Saturday, October 26, 2019

A little bit different Read-a-Thon

It's my favourite weekend in October: Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon!! It's going to go a little bit differently for me this time around. I've had interruptions in the read-a-thon before that made me take a few hours off of reading (a birthday party, and another time a wedding!). This time, I don't have a specific event like that clashing with the read-a-thon, but I am going away to a cabin in the woods with my partner for a couple of nights.

On the upside, I always read a lot at the cabin anyway, and the setting goes perfectly with scary books, so I've decided to make this my first horror-themed read-a-thon. But on the downside, I'll be starting the read-a-thon at home, then finishing getting ready to go, riding in a car for a couple hours, settling in to read there, but also doing other things, and definitely not staying up all night. So, I might track my Sunday reading as well, just for fun, kind of like a spread-out read-a-thon. (Also, I won't have a computer once I'm out there, so I'll be experimenting with blogging from my phone!)

Anywho, it's 7:00 am here, and the read-a-thon is starting!

My pile looks very different from usual this time, due to a combination of poor planning, the different nature of my read-a-thon, and my attempt at having a horror theme. I actually have novels written for grown-ups on my pile! I don't normally do that at all. I certainly won't get through all this, but want to have a lot of variety since I won't have access to my usual huge library I have at home!

Here's what I'm packing for my trip:
  • Twin Spica, vol. 12 by Kou Yaginuma (423 pages)
  • The Prophecy (Animorphs #34) by K.A. Applegate (141 pages)
  • The Proposal (Animorphs #35) by K.A. Applegate (147 pages)
  • Interview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Anne Rice and Ashley Marie Witter (256 pages)
  • Come Closer by Sara Gran (214 pages)
  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories of the Supernatural by Robert Louis Stevenson (194 pages)
  • The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King (219 pages)
The total page count is 1594. I'm sure it's plenty to last me the weekend. (I also have my French book and ebook with me.) We'll see how much of it I manage! Two of the books are graphic novels, two are middle grade novels, and three are adult novels (or short stories).

Finally, here are my answers to the opening survey:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Winnipeg, Manitoba, and West Hawk, Manitoba.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Claudia's Story. I've been wanting to read it for a long time, and just finally found a copy at a used book sale!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? My snacks are going to be totally on the fly this time around, since I'm travelling (slightly).

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I've been studying French for a loooong time, and as of this year can finally read novels in French! As long as they aren't too complicated. Mostly YA for now! I'll be reading a little bit of French during the 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? Basically everything, because it's my first read-a-thon spent largely away from home. Food, scheduling, everything is gonna be different! We'll see how it goes!

Sunday, April 7, 2019

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

Currently reading: Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

Pages read these hours: 292

Total pages so far: 1809

Books finished:
Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma
The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate
Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson
The Marvels by Brian Selznick
Saga, vol. 9 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Snacks: None.

Current state of things: Finished strong! In the last two hours, I read all of Saga, vol. 9, and the majority of Sisters. So in total I read 6 books and most of a 7th, plus a little bit of my French book, totaling a very respectable 1809 pages! And now, off to bed!

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

Currently reading: Saga, vol. 9 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Pages read these hours: 116

Total pages so far: 1517

Books finished:
Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma
The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate
Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson
The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Snacks: Still sipping away at my energy drink (though I should probably finish it soon so I can fall asleep at 7:00!).

Current state of things: Just finished book five of the day! Now moving on to Saga, and we'll see if there's time for anything else after that!

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

Currently reading: The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Pages read these hours: 95

Total pages so far: 1401

Books finished:
Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma
The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate
Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson

Snacks: None, besides my energy drink.

Current state of things: Good. Did my French reading (22 pages) with no sleepiness. Since then I've been really into The Marvels!

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

Currently reading: The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Pages read these hours: 54

Total pages so far: 1306

Books finished:
Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma
The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate
Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson

Snacks: I started my Monster energy drink.

Current state of things: I was getting quite sleepy indeed! So I got up and walked around a bit and started my energy drink. I'm gonna switch over to my French reading for half an hour to make sure I get that done, then switch back to The Marvels.

Saturday, April 6, 2019

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

Currently reading: The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Pages read these hours: 452

Total pages so far: 1252

Books finished:
Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma
The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate
Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson

Snacks: Perogies, om nom nom. Also a Kit Kat.

Current state of things: Feeling great! These are my best hours! After my quick read of Phoebe and Her Unicorn, I decided to jump into The Marvels, which is the longest book on my pile by a long shot, but which also has over 400 pages that are wordless! Most of them are in the first section of the book; I've finished that part and am now on the text part. There's another picture part at the end as well.

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

Currently reading: Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson

Pages read these hours: 151

Total pages so far: 800

Books finished:
Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma
The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate
Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

Snacks: None, but I'm about to have a late supper of perogies!

Current state of things: I LOVE Squirrel Girl, but 5 hours spent on that one volume was TOO MUCH. Phoebe and Her Unicorn, with its huge panels and huge font, is the perfect followup. I've only been reading it for about half an hour and I'm almost done!

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

Currently reading: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

Pages read these hours: 66

Total pages so far: 649

Books finishedTwin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma, The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: Nothing much.

Current state of things: Wow, I did not anticipate how long this Squirrel Girl book would take me! But anyway, here at the halfway point, I'm just about done my 3rd book. And I think they were among the lengthier books in my pile. So I'm still doing well!

Speaking of which, it's time for the mid-event survey!

1. What are you reading right now? Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
2. How many books have you read so far? Almost 3.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I'm thinking volume 9 of Saga!!
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? None besides my own sleepiness and poor attention span! Although, at some point I do have to pop out for a few minutes to play a tiny bit of Ingress (augmented reality game) to keep my streak going.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I'm slightly surprised by how easily distracted I've been today, lol.

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

Currently reading: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

Pages read these hours: 58

Total pages so far: 583

Books finished: Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma, The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: Veggie dogs. I ate a meal! Good job me.

Current state of things: Pretty good! I don't know why my page count was so low. I mean, I do read the letters page at the end of each comic issue, which takes a while, but you'd think the comic book pages would make up for that! Anyway, I've been slow, but wide awake!

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

Currently reading: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (Squirrel Girl, vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

Pages read these hours: 86

Total pages so far: 525

Books finished: Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma, The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: More popcorn twists (oh my god someone get this giant bag of popcorn twists away from me). Also my husband got home from work and brought me a mocha frappuccino. :)

Current state of things: Doin' fine. Back on a graphic novel now.

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

Currently reading: The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 45

Total pages so far: 439

Books finished: Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma

Snacks: Popcorn Twists and water.

Current state of things: I had a lot of trouble concentrating the last couple hours. Kept getting distracted by my phone. But at least the sleepiness seems to have passed, and I'm back to concentrating now!

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

Currently reading: The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 186

Total pages so far: 394

Books finished: Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma

Snacks: None right now.

Current state of things: OK, so I got sleepy again. I was doing great, but in the last little bit I definitely dozed a bit!

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

Currently reading: Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma

Pages read these hours: 208

Total pages so far: 208

Books finished: None yet.

Snacks: Breakfast! A bowl of cereal.

Current state of things: The early wake up was rough, but I'm already feeling pretty good! Sometimes I stay exhausted for quite a few of the morning hours. Looks like the start of a good day!

Read-a-Thon Time!

It's time for my 16th go at Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon! (I've done this 16 times! Whaaaaat!)

As always, the start time here at (roughly) the longitudinal centre of Canada is 7:00 in the morning. Therefore, I obviously wrote this post last night because I do not function well at 7:00 in the morning.

Last read-a-thon, I did not have enough graphic novels. I really need graphic novels to switch up the pace and keep me focused. I also like quick reads so that I can change books frequently, and graphic novels are generally very quick reads! So for today I have compiled a whole bunch of graphic novels, plus a couple of regular (short) novels. I think it's going to be ideal. And if I run out of books because I'm going through them so fast, as always, my bookshelves are nearby and ready with more options.

Here's what I've got piled up:
  • The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, vol. 3: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (168 pages)
  • The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, vol. 4: I Kissed a Squirrel and I Liked It by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (120 pages)
  • Amulet, vol. 8: Supernova by Kazu Kibuishi (199 pages)
  • Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson (147 pages)
  • Sisters by Raina Telgemeier (197 pages)
  • Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma (359 pages)
  • Saga, vol. 9 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (152 pages)
  • The Marvels by Brian Selznick (665 pages, many of them pictures)
  • How I Broke Up with Ernie by R.L. Stine (136 pages)
  • The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate (156 pages)
The total page count is 2299. That's definitely more than I've ever read in a read-a-thon! I haven't checked all my past posts to confirm my record, but it might be April 2018, when I read 1885 pages. My pile then was very similar to my pile this time, so it's likely (barring any falling-asleep-related issues) that I will read a similar amount this time. Of the books I've picked, 7 are graphic novels, 1 is a novel where many (most?) of the pages are pictures, and the remaining 2 are regular middle grade/YA novels.

Oh, and because I'm currently doing a 365 Day Challenge for language learning, I will have to at some point spend at least half an hour reading in French, so for that time I'll be reading La vie compliquée de Léa Olivier: Rumeurs by Catherine Girard-Audet.

Finally, here are my answers to the opening survey:

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? Squirrel Girl! She is my favourite super hero.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Perogies!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I'm a Trekkie. It occurs to me that my blogger friends may not know this about me, but it is a pretty big part of my nerd identity, lol.

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? Well, the last read-a-thon was not one of my better ones, and the one before that was perhaps my best ever, so I'm trying to be more like that one! Hence my huge pile of easy reads. I also tried to have more easy-to-prepare meals on hand this time. The last few, I haven't done so well with the food prep. We'll see if I eat better this time!