Sunday, October 22, 2017

Read-a-Thon hours 23 and 24: 5:00 - 7:00

Reading right now: Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Pages read in the last two hours: 152

Total pages: 1144

Books finished: 7 (see list in survey below)

Snacks: Another orange and the last little bit of my Monster.

Status report: 1144 pages! Not half bad! And I even started the last book on my pile (even if I only got 14 pages into it). I consider this read-a-thon a success. And it was fun, of course!


End of Event Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 18. There was definitely dozing.
2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read! The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate; Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples; The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine; Vampire Knight, vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino; Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor; Saga, vol. 6 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples; and Jughead, vol. 1 by Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson. I also read 14 pages of Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners? Saga! I feel like I could do a whole read-a-thon just reading that series!
4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you smile? I can't think of anything not already being done!
5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep? I'll definitely continue to participate in every read-a-thon, though I'm not likely to be able to help prep.

Read-a-Thon hours 21 and 22: 3:00 - 5:00

Reading right now:Jughead, vol. 1 by Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson

Pages read in the last two hours: 122

Total pages: 992

Books finished: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate; Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples; The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine; Vampire Knight, vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino; Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor; Saga, vol. 6 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Snacks: Still working on my energy drink, and a mandarin orange.

Status report:I finally got around to doing the 10 Years in 10 Books mini-challenge. See my list here! Please enjoy it because I spent way too much reading time on it! Still, not a bad page count thanks to finishing a volume of Saga and then moving on to Jughead. I'm sure I'll finish Jughead in the last two hours, and hopefully even get a start on Wondrous Strange.

Now, since it's early morning, I've stayed up all night, AND I recently started taking tap classes, this hour's video is Good Morning from Singin' in the Rain. Enjoy!


10 Year in 10 Books Mini-Challenge

For the 10 Year in 10 Books Mini-Challenge, here are my book recommendations published each year since 2007! (And yes, I've actually read a book published in each of those years! I wasn't sure if that would be the case but Goodreads says yes!)

2007: Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay

Guy Gavriel Kay is one of my favourite authors, and he just happens to be from my city, Winnipeg! So of course I'm gonna take this opportunity to spread the word. Note: This book is way more YA-ish than any of his others so if that's not your thing, all his other books are excellent historical fantasy. But if you don't mind a hint of YA, I personally loved this one.

2008: The Widows of Hamilton House by Christina Penner

Wow, were there ever a lot of good books to choose from in 2008! But ultimately another Winnipeg author wins out! (What can I say? We have good writers.) Christina Penner was actually one of my computer science professors in university, and turns out to be a woman of many talents. This book is really excellent. And, the book is based on the actual history of a haunted house in Winnipeg!

2009: Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires

Maybe an odd choice, but there wasn't an obvious choice for this year and this really is the start of a great series! Also, Canadian! It's about a cat who thinks the house is a spaceship, bugs are aliens, and he has to protect his humans from alien threats. What's not to love?

2010: Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die edited by Ryan North

First, a side note: have you ever read Dinosaur Comics? If not, go check it out because it's amazing. Anyway the writer of that webcomic is the editor of this book, which is a collection of short stories based on the concept of a machine that, with a quick blood test, can tell you how you'll die. They are extremely varied and pretty much all wonderful. There's also a second book which I haven't read yet but keep meaning to!

2011: MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche

Just when I thought I'd make a completely Canadian list! Oh well. This book legitimately changed my life. If you're an adult who's struggling with the question of how to make friends (and, better yet, best friends), I highly recommend this book. And even if that's not a problem you have, but you just enjoy funny/heartwarming memoirs, then I still recommend it!

2012: The Mine (Northwest Passage #1) by John A. Heldt

This year was really tough to choose! There were a lot of really, really good books published in 2012! This one is the first in a series of time travel stories (some closely related, some loosely) with real heart.

2013: The Faceless One by Mark Onspaugh

Still looking for a good horror novel to round out your October selections? The Faceless One is scary, but also satisfyingly different. The story makes use of Tlingit mythology, and the main characters are an old Tlingit man and an old black man who became friends in a retirement home and team up to save the world from an ancient evil. Love!

2014: Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

Before I even read Room, my first Emma Donoghue book was Frog Music, a historical fiction set in 1876 San Francisco. Great characters, great plot... just read it!

2015: Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon

This middle grade novel about a girl who poses as a wicked witch in order to take possession of Castle Hangnail is seriously delightful. I particularly recommend the audiobook.

2016: Roses and Rot by Kat Howard

Faeries (the scary kind). A prestigious artists' retreat. Two sisters from an abusive home, each practicing their art, unexpectedly in competition with each other. Super beautiful writing! Are you convinced yet?

2017: Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee

So far I've only read one book published in 2017, but as it happens, I loved it. This is a middle grade novel about a girl who starts to realise she has feelings for another girl, all while the school is preparing to put on Romeo and Juliet as the school play. Very sweet.

Read-a-Thon hours 19 and 20: 1:00 - 3:00

Reading right now: Saga, vol. 6, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Pages read in the last two hours: 104

Total pages: 870

Books finished: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate; Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples; The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine; Vampire Knight, vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino; Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

Snacks: Some of my Monster drink, and a banana.

Status report: Monster to the rescue!! Also Saga. That probably played a big role as well. Even though Binti is pretty short and super good I was fighting sleep big time with that one. Now I'm fairly wide-awake again! So far I've been alternating between graphic novels and regular novels, but I think after Saga I might read my other graphic novel, Jughead, vol. 1, because then at least I know I'll get 7 of my 8 books finished! Then we'll see how much of Wondrous Strange I can read with the time remaining.

And of course my 3:00 am video choice is 3AM by Matchbox Twenty, because it always is. :)

Read-a-Thon hours 17 and 18: 23:00 - 1:00

Reading right now: Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

Pages read in the last two hours: 28

Total pages: 766

Books finished: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate; Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples; The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine; Vampire Knight, vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino

Snacks: None.

Status report: Uh oh! Dozed off! Not sure for how long but long enough for my page count to suck! Time to bring out the Monster drink. Ugh I can't even pick a video right now.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Read-a-Thon hours 15 and 16: 21:00 - 23:00

Reading right now: Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

Pages read in the last two hours: 54

Total pages: 738

Books finished: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate; Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples; The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine; Vampire Knight, vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino

Snacks: Sour Patch Links.

Status report:This time I did the Decades of Reading Mini-Challenge; check out my list. I haven't been drowsy but I have felt easily distracted. Anyway my husband has gone to bed so now I have no one to talk to (in person at least) so maybe that will help. :P

Nothing like some Andrew Huang to perk us up as we head into the nighttime hours (in this time zone at least)!


Decades of Reading Mini-Challenge

Oh my gosh, how am I supposed to pick just ONE BOOK from each decade of my reading life?! But that is what the Decades of Reading Mini-Challenge has asked of me. So here goes:

1980s (age 0-1):
Obviously I wasn't reading on my own at this time, but I can still pick a book! The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree was one of my favourites and one that I used to learn to read. I'm just assuming I was already being read that one by 1989.

1990s (age 1-11):
This is a hard one because I honestly can't remember a lot of the reading I did in elementary school. I know I did a LOT of it. So while it feels a bit odd to choose something I read in 1999 as representative of my 90s reading, I'm gonna do it anyway! I was 11 when I first read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (OK, actually my first copy of that book was an American edition for some reason and was called Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, but let's just forget about that) and it was a turning point in my reading life, throwing me head first into the world of fantasy from which I would rarely emerge for the rest of my life up to this point.

(Oh, honourable mention that I thought of after writing all this: The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, which caused a years long obsession with ancient Egypt. Also read in 1999 I believe.)

2000s (age 11-21):
For the decade encompassing my teens I choose Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. It was an instant favourite of mine and remains one of my comfort reads.

2010s (age 21-29 so far):
My lifelong trend of reading lots of random unrelated stuff continues, so this is a really hard mini-challenge for me! I decided to go with The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) by Lemony Snicket because I love it and also because in this decade I have perhaps read more children's lit than I did when I was actually a child so in a way it actually is representative.

Read-a-Thon hours 13 and 14: 19:00 - 21:00

Reading right now: Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

Pages read in the last two hours: 85

Total pages: 684

Books finished: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate; Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples; The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine; Vampire Knight, vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino

Snacks: Bocconcini salad. Why do I hardly eat in the first half of a read-a-thon and then eat constantly through the second half? I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of healthy.

Status report: Doing fine! Got a good start on my 5th book (almost 1/3 of the way through it). Feeling wide awake.

When I went to pick a YouTube video for this update, YouTube recommended the Stranger Things Parody by The Hillywood Show, which I haven't seen, but I love the Supernatural one, so let's check this one out together!


Read-a-Thon Mid-Event Survey

It's time for the mid-event survey!

1. What are you reading right now? The first volume of Vampire Knight, a manga by Matsuri Hino.
2. How many books have you read so far? This is my 4th and I'm almost done!
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Probably Saga, vol. 6. Every volume of that series is just so good!
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Nope, just myself being distracted by mini-challenges and posting on Instagram and Facebook.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Honestly just how well I'm doing! I mean I took steps to try to make this read-a-thon better than ever, but I still went it to it a little sleep deprived and with insufficient snack preparation. Still, I'm reading up a storm!

Read-a-Thon hours 11 and 12: 17:00 - 19:00

Reading right now: Vampire Knight, vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino

Pages read in the last two hours: 155

Total pages: 599

Books finished: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate; Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples; The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine

Snacks: Another bowl of soup and a few fun-sized Rolos.

Status report: From 5:00 to 6:00 I was super drowsy and my page count sucked. Luckily I managed to wake up a bit and made up for it from 6:00 to 7:00! This is only my second manga series, and I had trouble getting into it because I always struggle to tell the characters apart and follow along, but as I've gotten more into it the pages are flying by.

Anyway, we're at the halfway point now! So I'm gonna bring back my read-a-thon habit of sharing a YouTube video in every update, because watching them will help me stay awake and maybe they'll help you too! For this update, enjoy one of my favourite music videos, Genghis Khan by Miike Snow!


Read-a-Thon hours 9 and 10: 15:00 - 17:00

Reading right now: I just finished The Overnight by R.L. Stine and I'm about to start Vampire Knight, vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino

Pages read in the last two hours: 88

Total pages: 444

Books finished: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate; Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples; The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine

Snacks: Thai coconut soup. Yum!

Status report: Another mini-challenge! I did the #ReadMoreWomen challenge. You can see my entry on Instagram. Also, I finished that Fear Street book faster than I expected! At the rate I'm going I just might finish all 8 of the books I picked out!

Read-a-Thon hours 7 and 8: 13:00 - 15:00

Reading right now: The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine

Pages read in the last two hours: 60

Total pages: 356

Books finished: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate; Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Snacks: A banana, more water, and some fun-sized Rolos from the Halloween stash.

Status report: It took me a while to get reading again after my last update, hence my lower page count, but The Overnight is really good so far! I'm relieved because my last few R.L. Stine books weren't that great, which made me sad, but maybe it just took him a couple books for Fear Street to really take off.

Read-a-Thon hours 5 and 6: 11:00 - 13:00

Reading right now: I just finished Saga, vol. 5, and now I'm gonna start The Overnight by R.L. Stine

Pages read in the last two hours: 164

Total pages: 296

Books finished: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate; Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Snacks: Finished my iced coconut mocha macchiato.

Status report: I did the Read-a-Thon Memories Challenge. My entry is here. I read an entire volume of Saga in the last two hours; wow is that series ever perfect for read-a-thons! No trouble staying alert for that! Now I'm gonna change gears again and read my Fear Street book. Normally I save those for nighttime since they're creepy but the last couple read-a-thons I've had trouble staying alert during the night so I really need to have graphic novels and whatnot at that point. So I'll tackle another novel while I'm good and awake!

Read-a-Thon Memories Challenge

The Read-a-Thon Memories Challenge asks us to name our favourite book from everything read-a-thon we've done. In my case that's a lot of read-a-thons!! Lucky for me, I almost always answer the end of event survey, so that'll help me remember what my favourites were.

October 2011: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 3: Wolves at the Gate by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard
April 2012: Charmed Season 9 Volume 1 by Paul Ruditis
October 2012: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
April 2013: The Change (Animorphs #13) by K.A. Applegate
October 2013: Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison
April 2014: Namesake by Sue MacLeod
October 2014: The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter
April 2015: The Babysitter by R.L. Stine
October 2015: Animorphs #20-22 (they were a trilogy within the series so it's hard to separate them)
April 2016: The Girlfriend by R.L. Stine
October 2016: Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
April 2017: The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey

Read-a-Thon hours 3 and 4: 9:00 - 11:00

Reading right now: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate (just a few pages left!)

Pages read in the last two hours: 72

Total pages: 144

Books finished: Still none.

Snacks: A bowl of cereal for breakfast, water, and an iced coconut mocha macchiato (my signature read-a-thon Starbucks choice).

Status report: I did the Book and a Beverage mini-challenge. You can see it on Instagram. The last two hours I've been more alert than in the first two hours, but I guess the time spent doing the mini-challenge and reading some blog posts cancelled that out, so I read the exact same number of pages. I'll be done my first book in a few minutes though! Usually I start with something faster (though Animorphs is pretty fast) but I thought I'd try getting one of the longer books out of the way first thing this time. Next I think I'll switch to a graphic novel.

Read-a-Thon hours 1 and 2: 7:00 - 9:00

Reading right now: The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read in the last two hours: 72

Total pages: 72

Books finished: None yet.

Snacks: None yet.

Status report: I've just been drowsily reading in bed so far. Pretty good start on the page count though! Now, I'm starving.

Read-a-Thon Opening Meme

Here's my opening meme for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Winnipeg, Manitoba
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I've got the next two volumes of Saga in there!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Tortilla chips and salsa.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! This is my 13th read-a-thon!
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'm gonna try to stay more hydrated this time (with water, not just energy drinks and frappuccinos!).

It's time to Read-a-Thon!!!

Good morning! It's 7:00 am and I am ready to spend the next 24 hours doing nothing but reading, snacking, and fighting the pull of sleep!

I'm feeling ambitious this read-a-thon, and have picked out 8 books to read. My pile includes the following:
  • Saga, vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (152 pages)
  • Saga, vol. 6 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (152 pages)
  • Jughead, vol. 1 by Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson (176 pages)
  • Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor (162 pages)
  • The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate (156 pages)
  • Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston (327 pages)
  • The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine (148 pages)
  • Vampire Knight, vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino (192 pages)
That's a total of 1465 pages, 672 of them graphic novel pages and 793 of them full print pages. Last read-a-thon I read 1189 pages, which was more than the read-a-thon before that, and even after a dozen of these read-a-thons I'm still trying to learn from my mistakes! (Yeah I don't casually read-a-thon. I am a hardcore, read every second, sleep is the enemy read-a-thoner.) So without further ado, let's get this party started!


Saturday, July 22, 2017

The Heir and The Crown by Kiera Cass

Titles: The Heir (The Selection #4) and The Crown (The Selection #5)
Author: Kiera Cass
Publication Dates: May 5, 2015, and May 3, 2016
Lengths: 342 pages and 278 pages

Warning: Contains spoilers for the original Selection trilogy.

I don't think I've ever done a double book review before! But I read The Heir and then immediately had to read The Crown so now it's hard to separate them in my mind. And in any case, it's all one story. This will be a long one, because these books gave me ALL THE FEELS.

These two additions to the Selection series tell the story of Princess Eadlyn, daughter of Maxon and America and heir to the throne. She has no plans to marry anyone any time soon, but soon finds herself at the centre of a Selection designed to distract a restless public. While she starts the Selection planning to hold out for three months and then end it without an engagement, things change as the political situation becomes more precarious and the boys work their way into Eadlyn's heart.

The Heir was hard for me to rate. In the heat of the moment when I finished the book, I gave it 5 stars, but I later downgraded it to 4 just because of how insufferable Eadlyn is. I get that she's a princess, but I don't get how any daughter of America's could grow up this much of a self-centred brat. Her treatment of her brother, Ahren, and her beloved maid, Neena, are particularly terrible, seemingly without her being aware of it. But, she does grow over the course of the story, especially in The Crown (which I did give 5 stars and which kept me up half the night needing to finish it).

As for the boys, it was interesting how different this Selection was from Maxon's. With the story being from the princess' point of view this time, you might think we'd get to know the suitors better, but the fact is that Eadlyn doesn't get to know many of them, not even going on dates with even those who make it to the Elite. As the choices dwindled, I became increasingly worried (correctly, I might add) that she wasn't so much narrowing it down to the best choices as she was eliminating the bad ones. There were a few guys I liked and was even rooting for, but a lot of the time the worry isn't that she'll have to pick but that she won't fall in love at all.

I gotta say, I did not see the ending coming, and I loved it! The rushed feeling of Eadlyn's Selection seems to accelerate the closer you get to the end, until Eadlyn is basically running around the palace changing her mind as she gets to each possible fiance. The Crown is similar to The One in the way it keeps you guessing and doubting and hoping and page turning until the very last second!

A couple final thoughts: OMG Maxon and America being all adorable and perfect for each other! And their little dropped hints about the complications in their own Selection that Eadlyn never knew about! And how much they care about Eadlyn's happiness! I just love them so much.

Also, without giving anything away to those who haven't finished the series yet, did anyone else think of Hans from Frozen? You know what I'm talking about.

Basically, if you could put up with America in The Elite, you can probably put up with Eadlyn in The Heir. And, in my opinion, it's so worth it to get that happily ever after.

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Read-a-Thon hours 23 and 24: 5:00 - 7:00

Currently reading: Saga, vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Pages read these hours: 108

Pages read so far: 1189

Books finished:
  1. Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate
  2. Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
  3. Twin Spica, vol. 7 by Kou Yaginuma
  4. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  5. The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey
  6. The Surprise Party by R.L. Stine
Food consumed: Just water.

Status report: My energy levels improved in the last few hours and I was able to finish The Surprise Party and read a good chunk of Saga, vol. 3. Not too shabby! Now, the sun is up, and I have 7 hours before I have to get up for work. Good day!

Read-a-Thon hours 21 and 22: 3:00 - 5:00

Currently reading: The Surprise Party by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 70

Pages read so far: 1081

Books finished:
  1. Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate
  2. Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
  3. Twin Spica, vol. 7 by Kou Yaginuma
  4. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  5. The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey
Food consumed: The rest of my energy drink.


Status report: Must. Keep. Reading! Just 40 pages left in The Surprise Party and then I can finish with at least part of Saga, vol. 3!

Read-a-Thon hours 19 and 20: 1:00 - 3:00

Currently reading: The Surprise Party by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 55

Pages read so far: 1011

Books finished:
  1. Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate
  2. Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
  3. Twin Spica, vol. 7 by Kou Yaginuma
  4. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  5. The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey
Food consumed: I'm about halfway through my energy drink.

Status report: Ugh. Right after my last update the sleepiness hit me hard. I don't know if it's the book not working for me or just the fact that I've been up for 20 hours! I almost switched to a new book, but now I'm a third of the way through and feeling a bit better so I think I'll stick it out.


Read-a-Thon hours 17 and 18: 23:00 - 1:00

Currently reading: The Surprise Party by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 114

Pages read so far: 956

Books finished:
  1. Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate
  2. Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
  3. Twin Spica, vol. 7 by Kou Yaginuma
  4. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  5. The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey
Food consumed: Just water.

Status report: Five books finished! Six hours to go! I was going to read the next Saga next, but I'm still super alert so I'm going to take advantage of that and read The Surprise Party. Because there are always tough nighttime hours; they just seem to be a little late this time around! Anyway I'm gonna have my Monster now because pretty soon it's gonna be too late for energy drinks if I want to fall asleep when this is over!

Now let's get pumped up in these late hours with some Chumbawamba!


Saturday, April 29, 2017

Read-a-Thon hours 15 and 16: 21:00 - 23:00

Currently reading: The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey

Pages read these hours: 94

Pages read so far: 842

Books finished:
  1. Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate
  2. Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
  3. Twin Spica, vol. 7 by Kou Yaginuma
  4. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Food consumed: Some noodles, then some peanut butter Ritz crackers.

Status report: We're at the 2/3 mark! I'm about halfway through my fifth book. I'm in my prime hours right now so staying awake and alert is no problem at this point.

Read-a-Thon hours 13 and 14: 19:00 - 21:00

Currently reading: The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey

Pages read these hours: 65

Pages read so far: 748

Books finished:
  1. Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate
  2. Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
  3. Twin Spica, vol. 7 by Kou Yaginuma
  4. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Food consumed: Just water. I've got a bit of a tummy ache so I'm gonna try to stay away from the junk food for a bit. Maybe try something resembling a supper.

Status report: Four books done! Now I'm just a few chapters into The Other Boy. I wanted to get my last long-ish book out of the way before it gets too late, strategically saving those remaining graphic novels for the tough hours. R.L. Stine is also good for nighttime reading.

Read-a-Thon hours 11 and 12: 17:00 - 19:00

Currently reading: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Pages read these hours: 86

Pages read so far: 683

Books finished:
  1. Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate
  2. Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
  3. Twin Spica, vol. 7 by Kou Yaginuma
Food consumed: More chips and candy.

Status report: Halfway through my fourth book! I had more minor distractions during these hours but haven't had any trouble staying awake at least.

Here are my responses to the mid-event survey:

1. What are you reading right now? Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
2. How many books have you read so far? 3 and a half
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Volumes 3 and 4 of Saga!
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Not really. My husband is home so he peeks his head in to the blanket fort sometimes, but overall he respects the read-a-thon.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? This is my 12th read-a-thon so nothing surprises me anymore lol

Read-a-Thon hours 9 and 10: 15:00 - 17:00

Currently reading: Twin Spica, vol. 7 by Kou Yaginuma

Pages read these hours: 245

Pages read so far: 597

Books finished:
  1. Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate
  2. Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Food consumed: Two veggie dogs, some potato chips, and blackberry ginger ale.

Status report: Still going strong! It's nice to read a volume of Twin Spica in one sitting like this. It's my first manga series and sometimes I feel a bit lost and confused, but I'm following along a lot better without interruptions!

For this hour's YouTube video, enjoy some Simple Plan!


Read-a-Thon hours 7 and 8: 13:00 - 15:00

Currently reading: Twin Spica, vol. 7 by Kou Yaginuma

Pages read these hours: 144

Pages read so far: 352

Books finished:
  1. Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate
  2. Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Food consumed: Nada. I was too caught up in Saga to think about food! I should probably start thinking about lunch...

Status report: Saga is so good!! I'm glad I still have two more volumes in my pile to read later today and tonight! Now I'm moving on to Twin Spica, vol. 7. It's actually the longest book in my pile in terms of page count at 286 pages, but it's manga so we'll see how long this one takes me.

This hour's YouTube video is that old Discovery Channel ad that I so enjoy:


Read-a-Thon hours 5 and 6: 11:00 - 13:00

Currently reading: Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Pages read these hours: 74

Pages read so far: 208

Books finished: Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate

Food consumed: A grande iced coconut mocha macchiato. Mmmm... (I just had one of those for the first time yesterday so this is new and exciting for me.) Also some more gummy candies.

Status report: I'm finally out of the sleepy hours! Ugh, mornings are the actual worst. 6 hours to read a Megamorphs book! But now I'm feeling awake and invigorated, and I'm moving on to volume 2 of Saga!

Read-a-Thon hours 3 and 4: 9:00 - 11:00

Currently reading: Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 54

Pages read so far: 134

Books finished: None yet.

Food consumed: Some gummy candies and a banana.

Status report: A lot of drowsiness in the last hour. These are always tough hours for me. I've spent a lot of time reading the same paragraph over and over again, hence the low page count. But, this book is really good! It's a time travel one and is definitely one of the darker Animorphs books I've read so far.

Oh hey, have you ever seen the 90s TV adaptation of the Animorphs?! It's super cheesy but I actually love it! It's on Canadian Netflix. The theme song is my first YouTube video of the day!


Read-a-Thon hours 1 and 2: 7:00 - 9:00

Currently reading: Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 80

Pages read so far: 80

Books finished: None yet.

Food consumed: Apple cinnamon Cheerios and orange juice.

Status report: Sleepy! But managing. Not much interesting to report yet.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon Spring 2017: Let's Do This!

It is time to begin my 12th time participating in Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon! Here in Winnipeg it's 7:00 so I'm sleepy but excited!

For my to read pile this time, I have selected 9 books (though of course I can always pick up others from my shelves if I really need a change). That's more than I usually read in a read-a-thon, but 4 of them are graphic novels so you never know!

My TBR pile is as follows:
  • The Surprise Party (Fear Street #2) by R.L. Stine (167 pages)
  • Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate (208 pages)
  • The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate (156 pages)
  • Twin Spica, vol. 7 by Kou Yaginuma (286 pages)
  • Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (90 pages)
  • The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey (228 pages)
  • Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (144 pages)
  • Saga, vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (144 pages)
  • Saga, vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (152 pages)
That's a total of 1575 pages, 849 of them graphic novel pages and 726 full print pages. Last read-a-thon I finished with 1148 pages read and I'm sure I can do even better this time! So without further ado, let the reading begin!

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

January 2017 Wrap-Up

I'm reviving my old practice of doing monthly wrap-up posts! So here's a summary of my book-related activity for January. Basically I've been trying to get through my enormous backlog of library books!

Books I read

The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike (library book)
Ghost Circles (Bone #7) by Jeff Smith (library book)
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon (audiobook) (library book)
Shade's Children by Garth Nix (library book)

Books I bought

Quista: Book One: Danay by Aviva Bel'Harold
Insomnia by Stephen King
Needful Things by Stephen King
The Birthday Party of No Return (Goosebumps Hall of Horrors #6) by R.L. Stine
Indiana Jones and the Cult of the Mummy's Crypt by R.L. Stine

Books I got for free

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

Progress on challenges

I read 0 books for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

I completed the following letters for the Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge: G, N, S

I read 1 book for the Women Challenge.

Progress on my TBR pile: I added 6 books to my to read list and removed 0, so my pile increased by 6 this month.

Monday, January 16, 2017

A Winter's Respite 2017 Read-a-Thon



OK so I know week-long read-a-thons are weird and don't make sense but I feel like it, OK? I feel like having a week where people ask me to do stuff and I say "Can't. Reading."

My reading plan is to work on my big library stack. Here's what I'm hoping to get through this week:

  1. Shade's Children by Garth Nix (351 pages, of which I've already read 28)
  2. Amulet, vol. 7: Firelight by Kazu Kibuishi (199 pages; graphic novel)
  3. Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City by Gwendolyn Leick (274 pages; I don't expect to finish this one because non-fiction takes me forever)

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

2017 Women Challenge


I'm taking on the Women Challenge for the 5th year in a row! Signing up, as usual, for the highest level, Wonder Woman: read 20+ books written by a woman author.

I'll list the books I read for this challenge below.
  1. The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike
  2. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon
  3. A Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
  4. Darkwood by M.E. Breen
  5. The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass
  6. Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass
  7. Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O'Neill
  8. The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey
  9. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  10. Elfangor's Secret (Megamorphs #3) by K.A. Applegate
  11. The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien
  12. The Heir (The Selection #4) by Kiera Cass
  13. The Crown (The Selection #5) by Kiera Cass
  14. A Vision of Fire (The Earthend Saga #1) by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin
  15. This Strange Way of Dying by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  16. Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee
  17. The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon
  18. The Reunion (Animorphs #30) by K.A. Applegate
  19. Vampire Knight, vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino
  20. Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor
  21. The Teeny Tiny Ghost by Kay Winters
  22. Stinky Cecil in Operation Pond Rescue by Paige Braddock
  23. Wondrous Strange (Wondrous Strange #1) by Lesley Livingston
  24. Alienated (Alienated #1) by Melissa Landers
  25. Until Midnight (Alienated #1.5) by Melissa Landers
  26. The Queen and the Cure by Amy Harmon
  27. All My Stripes by Shaina Rudolph
  28. Invaded (Alienated #2) by Melissa Landers
  29. Luke Helps Out by Sheryl Fehr
Success! However, this year book by women made up only 39% of my total reading, whereas it's usually at least half. So that's something to be aware of and work on in the future! I think that was a result of reading a lot of series by men this year, like Saga.