Wrap up - End of Event Meme - Final Update

The sun is just starting to come up and I can't believe it's over! April seems so far away, but then again it'll be here before we know it and we can do this again! I'm jazzed to have been awake at the end this year, this is the first time I've done that. The nap helped, and while I didn't quite make it to the end of the story I was reading, I did get another 55 pages in the last couple hours, along with a smidge more cheering. Thank you to everyone involved, the organizers, the cheerleaders, the readers, this is such a special thing, and I'm happy to be a part of it!

End of Event Meme

Which hour was most daunting for you?

This year it was hour 19, as I was trying to finish up the book I was on before getting a few hours sleep so I could get back up for the end.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

I'd like to give a huge recommendation to the Dream Catcher Trilogy by Lisa McMann, Wake, Fade and Gone, they are enthralling, yet quick reads, really kept me interested. I read the first one last read-a-thon, and the 3rd one this time. Also Stephanie Plum between the numbers novels (usually the holiday ones) by Janet Evanovich or also some of her older romances that have been reprinted as they are quick and fun!

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Not really, I think it goes beautifully!

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

I really like have the twitter hashtag #readathon, it's a real time conversation and really brings home the fact that we're doing this together. Those late night hours can feel really isolated sometimes, and I think the twitter feed really keeps us in touch and energized!

How many books did you read?

I got through 2 full books, finished off 1 that I had already started before the read-a-thon, and then got through 3 short stories and about 2/3 of another one.

What were the names of the books you read?

See below, they'll be in my last update!

Which book did you enjoy most?

Gone by Lisa McMann

Which did you enjoy least?

I think finishing up Metal Angel by Nancy Springer, it was just a struggle! It was good, but just not as engaging as I had hoped for.

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

Yes, and it's something that our Cheerleader organizers told us, which is to try and make each comment personal, even if we're posting the same "cheer" for a lot of people, it is important to read through quickly what they have posted and try to make a tailor made comment just for them. As a reader, it really gives you a warm fuzzy and some energy when you realize someone's taken the time to pay attention to what you've posted, and that really helps keep you enthused!

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I'm absolutely in! I wish we could do it more often! I think right now I'm pretty comfortable in the mainly reader, moderate cheerleader role. I have a lot of respect for the organizers of the different areas, I imagine it's a lot more work than you might realize, and I want to thank them all for keeping this going and allowing so many of us around the world to share in this fantastic event! I'm a read-a-thon addict now! Heehee, I know I'm tired because I'm getting all emotional and teary now that we're done! *sniffle* *group hug*

Final Update

My final page count was 601, plus I listened to about 2 1/2 hours of My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent, but I'm way too tired to try and figure out how many pages that would be right now!

Finished:

Metal Angel by Nancy Springer	Stopping Time by Melissa Marr	Gone (Dream Catcher #3) by Lisa McMann	Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
pages: 92	pages: 36	pages: 214	pages: 166
	No Cover Available
Skitty by Mercedes Lackey	Venture in Vain by Katherine Kurtz	My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent	Father Mine by J. R. Ward
pages: 24	pages: 14	listened: 2 1/2 hours	pages: 55

Great Job everyone! And now to get some sleep! See you all in April!

I'm back!

I'm back after a nap, and I think it's time for that huge cupcake and a soda! I'm pretty proud of myself for getting back up, because wow was that bed comfortable! Not sure what I'm going to do with myself in the final two hours here, but I think it will be a combo of reading and cheering, and eating, yeah, definitely eating...

Update hours 12-19

It's just after 1 am for me in hour 19, and I've just finished Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich. I've done some cheering, and also read two short stories, Venture in Vain by Katherine Kurtz (a special limited edition short story), and Skitty by Mercedes Lackey. My page count is now at 546. Seems like every read-a-thon my number of pages is going down, but that's okay, I'm enjoying myself, and I still feel accomplished!

The plan now is to catch a few hours of sleep, and then get back up for the end of the read-a-thon, we'll see if I make it!

Currently Reading and Next Up:



Finished:

Metal Angel by Nancy Springer	Stopping Time by Melissa Marr	Gone (Dream Catcher #3) by Lisa McMann	Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
pages: 92	pages: 36	pages: 214	pages: 166
	No Cover Available
Skitty by Mercedes Lackey	Venture in Vain by Katherine Kurtz
pages: 24	pages: 14

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?

I'll be starting Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich once I've cheered a bit more.

2. How many books have you read so far?

1 full book, 1 partial book, 3 short stories.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Father Mine by J. R. Ward, it's a short story, but I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood!

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Not really, luckily Saturday is usually pretty clear for me.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

self-inflicted ones, like going out to lunch and running errands, so I brought along my ipod to listen to an audiobook, or read on the kindle app on my phone.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

The time just flies by!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Nope, it's awesome just the way it is!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Well, honestly I think I may have gotten it just right for myself this year. I'm going to try getting some sleep before too long and then getting up for the end few hours rather than staying up as late as possible, so we'll see how that works!

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Kind of, but still jazzed to get more reading done. Once I hit that wall though, I go down fast! That's why I'm going to try the nap thing!

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

I'm including some short stories this time, something I've not done before, while they don't get you a big page count, they do let you feel like you've finished some "units" and I think that's important if you're feeling bogged down with a longer book. Also, just have fun, set attainable goals if you set them at all, and don't be hard on yourself if things don't go exactly as you planned, be flexible, and you'll be a lot more relaxed!

Update hours 6-11

We've just completed hour 11, and are at the halfway hour 12! How's everyone feeling? Sleepy? Energized? I made it through my tough afternoon prime nap hours between 3-5 pm and am feeling pretty good right now, having just finished a book! It's time for some cheering!

I'm at 342 pages now, which was reading Gone (Dream Catcher #3) by Lisa McMann. I also started listening to My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent while we were out and about at lunch, doing some errands, and securing some evil cupcakes for later on, and some coffee! Mr. Shaunie has joined me in reading, and he's logged almost 100 pages in Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch, which looks to be a fun Sci-Fi.

I love book related t-shirts, and was so excited to get this one recently from Shirt.Woot, which is my special attire for today. I wish it hadn't gotten reckoned so quickly, I probably should have gotten several of them!



Currently Reading and Next Up:



Finished:

Metal Angel by Nancy Springer	Stopping Time by Melissa Marr	Gone (Dream Catcher #3) by Lisa McMann
pages: 92	pages: 36	pages: 214

Update Hours 1-5

We're just finishing up hour 5, it's almost noon for me, so it's time for lunch! I'm not reading as fast as I might like, but I'm in a great mood, and have visited some friends that are also doing the read-a-thon:
Noumena12
Azuki
Dancing-Dog
Elsi

I've managed 128 pages so far, which was finishing up Metal Angel by Nancy Springer and also reading Stopping Time by Melissa Marr, a short story in the Wicked Lovely series. Now I'm listening to My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent while blogging and getting ready to go out for lunch. I'm thinking a soup and salad buffet, then some time at a local coffee shop for some more reading. What's everyone else doing for meals and snacks? Have a great day everyone, keep up the good reading, and have fun! I'll be cheering for people later on as part of Team Coco Puffs!



Currently Reading and Next Up:



Finished:

Metal Angel by Nancy Springer	Stopping Time by Melissa Marr
pages: 92	pages: 36

Hour 1 - Intro Meme

1)Where are you reading from today?

Mostly my house, but we may go out to lunch and a local coffee shop to read for awhile.

2)Three random facts about me…

I've always loved Archaeology, enough that it inspired me to get an Anthropology degree, though I've not ended up in a career using it. I would love to visit Egypt or Mexico and see the wonderful ruins there!

I'm also a geocacher, though we don't do it a lot, it is a lot of fun. The most exciting one we've found so far was a cache on the edge of Royal Gorge in Colorado, beautiful scenery!

I worked in a bookstore during highschool and college, sometimes I miss it, though I think I have just as many books of my own now!


3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

About 30, but that's just to have something to choose from, there's no way I'll get through them all! But I sure wish I could read that fast!

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

No real goals, just to read as much as possible.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?

This is my 4th time I think, and my advice is to just relax and have fun, that's what it's all about! Even if you're not reading as quickly as you might like, you're still part of something wonderful, enjoy it!

Here We Go! It's Read-a-Thon time again!

It's time! It's time! It's time for Dewey's 24 hour Read-a-Thon! I've so been looking forward to this! My hubby is going to give the read-a-thon a try as well, this is the first time I've done this that he's NOT on call! Woot! I'll report on his progress here along with my own, he didn't really sign up, so I guess for this go around we're team Shaunesay!

This year I'm going to donate to Literacy Kansas City for the books that we get read. I'm actually going to do it for all of my October reads, not just today's.

I'm also a cheerleader again, so I may be visiting some of you later on to help keep you going!

I didn't quite get all the reading done that I wanted to before the start of the 'thon, so I might be finishing that last book up today. I've got books lined up in print, and on my Kindle app, and also an audio book picked out to give my eyes a rest, for exercising and while I'm visiting others and cheering.

Here's my starting lineup:



Good Luck and Good Reading everyone! Have a wonderful day!

A Fool and His Honey by Charlaine Harris

A Fool and His Honey is the 6th book of the Aurora Teagarden series.

Roe's life is going well, she's happily married to Martin, has started working at the library again part time because she likes it, not because she has to, and she has a house she loves. There are a few downsides, the company dinners and making nice with town politicians, and she's not so crazy about Martin's family, but overall things are going good, until the day that things just went from bad to worse, and didn't get better again. It started out with some erratic behavior by the man delivering some firewood to the house, and then with an unexpected visit by a relative of Martin's, and then, that's right, you guessed it, with a dead body. But not only a dead body, there's also a baby with a missing mother in the equation, and Roe has no choice but to care for the child until his mother, Martin's niece, is found. This awakens all sorts of feelings in Roe, none of them quite what she expected, considering her own fertility situation. To have the duty foisted on her the way it was, in addition to the stress of not knowing where the child's mother was or if she was okay, or even if the baby was truly hers, and Roe has a big batch of resentment brewing, which I can't blame her for one bit! She certainly took it a lot better than I would have.

I'll be honest, I've liked this one the least so far, because of the storyline. The convoluted "who's baby is Hayden" thread is fine, it was the ending I didn't like at all. It might just be because of the frame of mind in which I read it, I could really identify with Roe, and her feelings and resentments over circumstances and people, and then to have it turn out the way it did was just awful. I guess I'm just a sucker for happy endings, and this episode of the Aurora series didn't have one! Of course I'll read the rest, it wasn't a bad storyline, it just made me really unhappy for Roe!

Despite my unhappiness with this particular novel, I do highly recommend everything I've read by Charlaine Harris so far, which includes the Harper Connelly series, and the Sookie Stackhouse Series. Just be prepared, A Fool and His Honey won't give you the warm fuzzies! For more information on the author and her work, please see her website: www.charlaineharris.com.

This is my 10th read for the Mystery and Suspense Challenge hosted by Book Chick City.

Are you ready for Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon?

This time next week we'll be feverishly reading and cheering each other on during Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon! There's still plenty of time to sign up to be a reader, or join the cheerleading team! Yes, you can absolutely do both, I am! One of the most fun things about the read-a-thon is picking out what books to read. I always have a much bigger stack than I will ever get through, but you just never know what you'll be in the mood for! Here are some of the ones that are definites, plus the rest of my stack!





I have quite a few short stories and novellas on the Kindle and in print, (both Father Mine and Stopping Time above are short stories) so I will be working on those as well. I thought that might be a good break from a longer book if I'm feeling bogged down on it, or a quick in between books.

I'm also going to be donating to a reading themed charity this year. I've chosen Literacy Kansas City as my recipient, and while I'm actually going to donate for what I read in the whole month of October, I'll report in on what I did for the read-a-thon itself as I think they usually try to tally up what people have done if they're willing to volunteer the info.

I'm cheerleading again this time, so I need to get busy and try to think of something fun. I love getting comments from people during the read-a-thon, it gives it that group festive feeling, and really helps if you're feeling like things are going slow!

I can't believe it's so close and yet so far! Just another week to go! And yet, another WHOLE week of work before it's time! I hope to see you all there!

It's a wrap!

Down to the wire and accomplished my goal! I just finished Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull with about 30 minutes to midnight! This is a fun kids fantasy series that I highly recommend! 526 pages!

Worked on but did not complete:

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs by John Montgomery - Starting point for Read-a-thon pg. 80, ending point, pg. 105 - pages read = 25 pages

Previously Finished:

What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss	Ghost Hunting by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson	Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey
249 pages	273 pages	92 pages

Total page count: 1165, average pages per day: 177 - not bad, much better than my normal average of between 60 and 100 (which I hadn't even been managing lately!)

I would like to thank Michelle @ True Book Addict for hosting this on her Castle Macabre blog, it was fun! I hope to join you on some future read-a-thon's!

Goodnight everyone!

Beginning of the Last Day of the Frightful Fall Read-a-thon

Friday evening I finished listening to Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey while I was making dinner. I had about 3 hours left of listening time when the read-a-thon started Monday so I calculated that was about 92 pages to go. Felix is an exorcist who always gets in way over his head. I love how Michael Kramer does the voice for Juliet the demon, and the writing is great, there are awesome quotes all the time. One of my favorites from this one was something like "Down is a wonderful direction, once you try it, you just don't get back up again." I would say it's almost a Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden meets Monty Python, but darker. I recommend the series!

Still working on:

Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull - a fun YA fantasy series that I highly recommend. - This one will be my main focus today, I really hope to finish it, I'm over halfway, but still have just slightly less than 200 pages to go.

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs by John Montgomery - Reading this for my own non-fiction challenge, I'm at location 744, which I think is about page 80, so that will be my starting point for the read-a-thon. Update: I'm now at page 105 on this one. - I'm guessing I won't be finishing this one today!

Previously Finished:

What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss	Ghost Hunting by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson
249 pages	273 pages

Finished page count: 614

Good luck in the home stretch everyone!

Spotlight: Literacy Kansas City

My ability to read is something that I take for granted. I read all the time, books yes, but also food boxes, medication labels, job applications, road signs, greeting cards, e-mails and texts from friends, family and co-workers. There is almost no part of my life that doesn't involve reading in some way. I had wonderful parents who fostered this ability in me at an early age, not everyone is given this same opportunity. But they should be.

Literacy Kansas City states on their website that 1 in 5 adults in the United States are functionally illiterate.

Our Mission
Literacy Kansas City's mission is to advance literacy among area adults through direct services, advocacy and collaboration. Our vision is literacy for all.

The Need for Literacy
Approximately 225,000 adults in the Kansas City area function at the lowest literacy level. Illiteracy is closely linked to poverty, unemployment and health issues. Children of low literate parents face a high risk of growing up illiterate. Helping an adult learn to read can improve the situation of an entire family. Most adult learners seek our help so they can participate in their children's learning, obtain a GED or diploma, or improve their job skills so they can better support their families. At any time, there are around 30 students on our waiting list.

The Organization
Literacy Kansas City certifies volunteers as tutors and matches them with adult learners from across the Kansas City metropolitan area who want to improve their literacy skills. Founded in 1985, Literacy Kansas City is an accredited affiliate of ProLiteracy America, the U.S. program division of ProLiteracy Worldwide.

I can't think of a better, lasting gift to give someone than the ability to read. I've discovered the joy of online read-a-thon's, where a group of people sign up on the host's blog and then read and blog about their progress, visit each other and comment etc. It's a lot of fun! So far these experiences have not included an organized literacy donation process, as they are generally bringing together people from different parts of the world and everyone would have a different charity focus, so it would be difficult. It is absolutely encouraged to do so however, to the charity of your choice. I have two read-a-thon's that I'm participating in during October, one right now, The Frightful Fall Read-a-thon, and then a little later in the month Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon. Since October looks to hopefully be a successful reading month for me, I'd like to pledge to donate $3 for each full length book (including audios), and $1.50 for each short story that I finish during the month. Things are starting off pretty good so far, I've already finished 4 books in October and it's only the first full week, much better than last month where I only finished 3 during all of September!

I encourage everyone who enjoys reading to find out if their area has a program like Literacy Kansas City that they can donate to or volunteer in, and do something fun like a read-a-thon, come up with a fun way to measure what you should donate, a penny a page, anything, and help pass along this gift to others!

Oct 6th Frightful Check in - Ghost Hunting by The Ghost Hunters!

I've finished book #2, yay!



I enjoy the Ghoster Hunters TV Show on SyFy, so I was pretty sure I'd like a book of theirs too. This is the first of their books, Ghost Hunting, I have the second, and there are several more after that as well.

I'm pretty much a wuss when it comes to the paranormal, it doesn't take much to give me goosebumps. I don't think I've ever actually had an encounter, though others in my family have, my mother, my aunt, and my husband all have stories to tell. I'm okay with not having a story to share, really!

I like the show, mostly because I enjoy the people, the antics of Steve and Tango, the interesting places they go, the serious way Jason and Grant conduct their investigations, and I get excited by the flashlights turning on and off, or the meters flashing. But really many times I don't really hear the things they show was evidence, I totally rely on the subtitles, because I wouldn't get it otherwise, and a lot of times I'm not seeing anything in the footage without the highlighting circles.

I did enjoy this book, and it had me looking over my shoulder, and checking the cats to see if they were still asleep or concerned by a noise. There are many things that TAPS has done that they can't share on the television show, and a few of those are mentioned in the book. It's a mixture of family homes and publicized haunted locations, many of which I do remember the episodes for. If you're a fan of the show already, you'll definitely enjoy this, (what was that noise?) it's told from Jason's point of view, but always with a comment from Grant, so you still get that feel that you have from the show. They have had a lot more experiences, many more dramatic than anything they show on television.

273 pages down!


I'll be focusing on Fablehaven next I think.

Still working on:

Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey - with my starting point at 3 hours left, I calculated that to be 92 pages remaining, and I've listened to about an hour of it on my drive back and forth to work since yesterday.

Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull - a fun YA fantasy series that I highly recommend. I'm somewhere around 100 pages read on this one so far, it's in the other room though, so I don't know for sure! ;)

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs by John Montgomery - Reading this for my own non-fiction challenge, I'm at location 744, which I think is about page 80, so that will be my starting point for the read-a-thon. Update: I'm now at page 105 on this one.

Previously Finished:

What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss

249 pages

Finished page count: 522

TGIF Everyone! Day 5 here we come!

Oct 5th Frightful Check-In

I finished my first book this afternoon, What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss - The cover is cheesy but the story is enjoyable, Reformed Rockstar vs. Librarian with a secret! This was also my first Rocktober read, so I will probably do a better review after the read-a-thon.

I've also chosen my Scary/Spooky book for the read-a-thon requirements: Ghost Hunting by Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson and Michael Jan Friedman. That's right, the Ghost Hunters themselves! Not sure I can read this one right before bed though, as the idea of ghosts fascinates me, but also unnerves me!

Still working on:

Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey - with my starting point at 3 hours left, I calculated that to be 92 pages remaining, and I've listened to about an hour of it on my drive back and forth to work since yesterday.

Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull - a fun YA fantasy series that I highly recommend. Update: This is going to have to be my before sleep read, to get me over the Ghost Hunting I was doing, I mean, reading, in my basement while exercising!

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs by John Montgomery - Reading this for my own non-fiction challenge, I'm at location 744, which I think is about page 80, so that will be my starting point for the read-a-thon. Update: I'm now at page 105 on this one.

Happy Day 3 everyone, and good luck tomorrow!

Frightful Fall Read-a-thon

I discovered a read-a-thon to do, thanks to a Twitter post from Susan @ West of Mars! I love read-a-thon's! This one is the Frightful Fall Read-a-thon hosted by The True Book Addict over at her Castle Macabre Horror Blog. It actually started yesterday, so I'm a bit late, but I did read yesterday, so subconsciously I think I knew about it! ;) I'm not after prizes anyway, just a motivating reading challenge! September was just a pitiful reading month for me, so I'm hoping between the Frightful Fall and Dewey's Read-a-thon's, and the Rocktober "challenge" that this month will be better!

The Frightful Fall Read-a-thon has only one real requirement (if I'm reading the instructions correctly) and that is that one of your books has to be a scary book. Scary is a relative term here though, so if you're not into horror, then just find some book that has a spooky aspect to it and that should qualify!

Here is my starting line-up:

Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey - listening to this on audiobook, have about 3 hours left of it that I will count for the read-a-thon. It would qualify as a scary series if anyone else is interested. Felix is an exorcist, and always in a LOT of trouble!

What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss - started this one yesterday evening, and it will be my first read for Rocktober as well.

Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull - also started yesterday, a fun YA fantasy series that I highly recommend.

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs by John Montgomery - Reading this for my own non-fiction challenge, I'm at location 744, which I think is about page 97, so that will be my starting point for the read-a-thon.

These should keep me busy for a couple days for sure! I still need to pick my scary read though. Good luck to anyone else who is participating, and remember to use #frightfall on twitter to check out the action and let us know how you're doing!