Sunday, October 25, 2020

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

Currently reading: The Fire Game (Fear Street #11) by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 80

Total pages so far: 1312

Books finished:
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser
The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate
Among the Ghosts by Amber Benson
Angel Omnibus, vol. 1
New Kid by Jerry Craft

Snacks: none

Current state of things: Well I didn't quite finish my 6th book. But I still feel like I finished pretty strong! Now, off to sleep!



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

Currently reading: The Fire Game (Fear Street #11) by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 199

Total pages so far: 1232

Books finished:
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser
The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate
Among the Ghosts by Amber Benson
Angel Omnibus, vol. 1
New Kid by Jerry Craft

Snacks: bread and butter, and still sipping my energy drink

Current state of things: Doing surprisingly well! The idea of going to bed is extremely appealing, but I'm not having trouble keeping my eyes open or anything. And I'm motivated, because I started a 6th book a little while ago and I want to see if I can finish it by the end! It might just be possible if I can stay super focused.

And now, since I've officially stayed up all night, it's tradition that I post Good Morning!



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

Currently reading: New Kid by Jerry Craft

Pages read these hours: 208

Total pages so far: 1033

Books finished:
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser
The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate
Among the Ghosts by Amber Benson
Angel Omnibus, vol. 1

Snacks: no food, but drinking my energy drink now

Current state of things: Not too bad! The last few pages of Angel Omnibus took me a while because my eyes were going out of focus and I had to keep rereading the same panels again and again lol, but I'm doing a bit better since getting up and switching books. Also, New Kid is so good!!

Well it's definitely time for the energizing music breaks!



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

Currently reading: Angel Omnibus, vol. 1

Pages read these hours: 168

Total pages so far: 825

Books finished:
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser
The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate
Among the Ghosts by Amber Benson

Snacks: a hot chocolate float (hot chocolate with a scoop of ice cream added)

Current state of things: Still going strong, but at the moment I'm getting pretty tired. Time to grab the energy drink I'm thinking! Getting close to the end of my current book; I just have one short comic (the Connor spotlight) and one longer one (Auld Lang Syne) left.

I found this video in which hilariously people find it hard to stay up for 24 hours. Amateurs! 😂



Saturday, October 24, 2020

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

Currently reading: Angel Omnibus, vol. 1

Pages read these hours: 155

Total pages so far: 657

Books finished:
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser
The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate
Among the Ghosts by Amber Benson

Snacks: none in the last bit

Current state of things: Going strong. Took a shower break and have otherwise been reading steadily. I'm surprised by the comics in this omnibus, though! All the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus volumes had stories that took place during the show, and I seem to recall the same was true for the Dark Horse Angel Omnibus and the Spike Omnibus, too (plus some stories in the distant past), so I assumed this volume would be Angel stories from before and during the show. But so far this is all after the show! Hopefully no spoilers from Angel: After the Fall, because I have not read those yet. Even my memories of the late seasons are hazy, because I last watched them quite a number of years ago. I'm currently rewatching Buffy and Angel in French, but I'm only on season 2 of Angel.

Now, breaking from my Bert and Ernie theme for a moment here, because I'm a Morning Person just always feels so appropriate for these late hours when I get my night owl energy!



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

Currently reading: Angel Omnibus, vol. 1 (just starting)

Pages read these hours: 118

Total pages so far: 502

Books finished:
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser
The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate
Among the Ghosts by Amber Benson

Snacks: some sour straps candy (hoping the sugar will help keep me awake)

Current state of things: Great! I read almost double the pages in those two hours than I'd done in previous hours. Now I've finished the longest non-graphic novel in my pile. So now, I'm gonna tackle the huge graphic novel! Angel Omnibus, vol. 1 has 458 pages.



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

Currently reading: Among the Ghosts by Amber Benson

Pages read these hours: 60

Total pages so far: 384

Books finished:
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser
The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: I had supper. I went to the local Punjabi takeout place and got a noodle burger.

Current state of things: Pretty good! Disappointed with my total pages at the halfway point, but I think I usually do better in the second half anyway. The last two hours I was more alert reading, but did lose a little time getting my food (though I did bring a book with me) and then eating my food (it was very messy so I had to take a break for that).



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

Currently reading: Among the Ghosts by Amber Benson

Pages read these hours: 66

Total pages so far: 324

Books finished:
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser
The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: finished my cherry Bubly and had a Fudgsicle

Current state of things: Definitely did a fair bit of dozing off and reading the same page over and over again. I wish I'd planned a little more caffeine into my day.



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

Currently reading: Among the Ghosts by Amber Benson (just starting)

Pages read these hours: 66

Total pages so far: 258

Books finished:
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser
The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: naan bread dipped in baba ghanoush. So good, but as a result I ate too much and now I'm stuffed lol. Also I'm drinking a cherry Bubly.

Current state of things: Feeling good and alert! I'm about to start my longest non-graphic novel book. Among the Ghosts is 244 pages and is a middle grade novel. (And if you didn't recognize the name, the author, Amber Benson, is Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer!)

I don't know how I found myself in this pattern of sharing Bert and Ernie videos, but I'm loving it, and apparently there is no shortage of ones relevant to a read-a-thon!!



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

Currently reading: The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 64

Total pages so far: 192

Books finished
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser

Snacks: ginger turmeric tea and some more Tootsie Rolls

Current state of things: I did get a bit drowsy at times, so my reading pace isn't where I'd like it to be to hit my reading goals! But I'm halfway through book number two.



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

Currently reading: The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate (just starting)

Pages read these hours: 91

Total pages so far: 128

Books finished:
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser

Snacks: blueberry bagel with cream cheese, water, some Tootsie Rolls

Current state of things: I had breakfast, brushed my teeth, and have stayed fully awake for the last two hours! And I just finished my first book! Starting another short book now. If I make good time with this one I might read a long book next.

The video in my first update got me in a Sesame Street mood, so here's another one to enjoy! I'm totally Ernie. 😂



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

Currently reading: Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser

Pages read these hours: 37

Total pages so far: 37

Books finished: none yet

Snacks: none yet

Current state of things: I spent the first two hours in bed. Always a dangerous approach but easier to get going at least. I was fine for the first bit, but after a while definitely started reading the same page for long periods of time! I have gotten up to write this update, though, so let's get going for realsies!



The Read-a-Thon Begins!!

 

The time has come! After a bit of a boredom-induced reading slump (yes, when I have more time for reading and wish I were reading more, I actually end up reading less), I have gotten back in the swing of things since back-to-school. The pre-read-a-thon challenge certainly helped with that! I did not complete it, but I did get more than half of it done, and it did give my reading life a pick-me-up! So I am feeling primed and ready to go for this 24 Hour Read-a-Thon.


I am happy to report that I have nowhere I have to be tomorrow, and nothing anyone is expecting of me, so I will be able to devote the full 24 hours to reading, which is just how I like it. This is my first read-a-thon in my new apartment, and I think I have all my reading spots set up to be quite cozy, plus a fridge and cupboards well-stocked with read-a-thon snacks. So I'm ready to go!


My book pile is rather large in terms of pages, but the two longest books are graphic novels, so we'll see how it goes! Here's what I've got picked out:

  • Angel Omnibus vol. 1 by various authors (458 pages)
  • New Kid by Jerry Craft (249 pages)
  • Among the Ghosts by Amber Benson (244 pages)
  • The Other (Animorphs #40) by K.A. Applegate (130 pages)
  • Back to Before (Megamorphs #4) by K.A. Applegate (179 pages)
  • The Fire Game (Fear Street #11) by R.L. Stine (145 pages)
  • Party Summer (Fear Street Superchiller #1) by R.L. Stine (215 pages)
  • Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser (128 pages)
  • Check It Out -- And Die! by M.T. Coffin (141 pages)
  • The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (183 pages)
That's a whopping 2072 pages, more than is possible for me to read in 24 hours. But at least I won't run out! And with 707 pages of that being the two graphic novels, who knows what my numbers will look like? If I do find myself disinterested in my pile near the end, I might also dip into This Is How You Die, a book of short stories I've had on the go for many months.

Finally, here are my responses to the opening survey (prepared in advance so sorry if the new organizers change the questions on me!):


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? Check it Out -- And Die! I'm a school library tech and this is a book about an evil school librarian who gives kids horror stories that come true. I was so excited when I found this book lol!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I plan to pop out to the nearby Punjabi takeout place for a noodles burger, which was a whole new concept to me when I first ordered it and I instantly fell in love.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I never know what to say to this question after 9 years of read-a-thons! My current special interest is Sherlock Holmes, brought about by the fact that I'm currently watching Sherlock for the first time. I've only read two of the books before (A Study in Scarlet a couple years ago and Hound of the Baskervilles in high school), and am thinking of reading them all soon.
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? This is my 19th read-a-thon. I don't like to change a lot. My goal is always to read as much of the day as possible with few interruptions and to read as many books/pages as possible.

Sunday, April 26, 2020

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

Currently reading: Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

Pages read these hours: 64

Total pages so far: 1015

Books finished:
The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Phone Calls by R.L. Stine
Interview With the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter
The Arrival (Animorphs #38) by K.A. Applegate
Haunted (Fear Street #7) by R.L. Stine
Juliet Fisher and the Foolproof Plan by Natalie Honeycutt

Snacks: None.

Current state of things: And that's a wrap! I got through 7 full books, and then read 18 pages of Cress at the end. I definitely call that a successful read-a-thon! And now, to sleep!

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

Currently reading: Juliet Fisher and the Foolproof Plan by Natalie Honeycutt

Pages read these hours: 81

Total pages so far: 951

Books finished:
The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Phone Calls by R.L. Stine
Interview With the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter
The Arrival (Animorphs #38) by K.A. Applegate
Haunted (Fear Street #7) by R.L. Stine

Snacks: None.

Current state of things: Starting to get pretty sleepy as we approach the end. I'll definitely finish my current book, but won't have time to read another whole book after that, so I think I'll finish by reading some of Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3), one of the books I'm currently reading (outside of the read-a-thon). That way I won't be adding yet another book to my currently reading shelf!

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

Currently reading: Haunted (Fear Street #7) by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 56

Total pages so far: 870

Books finished:
The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Phone Calls by R.L. Stine
Interview With the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter
The Arrival (Animorphs #38) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: None, just sipping my energy drink.

Current state of things: Going strong! I did find myself getting distracted by Facebook a little more. But I'm almost done Haunted! For the last four hours I'm going to pick the shorter books off my stack and see if I can get eight books done by the end!

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

Currently reading: Haunted (Fear Street #7) by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 69

Total pages so far: 814

Books finished:
The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Phone Calls by R.L. Stine
Interview With the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter
The Arrival (Animorphs #38) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: Hot chocolate and pretzels.

Current state of things: I'm really liking this Fear Street book! Very spooky. Also I started my Monster energy drink and am feeling more alert already!

Saturday, April 25, 2020

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

Currently reading: Haunted (Fear Street #7) by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 88

Total pages so far: 745

Books finished
The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Phone Calls by R.L. Stine
Interview With the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter
The Arrival (Animorphs #38) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: Some Italian sausage. That was kind of my supper I guess.

Current state of things: Feeling a bit sleepy, but my energy drink is still ahead of me! My husband has gone to bed so I guess the night time portion of the read-a-thon has officially begun. I just finished my fifth book, and now I'm going to start my Fear Street book. I like to read scary stuff at night.

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

Currently reading: The Arrival (Animorphs #38) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 60

Total pages so far: 657

Books finished
The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Phone Calls by R.L. Stine
Interview With the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter

Snacks: Pretzels.

Current state of things: Still going strong, although I've been more distracted since my husband got home from work.

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

Currently reading: The Arrival (Animorphs #38) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 179

Total pages so far: 597

Books finished:
The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Phone Calls by R.L. Stine
Interview With the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter

Snacks: None. I was hoping for a frappuccino that my husband was going to pick up for me on his way home from work, but it turns out that even the drive-through is closed at our nearest Starbucks. Sadness!

Current state of things: Doing good! We're halfway there! (Oooh, livin' on a prayer!) And I just finished my fourth book of the day.

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

Currently reading: Interview With the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter (adapted from the original work by Anne Rice)

Pages read these hours: 115

Total pages so far: 418

Books finished:
The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Phone Calls by R.L. Stine

Snacks: A few more chocolate chip cookies. Om nom nom.

Current state of things: Excellent! I'm reading another good book and making good progress. By the half way point I expect to be finished my fourth book!

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

Currently reading: Phone Calls by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 103

Total pages so far: 303

Books finished:
The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl

Snacks: Lunch: veggie dogs and chips.

Current state of things: Really good! This book is hilarious! Recently I've been reading R.L. Stine's really early stuff and it's been kind of inconsistent, with some books I love and others not so much. I wasn't sure about this one. But I've been literally laughing out loud!

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

Currently reading: Phone Calls by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 101

Total pages so far: 200

Books finished:
The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl

Snacks: None right now.

Current state of things: Doing much better! I actually read more in the last two hours than I did in the first four hours! I feel like I'm on a roll now. I'm just really not a morning person. The afternoon and evening, and even the earlier nighttime hours, are where I really shine!

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

Currently reading: The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 37

Total pages so far: 99

Books finished: None yet.

Snacks: A couple of chocolate chip cookies. Mostly trying to drink plenty of water at this point.

Current state of things: So, I foolishly thought I was awake enough to read in bed. But it was so comfy... Anyway, I didn't get as much reading done as I'd hoped! There was some dozing. But I'm back up and alert now.

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

Currently reading: The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 62

Total pages so far: 62

Books finished: None yet.

Snacks: Breakfast: honey nut Cheerios.

Current state of things: Not a bad start! Waking up was a challenge; I did not get enough sleep. But I'm excited to get some reading done!

It's the Read-a-Thon!!!

In a time when nothing is normal, what a comfort it is to prepare for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, as I have twice a year for the last nine years! As much as I've wanted to spend my increased free time reading, I actually haven't gotten that much reading done. So I am so ready to settle in for 24 hours of non-stop reading!!

Now, on to my reading pile. Luckily, I had a good stack of library books before the library closed (not to mention I own like, a LOT of books). However, I wasn't able to do my usual read-a-thon-specific library book haul, which is mostly graphic novels. So, I do have a couple, but not as many as usual. Most of my stack is short middle grade and YA novels.

Here's the pile I'll have handy:
  • Phone Calls by R.L. Stine (154 pages)
  • Haunted (Fear Street #7) by R.L. Stine (164 pages)
  • The Weakness (Animorphs #37) by K.A. Applegate (129 pages)
  • The Arrival (Animorphs #38) by K.A. Applegate (148 pages)
  • The Truth About Stacey (The Baby-Sitters Club #3) by Ann M. Martin (167 pages)
  • Juliet Fisher and the Foolproof Plan by Natalie Honeycutt (88 pages)
  • Esio Trot by Roald Dahl (58 pages)
  • Science Comics: Plagues: The Microscopic Battlefield by Falynn Koch (122 pages)
  • Interview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter and Anne Rice (256 pages)
  • No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen (271)
Total pages: 1557. I have read more pages than that in some read-a-thons, but probably with more graphic novels. So we shall see!

Without further ado, 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? Interview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story. I've been wanting to read this one for so long!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Homemade chocolate chip cookies!!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! Let's see. Right now I'm working from home, because I work in a school and students are all learning from home now for the rest of the school year. Some of them are actually participating in this read-a-thon with me!

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? This is my 18th read-a-thon. Some of them have gone better than others. But at this point I don't really change a whole lot! I just do the best I can and try to be aware of how I'm feeling and act accordingly!