Saturday, October 24, 2020

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.