredibly distracting. I think I am going to move into the second bedroom (our "office") and take over the futon while he is still home.

Here are some stats for you about where I stand so far (this will be updated each time I check in with a running total):

Pages read: 227
Books finished: 0
Time spent reading: about two full hours
Time spent commenting/tweeting: about 30 minutes or so at the beginning.
Mini-challenges: 1-just the Intro Meme. The others haven't peaked my interest yet.
Cups of tea: 1
# of distractions by my husband: 2 (one for breakfast and one when we talked football)
# of kitten snuggles: 3 (each of the three kitties has cuddled at some point this morning. My lap is a rotating cat bed)

See you in a few hours!

Readathon Update 3 (2:00 PM):

I told myself I wouldn't come back online until I finished my first book, which I have! Yay! The last three hours have been a little distracting. Matt has been in the living room with me and did his whole "pay attention to me" thing. So I attempted to read while the TV was on. I got distracted numerous times, but I finally finished the first book of the day. :)

I'm going to take a little breather-a shower is in order, as well as some commenting on other blogs. I'm not sure what I am going to start next. It was going to be Inferno, but I really want to grab a book NOT on my readathon pile to start next....we'll see. I'll think it over.

Here are my running stats:

Pages read: 422
Books finished: 1 (The Lost Stories by John Flanagan)
Time spent reading: 4 hours (this is a guesstimate)
Time spent commenting/tweeting: about 30 minutes or so at the beginning of the day (hasn't changed in the last few hours).
Mini-challenges: 2 (Intro Meme and the "States" challenge hosted by Melissa)
Cups of tea: 2
# of distractions by my husband: 5 (breakfast, football, and multiple cases of whining. I rounded down).
# of kitten snuggles: 5

Readathon Update 4 (3:15 PM):

I wanted to update once more before diving back into reading. Over the last hour I tried to comment on some blogs, showered, and expected a delicious lunch whipped up by my husband. Apparently that meant ordering pizza, but now I am fed, clean, and ready to dive into Julius Caesar, my new book of choice. I haven't read it since college, so hopefully it isn't too painful. ;)

None of my stats have changed, so I won't bother pasting them here. Again, if you're reading today, let me know so I can try and visit (I am limiting my internet time, so I know I haven't gotten to everyone yet!).

See you in a few hours!

Readathon Update 5 (5:30 PM):

Hi readathoners! I hope you are all still hanging in there as we head towards the halfway point. I am chugging along as well!

I had a productive two hours! Matt ended up leaving for work, so I could really dig in and read Julius Caesar and what do you know, I finished it! I forgot how fast Shakespeare can move when you really understand it. I know that if it was a play new to me I would have taken longer, but since I have read Julius Caesar before, the play wasn't at all difficult to get through.

I established a "nest" on the couch, where I spent the last two hours. You can see one of our kitties, Sparty, nestled on my lap with my book:



You can see a little bit of gray fur as well, and that belongs to Lily, the baby kitty. :)

I think I am going to take a break for an hour or so...read some blogs, comment/cheer, and rest my eyes a bit. I also need to decide what to read next....I'm still not feeling up to starting Inferno (since I am a procrastinator and all), and I don't know if I want to read another play...we'll see though.

On to the stats...

Oh, I feel I should explain my page count. It is going to seem inflated because of the play. The edition I read has the text of the play on the right and notes on the left. See below:


The text doesn't take up the entire page like a real novel, so it goes much more quickly. I do read all of the notes as I go along, but in reality, I probably read only half the number of pages are are in the book if you take into account all that white space!

Anyway, the running stats:

Pages read: 739 (Julius Caesar was 317 pages, so realistically this number should be around 580. I just like the bigger number. :))
Books finished: 2 (The Lost Stories by John Flanagan and Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare)
Time spent reading: 6 hours (this is a guesstimate)
Time spent commenting/tweeting: about an hour.
Mini-challenges: 2 (Intro Meme and the "States" challenge hosted by Melissa)
Cups of tea: 2.5 (Sparty started drinkign my tea so I ditched my cup halfway through!)
# of distractions by my husband: 9 (His attempt at "fixing" lunch, i.e. ordering pizza, whining, and leaving for work).
# of kitten snuggles: 7 (Lily and Sparty cuddled with me on the couch during my entire reading of Shakespeare)

Readathon Update 6 (8:10 PM):

I did end up taking a prolonged break from reading after my last post. I stretched out, did a load of dishes, and took care of a few things in the apartment before decided to settle down with a new read shortly before 7pm.

I decided to go with a book not from my readathon pile, but something that has been sitting on my nightstand for a bit-James Welch's Winter in the Blood. I was also going to try and start Richard III, but the Welch novel was calling to me. And I am about 35 pages away from finishing it. :) I suppose that was a good choice, huh?

I'm starting to feel tired. Twelve hours have passed, and as I am closing in on finishing my third book of the day, I'm not sure how much more reading I can do without a much needed nap. We'll see though.

Since it is the halfway point, I need to fill out the mid-event survey. You'll also find my running stats for the night after that.

1. What are you reading right now?
I am in the middle of "Winter in the Blood" by James Welch. I am actually 30ish pages away from completing it!

2. How many books have you read so far?
2! And in just a little while, that number will be 3! Go me!

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I might start "Hamlet" instead of "Richard III." Both seem interesting, but I think reading a play I am familiar with is a better idea as I start to get tired.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Not really. I told my husband way in advance what my intentions were, but we didn't have plans anyway. It helps not to have kids...and he has been working the last four hours, so that helps in regards to distractions.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Not really! Considering I wasn't even sure if I was going to participate, this has been my most productive and relaxing readathon. I'm just trying to enjoy a day off!

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Not much? Things have been going smoothly. I am surprised at the progress I have made!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I'm going to be honest...I haven't been inspired by many of the mini-challenges. Nothing against the hosts, but many of them just don't interest me.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
I actually think that my current plan, of checking in once every two-three hours is working splendidly. I am getting more reading done, checking in on other bloggers as I can, and focusing on what I need to get done! I do think I might sign up to be a cheerleader for a couple hours!

9. Are you getting tired yet?
My eyes are tired, but it might be that my current read has tiny print. The other two titles had relatively large print.

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?
If you really want to be productive, only take a few breaks and limit your time on the computer. It was worked wonders for me. Also, don't worry about everyone else's page counts. Everyone reads at different speeds and different levels of material. If you are reading harder stuff, like a classic, no worries about how far you get. They're tough!

Running Stats:

Pages read: 840
Books finished: 2 (The Lost Stories by John Flanagan and Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare)
Time spent reading: about 7 hours (this is a guesstimate)
Time spent commenting/tweeting: about 90 minutes
Mini-challenges: 3 (Intro Meme, the "States" challenge hosted by Melissa, and Mid-Event Meme)
Cups of tea: 4
# of distractions by my husband: 9 (No new distractions since he has been at work!)
# of kitten snuggles: 9 (My two buddies have been snuggling on the couch with me all evening as I continue to read).


I also feel the need to point out that yes, we own the ugliest couch in the world. It is orange and brown plaid. From the 70s. But hey, it was free! :)