Readathon Kick-Off!

It's 5 a.m. and, as I tell you almost every single Readathon, I'm still asleep! I did see that when I participated in my first Readathon in October 2010, I actually got up at the start of the event. But hey, I was six years younger then than I am now and, these days, I want my full night of sleep. So, I am writing this at midnight and I'll be awake around hour four or five.

This is my stack, with the addition of the second volume of the Edward Scissorhands graphic novel that I got for my birthday. The first three Valente books will be rereads but I want to do that before I read the last two. It's such a lovely, quick series that I'm hopeful that I'll get through most of it today. I have the third and fourth books on audiobook in case I need to rest my eyes by that point in the series. I threw in some other fun-looking middle grade review copies in case I need to take a break from September and her adventures. And I also have The Regional Office is Under Attack! on audiobook. I started it earlier this week on my daily walks and it is a crazy and exciting story. If I need a pick-me-up, this book will do the job! I'll probably stick it on first thing when I wake up to get me going.

I don't have a picture of my snacks at the moment. I'll put one on Instagram and Twitter when I get to the snacking portion of my day. In the morning, I'll be making my traditional scones. I can't wait! Otherwise, I have a lot of snacks that involve popcorn and dark chocolate -- sadly, not together.

I'll be doing all of my updates throughout the day on Instagram and Twitter as part of #TeamOwl so come find me there! I can't wait to spend the day reading with you (and hubby and Z, who are both joining me in order to share my snacks).

Doing this thing,
K

24-Hour Read-a-thon Kick-Off Post

It is Read-a-thon time, my pretties! As is customary for one who lives on the west coast, I will not be awake for the start of the event. As a night owl, the only time I ever see 5:00am is from the other side. Depending on when I fell asleep last night, I'll be up around hour four or five and that's when I will start in on this lovely stack --

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace & Babbage (graphic novel)

The Shepherd's Crown (the final Tiffany Aching book -- SOB!!)

The League of Beastly Dreadfuls (middle grade)

Jackaby (a reread because it is awesome)

Beastly Bones (... and the sequel)

I also have two audiobooks queued up -- A Blink of the Screen (Terry Pratchett's collected short fiction) and The Witch of Blackbird Pond for while I'm baking my traditional scones, making dinner, and/or any other time my peepers need a rest.

Speaking of scones, I have a few snacks for the day, of course --

I'll post more pictures on Instagram as the day goes on and you can find me on Twitter if you want to chat. I wish you all a fantastic day of reading and socializing!

Planning my fashionably late entrance,
K

Read-a-Thon Day! Woohoo!

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon starts in 15 minutes! As is the case every time I do this though, I am not going to be available at the start due to, well, sleeping. I am just not the type of person who can do 5am, even for something as awesome as read-a-thon. So, after waking up at a reasonable time, my plan is basically this --

9am-ish: Get a crockpot of chili going for dinner while listening to The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett.

9:30-ish: Keep listening to my audiobook while I make my traditional read-a-thon breakfast of scones and tea. I'm feeling blueberry this time.

10am-ish: Plop down on the couch, in front of a fire, with my cozy blanket and enjoy this lovely stack of books for the rest of the day!

Books of Magic - Neil Gaiman & others

Moone Boy - Chris O'Dowd and Nick V. Murphy

Scott Pilgrim volumes 1-6 - Brian Lee O'Malley

The Foundling - Lloyd Alexander

The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

A Wild Ride Through the Night - Walter Moers

I have gone with mostly graphic novels this time for a change. I've been working through Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell for the past week and a half so I wanted something less heavy (literally). I might still pick that up for a bit though too.

And with my books, of course, I will be enjoying snacks! I have all of these horribly bad for me goodies (Pringles, zebra popcorn, churro bites, white chocolate pretzels, more chocolate), some fruit for smoothies and snacking, and, of course, lots of black tea. I've also used these snacks to bribe Z and the husband into joining me for the day. Yay!

I will mostly be hanging out on Twitter and instagram rather than writing up lots of blog posts so check for my updates there, starting in a few hours. Woot!! (I'm not sure this has come across yet but I am super excited for another read-a-thon!!!)

Are you joining the read-a-thon today? (It's never too late!) What are you looking forward to?

Hitting the books,
K

Read-a-Thon in T-Minus-Six

Yes, Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon starts in six hours and, as always, I won't be awake for the start. I just can't do 5 a.m. (Seattle represent!). It's not a time that works with my body clock. But, as soon as I get up, I will be reading and snacking and rogue cheering (#teamrogue forever) until the wee hours of the morning.

My stack is pleasantly monochromatic --

The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel, Volume One (and I picked up Volume Two shortly after I took this picture)

The Creeps

This House is Haunted

Unnatural Creatures (short stories not by Neil Gaiman)

Brat Farrar (reread because Anastasia got me in the mood)

The Bad Beginning (reread for the Top 100 Chapter Book Project)

Lords and Ladies (a Discworld Witches book)

My plan is to finish my current read--The Infernals (second in the Samuel Johnson series)--first thing in the morning and then move on to The Creeps (book three). Then I will probably go through the two volumes of The Graveyard Book graphic novel. I started the first one the other day and it is incredibly dark. It hardly seems like a children's book in this format! Then I'll choose from the other books based on my mood in the evening and what I think will keep me awake the longest. I also have the audiobook of The Glass Sentence on my phone for when I'm baking, driving, or when my eyes need a break.

I'll be sticking with my usual read-a-thon breakfast of scones and tea. This time I am trying glazed cinnamon raisin. Then I have some yummy Trader Joe's snacks for during the day, taquitos for lunch, and probably pizza for dinner. I also have some popcorn and fruit that didn't make it into the picture.

As always, I'll be putting my updates up on Twitter and my pictures on Instagram. I've also decided this time to not focus on the details but just to have fun -- so I won't be counting pages or hours. I'll just be reading and having fun!

What are you looking forward to reading (or eating) today?

Excited as always,

K

Read-a-thon Wrap Up: The Morning After

It's 11:30am, six and a half hours after the end of this year's read-a-thon. It was an awesome event as always, even if I did accidentally schedule the world's slowest painting contractor to come give an estimate right in the middle of it. I also did a couple of new things this read-a-thon that I've never done before --

1. I did a bit of cheerleading as part of #teamrogue
2. I listened to an audiobook
3. I fell asleep

That's right kids ... I turned on my audiobook to rest my eyes at about 2:00am and all of a sudden it was 2:40am. I didn't even tweet one last time or anything. I just shuffled off to bed and was asleep within minutes. This definitely taught me a lesson about when audiobooks work for me (while prepping food, baking and eating) and when they don't (when I will fall asleep immediately upon closing my eyes).

Here are a few of my stats from the day:

Books finished -- 2 (Primates graphic novel and The Castle of Llyr)

Books in the middle of -- 2 (The Pigeon Pie Mystery and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library audiobook)

Pages read -- 470

Minutes listened -- 110 (I didn't count the time when my book was playing but I was, ahem, not listening)

Minutes spent cheering -- 55

Total read-a-thon hours -- 10

This is a really low number for me in pages and hours. I blame the dawdling contractor, my extra late start and social media. Still, I had SO much fun! I chatted with a bunch of people on Twitter, left some comments on new-to-me blogs and thoroughly enjoyed everything I read. Now, though, it's time to go pay for all of those snacks yesterday with some time at the gym.

Did you participate in the read-a-thon? How did it go?

Packing up my spreadsheet until October,
K

Super Duper Read-a-thon Kick-Off

It's 5:00am Pacific ... time to start Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon! I, as usual, am still in bed right now as I'm so, so, so not a morning person and would not be very successful at this event if I gave up any of my precious sleep. I usually get up around 8 or 9 out of sheer excitement though. (Yes, these are still early-rising times for me.) But here are the books I'm planning on reading once I wake up ...

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, Volume 3 by various

The Aviary by Kathleen O'Dell

The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander (book 3 of series)

The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart

Primates by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks (graphic novel)

The Professor's House by Willa Cather (novella)

Queen Victoria's Book of Spells by various (short stories)

I have also downloaded a couple of audiobooks for when I'm baking/cooking and possibly resting my eyes --

M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman (short stories)

 Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

Z says he will be joining me too with Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary, which he needs to read for a realistic fiction book report. (I might have told him that the snacks are only for readers ... lol.)

As for snacks and meals, I'll be making some scones and tea in the morning as usual and I'll be putting a huge pork roast into the slow cooker for bbq pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. I'm pretty sure we're all set for snacks (for the next month). And yes, I bought a pineapple.

I'm not sure how many updates I'll post here on the blog but I will definitely be on Twitter and Instagram all day long so come find me! I think I'll aim to stay up until about 2:00am. I think that's usually the point that my mind starts melting a bit. I'm also one of the sponsors of a giveaway (any book up to $15 from the Book Depository), an international Angel (I'll help a US giveaway book get to an international winner), and a rogue cheerleader on #teamrogue. Why yes, I do love the Read-a-Thon something fierce! It's my favorite excuse to read a small stack of books, eat junk food and talk books with you lovely people all day long.

Finally, thank you so much to Andi and Heather for coordinating this wonderful event. It gets better each time thanks to your dedication. I never had the chance to meet Dewey but I can tell that her reading spirit is alive and well through this event.

On my mark, getting set,

K

The Dark is Rising Read-a-Thon

#ReadTDiR

Yesterday was the kick-off day for the The Dark is Rising 40th Anniversary Readathon run by Danny Whittaker to celebrate Susan Cooper's award-winning children's fantasy series. Details are on the blog and the Twitter account. There are over 100 people signed up to participate so far and it's not too late to join!

I'll be starting by reading The Grey King today since I'm still working my way through the sequence for the first time. I read the first two books (Over Sea, Under Stone and The Dark is Rising) in October 2012 for my 100 Chapter Books Project over at The Estella Society and I read the third book, Greenwitch, as an RIP read in October of this year. I can't wait to finish up the series now (this book and Silver on the Tree) to see where it all goes. It's a really smart and fun series with great protagonists and some seriously scary villains. If you're interested, now would be a good time to try it out!

Trusting in the Old Ones to prevail,
K

Read-a-Thon Wrap-Up

I totally meant to get this wrap-up done yesterday but then I ended up having problems with my washing machine (it put moldy residue all over my white comforter) and that claimed all of my attention for the evening.

Anyway, here is the final questionnaire --

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? It's actually hardest for me to get going in the morning. I never know if I should shower, dress and eat or just start reading and then fit the other stuff in after I have some pages under my belt. (I usually choose reading first!)
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Any of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series would be great
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I never do. I think it's such a flexible event that however it's run, it seems to work perfectly.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I loved that the main blog updated right on time each hour. It kept me on track and always coming back.
5. How many books did you read? Four
6. What were the names of the books you read? Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, The Asylum by John Harwood and Grimm: Volume One by various authors and illustrators
7. Which book did you enjoy most? Probably Which Witch?. It kind of bugs me that it came out in 1979 so I could have read it as a kid but I didn't.
8. Which did you enjoy least? Grimm. The story was okay but it was a little bit repetitive, both between the collected issues and in relation to the tv show. I did like the way the characters were written though. The dialogue was near perfect.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I still haven't officially cheered but maybe I will next year. They always make the day better!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Unless something unavoidable comes up, I will definitely participate again (and again). It's such a fun time and I end up reading far more than I ever think I can.

So my final stats were --

Books: 4

Pages: 789

Time spent reading: 10 hours, 35 minutes

I call that a productive day, especially since I got a reread in there (Coraline -- much better the second time!). I look forward to the next read-a-thon.

Already reading again,

K

Read-a-thon: Hour Twenty-One Update

Hour Twenty! Well, minutes ago I finished my third book of the day -- The Asylum by John Harwood. It was as good as I expected it would be.

Here are my stats so far:

# of Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 635
Time Spent Reading: 9 hours, 40 minutes

I'm going to keep going for at least a while longer. Say hi if you're still up!

Getting a little drowsy,
K

Read-a-Thon: Hour 12 Update

Time for the ... Mid-Event Survey!

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?

I'm doing pretty well! I've completed a couple of mini-challenges and finished two books totalling 378 pages (3 hours, 55 minutes of reading). I'm not too sleepy yet but I did start four hours late. I also left the house for lunch which helped. I also keep using the upstairs toilet to get a little exercise in and get the blood moving to my brain and toes every so often.

2) What have you finished reading?

Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

3) What is your favorite read so far?

Both of these were great and I would read them again in a second.

4) What about your favorite snacks?

I haven't snacked much yet so probably the blueberry scones I made for breakfast.

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!

I discovered a couple of new blogs because they were hosting mini-challenges -- Jehara and Nisaba Be Praised. It's a great way to find new blogs!

Now time to pick my next read ...

K

Read-a-Thon Mad Libs!

This Mad Libs challenge from Jessica seemed super fun so here goes!

Here’s what you’re gonna do: 1) pick a paragraph (not too long) from the book you’re reading, 2) remove some/most of the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, and either, 3a) get a friend (in person, over the phone, over the internet–whatever!) to fill in the words for you mad-libs style or, 3b) fill them in yourself from the spoiler-texted word list below. 4) post your hilarious paragraph on your blog and link us to it or leave it in a comment here!

I'm using Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson and I'll ask Z (my nine year old son) to supply the words. Don't be surprised if "poop" shows up. :P

Original paragraph:

Belladonna had always been a white witch. Even as a tiny baby she had used her teeth only to bite the tops off milk bottles so that the bluetits could get at the cream, and as she grew older her whiteness grew steadily worse. Flowers sprang up where she walked, bursts of glorious music fell from the air, and when she smiled, old gentlemen remembered the Christmases they had had when they were children. As for her hair--from the age of six or so when it had reached her waist, there had always been someone resting in Belladonna's golden hair.

Z's Mad Libs version:

Jennifer had always been a aquamarine witch. Even as a stinky baby she had used her butt only to bite the tops off trees so that the bears could get at the pizza, and as she grew older her righteousness grew steadily worse. Poops sprang up where she walked, bursts of glorious weasels fell from the air, and when she smiled, old gentlemen remembered the leaves they had had when they were children. As for her thighs--from the age of six or so when it had reached her waist, there had always been someone resting in Jennifer's silver thighs.

So silly (and was I right about the poop?),
K and Z

Read-a-thon Hour Five Update

Good morning all! I'm about to start reading but, in keeping with my plan, I'm also participating in a mini-challenge: Capricious Reader's Spine Poetry challenge!

In keeping with the season, I've made it a spooky one ...

Now off to Which Witch? and a little breakfast ...
K

Kick-Off Post: Dewey's Read-a-Thon

Once again, we start a day where hundreds (hundreds!) of readers across the world get together for 24 hours to celebrate reading and community. I love this day ... except for one thing ... the 5am west coast start time. So, as in past years, I will not actually be here for the first couple of hours (FYI for the awesome cheerleaders). I know, I'm such a slacker and I could try and get up but I'm a night person so I would be doing the day on like 4 hours of sleep and that's just not happy-making. Instead, I'll sleep in and then be one of the few to keep going into the wee hours of Sunday!

Without further ado, here are the books I'm planning on reading today and the answers to the introductory questions ...

Rereads: The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones and Coraline by Neil Gaiman

New reads: Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson, The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and a Grimm graphic novel

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

A beautiful, tree-filled suburb of Seattle, Washington, USA

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Probably The Watcher in the Shadows -- I love to read a Carlos Ruiz Zafón novel right at the end of the read-a-thon. They're so spooky and have really compelling stories which makes it easier to keep going!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

This is what I've put aside as read-a-thon snacks. The scones are for breakfast and I'll hopefully stick mostly to the juice, tea, bananas and nuts during the day but, really, I'm looking forward to the cinnamon sugar Cookie Chips!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I have always been a reader. I taught myself to read at the age of three when my brother was born and my mom was too busy to read to me as often as I wanted.

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?

I have participated a few times now and I think I'm going to try and participate in at least one of the mini-challenges this year. I usually just do my own thing during the day but the challenges always look fun and I'm tired of missing out!

Well, that's a good start! As in past read-a-thons, I'll mostly be updating on Twitter and Instagram.

Ready for the show,

K

Kicking Off The Dog Days of Summer Read-a-Thon

Well, the Dog Days of Summer Read-a-Thon officially starts on Saturday but I've decided to get a head start today since I just finished a somewhat bleak book ... and, to be honest, I've also been champing at the bit to start some of these comfort reads that I chose. I've been thinking about them for days! This will also mean that I get 72 hours of fun reads. How can I resist (and how can I stop on Sunday)?

I've decided to start with Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters, second in the Discworld Witches series. It's short and guaranteed to be funny and exciting.

The hashtag on Twitter for the read-a-thon is #ddsummer and I'll mostly be updating there with a summary post at the end. I hope lots of you also get to participate, even if it's just picking up one fun or nostalgic book this weekend!

Cheating for more time with good reads,
K

Coming Soon: The Dog Days of Summer Read-a-Thon

The lovely gals at The Estella Society are hosting a read-a-thon in a couple of weeks --

We wanted to take a weekend to just kick back and read the books we are so nostalgic for. ... So, here, I humbly introduce The Dog Days of Summer Readathon. A whole weekend devoted to reading. No challenges. No prizes. No cheerleading (unless you feel so inclined). Just a weekend of reading fun, fluffy, nostalgic books.

So on August 17 and 18, I will be kicking back with some fun books (and likely some tasty, nostalgic snacks -- rice krispie treats, anyone?). First, I have decided to make a super-fun-reread stack including

adorable cover by fourblackbirds on deviantart

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (and possibly its sequels),

and from lerms on deviantart

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett,

a beautiful imagining by Arturangga on deviantart

and Un Lun Dun by China Miéville.

I'm also going to be checking out a couple of first-read Discworld books from the library, probably Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad and maybe Soul Music. This would be a great time to move forward in the series.

So, head on over and sign-up if you're interested in joining for some pressure-free fun and/or nostalgic reading on what will hopefully be a warm and lazy summer weekend (or winter weekend for you Aussies)!

Thinking about stacking and snacking,
K

Read-a-Thon Wrap-Up

That's it for me, my friends. It's 2:30am here and I just can't stay awake for 2 1/2 hours more. As always, I might read a little bit more in bed but it's more likely that I'll fall quickly asleep. Since I have to be up in the morning with Z, I don't have the luxury of staying up much later than this without suffering tomorrow!

Time Spent Reading: 10 hours and 3 minutes (that doesn't include internet or twitter time!)
Pages Read: 1006
Books Finished: The Infernals, The Arrival, Sandman
Book in Progress: The Midnight Palace
Best Treat: Almond croissant -- if you have a Trader Joe's near you, try these!

Thank you to all of the cheerleaders, the hosts and the challenge creators. This was a fantastic read-a-thon once again!

Stumbling to bed,
K

Read-a-Thon Update Seven

It's so late that I don't even have a picture ready for this post! It's Hour 20.5 and I've read for nine hours and ten minutes (942 pages total). I'm a third of the way through The Midnight Palace and it's not as spooky as The Prince of Mists but it's still quite disturbing.

I don't know how much longer I will be up. It's 1:30am which is near my normal bedtime so I'm starting to feel sleepy. Still, I'll see how much longer CRZ can keep me awake. He's a pro.

Something about a home stretch,
K

Read-a-Thon Update Six

11:30pm here means Hour 18.5 and I've just finished The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes -- by the last story it is very Gaiman. I've now spent seven hours and forty eight minutes reading and have gotten through 834 pages. That includes 10 pages of Z's bedtime story which I've been told should definitely count toward my total.

We ended up grabbing some teriyaki for dinner which was yummy. I don't know if I'll have any other snacks before bedtime. I might just make some tea in a bit.

Since we're nearing the witching hour, I'm going to start Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Midnight Palace which should be creepy enough to keep me awake for a while. It's 298 pages so, technically, I should be able to finish it before the end of the read-a-thon ... if I can stay awake, that is!

Are you still up? What are you reading?

Relishing the end-of-day quiet,
K

Read-a-Thon Update Five

Hour 14.5 ... 7:30pm here. Five hours and 37 minutes of reading (585 pages total). I've just finished reading The Arrival by Shaun Tan and The Griff by Christopher Moore (yes, *that* Chris Moore) and Ian Corson with Jennyson Rosero. These two graphic novels couldn't be more different from each other! One was a thoughtful and poignant picture of the immigrant experience. The other was totally the graphic novel version of a Syfy Channel movie. That doesn't mean I wasn't amused. I just don't feel any smarter after reading it. ::wink::

Next up will probably be Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes before I settle in for the rest of the evening with The Midnight Palace. What better way to spend a dark, fall night than with two of your favorite authors?!

First, though ... dinner. I'll let you know what that ends up being. I have no idea at the moment.

Pushing forward,
K

Read-a-Thon Update Four

Ahh, just over the half-way point -- hour 12.5. I've now read for 4 hours and 24 minutes and have gotten through 293 pages which means that I've just finished my first book! Yay! Next up will probably be a graphic novel or two just for the sense of accomplishment.

We went out for lunch to the local café -- I had coffee, an omelet and some pumpkin pancakes. It was delicious. This afternoon, I'll be sticking to a Cool Lime Refresher from Sbux and some trail mix and dried fruit. For now I'm stuffed from lunch though so I'll just start reading again!

Over the hump,
K