Labor Day Read-a-thon Aug 31 - Sept 1

I can't resist a read-a-thon anymore, so even though I'm going to be busy this weekend doing other things I still have to be in on it!  I'll make my goal laid back by not giving myself one at all, how's that for lazy?  Probably I'll just try to finish some of what I've already started.

Started at pg 114 Currently at pg 132	Started at 22% Currently at 46%	Started at pg 53 Currently at pg 196

Updates:
Starting points updated!  Let the reading begin!

Day 1: 55 pages 
Day 2: 79 pages
Day 3: 71 pages
Day 4: 36 pages

Total Pages: 241 - About 60 pages per day.  I didn't get anything finished, but it shouldn't take me too long to wrap these up in the next week or so!

Bout of Books 5.0 Day 1 Challenge

Welcome to Bout of Books 5.0! I'm so excited, and not a little nervous, to be co-hosting my first ever Bout of Books Challenge with my friend and fellow read-a-thon addict Elsi! I'm proud to say I think I'm the one that got her hooked! ;)

To enter this challenge, tell us what happens to your books after you have read them. Elsi and I both belong to BookCrossing.com, an on-line community where books are given a unique identity so, as the book is passed from reader to reader, it can be tracked, thus connecting its readers. So, we're going to give you an extra chance to win if you're a member of BookCrossing. (And you can join today if you're not already a member. It's completely free to join!)

Here are the details:

• This challenge will be open for 24 hours, from 12:01 am CDT on Monday the 13th to 12:01 am CDT on Tuesday the 14th
• You must be participating in Bout of Books to win. You must have posted your goals and linked them through the linky on this page.
• Four participants will each win one book up to $15 from The Book Depository.
• This is open to entrants in any country that The Book Depository ships to.
• Winner will be selected using Rafflecopter and we’ll announce and contact the winner on Tuesday evening.
• To enter, all you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter widget below. You may answer the question in the widget or post your answer on your blog and supply a link to your answer in the widget. You get an extra entry if you're a member of BookCrossing.
• You can submit your entry on either of our blogs. Rafflecopter ensures that duplicates are not received.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners:

Kimberly posted her response on her blog, On the Wings of Books, saying "After I’ve finished reading (and reviewing) a book it gets put on my finished reading shelf. It’s a nice feeling to be able to put it on that shelf. Occasionally I will loan books (but usually just to certain, trusted, people). And I rarely give books away. I know that’s very selfish of me, but that’s just the way I am. I gave away a ton of books several years ago and I regret doing it, so I don’t usually feel inclined to give them away now."

Melanie says "Most I keep, but some I give away (either to someone I know or via my blog)."

Kat C said, "After I read a book I will either keep it, give it to another blogger or trade it in at the used bookstore."

Tracy is a member of BookCrossing. Her BookCrossing member name is mattnem05.

Bout of Books 5.0 Goals, Starting Line and Updates

It's time for Bout of Books 5.0! This will be my first time co-hosting a challenge on any read-a-thon, so check in here on Monday to enter. I'm excited and nervous about it. This will also be a very busy week for me at work unfortunately, we're getting ready for our annual physical inventory, so I'm not sure how much I will actually get to read, but I can't miss a Bout of Books, I just can't! (Hi, I'm Shaunie, and I'm a read-a-thon-a-holic.) To join us, just click the banner above and you'll be taken to the Bout of Books blog.

Goal

7 days = 700 pages

This is a little lofty considering my average lately and my work schedule, but we'll see!

TBR's

Here are the TBR's I'm considering:

Finished - 8/16/12  358 pages

Currently reading pg 260

Currently reading 6% done/20 pgs

I'm a mood reader, so this could change, but for now, that's what I'm planning!

I'll do all of my updates here in this post. Good luck everyone, *announcer voice* Let's Get Ready to Re-ead!

Final

I didn't quite make it to my goal, but I was very close!  638 pages all together, and averaged about 91 pages per day over all!  I'm happy with it, and will finish up Magic Strikes quickly.  Can't wait until the next one!  Thank you to our lovely hostesses and all the challenge makers, and other friendly readers!  I love read-a-thons!

Speculative Romance Challenge - DONE! Or am I?

Hosted by Book Chick City
Signup and Rules
January 1 - December 31, 2012
Level declared: Two Sexy Werewolves
Special: No Audiobooks


I've met my Two Sexy Werewolves level of this challenge, and since I know I'll read more of this type this year, I'm just going to go ahead and shoot for Three sexy Vampires, at 18 books!

Here's what I've done so far:

1. Lover Unleashed - J. R. Ward - 1/26/12
2. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs - Molly Harper - 2/19/12
3. Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men - Molly Harper - 3/26/12
4. Scoundrel (Blades of the Rose #2) - Zoe Archer - 3/30/12
5. Nice Girls Don't Live Forever - Molly Harper - 4/12/12
6. Cattitude - Edie Ramer - 4/30/12
7. Curse of the Gargoyle - Tara Nina - 5/13/12
8. Stay the Night (Darkyn #7) - Lynn Viehl - 5/16/12
9. Rock N Roll is Undead - Rose Pressey - 6/18/12
10. Driving Mr. Dead - Molly Harper - 6/24/12
11. Covet (Fallen Angels #1) - J. R. Ward - 7/18/12
12. The Magical Christmas Cat - Singh, McCarthy, Leigh, Jones - 8/5/12


Three Sexy Vamps here I come!

Summer Wrap Up Read-a-thon Challenge Day 1

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Here is what I've picked out for my TBR stack for this read-a-thon. There's no way I'll get through most of them, or maybe even any of them, though I hope to make it through a couple. I'm definitely a mood reader, so I wanted to give myself plenty to choose from. Some are on my ipad kindle reader, and hard to see, they are The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith, Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly and Wild and Steamy by Meljean Brook, Jill Myles and Carolyn Crane. I forgot to stick my current read in there, the Magical Christmas Cat, but I'm hoping to finish that one up tonight before I sleep!

Summer Wrap Up Read-a-thon Aug 4th-12th

Join us for the Summer Wrap Up Read-a-thon hosted by Jude @ In Between and Jennifer @ Some Like It Paranormal taking place August 4th - August 12th. Click the picture above to be taken to the sign up! We'll be using #SWUR on Twitter.

Goals: A big fat none!

This is going to be a super busy month for me, so I'm not going to give myself a goal. I just like to join in the read-a-thon vibe, and whatever I get read is more than I had read before! ;)

I will post all my updates in this post.

I'm in the middle of a couple of books already, so I'll "wrap" those up and then move on from there!

	The Magical Christmas Cat by Nalini Singh, Lora Leigh, Linda Winstead Jones and Erin McCarthy Starting Page: 274 Finished 8/5/12 Pages Read: 98 Thoughts: Fun stories by some great authors!  The Nalini Singh story was my favorite of this group as really like her Psy-changeling world.
	Vampire Empire #1: The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith Starting Page: 45 Finished 8/12/12 Pages Read: 258 Thoughts: Loved it!  Greyfriar is a wonderful character, some really poignant moments with him and Adele that just made you want to cry and hug him!  Looking forward to the next book, it's a vampire/alternate history/steampunk feel.  Highly recommend!
	Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi Starting Page: 1 Finished 8/7/12 Pages Read: 248 Thoughts: A cute fast teen read using a computer game to let the characters get to know each other without the social clicks that limit them in the real world.  Enjoyed it!
	The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell Starting Page: 1 Finished 8/10/12 Pages Read: 181 Thoughts: A fun little cozy mystery, the Inspector wouldn't get very far without Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of his house staff, though they do their best not to let him know they're helping!

Total Pages read so far: 785
Average Pages per day: 87

Not bad for a week I didn't think I'd get much reading in! That concludes my Summer Wrap Up Read-a-thon, I was happy with my results, and now I need to get ready for Bout of Books 5.0 that starts tomorrow! Hope everyone had a great time!

High Summer Read-a-thon July 16-22

I'll be taking part in the High Summer Read-a-thon hosted by Michelle the True Book Addict. She has started new blog just for her read-a-thons called Seasons of Reading where she already has the next few read-a-thon dates posted! There will also be Twitter chats, she's polling now to see when!

No goal this time, I'm just going to see how I do!

Day 1: 100 pages
Day 2: 66 pages
Day 3: 120 pages
Day 4: 121 pages
Day 5: 109 pages
Day 6: 17 pages
Day 7: 51 pages
Total: 584 pages

Not my best showing ever, but it'll do!

	Covet by J. R. Ward I've already started on this one so I'll keep going on it. Start: page 252 EOD 1: 322 EOD 2: 364 EOD 3: 474 - finished!
	SEAL of My Dreams an Anthology of Navy SEAL romances Already started on this one too, so will keep going on it! Start: page 79 EOD 1: 109 EOD 2: 133 EOD 3: 143 EOD 4: 178 EOD 6: 195 EOD 7: 246
	Dial-a-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson I need something fast and light after Covet! This should do the trick! Start: page 1 EOD 4: 86 EOD 5: 195 - finished

The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke

I hadn't read a good fantasy epic for awhile, and The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke was near to hand and recommended by a friend, so I picked it up. The near waterless setting of the book was really in tune with the 100+ degree weather we've been having for awhile now, so I think it added some realism as I was reading! This is the first of the Watergivers series, and I really enjoyed it, and have already gone out and bought the next one! The world building was interesting and complete, the characters were filled out not flat, and the story was fairly simple and solid, not too complex with too many threads to keep track of as sometimes happens in the large epics.

The basic premise is that the current Stormlord, who is responsible for delivering all the water to the different lands through manipulation of storms is dying, and there is no one strong enough to replace him, including his own son. As he weakens, they are faced with many difficult decisions, such as cutting off water to certain parts of the land which can only end in the death of those people. A search is organized to once again try to find any children with water sensitivity in the hopes that one of them may yet prove to be the Stormlord they need. While all the Rainlords are outwardly united in this task, there are hidden agendas for some prompting them to ally with those who would like to see the land fall back to a time of random rainfall.

Caught in the center of the plotting are Shale, a strong but imperfect water sensitive from the Gibber lands, and Terelle, a girl of mysterious ancestry who learns she has talents she never dreamed were possible, but that come with a serious cost. Thrown together accidentally, they both find in each other what they never had before, a trusted friend, but they are torn apart before they can understand what they mean to each other. The first book ends with an all or nothing battle that had me quickly scanning the excerpt of book two to see who makes it through! There's treachery and unrequited love (only it is, they're just too stubborn to admit it until later on), magic and action, it's all here! Give it a try! Visit Glenda Larke's Website to learn more about the author and her books. She sounds like a very interesting lady, very busy, but somehow she still found time to write this hefty story!

Wicked Wildfire Read-a-thon June 20-24

It's time for another read-a-thon! It's the Wicked Wildfire Read-a-thon hosted by Rebecca @ Kindle Fever and April @ My Shelf Confessions. We'll also be chatting on Twitter using #WWReadathon come and join us! I will post all my updates here in the same post.

Goal:

600 pages

EOD 1: 120 pages
EOD 2: 120 pages
EOD 3: 56 pages
EOD 4: 96 pages
EOD 5: 28 pages
Total pages: 410

I only managed an average of 82 pages per day on this one, but that's still more than I would normally read each day, so I'm okay with it!

Books in progress:

	Fated by Alyson Noel Start: Page 1 EOD 1: 18 EOD 2: 38 EOD 3: 48 EOD 4: 53 EOD 5: 78
	Driving Mr. Dead by Molly Harper Start: Page 1 EOD 3: 46 EOD 4: 137 EOD 5: 140 - finished! Thoughts: I really love all the Molly Harper books I've read so far, and this one was no exception! Cute and fun!
	Desperate Housedogs by Sparkle Abbey Start: Page 1 EOD 1: pg. 102 EOD 2: 202 - finished! Thoughts: Fun pet themed mystery, good main character, and likable secondary characters too! Recommend!

Books finished:

Shaunie's Little Garden - Where the Desert Meets the Sea

It's that time of year again!

I have my desert-y Hen & Chicks in the foreground with my new second water pot with water lillies in the back. We discovered a fantastic water gardening store in Lawrence, Kansas called Water's Edge. It was so neat, healthy plants, huge variety, super knowledgeable staff, just very inspiring!

Here is a close up of that big Hen & Chicks in the center pot, it's just huge, and I can't take any credit for it being so lovely, because really I pretty much ignore them and they do their thing! I bought a couple of new types this year (though I have no clue what any of them are called other than Hen & Chicks) and re-potted a few, so I've got my fingers crossed that they will all flourish, sometimes they seem hardy and sometimes they don't!

The first water lily of the season, not sure what kind it is, there is another one popping up, so I hope to be able to get some nice pictures of that one in the next few days fully open. I love them, but they are so limited-time-only! They are only open during the day, they close up at night, usually they're at about half-way closed by the time I get home from work, and not opened in the morning by the time I leave, then they only last for about 4 days. But I just think they are so neat looking!

We also bought some new Sea Kingdom denizens, as we decided the current ginormous goldfish we have were just too big to shuttle in and out and would be better off left alone in their indoor tank. The new kids are pretty quick and shy, and small, so no pics of them yet, but they are smaller versions of the one below, they are called Shubunkins and are a great fish for ponds and water pots as they are much cheaper than Koi, but still look pretty and can get pretty large!

I think it's so relaxing to sit on the patio and be near these plants, the gently moving water, catching a glimpse of a fish now and then, the steadiness of the slow growing Hen & Chicks versus the quick change of the water lillies, I really enjoy them. :)

Molly Harper - Jane Jameson and Naked Werewolves!

Molly Harper is one of the funniest authors I’ve found. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Jane Jameson series (yay there’s a new one!) and also her Naked Werewolf books. I can’t tell you how many times I would pester my husband by read parts out loud to him because they were so funny I wanted to share! She has quickly become a favorite, going on the short list of authors that I will automatically get a new release from. The books are full of great one-liners and witty sarcasm that prompt out loud laughter. If you are looking for fun and funny paranormal romance, look no further, Molly Harper is your woman!

Bout of Books 4.0

It's time for another Fantabulous Bout of Books Read-a-thon! This is my starting line post, and I'll update here as well. We'll be on Twitter too, using the hashtag #boutofbooks. Come join the fun!

Goal:

700 pages = 100 pages per day (paper or e-book, not audio!)

Progress:

	Zero Control by Lori Wilde An air marshall poses as a romantic vacation tour guide to try and stop a saboteur. Just the kind of quick fun I'm looking for! Start: pg 1 Day 4: pg. 120 Day 5: pg. 213 - finished!
	Stay the Night by Lynn Viehl Listening to Hood has put me in a Robin Hood mood, so it was the perfect time to get around to Darkyn #7, about the Prince of Thieves himself! Start: pg. 1 Day 1: pg. 96 Day 2: pg. 216 Day 3: 317 - finished!
	Murder Past Due by Miranda James I've usually got an e-book going too, so I can sneak in a few pages on my phone here and there. I wanted something non-para romance, so a cozy mystery it is! Start: pg. 1 Day 2: pg. 25 Day 4: pg. 57 Day 6: pg. 107 Day 7: pg. 208

Total Books Finished: 2.7
Total Pages Read: 738

I made my goal! I admit I made it pretty achievable since I had to work last week. Thanks again for our wonderful hostesses and I can't wait for the next one!

Spring Into Horror Read-a-thon Apr. 23-29

It's time for the Spring Into Horror Read-a-thon hosted by The True Book Addict on Castle Macabre! I'm going to post all of my updates here in this post.

Goal

Not setting one this time.

Progress:


If I add up all the pieces and parts, I read: 2.98 books, or almost 3 darn it!  Still, that's good for me in a week, although 1 1/2 of those were audio books!  Total pages if I estimate on the audios too was 948 overall, or 425 real pages and 523 audio pages. Once again I had fun, and I'm totally in for the next one!  Thanks to Michelle@The True Book Addict for hosting on her Castle Macabre blog!  And to Erin at Oh, for the Hook of a Book for all of her hard work on the challenges!  And also to anyone else I forgot or didn't know about! :D 

	Hammered (Iron Druid #3) by Kevin Hearne (Audiobook) Notes: Super fun action packed fantasy series with mythology from all over packed in, and Oberon, who loves sausages! ;) Start Day 4: 00:00:00 EOD4: 00:43:40 EOD5: 04:16:42 EOD7: I got about halfway done, we'll call it 50%. or 168 pages
	Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith Notes:This is my official scary book for the read-a-thon, though I may start another one if I have time. I chose this one because I want to be ready for the movie! And because all the mash-ups of things are just odd! Start - Day 1: page 1 EOD1: page 18 EOD2: page 27 EOD3: page 60 EOD5: page 68 EOD7: page 126 38% done
	Cattitude by Edie Ramer (Kindle) Notes: Needed something light and easy to follow on the Kindle App so I can sneak some pages in during the day at work! ;) Start - Day 1: 0% EOD1: 6% EOD2: 16% EOD3: 27% EOD4: 40% EOD5: 65% EOD7: 90% 247 pages
	The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper (Audiobook) Notes: I'm really loving Molly Harper, she's a lot of fun! Start Day 1: 00:00:00 EOD1: 1:12:30 EOD2: 3:44:19 EOD3: 8:04:08 - finished! Amazon says 355 pages
	Catalyst by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Anne Scarborough Notes:I'm going to start by finishing this one off, since I'm so close! Start - Day 1: page 204 EOD1: page 256 - finished! 52 pages

Another Great Dewey's Read-a-thon!

I have finished book 4 with just 20 minutes left on the clock! It took me just over 3 1/2 hours and was 230 pages. That brings my final total to 9 hours of reading, 3 hours of cheering, and 742 pages, or about 82 pages per hour spent reading.

My final book was Doomed Queen Anne by Carolyn Meyer, about Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. There are so many different portrayals of this story in print, and on the screen, it's always interesting to see how they differ, and they do!

Thanks to the Dewey organizers for another great read-a-thon, I had a great time, as always, and will of course see you all in October! And now... time for some more sleep!

Getting Sleepy!

I'm about halfway through my current read, Doomed Queen Anne by Caroline Meyer. I need to get my last round of cheering in before I'm too sleepy to understand what I'm reading! I want to be able to give coherent encouragement! :D

I've broken out the Snickers ice cream, and am read to cheer again for awhile! Last read-a-thon I decided to go to bed when I got tired instead of trying to stick it out, and instead got up for the last couple hours of the read-a-thon. I was really glad that I did that, the excitement on Twitter as we cross that finish line is fantastic and I really enjoyed being there for that!

Hang in there everyone, you're doing great!

Sometimes Naps Are Good!

So I haven't gotten my coffee yet, but my nap helped me breeze through book 3 for the read-a-thon and that is Shapeshifter: The Demo Tapes - Year 3 by Susan Helene Gottfried, whom I became friends with through Bookcrossing. I like to write myself, though I don't do it very often any more, and it seems like I always drifted to writing about rock musicians. The lifestyle fascinates me, and Susan does a great job of bringing Trevor and his Shapeshifter bandmates to life.

This brings me to 3 books finished, 5 1/2 hours of reading and 512 pages. I didn't really feel like I'd taken that much time out for chores or napping, I did spend a little over an hour cheering. This read-a-thon always speeds by for me!

I think I'll take some time out to go get that coffee, and some dinner, as it's about time for another bout of cheering! I can't wait to see what you guys have been reading!

How to Fight Off that Afternoon Nap?

I've finished my second book for the read-a-thon Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner. It was a fast and fun read about the god Hermes that took me about 2 hours to read and is 229 pages. That brings my total to 4 hours of reading and 357 pages.

I had to break out the Peanut Butter Bucket I mentioned earlier, and oh my was it good! I needed something to wake me up, this is the hardest time of day for me after the late night/early morning time. For some reason 3 o'clock on a sunny afternoon with a comfy couch and the ceiling fan breeze wafting over me are simply irresistible and I have to take a nap. So I did. But not too long. Well, okay, about 45 minutes, but that's just a power nap right? It was so I could read better this afternoon, really! *nods* Okay, so it might be time to make a foray out for coffee.

Starting on book 3! Continued Luck and Enjoyment to everyone!

1 Book Down and the Hour 1 Introduction

We've headed into hour 3 and I've finished my first book, The Wicked Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House by Mary Chase. I've read 128 pages and clocked 2 hours of reading time so far. I'm off to a pretty good start I think, and celebrating with some apple poptarts for a late breakfast while I catch up here.


Hour 1 Challenge 

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? - Kansas, it's a beautiful sunny day, but a little bit cold right now. I'm hoping for it to warm up for some outside reading later on!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Hmmm... I think Demo Tapes 3 by my friend Susan Helene Gottfried, it's always a fun time hanging out with Trevor and the band!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I have something called a peanut butter bucket that I've saved for today, it looks like a giant peanut butter cup, and it passes the weight test! I also have some ice cream and plenty of Pringles to tide me over. I'll make sure and have plenty of real food too though! ;)

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I'm a cat-loving accountant that has too many books, if there is such a thing!

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?  Hmmm what would I do differently... not sure, I've done a few now and I've gotten in a pretty good pattern.  Last time I decided rather than staying up as late as possible I would go ahead and get some sleep then get up early for the finish line, and that was a lot of fun, being there for that, so I'll probably do that again this time.  Plus then I'm not just wiped out for the rest of the day! Off to start another book, see ya'll later!

Ready... Set... READ!

Good Morning fellow Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-thoners! Here we are again, embarking on our twice yearly epic and crazed reading adventure! I've done some other read-a-thon's in the last couple years that are multi-day events and while I like those too nothing quite compares to the all out reading sprint that is Dewey's! Good luck to everyone who is participating, and I'll be visiting some of you later to cheer you on, but first, some READING!

Dewey's Read-a-thon April 2012 TBR Stack

I'm all ready to go tomorrow bright and early! Here is the small stack I'll be trying to get through. I can't wait to get started reading, and cheering others on!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4