The 24-Hour Read-a-Thon
Dewey's 24-hour read-a-thon is starting! I'll be using this post to track my progress all day. I'm hoping to get through the entire 24 hours, but I might collapse before reaching the finish line, so we'll see. Anyway, I've got a good (and optimistically huge) selection of books to get me through the day, so I'm excited! I'm starting with The Marsh King's Daughter by Elizabeth Chadwick, which I'm about halfway through right now. Ready, set, go!
8:19 a.m. I suppose I should do this introductory meme!
10:12 a.m. Still reading and enjoying The Marsh King's Daughter, but I'm hoping to finish within the next hour or so. Also, I thought I'd do the book puzzle mini-challenge at One Librarian's Book Reviews. So please feel free to guess the book title based on the pictures below:
I'll post the answer at the end of the read-a-thon. No prize for guessing correctly, but you will get bragging rights!
11:31 a.m. Not quite done with The Marsh King's Daughter yet, but I'll definitely finish it before too long. I'm really enjoying this beautiful, lazy day. :)
12:24 p.m. Time for food! Also, I finished The Marsh King's Daughter, so now I get to start About That Night, hooray!
1:20 p.m. About That Night is a lot of fun so far! Also, time for another mini-challenge: Book Appetit, hosted by Book Journey, asks readers to plan a menu to go along with one of the books they're reading for the read-a-thon. So here's my menu for About That Night by Julie James:
4:22 p.m. Finished About That Night! Trying to figure out what to start next now...I think I'll go with A. C. Gaughen's Scarlet, which looks to be an interesting take on the Robin Hood legend.
5:06 p.m. I'm finally ready with my entry for the book staging mini-challenge at Midnight Book Girl. The challenge was to take a picture of one of your read-a-thon books in a context that is somehow relevant to the book. Here's my pic of About That Night:
Since the heroine is a prosecutor, I've placed the novel in front of some of my actual textbooks from law school; you can see Evidence on the left, and there's also Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. The black thing hanging down on the right is a bra strap (ahem), because let's face it, this is a romance novel and there are some sexytimes. So voila!
6:20 p.m. Scarlet is going well! The main character has an unusual dialect that drove me nuts at first, but I've grown used to it, and I must admit I'm getting sucked into the book. It's no The Outlaws of Sherwood, but it's interesting in its own right.
Also, The Fake Steph is hosting a mini-challenge and wants to know who my favorite antihero is. The character who immediately came to mind is Eli Monpress from Rachel Aaron's fabulous series! Eli is a thief who's obsessed with increasing the bounty on his head. He hangs out with a mercenary soldier and a girl with a demon inside her. In short, he's pretty awesome!
7:10 p.m. I'm about 70 pages from the end of Scarlet, so I expect I'll be finishing it soon. Hmm, what to read next? I have a couple other books in the queue, but I'm saving them until things get really tough at like 3 a.m.
8:11 p.m. Halfway there, livin' on a prayer...and it's time for the mid-event survey!
9:15 p.m. Bossypants is still hilarious. I don't agree with Tina Fey's politics, but she is one funny lady! I've been laughing so loudly that I'm undoubtedly disturbing the neighbors. The walls in my apartment are not thick.
10:10 p.m. So there is a reference to Count Chocula in Bossypants. Nuff said.
Also, I was going to do the mini-challenge where you find a picture that somehow relates to the book you're reading. I had no clever ideas, so I just started searching for "30 Rock"-related ideas on Google Images. When searching for "tracy morgan thomas jefferson," this was literally one of the first images to come up:
The ways of the Internet are inscrutable.
11:11 p.m. Ooh, it's 11:11! I should make a wish...except that it's 11:12 now. Well, there goes that life-changing opportunity. Anyway, still here, still reading. My fingers feel weird and tingly...is this from all the book-holding and typing, or is there something very wrong here?!
12:20 a.m. The new mini-challenge this hour asks readers to take a picture of themselves with the book they're currently reading. HA! I am wearing pajamas and a totally lame headband to keep my hair out of my face. The world is not ready. On the up side, I finished Bossypants and am moving on to The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen.
1:14 a.m. I'm starting to fade at this point, but I have a strong desire to make it through all 24 hours. Plus I'm desperately behind on most of my book challenges, and I'm trying to catch up! The good news is, The Sugar Queen is excellent so far. I love that there is a character who "is hounded by books that inexplicably appear whenever she needs them" (as per the dust jacket flap).
2:32 a.m. Tired, but still tenacious! There's a great mini-challenge at Letters Inside Out telling readers to pair a song with the book they're reading right now. I'm still in the middle of The Sugar Queen and loving it, and I've been trying to find the perfect song. Here's my choice, though I'm not completely sold on it:
The song is Regina Spektor's "Samson." She has a unique, haunting voice; and the song conveys both passion and melancholy, at least to me. At this point in The Sugar Queen, all the protagonists are suffering because of love, so this song seems somewhat fitting.
3:13 a.m. Fading fast, but I don't care because Sarah Addison Allen is so good!
4:17 a.m. Still here, mostly. I've moved on to Rick Riordan's The Last Olympian. I read the other four books a couple years ago, so it's more than time to put this series to bed!
5:14 a.m. Three more hours seems like forever. I'm not sure I'm going to make it! All the mini-challenges look like waaaay too much effort at this point.
5:44 a.m. This is it. I'm giving in and going to bed. I had a great time, but I just can't go on. I'll post a wrap-up tomorrow, and the reviews should trickle in over the next few days. To those who are still reading, good luck! Just a little more than two hours to go!
8:19 a.m. I suppose I should do this introductory meme!
- What fine part of the world are you reading from today?: Washington D.C. area
- Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?: Probably About That Night by Julie James. I bought it weeks ago but have been saving it just for this!
- Which snack are you most looking forward to?: Meh, nothing in particular.
- Tell us a little something about yourself!: I took piano lessons for 15 years, from grade 2 all the way through college.
- 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 participated last April, and I had a really good time! This time, though, I think that when the words start swimming before my eyes, I'll just go to bed and call it good. :)
10:12 a.m. Still reading and enjoying The Marsh King's Daughter, but I'm hoping to finish within the next hour or so. Also, I thought I'd do the book puzzle mini-challenge at One Librarian's Book Reviews. So please feel free to guess the book title based on the pictures below:
I'll post the answer at the end of the read-a-thon. No prize for guessing correctly, but you will get bragging rights!
11:31 a.m. Not quite done with The Marsh King's Daughter yet, but I'll definitely finish it before too long. I'm really enjoying this beautiful, lazy day. :)
12:24 p.m. Time for food! Also, I finished The Marsh King's Daughter, so now I get to start About That Night, hooray!
1:20 p.m. About That Night is a lot of fun so far! Also, time for another mini-challenge: Book Appetit, hosted by Book Journey, asks readers to plan a menu to go along with one of the books they're reading for the read-a-thon. So here's my menu for About That Night by Julie James:
- Since this is a lighthearted romance novel, candy definitely seems appropriate! I'd serve fudge, Reese's cups, M&Ms of various kinds, Lindt dark chocolate truffles...maybe some chocolate-covered strawberries too.
- Cosmopolitans -- they're pink, girly, and fun, like this book!
- Popcorn covered in caramel sauce. I have a friend who makes this, and it is mind-numbingly delicious!
- And probably some pretzels and a few other salty snacks, because I'd need something to balance out all that sugar!
4:22 p.m. Finished About That Night! Trying to figure out what to start next now...I think I'll go with A. C. Gaughen's Scarlet, which looks to be an interesting take on the Robin Hood legend.
5:06 p.m. I'm finally ready with my entry for the book staging mini-challenge at Midnight Book Girl. The challenge was to take a picture of one of your read-a-thon books in a context that is somehow relevant to the book. Here's my pic of About That Night:
Since the heroine is a prosecutor, I've placed the novel in front of some of my actual textbooks from law school; you can see Evidence on the left, and there's also Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. The black thing hanging down on the right is a bra strap (ahem), because let's face it, this is a romance novel and there are some sexytimes. So voila!
6:20 p.m. Scarlet is going well! The main character has an unusual dialect that drove me nuts at first, but I've grown used to it, and I must admit I'm getting sucked into the book. It's no The Outlaws of Sherwood, but it's interesting in its own right.
Also, The Fake Steph is hosting a mini-challenge and wants to know who my favorite antihero is. The character who immediately came to mind is Eli Monpress from Rachel Aaron's fabulous series! Eli is a thief who's obsessed with increasing the bounty on his head. He hangs out with a mercenary soldier and a girl with a demon inside her. In short, he's pretty awesome!
7:10 p.m. I'm about 70 pages from the end of Scarlet, so I expect I'll be finishing it soon. Hmm, what to read next? I have a couple other books in the queue, but I'm saving them until things get really tough at like 3 a.m.
8:11 p.m. Halfway there, livin' on a prayer...and it's time for the mid-event survey!
- How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?: I'm actually not tired at all, because so far this entire read-a-thon has been during normal waking hours for me. (Not that 8 a.m. on a Saturday is usually a waking hour, but I digress.) It'll be the last 9 hours or so that really hurt.
- What have you finished reading?: I read the last half of The Marsh King's Daughter, plus About That Night and Scarlet in their entirety.
- What is your favorite read so far?: I've enjoyed all of them, but About That Night is my favorite thus far.
- What about your favorite snacks?: I bought Smartfood while I was out running errands this morning, and that was pretty choice.
- Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!: You know, I can't pick just one! I've been trying to stop by a variety of blogs, especially those who have left comments on mine. I really appreciate it, you guys!
9:15 p.m. Bossypants is still hilarious. I don't agree with Tina Fey's politics, but she is one funny lady! I've been laughing so loudly that I'm undoubtedly disturbing the neighbors. The walls in my apartment are not thick.
10:10 p.m. So there is a reference to Count Chocula in Bossypants. Nuff said.
Also, I was going to do the mini-challenge where you find a picture that somehow relates to the book you're reading. I had no clever ideas, so I just started searching for "30 Rock"-related ideas on Google Images. When searching for "tracy morgan thomas jefferson," this was literally one of the first images to come up:
The ways of the Internet are inscrutable.
11:11 p.m. Ooh, it's 11:11! I should make a wish...except that it's 11:12 now. Well, there goes that life-changing opportunity. Anyway, still here, still reading. My fingers feel weird and tingly...is this from all the book-holding and typing, or is there something very wrong here?!
12:20 a.m. The new mini-challenge this hour asks readers to take a picture of themselves with the book they're currently reading. HA! I am wearing pajamas and a totally lame headband to keep my hair out of my face. The world is not ready. On the up side, I finished Bossypants and am moving on to The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen.
1:14 a.m. I'm starting to fade at this point, but I have a strong desire to make it through all 24 hours. Plus I'm desperately behind on most of my book challenges, and I'm trying to catch up! The good news is, The Sugar Queen is excellent so far. I love that there is a character who "is hounded by books that inexplicably appear whenever she needs them" (as per the dust jacket flap).
2:32 a.m. Tired, but still tenacious! There's a great mini-challenge at Letters Inside Out telling readers to pair a song with the book they're reading right now. I'm still in the middle of The Sugar Queen and loving it, and I've been trying to find the perfect song. Here's my choice, though I'm not completely sold on it:
Click to viewThe song is Regina Spektor's "Samson." She has a unique, haunting voice; and the song conveys both passion and melancholy, at least to me. At this point in The Sugar Queen, all the protagonists are suffering because of love, so this song seems somewhat fitting.
3:13 a.m. Fading fast, but I don't care because Sarah Addison Allen is so good!
4:17 a.m. Still here, mostly. I've moved on to Rick Riordan's The Last Olympian. I read the other four books a couple years ago, so it's more than time to put this series to bed!
5:14 a.m. Three more hours seems like forever. I'm not sure I'm going to make it! All the mini-challenges look like waaaay too much effort at this point.
5:44 a.m. This is it. I'm giving in and going to bed. I had a great time, but I just can't go on. I'll post a wrap-up tomorrow, and the reviews should trickle in over the next few days. To those who are still reading, good luck! Just a little more than two hours to go!