Hour 15?

I think we are in hour 15 - I have had some interruptions since my last update. I had to get my son ready for bed - no one but me would do. Then I drove my girls to the mall - and picked them up 1 1/2 hours later. . . Not much reading done, but I was able to finish Last Breath - I also did some mini challenges. I am just starting Night of Flames which starts out really good. But I may have to switch to a "lighter" book as I get more drowsy! Happy reading!

Readathon - Mid-event survey

Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now?

Last Breath by Brandilyn and Amberly Collins

2. How many books have you read so far?

Only 1 full one - Saint John of Five Boroughs

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Night of Flames

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Just that my husband would take care of our son - our teenage girls have been taking care of themselves and helping out.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Did I mention our son and teenage daughters?

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

That the time passes so quickly

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Are you kidding? You guys are doing an awesome job!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Start with a quick book!

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Yes - I got tired about 2 hours ago!

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?

No, but I would welcome any tips!

Time to get back to reading! Break is over!

Feed Me Seymour! - Mini Challenge

Here is what this challenge is all about: over the next few hours let me know if you happen across any passages of food in your reading or you can also flip through some of the books in your Read-A-Thon stack(s) and find me a passage where the characters describe what they are eating or when they are actually eating – write up a post with the book, author, your selected passage and a picture of one the dishes-


My passage is from Last Breath by Brandilyn Collis and Amberly Collins -

Back in the room I dialed information and found a nearby takeout for pizza. We ordered an extra large pepperoni and mushroom, with Coke and paper plates. I put the cost and tip on my credit card, then told Wendell a delivery would be coming. (p126)

Doesn't Pepperoni and Mushroom pizza sound so good right now???

Middle of Hour 12

I'm a little sleepy - but hubby is making dinner so I hope food will pick me up and not make me want a nap!

I am so excited because I won Bart's Mini Challenge - you had to make a sentence from book titles - Mine was - Fearless, hot and irresistible mom, needs chocolate, bacon sandwiches and salvation.

books - Fearless, Hot and Irresistible, Mom Needs Chocolate, Bacon Sandwiches and Salvation.

Then I went into email and saw that I had won Maggie Rose by Sharlene MacLaren off of MaryLu Tyndall's blog - Cross and Cutlass!

Ok - as for reading - I have read another 164 pages since 5pm - I think my total is 587 - 1 1/2 books down.

Gotta go! Last Breath is calling me back!

Mini Challenge - Collection Obsession

Ok - the title says it all - what else do you collect that is not book related?

I don't actually collect these - but I contribute frequently to my son's collection of Hot Wheels.






What kind of stitcher would I be if I did not collect thimbles! I have been collecting them since my first husband was in the Navy and would go all over the world. The only other country I have been to outside the US is Mexico - but I also have thimbles from Japan, Philippines, Germany, Bahamas.




Again - every stitcher "collects" different threads - the one with the biggest stash wins!

What do you collect????

8 Hours Ago

I started reading - can't believe it has been 8 hours! I have read one book - Saint John of the Five Boroughs by Edward Falco - page count 423.

1 hour - 124 pgs
2 hour - 54 pgs
3 hour - 50 pgs
4 hour - 32 pgs
5 hour - 41 pgs
(break here to help my 4 year old get ready for a Halloween party and to have some lunch - also sister dropped by for an impromptu visit. . .)
8 hour - 122 pgs

Interesting how my page count dropped as my family woke up! Hopefully they are now used to me reading and will become self sufficient today! My daughter actually made me lunch and brought it to me! Bless her heart!


Enjoy your reading!

Readathon - Bart's Mini Challenge

Fearless, hot and irresistible mom, needs chocolate, bacon sandwiches and salvation.

Short girls on the run shake the devil off.

Readathon Update - Finishing Hour 4

I cannot believe we are already 4 hours into the readathon - am still battling a slight headache but I am trying to ignore it - will probably need a nap later though! I did really well the first hour - before the household started moving - then my little boy got up - phone started ringing - television went on, etc, etc and suddenly I found I was reading fewer pages every hour! I have read about 250 pages at this point - have about 170 pages left to go in this book - Saint John of the Five Boroughs. It is pretty good and there is some mystery to it - I keep expecting some huge revelation to come out - sure hope I am right. After this one though we are going to move to a YA book or a short book! Well - I have had to wait 3 1/2 hours to actually get to use the computer this morning (hubby was playing games and I figures since he would be basically running the house today, I could give him some play time!) but now the line is once again forming at the computer desk. Have fun reading everyone!!

Musing Mondays - It's Official - I'm Doing the Read-a-Thon!

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the read-a-thon…


Are you planning on participating in the upcoming 24 Hour Read-a-thon (either as a reader or cheerleader)? Have you made any preparations for the event? And, veterans out there, any tips you’d like to share with the newbies?

Musing Mondays is hosted by Rebecca at Just One More Page. To participate please visit her blog and leave your link! (You are also welcome to leave your link for me too!)

I am absolutely planning on participating in the 24 Hour Read-a-thon. I have been delaying my post about the event just due to time - but thought this would be as good a place as any to post about it. This will be my second read-a-thon and it is going to be more difficult than the first one. All 3 of my kids will be around this weekend (ages 17, 15 and 4) and they have all been advised as to what is going on. Thankfully my husband is on board with me doing this and is always a big help trying to keep the little one entertained.

On Saturday my little boy does have a Halloween Party to go to for a few hours in the afternoon - so that will get him out of the house for awhile. We are all planning to go visit a Haunted House that night though, so this will cut into my reading time. I am sure that I will be ready for a break by then though!

I have no great tips - but I know I plan on keeping better "stats" on my reading times/pages than I did in the Spring. I will probably not spend as much time trying to do the mini-challenges on line as I really need to use this time to try to get caught up on my reading.

As for some of the books I am considering, in no particular order:

1. St. John of Five Boroughs by Edward Falco
2. Walk the Talk by Danae Dobson
3. Messages to Myself by Dr. Helen McIntosh
4. Night of Flames by Douglas Jacobson
5. Pendragon's Banner by Helen Hollick
6. Mom Needs Chocolate by Debora Coty
7. Last Breath by Brandilynn and Amberly Collins
8. Hot and Irresistible by Dianne Castell
9. Jesse's Girl by Gary Morgenstein
10. The Wildest Heart by Rosemary Rogers
11. The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy by Sara Angelini
12. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I tried to throw in a whole variety - from some non-fiction, YA, Romance, etc - so that no matter my mood, I should be able to find something to read.

Readathon Wrap Up

Ok - I actually got 8 hours of sleep - but still feel groggy. . . Thankfully my son isn't home yet, so I don't really have to have a functioning brain yet! But it will be soon.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Probably around hour 12 or 13 - because on one hand the time has flown by and on the other hand, it seemed like there was still a long way to go!

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I only read 2 1/2 books - and they were ARCs that needed to be read - next time I think that I would choose some of my favorite authors - like maybe a Nora Roberts trilogy and some young adult to read towards the end.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Are you kidding? You guys did a great job! Everything was awesome and it was really kept moving along!

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
The mini-challenges were great - and they were well varied so I think there was something for everyone! I really like the ones that had to do with knowledge of books.

5. How many books did you read?
I only read 2 1/2 - I spent too much time online! This was my first readathon and I didn't want to miss anything!

6. What were the names of the books you read?
The Lost Hours - Karen White
The Girl She Used to Be - David Cristofano
So Not Happening (1/2) - Jenny B Jones

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
The Lost Hours!

8. Which did you enjoy least?
I did start one - The Unquiet Bones - but it had a 2-3 page glossary in the front of all these terms, and I was too tired to comprehend all that stuff by the time I started reading it - It was like hour 20 - so I just put it back down!

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
n/a

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I would still like to be a reader - maybe host a challenge - probably donate some books!

Thank you to everyone - readathon hosts - mini-challenge hoss - cheerleaders - and my readers - everyone who came by and posted encouragement! See you all again in October!

Readathon Hour 21 and a Good Night

Well folks, that is it for me - I made it longer than I thought I would - but now I am beginning to have to read everything twice... I have read 46 pages into my third book - So Not Happening. It is a YA book, so it should be a quick read over the next couple of days. It has been fun! I read a total of 577 pages - but have no idea how long I read for as it was very sporadic. I will do a better job keeping track of my stats in the fall! I will also be better prepared! (Make sure I have less distractions! - It is amazing what you think needs to be done when you want to sit down to read!)

GOOD NIGHT EVERYONE!

Readathon - Hour 19

I am getting so sleepy. It is 1:30 AM here and I am tired! Not sure how much longer I am going to stay up. I have only read 2 books - The Lost Hours and The Girl She Used to Be for a total of 531 pages. I have really enjoyed the mini challenges and other stuff though. I also went out to dinner with my husband tonight and spent some time with my son this morning before he left for the day - I am already planning on doing things differently for the next challenge. The first thing being not staying up until 1am the night before the challenge starts!

Ok - potty break time, then pjs, then we will see if I am going to read some more!

Readathon Hour 16 - Stop the Reading Madness Challenge!

I decided to take the color hue test - and I got a 72 - but with 0 being the best and 1520 being the worst I am pretty happy with my results! Especially since I am wearing bifocals, have been reading for most of the day, and have substandard lighting now that the sun has been down awhile! That was a cool test though. I think I might try it again in sunlight when my eyes are rested and see how I do!


Here is the official findings:

Based on your information, below is how your score compares to those of others with similar demographic information.
Your score: 72
Gender: Female
Age range: 40-49
Best score for your gender and age range: 0
Highest score for your gender and age range: 1520


For fun I also took the accents test and got a 17. . . I missed two of the USA ones! How sad is that for a midwesterner!

Readathon Hour 15 - Creativity Challenge

For the creativity challenge I have created a word cloud - I am currently reading The Girl She Used To Be - This book is about a girl who has been in the Witness Protection Program since she was 6 - These are all the names of who she has been, the big one, of course, is her real name.


Click on image to see it larger - I was not able to get it to turn. . .

Readathon - Hour 13 Challenge and Update

I am back to get serious! I have only finished one book - The Lost Hours by Karen White - it was a super book! I am just beginning The Girl She Used to Be and after that I am not sure. I plan on trying to spend more time reading and less time on challenges tonight (so what am I doing here right?) I took a break to go out to eat with my husband.

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?

The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano

2. How many books have you read so far?

Only 1

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Finishing Murder, Mayhem and a Fine Man by Claudia Mair Burney

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Yes - our 4 year old went to spend the day (and night) with his Aunt. I considered finding a babysitter for my hubby. . . jk

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Only interruptions were of my own choosing.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

Surprised that I haven't gotten as much read as I have wanted to!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

This is my first readathon so I had no expectations - There are things that I personally need to improve before the next one - but you guys are doing great!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Read more - Cheerleaders have been great! Thanks for all the encouraging posts!

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Yeah - I am a little tired - but I am always a little tired!

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?

Nope - but feel free to post any tips for me in my comments!

Readathon Hour 8 Update and Challenge

I cannot believe how fast the time is passing! I am up to 170 pages, have taken a walk, gotten something official to eat for lunch - not just snacks - watched you tube videos and played with some Polly Pockets and toy farm animals. Whew -

The challenge now is to tell a little about your local library.

1.What is the name of your local library? What city is it located in?
2.How often do you go to the library? If you're a regular, do the staff know you?
3.Do you browse while you're there or just pick up items you have placed on reserve?
4.What is your favorite thing about your local library?

My answers:
1. Warren Newport Public Library in Gurnee.
2. I am usually at the library at least once a week - either picking up an interlibrary loan or reserve, or taking my son for some books/movies. Our library is too large for the staff to know little ole me though.
3. I love to browse, but can only do that when I don't have my 4 year old - unless of course I have conned one of the non-readers in my family to go with me to supervise him while I go wander the aisles!
4. We have a great library! If I can't find something that they have, I have always been able to get it off of their interlibrary loan system. There isn't an area of the library that is lacking - great adult books, YA books, and children's books. They have a large selection of movies and CD's. They have a wonderful reading room and a huge network of computers. I really love their used book store called "Book Ends" -I have picked up many books there over the last few years. They also have a "Stitch n Share" night once a month that I am sometimes able to go to.

I am off to visit everyone else's libraries!

Readathon Mini Challenge - Hour 7

The suggestion for this hour was to take a walk - and to take a picture of something you saw. Well, a walk sounded wonderful, as it is a perfect 70 degrees outside with just a small breeze - I will probably go find a chair outside after this post and sit out there and read. I found some lovely flowers in a neighbors yard - which made me come back home to my own backyard - where I found my lilac bush budding and the rhubarb that I planted last year just starting to come up. Can anyone say Strawberry Rhubarb pie?

Here are the pics:

Readathon update Hour Six

It seems impossible that this is the beginning of hour six and I have only read 100 pages. I have been trying the mini challenges and watching you tube videos and visiting other blogs - but this has all been fun too! My husband is at the driving range, my daughters are at friends houses, and my son went to spend the night at his Aunt's house. She was so excited when she heard I was doing this and jumped all over the chance of getting to have him for the night!

Ok - update - It is noon here
Only 103 pages read this is about 7 chapters - reading from The Lost Hours by Karen White. This is a great book!

Food - one bagel, one banana, 3 pretzels sticks and a piece of chocolate! (Hoping my husband brings us something home for lunch!)

Drinks - one cup of coffee and a Wild Cherry Pepsi.

It is getting warm in the house, so I am thinking about moving outside to read!

Talk with you soon!

Readathon - Mini-challenge 1

Here is the challenge:

Look through the pile and take a picture of the cover you like the best, for whatever reason. It can be the prettiest, the oddest, the brightest...Flip the book over and look at the blurb (or look on the inside of the jacket).

Now here's the fun, little kid part - recreate the blurb anyway you want. What I'm looking for is some kind of tableau that expresses the main thrust of the book's plot (which the blurb should hopefully capture). You can recreate it using action figures, poppets, stuffed toys, lego creatures, models made from bluetack and paper clips, anything you can find around the house. If you're feeling really ambitious you can get people to help you out - dress them up and take a picture of them acting out the main idea behind the book. Mock it up quickly and have fun doing it :) Snap a picture of whatever you create. The challenge runs from 2pm - 4pm (GMT).

My book is So Not Happening - I picked it because I liked the pig on the cover!

Here is my "scene" to depict the blurb:

:

Readathon - Introduction Meme

It is the beginning of hour 2. I started reading about 40 minutes ago from The Lost Hours by Karen White. I had started this book earlier this week and new that I would enjoy reading it.

Three facts about me: 1)I have had a library card for 40 years. (wow - that sounds like a long time!) 2)I just got my cholesterol levels checked this year and they were normal for the first time in about 10 years - YAY! (and no medication!) 3) I got married to my husband in Las Vegas with "Elvis" in attendance.

I don't know how many books in my TBR pile - probably about 20. My goals are basically to read some books that I have reviews due on - and to actually see how many books I could read in a day. I have never done this before, so not sure how long my eyes will last! But I really just want to have fun!