Readathon - It begins... (soon)
Apr. 8th, 2011 06:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wilderthanIt's the 24 hour read-a-thon tomorrow! I'm going to have a bit of a spanner in the works, in that I'm going to be going to a concert -- Karine Polwart -- tomorrow evening. But I'll take along my Kindle/my iPod with a Kindle app, and we'll see what I can do.
I have quite a pile I'll be drawing from tomorrow, and I don't expect to finish even half these. But this is what I might be reading:
Not many dead tree books this time.
-Sarah Rees Brennan, The Demon's Lexicon.
-Lois McMaster Bujold, the Vorkosigan series.
-Lois McMaster Bujold, the Chalion trilogy.
-Octavia Butler, Bloodchild and Other Stories.
-Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen's Union.
-Eoin Colfer, the Artemis Fowl series.
-Michael Ende, The Neverending Story.
-Elizabeth Goudge, The Little White Horse.
-Joanne Harris, Coastliners.
-Joanne Harris, Gentlemen and Players.
-Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
-Josh Lanyon, Don't Look Back.
-Josh Lanyon, The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks.
-Annie Proulx, Fine Just The Way It Is.
-J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter series.
-William Shakespeare, King Lear.
-Thomas E. Sniegoski, the Remy Chandler books.
-Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
Like last time, I'll start a new post after few hours, but in between those, I'll be editing a post until it gets -- to my mind, anyway -- too crowded. I'll start in here, so if you're interested in my progress, check back tomorrow! I'll be updating on what I think of the books, plus linking to my reviews on goodreads.
12:35: Just gearing up to go. Got plenty of sleep last night, just had a shower. Now I need to dry my hair, eat a bacon sandwich, and find my first cosy reading nook of the day. I'll be starting with Octavia Butler's Fledgling, which I'm partway through and haven't finished. I'll probably update every hour or so!
13:43: Finished Fledgling; my review is here. Onto a collection of short stories, Bloodchild and Other Stories, also by Octavia Butler.
14:12: Introduction meme time!
1)Where are you reading from today? My parents' house in Yorkshire.
2)Three random facts about me… I'm an English Lit student, my Kindle is called Desmond, I used to be a ballerina. There, a nice random assortment!
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? A lot. I haven't counted.
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)? Not really. I'd like to beat last time, which was seven books.
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Don't drink too much caffeine, or you'll end up needing to pee wayyyy too much.
15:35: Still working on Bloodchild. I've found that reading short stories is actually a bad thing -- for me, anyway -- because instead of getting to settle into something that sweeps me away, I keep having to get into it all over again. And sometimes not, and then I struggle.
I've also started drinking some coke. It's cold and fizzy and caffeinated, so I decided I'll have one or two cans during the 'thon. The next one will be during the night, I think. In the meantime I'll have juice. I'm technically not meant to drink coke, during Lent, but I'm exempting myself for this!
16:21: The hour four post asked about reading companions. Here's mine -- Helen Hippo, my teddy since I was two days old, now nearly twenty-two years old!
I finished Bloodchild: my review is here. Now onto The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Muriel Spark).
18:37: Finished The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, review here. Not sure what I'll read next -- possibly King Lear, according to my plan, but perhaps I'll move right on to one of the Josh Lanyon or Joanne Harris books.
I won't be updating for a few hours, now. It's more or less time to go to the concert. I'll be back around midnight, at the latest! Hopefully I'll have read at least one more book by then.
00:01: Back from the concert! It was fantastic, though I did read through most of it. I put the book down firmly when she sang "We're All Leaving", though, largely because it always makes me cry... In the meantime, I've managed to read King Lear (William Shakespeare), review here. I'm also almost halfway through Gentlemen and Players (Joanne Harris). Settling down to that with a glass of smoothie (cranberries, blueberries and cherries -- all fruits I dislike on their own, but apparently don't mind in combination).
Mid-event survey...
1. What are you reading right now? Joanne Harris' Gentlemen and Players.
2. How many books have you read so far? Four and a half.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I've always heard a lot of good things -- worship even -- about The Neverending Story (Michael Ende).
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? I didn't free up my whole day. I just attended a concert.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? The concert, errands, dinner, a bout of motion sickness in the car. I read through them where possible and put up with it where not!
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? That I, as a lit student who reads in Old and Middle English and Old Norse, can be so bloody thrown by Shakespeare.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Try not to be attending a concert on the day.
9. Are you getting tired yet? A little, yes.
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? Apparently Innocent smoothies help greatly. I'm perking up, anyway...
I think with the next hour, I might make a new post. I like to start them with a photo -- any requests?
I have quite a pile I'll be drawing from tomorrow, and I don't expect to finish even half these. But this is what I might be reading:
Not many dead tree books this time.
-Sarah Rees Brennan, The Demon's Lexicon.
-Lois McMaster Bujold, the Vorkosigan series.
-Lois McMaster Bujold, the Chalion trilogy.
-Octavia Butler, Bloodchild and Other Stories.
-Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen's Union.
-Eoin Colfer, the Artemis Fowl series.
-Michael Ende, The Neverending Story.
-Elizabeth Goudge, The Little White Horse.
-Joanne Harris, Coastliners.
-Joanne Harris, Gentlemen and Players.
-Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
-Josh Lanyon, Don't Look Back.
-Josh Lanyon, The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks.
-Annie Proulx, Fine Just The Way It Is.
-J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter series.
-William Shakespeare, King Lear.
-Thomas E. Sniegoski, the Remy Chandler books.
-Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
Like last time, I'll start a new post after few hours, but in between those, I'll be editing a post until it gets -- to my mind, anyway -- too crowded. I'll start in here, so if you're interested in my progress, check back tomorrow! I'll be updating on what I think of the books, plus linking to my reviews on goodreads.
12:35: Just gearing up to go. Got plenty of sleep last night, just had a shower. Now I need to dry my hair, eat a bacon sandwich, and find my first cosy reading nook of the day. I'll be starting with Octavia Butler's Fledgling, which I'm partway through and haven't finished. I'll probably update every hour or so!
13:43: Finished Fledgling; my review is here. Onto a collection of short stories, Bloodchild and Other Stories, also by Octavia Butler.
14:12: Introduction meme time!
1)Where are you reading from today? My parents' house in Yorkshire.
2)Three random facts about me… I'm an English Lit student, my Kindle is called Desmond, I used to be a ballerina. There, a nice random assortment!
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? A lot. I haven't counted.
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)? Not really. I'd like to beat last time, which was seven books.
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Don't drink too much caffeine, or you'll end up needing to pee wayyyy too much.
15:35: Still working on Bloodchild. I've found that reading short stories is actually a bad thing -- for me, anyway -- because instead of getting to settle into something that sweeps me away, I keep having to get into it all over again. And sometimes not, and then I struggle.
I've also started drinking some coke. It's cold and fizzy and caffeinated, so I decided I'll have one or two cans during the 'thon. The next one will be during the night, I think. In the meantime I'll have juice. I'm technically not meant to drink coke, during Lent, but I'm exempting myself for this!
16:21: The hour four post asked about reading companions. Here's mine -- Helen Hippo, my teddy since I was two days old, now nearly twenty-two years old!
I finished Bloodchild: my review is here. Now onto The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Muriel Spark).
18:37: Finished The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, review here. Not sure what I'll read next -- possibly King Lear, according to my plan, but perhaps I'll move right on to one of the Josh Lanyon or Joanne Harris books.
I won't be updating for a few hours, now. It's more or less time to go to the concert. I'll be back around midnight, at the latest! Hopefully I'll have read at least one more book by then.
00:01: Back from the concert! It was fantastic, though I did read through most of it. I put the book down firmly when she sang "We're All Leaving", though, largely because it always makes me cry... In the meantime, I've managed to read King Lear (William Shakespeare), review here. I'm also almost halfway through Gentlemen and Players (Joanne Harris). Settling down to that with a glass of smoothie (cranberries, blueberries and cherries -- all fruits I dislike on their own, but apparently don't mind in combination).
Mid-event survey...
1. What are you reading right now? Joanne Harris' Gentlemen and Players.
2. How many books have you read so far? Four and a half.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I've always heard a lot of good things -- worship even -- about The Neverending Story (Michael Ende).
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? I didn't free up my whole day. I just attended a concert.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? The concert, errands, dinner, a bout of motion sickness in the car. I read through them where possible and put up with it where not!
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? That I, as a lit student who reads in Old and Middle English and Old Norse, can be so bloody thrown by Shakespeare.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Try not to be attending a concert on the day.
9. Are you getting tired yet? A little, yes.
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? Apparently Innocent smoothies help greatly. I'm perking up, anyway...
I think with the next hour, I might make a new post. I like to start them with a photo -- any requests?
