Belated Readathon -- That's All Folks

  Time for me to pack it in. 

   I guess I was overly ambitious in the amount of reading I'd get done, since I only completed one book (Domestic Violets -- so good).  That said, I did read 70 pages of one book before I abandoned it, about 100 pages of Half Blood Blues, and four or five chapters of Bleak House.  I shouldn't be down on myself, though -- I've probably read today what some people might not read in a year.

  It was more tiring than I thought it would be, partially because I didn't properly plan the snack situation (and I'm an old lady).  Something to remember for next time -- coffee can only get you so far.
 
  I only read for just over nine hours, but for the sake of my charitable donation I'm going to say I read for 10 and will be sending $50 to Sit Stay Read.

  Thank you so much to Amanda at Dead White Guys (Happy Birthday!) and Brittney at The Souls of Thought for hosting this Belated Readathon. 

'Nite all.

Belated Readathon Update #4

Did you miss me? 

I made a poor choice with my second book, The Disappearance at Pere Lachaise and I think that wore me down.  I got about 70 pages in and it just wasn't interesting me.  So after a quick run to the grocery store and dinner with the hub, I'm going to go back into Half Blood Blues and a few more chapters of Bleak House.

Sadly, I have to go to work in the morning, so I'll have to shut down at around midnight or so.  I plan to get at least four more hours of reading in so that my donation to Sit Stay Read can hit $50.

Off to read ....

Belated Readathon Update #3

Well, I've been at it for six hours.  That's $30 for Sit Stay Read if you are keeping track.

I finished Domestic Violets which was a great book -- funny and touching, very relatable.  I've now started The Disappearance at Pere Lachaise, which scratches my historical Paris-loving itch.

My eyes are beginning to get heavy, so I'm going to take a short break to re-charge.  But (trying to sound ominous)  I'LL BE BACK.

Belated Readathon Update #2

11:30 am here in dreary Chicagoland and I'm up to page 257 of Domestic Violets (still awesome) and completed another chapter of Bleak House (there has been a suspicious death!)

My loving non-reading hub has set me up in a comfy reading chair with a computer desk at my side so I can update on my netbook rather than sit and read in my un-comfy office chair in my very cold office.

I just had a snack of some mini cheese pizzas (Weight Watchers brand, they are good and, for pizza, "healthy") so I'm good to go for a few more hours.

Belated Readathon Update #1

Two hours in and I've read 108 pages of Domestic Violets, which is AWESOME in the fact that I'm relating perhaps a bit too much with it; and one chapter of Bleak House.

I'm off to get some more coffee and then back to the books....

The Belated Readathon Begins

7:15 am Chicagoland time and I'm off.... to read

The weather gods deserve a shout out because it is cloudy and raining and just plain nasty outside.  Perfect conditions to curl up with a few books.

I'm starting off with Domestic Violets and aim to read a chapter or two of Bleak House each hour.

If you are on twitter, follow the hashtag #readathon; and check out Amanda's posts at the host blog Dead White Guys.

Catch you later.

What I'm Reading for the Readathon

I will be participating in my first Readathon Saturday!  Well, I'm excited about it. 

I am currently in the middle of three books:  Half-Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan, The Table Comes First:  Family, France, and the Meaning of Food by Adam Gopnik, and Bleak House by Charles Dickens.  Bleak House will not be finished anytime soon, but I wonder if I should finish the other two before pursuing any other books.  Readathon veterans, what do you think?

I've had a look at my shelves and without too much thought (thinking would require the decision process to take too long) I have selected these books as my additional readathon material:

A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote (my book club's Christmas party is Monday and this is what we'll be discussing)

The Disappearance at Pere Lachaise by Claude Izner

Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman

The Gospel According to Coco Chanel:  Life Lessons from the World's Most Elegant Woman by Karen Karbo

       The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais










These aren't in any particular order so I'll let my mood dictate what to read.

Now I have to think of my snacks ......
 

Readathon in December!

If you dislike crowds as much as I do, you will be avoiding major shopping districts on Saturdays from now until Christmas.  But what are you going to do with all of that spare time?  Housework?  (Ummm, no)  Watching TV?  (Is anything decent ever on TV Saturdays?)  Nap?  (Tempting....)

How about reading (Yayyyyyyyyy!)

Amanda of the extremely witty blog Dead White Guys and Brittney of The Souls of Thought are co-hosting a readathon (official name:  Belated Readathon For Those Who Forgot About the Last One or Were Out of Town or Slept Through it or Whatever) on Saturday, December 3rd, beginning at 7:00 am, and running through Sunday, December 4th at 7:00 am.  It's a fairly casual thing; you aren't obligated to participate in all 24 hours but if you have a blog they encourage periodic updates to make sure "you aren't buried under your TBR pile".  (hey, it could happen).

So I will be participating, though I can't see myself participating for all 24 hours (I do need beauty sleep periodically).  That said, I am going to challenge myself to read as much as I can with the aim of helping others during this holiday season; for every hour I read, I pledge to donate $5 to Sit Stay Read, a Chicago charity that encourages at-risk children to read to dogs, in turn increasing their confidence and love of reading. 

My reading list?  I haven't exactly figured that out yet, but I think I'm going to go with the lighter, fluffier books on my TBR pile and hopefully clear some of them off the shelf.   I'll probably pick out five books, but even though I am a fast reader I only expect to complete two. 

If you have nothing else to do on Saturday, why not join us (sign up here)?  Or if you do have a life have other plans, why not check in with us once or twice to cheer us on?