24in48: The Social Distancing Edition

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Well things are just bizarre and out of body right now but honestly books are what will keep me sane. Thank goodness the crew at 24in48 Readathon have decided to remerge and host a Readathon this weekend. Read more here. I will also be posting on Listy and Instagram (Twitter is deleted from my phone so no updates there). My goal is to stay away from depressing and scary stuff and just tackle my TBR pile. I hope everyone is safe and socially distancing. I look forward to participating in this readathon.

Saturday

It has been a weird few weeks and so hard to concentrate on reading. So as a result I am a little behind in all my ARCs so my goal during this weekend is to catch up on all my ARCs that have already come out and get a week ahead. It really depends on how much I can read tomorrow. I didn’t get in as much reading today as I had planned but that’s because it is hard for me to concentrate. Other things keep grabbing my attention. That’s just the way of the world right now.

I am listening to Sense & Sensibilty on Auble. It is read by Rosamund Pike and I am really enjoying this version. I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I had read this book. I read Pride & Prejudice all the time.

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I am also listening to Take Me On by Katie McGarry. I have been working my way through the Pushing the Limits series on Audible Escape during my two month free trial. I am usually not the biggest fan of straight romance books but they are YA and usually have an interesting other element thrown in. She certainly likes her bad boys who have a secret soft side though. I do love that in fiction but not real life.

I finished The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian. It was a really good book. It dragged a little in the middle. Based on the synopsis you couldn’t really tell what it would end up being about and no spoilers but what unfortunate timing for it to be released last week. The cover is so gorgeous on this one.

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And then I finally started The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel. So let me tell you how much I loved Station Eleven. Until the end. Oh my god I was so upset when I got to the end. There was not the proper amount of closure, and she didn’t focus enough on the characters stories I loved. That book was on track to my favorite and the ending ruined it. So I went into this one clear eyed. I am really loving it. I love how she is able to write in so many different voices. I am truly sucked in. Let’s hope this one has a better ending.

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Saturday Totals

Pages read: 445

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 13 minutes

Books finished: 1

Hours read: 10 hours 40 minutes

Sunday

It was another good day for reading! I continued on listening to my two audiobook.

I finished The Glass Hotel. This book was so, so good. It was beautifully written. I could see all of this in my head as I read. She did such a wonderful job switching between all the characters. This was a book that swept me up in its world and made me forget it was a book. 

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Then I started and finished If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane. Never judge a book by its cover they say. Well I must admit I did judge this book by its cover. There has been a recent glut of these nicely illustrated romance books and I assumed that’s what I was getting. Which is fine. I enjoy those books and find them entertaining. But this book was so much more. It was heart wrenching and 20% in before you really even got to know one of the main love interests. I loved it. I love Laurie. I feel like I really emotionally suffered through this with her. I loved the feminism and diversity. This was a terrific book and I couldn’t put it down.

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Then I started When Panic Attacks: The New Drug-Free Anxiety Therapy That Can Change Your Life. My therapist recommended I read this book. The subtitle made me a little skeptical. I am usually wary of people who say drug-free or dismiss the use of medication. However, within the introduction he made it clear that education was a good thing and there are people who need it. So far I am reading and being like wow that’s me right there. It helps you feel less alone to know others feel the same way as you do.

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This was a wonderful reading day and a great end to the social distancing readathon.

Sunday Totals

Pages read: 581

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 24 minutes

Books finished: 2

Hours read: 9 hours 36 minutes

Wrap Up

This was a great little readathon. I couldn’t concentrate as much as I would have liked to. But I still read a lot of great books and enjoyed myself. I am looking forward to the next readathon hopefully in better circumstances.

Totals

Total Pages read: 1,026

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 37 minutes

Books finished: 3

Hours read: 20 hours 16 minutes

Bout of Books 26

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Yay! It is Bout of Books time. I love this readathon because it lasts a whole week and it is zero pressure. What exactly is Bout of Books?

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 26 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I started working full time at the library in the middle of May so I no longer have my mornings free to read during the week. So I definitely won’t get as much reading done this week as I have in prior years. My goal is just to take the time to read more when I get home from work. I have been so tired that I have not always had the energy to read. So I am looking forward to that. As always I will keep this post updated as I go.

This is what I plan to read this week. I doubt I will finish all of them even though I am halfway through A Dream So Dark and I have already started Journey to the Center of the Earth. I am looking forward to reading Wicked Saints. I have heard so many good things about it and I bought it on Independent Bookstore Day in Nashville earlier this year and it’s one I have been saving. I am looking forward to reading the second Belles book too. I didn’t love the first one but the world building was so good so hoping this second one works better for me.

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Monday

Today was a good reading day. I was able to listen to my audiobook a little bit throughout the day. During lunch I had to edit some theatre photos so I listened to it while editing. Jules Verne is one of my favorite authors. I grew up loving his stories. I am really enjoying listening to this version of Journey to the Center of the Earth which is narrated by Tim Curry. It is excellent!

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I finished my first book: A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney. I was lukewarm about the first book in this series. But this one hit the ball out of the park. It had everything I love in a fantasy: Adventure, intrigue, imposters, magic, darkness, lightness, magical lands, kick ass women, magical food, healing and magical creatures. Loved it!

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Headed to bed now and hoping I can get more reading in tomorrow even though it is super busy day.

Monday Numbers

Pages read: 224

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 11 minutes

Books finished: 1 

Tuesday

Today was a super busy day at work and I had a headache so I didn’t have much chance to read a physical book but I had some good audiobook time. I finished Journey to the Center of the Earth. I highly recommend that Audible book. It was really good! After I finished that I started the Treasure Island audiobook.

I am also reading the second Belles book, Everlasting Rose. I am really detesting one of the characters and it is ruining the book a little bit.

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Tuesday Numbers

Pages read: 108

Audiobook Time: 6 hours 32 minutes

Books finished: 1 

Wednesday

Well today was an interesting day. I worked until 12 and then had to come home because I felt so terrible. I slept for a few hours and then had to photograph a show at the theatre tonight. I am exhausted. I am still trying to get used to my new schedule three months in. I need more sleep.

I finished the Treasure Island Audible book. It was very good. It was more of a drama than a reading of the book. It was so good.

I also finished The Everlasting Rose. I really don’t like any of the characters in that book and I don’t think I will read any more of them. It was hard to get through.

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I started the audiobook of Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America’s Heartland by Jonathan M. Metzl. It is depressing and enraging but I highly suggest people reading it.

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That one is a pretty heavy book so I also started my favorite new Audible book, The Anne of Green Gables Collection. It was only one credit and it’s all the Anne book! What a deal. I am enjoying listening to the first book and it’s a good book to fall asleep to.

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Wednesday Numbers

Pages read: 174

Audiobook Time: 5 hours 38 minutes

Books finished: 2

Thursday

Today was a busy day! I worked all day and now I must go to bed early because I am so tired. Thank goodness for audiobooks!

I was so excited to get an advanced copy of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I can’t believe it has been eight years since The Night Circus came out. I love that book so much. I am only 50 or so pages in to this new one and it is so good. I am hoping it holds up all the way though.

Pages read: 55

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 48 minutes

Books finished: 0

Friday

Today was another busy day at work but tonight I was able to get a little reading in after dinner with my husband. I still have a lingering headache so it was mostly audio today. I didn’t finish or start any books today. Looking forward to having all day Saturday and Sunday to relax and read.

Pages read: 50

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 55 minutes

Books finished: 0

Saturday

Well today was a glorious, relaxing day! It was exactly what I needed. I read and hung out with my dog and edited photos while listening to audiobooks. It was great.

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I also watched a rom com movie with Scott Michael Foster who I adore. But it was about a wedding photographer and I kept yelling at the TV you are missing the shot. Seriously this photographer missed so many important shots. That’s why you can’t watch media about the job you have. All you see are the inaccuracies. I didn’t finish any books but I did start a new book, Maybe This Time by Kasie West that I impulsively bought. I almost finished the whole thing in a few hours. Such a delightful YA book. I can always justify my book purchases now by saying I will donate them to my library collection after I am done. I swear I have improved our YA collection so much by doing this. I finally finished editing a big photo session I have been working on for awhile and I am so happy. I also took a book break and watched some Jane the Virgin. I can’t believe I only have ten episodes of this show left. So sad. I am looking forward to tomorrow as I have nothing planned!


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Pages read: 301

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

Books finished: 0




Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon April 2019

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It is time for one of my favorite readathons! I didn’t plan to do it this year because I have a photo session for a large part of the day but I decided last minute I would just participate as much as I could. The Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon runs for 24 hours and you try to stay awake for 24 hours and read as much as you can. In my time zone it will run from 8 am Saturday morning to 8 am Sunday morning.

My stack this year is much smaller than usual! I plan to finish an ARC I am reading, The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I want to finally read The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and maybe get started on the sequel, Wicked King. I also will be listening to Where the Crawdads Sing on Audible and I hope to get started on Shortest Way Home by Pete Buttigieg. I am looking forward to this readathon. Let me know in the comments what you will be reading! I will be updating on Litsy, Goodreads and Twitter.

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6:30 p.m.

Well it’s been a busy day. I didn’t sleep enough last night so I am afraid I will not be able to stay up all night. But we shall see.

I woke up right before eight and started reading. I was already 50% done with The Lovely and the Lost. This book was very good! I definitely recommend it especially if you love Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Also, if you haven’t checked out her The Naturals series do so. It’s a great YA series.

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I then started reading Shortest Way Home by Mayor Pete. I like the writing style of this so far. It’s very interesting to read about the start of his life and I am looking forward to finding out more about him especially when I found out he was born the same year as me. It made me pause and question my accomplishments :-) I had delicious leftover Pad Thai for lunch and that was it for the food I have in the house. Which of course is totally against everything the Readathon stands for.

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I had to go to my photo session after lunch. I listened to my audiobook, Where the Crawdads Sing on the way there. Three hours later I headed to the grocery store to get my snacks. I might have overdone it a bit considering it was 4 pm. I don’t think I will have time to eat all this!

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I am finally settling in for an evening of reading so I will check in later. Although the series finale of Crazy Ex Girlfriend is calling my name especially since I am enjoying some delicious pretzels. So afraid that I will see spoilers that I haven’t been checking Instagram or Twitter.

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Reading time: 7 hours 33 minutes

Pages read: 211

Audiobook Time: 5 hours 14 minutes 

Books finished: 1

2:30 a.m.

Well still awake but I am getting pretty sleepy so I might have to nap soon.

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I haven’t been able to finish another book. I have just been switching between my audiobook and Mayor Pete’s book. I did start The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. I have been looking forward to this one. I am liking it so far! I have eaten way too many snacks tonight. And I can’t believe the Cherry Coke I drank at dinner isn’t keeping me awake.

I started flagging a little before one but then bad storms started and my dog is terrified of storms so I had to go downstairs and keep him company.

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Total Reading time: 13 hours 16 minutes

Total Pages read: 433

Total Audiobook Time: 6 hours 53 minutes 

Total Books finished: 1

Wrap Up

Well this wasn’t my most successful Readathon but pretty good for deciding to do it the night before. I am determined not to schedule a photo session during the October Readathon.

Total Reading time: 15 hours 11 minutes

Total Pages read: 481

Total Audiobook Time: 7 hours 29 minutes 

Total Books finished: 1

Dewey's Summer Reverse Readathon

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The wonderful folks at Dewey's Readathon have decided to do a surprise pop up reverse readathon. It will start at 8 pm Friday evening and end 8 pm Saturday night instead of not starting until Saturday morning. I will definitely not have time to read for anywhere close to 24 hours but I will be light participant and see how much reading I can get in!

Saturday

11:00 am

I started reading at 8 pm last night when the Readathon started and went to bed at 2:30 am. I slept in until almost nine and then started reading again.  

I finished my first book China Rich Girlfriend. Sooooo good! Those books are so over the top and indulgent but I love them. Book number three should be arriving today but sadly my mail doesn’t usually come until 5 pm. 

I am also listening to the audiobook The World As It Is by Ben Rhodes. I am loving it. He really digs into the nitty gritty of his time in the Obama White House and he does not shie away from being candid.

I finished my second book Pat of Silver Bush. I love that book so much. I have read it so many times I can’t count and I still sob like a baby when a certain character dies. L.M. Montgomery has the richest grasp of language and paints the most beautiful scene. 

Reading time: 5 hours 46 minutes

Pages read: 111

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 45 minutes 

Books finished: 2

 

 

Bout of Books 22

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It is time for Bout of Books!  

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 14th and runs through Sunday, May 20th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 22 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I love Bout of Books. It is always a fun time. It will be a busy week so not sure how much reading I will get in but I plan on having fun.

 

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This is my TBR for Bout of Books. I also have a graphic novel, audiobooks and ARCs to read from and I have two books in process. I will be happy if I get a chance to finish 3 books this week. 

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Monday

Day one of Bout of Books was actually pretty great thanks to audiobooks! I had to work at the library and then had a photo shoot that evening so I didn’t get much regular book reading in. But my audiobook Exit, Pursued by a Bear is so good it is really hard to turn off. I also finished one book I had to read for work. It is a children’s book, The Poppy Lady. It is about the women who popularized the use of poppies as a symbol of fallen soldiers in WWI. I have a patron who wants to come in and do a program on her and I am excited because it’s a fascinating story. 

Monday Numbers:

Pages read: 157

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 47 minutes

Books finished: 1

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Tuesday

Today was a busy day so not much time for reading. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I have a photo session in the morning but then I am off the rest of the day. It’s supposed to rain all day so I plan to snuggle in bed with books and kitties!

Tuesday Numbers:

Pages read: 47

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 5 minutes

Books finished: 1

Wednesday

Today was a much better day reading wise! I had a photo session in the morning, hung out with my sister and kitties for a little bit and then went home and read all afternoon. It was an awesome day! I finished Furyborn. It definitely lives up to the pre published hype. I enjoyed the world creating and am looking forward to the reading the other two in the future.

Wednesday Numbers:

Pages read: 313

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 27 minutes

Books finished: 1

 

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Thursday 

Well today was pretty much a terrible reading day. I worked until 10:30 at night so I only had time for a little bit of audio booking and a few pages of my ebook.  It was an exhausting day.

 Thursday Numbers:

Pages read: 79

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 13 minutes

Books finished: 0

Friday 

This was another terrible reading day. I was just too busy. I worked all day and then headed to my sisters to spend the night for her Royal Wedding party tomorrow. I can’t wait! 👑  

Friday Numbers:

Pages read: 22

Audiobook Time: 28 minutes

Books finished: 0

Saturday 

I simply didn’t have time to read today. I had to watch the Royal wedding. Twice. And my husband and I celebrated our eleventh anniversary. It was a packed and wonderful day with not much reading time but that ok. That’s what I love about Bout of Books. I don’t feel guilty when I can’t get a lot of reading in.

Saturday Numbers:

Pages read: 22

Audiobook Time: 24 minutes

Books finished: 0

Sunday 

This was a much better reading day! I read the whole day except for four hours when I had to photograph a theatre show. It stormed so hard today and there is nothing better than curling up with a good book while it’s pouring. 

I finished Flunk. Start. Wow what an excellent book. If you are looking for a book on Scientology that is shocking with lots of reveals and shocking details this is not the book for you. This is a book full of exploration and inner thoughts of a woman caught up in this cult. It’s very good.

I came within an hour of finishing The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue audiobook. It’s such a funny but also sad book. I really wanted to finish it but I am too tired and about to fall asleep.  

I am also reading an e-ARC The High Season. I am enjoying it so far. Although sometimes I get tired of reading books about people who just keep getting screwed over. I hope this one has a happy ending. 

 Sunday Numbers:

Pages read: 307

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 17 minutes

Books finished: 1

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon April 2018

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I am so excited that I am able to participate in Dewey's this year. This is my fourth time doing the Readathon. I am ready to start reading tomorrow. I have finished all my current books as of right now so I am going to start fresh. I can't wait for reading, snacking and socializing with other readers. I have been carefully picking out my stack and once again I have way too many picks in my stack. Here is my print, ebook and Audible stack. I will be happy if I get to finish three books. I have been falling asleep pretty early lately so I am not sure if I can stay up all night but I will try. Happy reading everybody!

I will be posting on Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram (@ReadingSusan) and Litsy (@ReadingSusan).

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Previous Readathons I have done!

Dewey's Readathon April 2017

Dewey's Readathon October 2016

Dewey's Readathon April 2016

Opening meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Atlanta, GA
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Not if I Save You First by Ally Carter. I have been saving this for readathon!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Prosciutto!!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I am a photographer and a librarian who prefers books to socializing most of the time :-)
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? Hopefully I will be able to stay up for all 24 hours. I got more sleep last night than I usually do before a readathon. But I also have a photo session tomorrow and Monday night so not sure if its wise to stay up all night.

Here is my cozy reading spot for today. It's nice and sun drenched.

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10 am

Happy Readathon! So excited that it’s finally here! I have had two good hours of reading so far. I started Crooked Kingdom. So excited to finally read this book. I also started listening to I’ll Be Gone in the Dark while making breakfast. This book has been on my TBR for a long time and with the recent arrest of the killer I knew it was time to read it. I made delicious cinnamon rolls for breakfast which is my Readathon tradition. 

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Total pages read: 72
Total audiobook time: 1 hour 7 minutes
Books finished: 0

1:00 p.m.

Onto hour five. I feel like I am reading slowly today. I am about 200 pages into Crooked Kingdom and think I will switch up books soon. I went outside to enjoy some of this sun. And then made myself a nice picnic lunch.

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I am really fascinated by I'll Be Gone in the Dark. It's very frightening and I may not be able to sleep tonight. But knowing who the actual killer allegedly is makes it even more fascinating. I am so sad that Michelle never got to know the truth. I may not be able to turn this audiobook! I am getting some cleaning done while listening. 

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Total pages read: 196
Total audiobook time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Books finished: 0

4:30 p.m. 

Well this day has just flown by. I can't believe I have been reading for 8 + hours. Whew. My Coke at lunch helped though. I am not really tired anymore.

I took a Crooked Kingdom break and started Not if I Save You First by Ally Carter. I adore her books. And I am enjoying this one. I love her awesome, fierce female protagonists. My sweet cat, Trixie came to snuggle with me for a while and then I went outside and enjoyed a cupcake. I feel like its going to be much harder to stay engaged when the sun goes down so I am going to enjoy it while it is here.

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Total pages read: 323
Total audiobook time: 3 hours 49 minutes
Books finished: 0

10:00 p.m.

Not tired yet! Maybe it has something to do with the three Cokes I have had today. I don't think I have ever had that much Coke! I had a delicious dinner of sushi, took a nice audio walk to stretch my legs, ate a delicious dessert outside, made some delicious lavender raspberry iced tea, finally finished my first book and started Crazy Rich Asians which I am loving! I can't wait to see the movie! I have only finished one book this readathon since I have been reading longer books but I am ok with that. I am enjoying all the books I am reading so much.

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Total pages read: 623
Total audiobook time: 5 hours 46 minutes
Books finished: 1

2:30 a.m.

I dislike about half the people in Crazy Rich Asians. But I can't put this book down. It's so good. The amount of wealth is pretty mind boggling. I am getting a little tired in hour 18 but mostly of sitting in one place. I tried to go downstairs and read and all I could hear was weird noises outside. Thanks I'll Be Gone in the Dark ha ha. I had to start listening to the Winnie-the-Pooh audiobook to try to banish some of the scary images from my mind. I had some chocolate at midnight and I just had another plate of snacks. Too much salt tonight! I must chug water. I have decided that since I have a photo session tomorrow I am going to go to sleep at three and then wake back up at six. I don't have the luxury anymore of just relaxing after a couple of days of readathon. 

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Total pages read: 883
Total audiobook time: 6 hours 25 minutes
Books finished: 1

Wrap Up!

This was a fun Dewey's Readathon! I ended up napping from 3-6 so I didn't get the full 24 hours but I am happy with 20 hours and 44 minutes. I didn't finish many books because I was reading some long ones but I really enjoyed every book I read.

I started the new Siobhan Vivian book, Stay Sweet this morning after eating breakfast in bed with Winnie the Pooh. Stay Sweet is definitely the perfect getting in the mood for summer book. I really just want to read this the rest of the day but I am going back to bed before my photo session this afternoon. I hope everyone else enjoyed the Readathon as much as I did! I am already looking forward to October.

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Total pages read: 1,007
Total audiobook time: 7 hours 18 minutes
Books finished: 2

 

 

 

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Prep

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I am so excited that I will be able to do the Dewey's Readathon this month! I have had to miss it the last couple of times but managed to put it on my calendar before scheduling anything else. I am also participating in the prep this week for the readathon. From April 8th-14th the goal is to read 1000 pages. I am hoping this will be a good opportunity to catch up on the SEVEN books I am currently reading. I will be tracking my progress here. Who else is participating? I will also be posting in Litsy and Twitter @ReadingSusan. Drop me a comment below if you are participating in the Readathon or this prep week. 

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Sunday, April 8th

Even though I was busy today I still managed to get some reading in the morning and evening. Thanks audiobooks! I finished two books and read a total of 474 pages. 526 more pages to go.

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Monday April 9th

It was an extremely busy day today so not much time for reading. I read 75 pages. Hopefully I can read more tomorrow even though I am working most of the day. 

Total pages read: 549

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Tuesday, April 10th

It was a busy day at work celebrating National Library Week so I didn’t get much reading in except through audiobook. I finished 116 pages.

Total pages read: 665

Wednesday, April 11th

I got in some reading before work and at lunch but planned to read the eveing away. You know what they say about best laid plans. I had a terrible migraine when I got home from work so my evening reading was ruined. I did manage to read 91 pages in the morning and at lunch.

Total pages read: 756

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Thursday, April 12th

I finally finished the audiobook of Children of Blood and Bone and wow it really lived up to the hype! I loved it so much. I already want the next one. The authors note at the end made me weep. I was glad to get some good reading in tonight. I ended up with 177 pages. Looks like I will hit 1000 pages tomorrow. *knock on wood*

Total pages read: 933

Friday, April 13th

Ohhh Friday the 13th. It was lucky for me as I reached and slightly surpassed my page goal! I read 132 pages. Looking forward to the weekend and more reading time. I will keep track of my reading through tomorrow.

Total pages read: 1,065

Saturday, April 14th

Today was an awesome Saturday. I went strawberry picking with my sister which was so fun. It was a gorgeous day. And I still got plenty of reading time in. I finished two books today and read 341 pages.  

I am very happy with how my pre Readathon prep went especially because I didn’t get as much reading time as I thought I would. All together over this week I finished five books and read 1,406 pages. I am so excited for the Readathon in a couple of weeks! I am going to start getting my TBR piles ready this week!

Bout of Books 21 January 2018

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It's that time again! Bout of Books is here! What is Bout of Books? Well I am glad you asked!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 8th and runs through Sunday, January 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 21 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I am really looking forward to this readathon as I have been experiencing a bit of a book slump lately. So hopefully this will break me out of it. I have a bookshelf full of books I got for Christmas and some e-ARCs I need to finish so that is probably what I will be reading this week. You can keep up with my reading this week on Litsy (ReadingSusan), Twitter and Instagram. 

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Monday

I always like to listen to audiobooks during readathons. I used to listen to audiobooks all the time but podcasts have really cut down on my audiobook time. I went to Overdrive and decided I wanted to listen to a collection of short stories. I found M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman. I am definitely enjoying him reading this book!

I am also trying to get some books read that I have been reading for a week or two. I have some eARCs that are about to come out. I am reading Carnegie's Maid and I am really enjoying this historical fiction. The only thing that annoys me about this book so far is that Clara is very judgmental about things Andrew does when she is being really deceitful.

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I am also reading another historical fiction book, The English Wife. This comes out tomorrow so I am trying to finish ad review it tonight but I am only 30% in. I am really loving this book though. I like how it comes back and forth between two points of view and two times to slowly spool out the truth. 

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And I am finally about 50% of the way through Juventud. Wow this book is so amazing. But it is a very heavy subject and I can only take it in bits and pieces. It is so beautifully written.

I finally snagged a copy of Paper Girls Vol 3! I was so excited. It was so good.  I finished it quickly. I can't wait to see where this story goes next!

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All in all this was a terrific day of reading! Especially considering I worked more hours than I normally do.

Today's challenge: Introduce Yourself #insixwords: Photographer, Librarian, Wife, Sister, Reader,  Feminist.

Monday Numbers:

Pages read: 329

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 52 minutes 

Books finished: 1

Tuesday

I didn't get much reading done today because I was busier but I had time to listen to audiobooks while I was running errands and getting stuff done.

I finished The English Wife before I went to bed because it came out today and I wanted to get my review in. I ended up really liking it. 

I am almost done with Juventud which took a turn I expected but was still so heartbreaking.

Sorry I don't have much to say! Hopefully tomorrow will be a better reading day since I am working in the morning and have most of the afternoon to read!

Today's Challenge: 2018 Reading Goals-- Ironically my reading goal this year is to read less and people more. It has been so cold this winter that I have not wanted to keep this goal.

Tuesday Numbers:

Pages read: 318

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 4 minutes 

Books finished: 1

Wednesday

Today was the day to finish reading all the books. I finished M is For Magic, Juventud and Carnegie's Maid. I also started a new audiobook, That Old Cape Magic and The Woman in the Window. I just fit in the reading around work but didn't have as much time to read as I thought I would have. My new longer work hours start tomorrow and I have a big project for my other job so I don't know how much reading I will get done tomorrow. That's what makes Bout of Books so awesome. It doesn't matter how little you can read!

Wednesday Numbers:

Pages read: 190

Audiobook Time: 53 minutes 

Books finished: 3

Thursday

Pretty much a bust for reading except for my audiobook. There's always the weekend.

Thursday Numbers:

Pages read: 81

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 27 minutes 

Books finished: 0

Friday 

Bout of Books is so different now that I am working a second job. I just don’t have as much time to read.

Friday Numbers 

Pages read: 153

Audiobook Time: 49 minutes

Books finished: 0

Saturday 

Today I spent the day celebrating my birthday with my sisters so once again I didn’t get much reading in. But it was such a fun birthday celebration! 

Saturday Numbers 

Pages read: 40

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 26 minutes

Books finished: 0

Sunday

I spent all morning hanging out with my sisters and then all afternoon and evening reading! Twas a glorious day for the last day of Bout of Books! 

Sunday Numbers 

Pages read: 655

Audiobook Time: 21 minutes

Books finished: 2

Wrap Up

This definitely felt like one of my least productive Bout of Books. I was rushed a lot of the week and sometimes when I was home didn't feel like reading. But the reading I did get in was very satisfying. My favorites were The Great Alone and Paper Girl Vol 3. I am off tomorrow so I plan to continue reading. In the comments below all me how you did for Bout of Books!

Total Numbers

Pages read: 1,766

Audiobook Time: 10 hours 52 minutes

Books finished: 7

 

Bout of Books 20 August 2017

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It is finally the week of Bout of Books 20! I am so excited.

"The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 21st and runs through Sunday, August 27th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 20 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog." - From the Bout of Books team.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is one of my favorites because it lasts a whole week. And no surprise my week is packed with work and after work activities. So I don't know how much time I can make for reading but I will get in as much as possible. 

My goal is to finish up the books I am currently reading which are the following:

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

Devil's Bargain by Joshua Green

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp

When Paris Went Dark: The City of Lights Under German Occupation, 1940-1944 by Ronald C. Rosbottom

I am also reading A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin but I doubt I will have time to finish it as I am "only" 400 pages in.

Well I am going to get to reading before I have to head to work for eclipse madness!

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Well thank goodness for audiobooks is all I have to say. I didn't have a terrific reading day. Work was insane. We were getting phone call for eclipse glasses every 30 seconds before the eclipse started. The good news is I got to see the eclipse. It was so amazing! I definitely am going to plan a trip in the path of totality for the next one.

I mostly read my Game of Thrones book and listened to my audiobook but I hope to get more into the Lying Game tomorrow. It's a fascinating story so far and I am looking forward to finding out what really went on. It has been a long day and I have to be up super early tomorrow as I have a photo session an hour away. Better luck tomorrow!

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Monday Numbers:

Pages read: 160

Audiobook Time: 3 hours

Books finished: 0

Tuesday

Helloooo Tuesday! Today was an insanely crazy day. I was in my car most of the morning, driving to a photo session and then running all these long overdue errands. I worked at my second job at the library all afternoon so I only got some reading in before bed. But the good thing about being in the car all day is that you have plenty of time to listen to audiobooks!

I finished listening to When Paris Went Dark. I don't know if loved it is the right word considering the subject matter. But this book was really informative and had a good narrative flow. Books about the Nazis are extra chilling these days.

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I also finished Before I Let Go. I loved the first half of the book. This was a haunting tale of a girl trying to figure out how and why her best friend died. The pain and grief of Corey was palpable in the pages. And then suddenly the book turned confusing and disjointed. It kind of turned out to be nothing? I was really confused by the resolution of the story. I also didn't like the phone call scenes. They really took away from the flow of the book and didn't really add much (FYI I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review).

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I also am reading a book at work called Inside, Outside, and Online: Building Your Library Community. It's very heavy on research and stats. I am trying to read more about the Library world and how it works so this is very helpful. 

Tuesday Numbers  

Pages Read: 330

Audiobook Time: 5 hours 50 minutes

Books Finished: 2

Wednesday

Another subpar day. This just wasn't the best week for me in terms of being able to read. My time is so crunched this week. I think this Bout of Books will just be all about audiobooks. I had work and then had to photograph a really long play so I didn't get much actual reading done. I mainly just was able to finish reading The Lying Game before work. I really loved it! It was just the right amount of suspense and mystery. 

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I would say I am hoping for a better reading day tomorrow but I have to take my MIL to the dr. tomorrow and it will probably take up all my time before work. Sunday is the only day this week I will have to read all day so I am looking forward to it.

Wednesday Numbers

Pages Read: 256

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 8 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Thursday

Nope. Just a wash. Better luck tomorrow or the weekend.

Thursday Numbers

Pages Read: 169

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 56 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Friday

OMG its finally Friday! So happy. It has been a long, long week! I feel like the eclipse threw everything off. I am hoping to catch up on sleep and reading this weekend. I didn't get much of a chance to read again today as Friday is one of my long work days. I am sad about my lack of reading time this week. I do miss being able to take time off during read-a-thons but I am so thankful to have found a part time job I love. So it's ok if I wasn't able to read as much as usual. I am happy I am able to read at all!

Friday Numbers

Pages Read: 82

Audiobook Time: 21 minutes

Books Finished: 0

Saturday

Yay finally a decadent reading day and I spent hours at my Grandmas today and still got some good reading in.

I finished Small Admissions. It was quite disappointing. I saw so many good reviews about it. It just reminded me of the usual different girls in the city books. I wasn't that attached to the people in the book and I probably only finished it because it was a readathon.

I was so excited to get an ARC of Andy Weir's new book, Artemis. I started it tonight and it is SO good. It definitely kept me up later than usual. I forced myself to go to bed. When I got Martian I started reading it at 6 pm and I stayed up all night until I was done. I love that this book has a female protagonist. 

Well tomorrow should be a good reading day although I am also hoping to spend some time with my husband too!

Saturday Numbers

Pages Read: 355

Audiobook Time: 38 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Sunday

Well this was definitely the best reading day of the whole week. I finally just got to real and enjoy reading.

I finished Artemis. I really enjoyed this book. I don't think it's always easy for a male to write a female MC and there were a few instances where I thought that missed a little. But I thought this book was so fun. I liked Jazz and her cast of characters. Like The Martian my eyes would glaze over at the hard core science stuff. This book reminded me of an old fashioned heist movie even though they weren't heisting anything!

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I also was excited to get am ARC of Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World. This book is awesome! Its a graphic novel packed full of beautiful illustrations and text about awesome ladies from history that you don't usually hear about. It is SO good. 

I started Moonglow too because I have five days to read it before it has to go back to the library.

Sunday Numbers

Pages Read: 522

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 7 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Wrap up!

Well this was not one of the best Bout of Books I have ever done. I just didn't have the time I usually did. But I still did decent. It was a long and exhausting week and I was glad the little pockets of time I was able to escape and read.

Total Numbers

Pages Read: 1,874

Audiobook Time: 20 hours

Books Finished: 6

 

Reading Susan Read-a-Thon

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Wow, I suddenly find myself with a whole weekend FREE. It's a miracle. I was so sad to miss the 24 in 48 marathon a few weeks ago. So I have decided to do my own readathon this weekend. No rules, just reading. I will be posting on here, Twitter, Instagram and Litsy using the hashtag #ReadingSusanRAT. Join me if you want! 

Friday

I am so glad I decided to do my own readathon this weekend. As soon as I got home from work with my Chick-fil-A, I settled in to read. There was rain in the forecast all day but I was sad because it didn't actually rain. I love reading on the porch while it rains. I finished up Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. This book will come out in September but I was excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley. I loved it! You can read my review on Goodreads. 

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I am also reading Con Academy  It is about a boarding school and a con man? Yep that ticks a lot of boxes for me. It's falling a little short so far but I am hoping it picks up.

I also needed to take my dog for a walk so I downloaded an audiobook to listen to: When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation, 1940-1944. This is one I have been wanting to read for a long time.

Friday Numbers:

Pages read: 287

Audiobook Time:  53 minutes 

Books finished: 1

Saturday

I didn't end up reading the whole day because I went to lunch, the library and the grocery store with my husband but I did spend a good portion of the day day reading and stayed up late tonight because I couldn't put my book down.

I finished Con Academy. It was a pretty lackluster book. It had so much potential but the author dropped the ball. The writing wasn't terrible but the story wasn't that great.

However, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake was so good! It was a very unusual book and I definitely saw a lot of mixed reviews after I finished it. But I loved it. The idea that a girl can taste the emotions of the people who cook or make food was so unique! But it is impossible to read this book without a treat! My mouth watered every time I looked at the cover.  

I am also reading two different books about World War II. The non fiction audiobook When Paris Went Dark and The Women in the Castle. The latter is a fascinating story that skips around to the different stories of a few war widows. I feel like in a lot of WWII books the whole book you are just waiting for people to be reunited so I found it interesting that the book starts with the reunion and then goes back filling in the story. The writing is really lovely. This isn't one you read quickly but savor. 

Saturday Numbers:

Pages read: 542

Audiobook Time:  3 hours 22 minutes 

Books finished: 2

Sunday

I didn't end up reading all day because I ended up doing other stuff but I still managed to get some reading in. I finished one book, Turbo Twenty-Three. I love the Stephanie Plum books even though they are all the same. 

 

Sunday Numbers:

Pages read: 291

Audiobook Time:  1 hour 56 minutes 

Books finished: 1

Wrap Up

I had a great weekend of reading and relaxing! It was an awesome weekend!

Weekend Totals:

Pages read: 1,120

Audiobook Time:  6 hours 11 minutes 

Books finished: 4

Dewey's Readathon April 2017

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Well it is that time of year again! Dewey's Readathon starts in a few days. I am so excited for it. I have made sure to block off the whole 24 hours and not planned anything else. I can't believe this is only my third Dewey's. You can check out my blog post for October 2016 and my first year in April 2016. 

This is my current pile of books to choose from. I always make sure to have lots of choices as that is what will keep me interested and awake. This year I made sure to get even more graphic novels. My goals this year is to stay awake for at least 22 hours and finish 3 books and 3 graphic novels.  

I have also stocked up on a lot of delicious snacks! Healthy and non healthy. 

I am so excited to get started! Let me know if you have read any of the above books and what you thought of them.  I will also be posting intermittently on Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram and Litsy (ReadingSusan).

Day Of!

Yay! It is finally here! Readathon day! The official start is about 20 minutes away so I thought I would go ahead and do the opening meme before I get started reading!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Georgia, U.S.A. 

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Gemina. Of course it's a long one so I don't know if I will be able to get through the whole thing. But I also think it looks longer than it is because of the formatting.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Cheese and chocolate!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself? My name is Susan. I am in my mid 30's. I am a photographer and part time adult programming librarian. I have two cats and a dog that will be keeping me company while I read today.

5) If you participated in the last readathon, what's the one thing you'll do different today? Try to  stay up longer and plan my nap better. I missed the end of RAT last time because I napped too late and just didn't want to get up. I feel myself getting sick so I hope that won't interfere with the readathon.

I plan to start out reading in my comfy chair in my sunroom. My dog won't be happy because he has pretty much claimed it for himself.

9:30 am

An hour and a half in to readathon and just stopping by for a quick update. I am already tired which is not a good sign. I woke up too early and couldn't go back to sleep. 

I started off with listening to A Man Called Ove audiobook as I did all my morning chores. I love how grumpy Ove is. I think I see where is this book is going.

I made my traditional readathon cinnamon rolls. Delicious. I started my first print book All American Boys. And wow its really heavy so far. It's early to already be getting emotional about a book. 

Well headed off to read some more. I will check in later. I hope everyone is enjoying the readathon so far!

Total pages read: 102
Total audiobook time: 46 minutes
Books finished: 0

1:30 pm

I had to take about an hour break to pick my MIL up from dialysis but then I was able to get back to reading. 

I finished All American Boys. I love how it is not only written from two different boys perspectives but how it was actually written by two men coming from different places. This was a very heavy book to start out the readathon with but I feel like it will be on my mind for weeks to come. It was very well written and thought provoking.

Next up is lunch and a graphic novel of Romeo and Juliet. I am so excited to read this!

Hours Spent Reading: 5 hours 8 minutes
Total Pages read: 366
Total Audiobook time: 1 hr 58 minutes
Books finished: 1

6:00 pm

What a good afternoon of reading! I finished Romeo and Juliet. I really enjoyed it. I like how he added some modern touches to the drawings and switched the race and religion of the characters. My cat, Gehrig finally emerged but refused to snuggle with me. Probably because it is so hot today.

Next, I read a book I have been wanting to read for a few months, I Am Your Biggest Fan by People editor Kate Coyne. I laughed, cringed and winced at her celeb encounters. It's very funny and you have to appreciate someone who tells embarrassing things she has done in front of celebrities. I also broke into my chocolate stash. As usual I bought too many snacks and haven't eaten that much today. Sitting around and reading isn't exactly the best way to be hungry ha ha

I am still listening to a Man Called Ove audiobook in between the other books or when I am doing a quick social media check. I am really loving this book. I am real worried about how this is going to end though.

I am getting a little sleepy so I probably need to go for a walk or something. I am thinking the chances of me staying up too late tonight is just not going to happen. Which is fine. I no longer have the luxury of being able to take a couple of days to recover from readathons. Ok back to reading.

Hours Spent Reading: 9 hours 36 minutes
Total Pages read: 696
Total Audiobook time: 2 hours 58 minutes
Books finished: 3

8:15 pm

I had a lovely walk around the neighborhood while listening to my audiobook. It was supposed to storm all day today but it has been beautiful all day! I sat outside and read the fourth volume of Lumberjanes. I love these graphic novels. They are so funny and I really love the artwork. The adventures of the Lumberjanes are always fun. What the junk!

I just ate dinner and it was so delicious. But very salty ha ha. I will be chugging water the rest of the night. I started Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here. I won this in a Goodreads giveaway a few months ago and I am loving it a few chapters in. 

Hours Spent Reading: 11 hours 49 minutes
Total Pages read: 846
Total Audiobook time: 3 hours 59 minutes
Books finished: 4

1:30 am

I was getting sleepy so I had half a Coke and some chocolate and got my second wind! I finished Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here. I enjoyed it but it didn't blow me away or anything. It reminded me a lot of Fangirl.

I started and finished the third volume of Saga. So good! This was my favorite volume so far. It was action packed.

My household is all sleeping now and I am the sole person awake. Even the cats are sleeping under the bed. I am afraid if I try to nap that I won't want to wake up but I may try to nap from 2-4. We will see. Time for a bath and my next book!

Hours Spent Reading: 16 hours 47 minutes
Total Pages read: 1232
Total Audiobook time: 5 hours 16 minutes
Books finished: 6

5:00 am

Wow I just finished Things I Should Have Known. I won this during the 24 in 48 Readathon and I am just sorry that I didn't read it before. I really enjoyed the story. It was all about sibling bonds and the character development worked really well for me.

I can't believe I am still awake. I don't think I could go to sleep even if I wanted to. There are birds loudly tweeting outside. Its very annoying. I also am having to face the fact that what I have been dismissing this week as allergies is me being sick. I can't stop coughing. I may actually make it to 8 am. But hoping I will be able to go to sleep. I am going to start reading the next volume of Saga and hopefully I will get sleepier. I am chugging throat comfort tea too. Hoping that helps my throat.

Hours Spent Reading: 20 hours 24 minutes
Total Pages read: 1543
Total Audiobook time: 6 hours 16 minutes
Books finished: 7

Wrap Up!

Well I am super happy with how my third readathon went! I finished 8 books, including 4 graphic novels, one memoir and 3 YA books. The key for me this year was definitely sticking to shorter books so my interest didn't wane especially in the early morning hours. I also finished about 71% of my audiobook A Man Named Ove, All the books I read but one were a four or five star so that makes it extra successful! I also hit my reading goal in Goodreads of 100 books! I can't believe I made it to that even with my new job! I fell asleep before the official end of readathon but I am really pleased with my final numbers. Also, I went to the dr this morning and I just have really bad allergies so I am not sick. Yay!

Totals

Hours Spent Reading: 22 hours 3 minutes
Total Pages read: 1695
Total Audiobook time: 6 hours 49 minutes
Books finished: 8

I am already looking forward to October! Tell me in the comments how your Readathhon went and link to your blog if you have one.

April 2017 Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon stack completed 

April 2017 Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon stack completed 

Thankfully Reading Weekend 2016

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Thankfully Reading Weekend

is one of my favorite events of the year. It is a nice break from Thanksgiving hustle and bustle and much better than all the Black Friday and shopping madness.

This year I am celebrating Thanksgiving at my parents house. I am going to make two dishes to take to our potluck. I love that we do a potluck. It takes off the pressure on one person to do all the cooking.

I have a large TBR pile for this weekend. I know I won't get a chance to read them all because I won't have that much time. My goal is to at least finish two books.

I have a photo session Friday and the Gilmore Girls comes out that day too so I won't get much reading done that day. But Saturday and Sunday I have no plans except for editing photos.

I will be reading a combination of print, ebook and audiobook. I am starting out with

The Handmaid's Tale

on audiobook read by Claire Danes. I love this book and I thought it was an appropriate time to read it again. I purchased it in the big Audible sale earlier this year and am excited to listen to the audiobook this time.

My sisters also love to read so I am sure we will be swapping recommendations at Thanksgiving. I will pass them on if I receive them.

This year I am going to do one big post for Thankfully Reading so I will update here.

Wednesday

7:30 pm

Well its been a busy day with running errands to get ready for Thanksgiving, cooking and editing photos. But I still have managed to spend plenty of time reading and listening to my audiobook. I finished

Crazy In Love

 earlier. It is pretty funny and one of my favorite Lani Diane Rich books so far.

My next book is

Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

. It is a retelling of The Tempast. Loving it so far. I just realized I am reading two Margaret Atwood books. My house smells delicious from the cornbread I made for tomorrow and the mustard pork loin I made for dinner. Yummy!

11:50 pm

I am really enjoying Hag-Seed. Its a modern day retelling of The Tempast. A theatre art director who was screwed over by his right hand man seeks long term revenge. I love how he teaches prisoners how to act and put on productions. I enjoy all the characters he works with and their Shakespearian curse words! I also started a new book

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

. I saw this book all over Instagram so I thought I would get it from the library. It's about a deaf songwriter who finds a muse in his neighbor. I am loving it so far. Well I am headed to bed so I won't be totally worthless for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Pages read: 575

Audiobook time: 5 hours 6 minutes

Books finished: 1

Thursday

10:30am

Happy Thanksgiving! I am so excited to go to my parents house and eat lots of delicious food. We have the best cooks in our family. My Grandma's dressing is my favorite dish. It is so yummy. I am surprised how much reading I got done this morning. I am almost done with Hag-Seed and about half way through my audiobook. Well I am headed out. I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving day!

Pages read: 97

Audiobook time:  2 hours 22 minutes

Books finished: 1

Friday

10:50 pm

Well it has been a busy couple of days. I ended up staying at my parents house yesterday until about 6 pm. Once we got home and made delicious leftovers I wanted to watch the last episode of season seven of Gilmore Girls in order to be ready for the new episodes. We were about twenty minutes in when all the power went out and we heard a big boom. It must have been a transformer box exploding. It was awful. Our whole neighborhood was so dark. So I didn't get a chance to read because my book light battery was dead.

I had a photo session this morning that was so fun. It was an awesome, hilarious family. I stopped by Dunkin Donuts on the way home and got a half dozen doughnuts. And my husband and I preceded to watch all four episodes of the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life with only occasional breaks for his work phone calls. No spoilers for GG so I won't say how I felt. Still need to process.

And I have just been reading since we finished watching GG. I finished Hag-Seed. Loved it! It turned out to be such a good book and I recommend it highly. I am about to finish Maybe Someday and I hope to start another book before bed but we shall see. I bought the audiobook of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe since it was on sale on Amazon/Audible so I will start that when I finish The Handmaid's Tale. I will be listening to a lot of audio the rest of the weekend as I have five photo sessions to process.

Pages read: 326

Audiobook time: 2 hours

Books finished: 3

Saturday

7:00 pm

Well I haven't read that much today. I have been busy running errands, spending time with my husband and working. I finished the Handmaid's Tale audiobook and started listening to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I also started Lily and Dunkin which is heartbreaking.

Pages read: 298

Audiobook time: 2 hours 51 min

Books finished: 2

Sunday

12:00 pm

I have been terrible about updating my blog. But I have been reading in between doing other things. I planned to read all this morning and then edit photos this afternoon but my husband tricked me into going shopping this morning and we just got home. I am exhausted. I hate to shop with a burning passion and I tried on way too many clothes and we went to way too many stores. But I am excited for the few things I found. When we stopped for lunch I just blatantly pulled my book out of my bag and started reading as my husband was composing some work emails. I mean if he was on his phone  may as well read. Late last night I started The Last Boy and Girl in the World. I am excited to read more of it later today. For the time being I am going to continue to listen to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe while editing the sweetest newborn photos. I will check in later. I hope everyone is enjoying the final day of Thankfully Reading!

Pages read: 466

Audiobook time: 4 hours 3 min

Books finished: 2

Wrap Up

I felt like I really didn't read that much this Thankfully Reading weekend but I look at my numbers and they tell a different story. This is the first year in a long time that I didn't start the weekend on Tuesday so I had less time and was really busy during the weekend. But I still made time for reading. I didn't really get a chance to participate much on

Twitter

,

Instagram

and

Litsy

like I planned. But I finished nine books and that is WAY over my goal of two! This weekend seemed to whiz by so fast. All in all it was another fun reading even. Thanks so much

Jenn

for hosting it!

Totals:

Total pages read: 1762

Total audiobook time:  14 hours  20 min

Books finished: 9

Bout Of Books August 2016

Wow I can't believe it's almost time for the next Bout of Books.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 22nd and runs through Sunday, August 28th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 17 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

OF COURSE it will be a super busy week and I have more scheduled than I have in the last few months. But that seems to be the way most readathons go for me. I still went to the library and got a pile of books plus I will be trying to read some of my ebook TBR and audiobooks while driving around. I will be updating this post all during Bout of Books so stay tuned here and to my Twitter and Instagram accounts.



Monday--
Well as expected I didn't have that much time to do anything but listen to audiobooks today. I had an awesome newborn session this morning. I love cuddling new babies! I was in the car for a few hours so I took the time to listen to The Hunger Games audiobook. I love The Hunger Games books so much and it is such a different experience to listen to the audiobook than read the book. I am really enjoying it. I have a lot of photo editing to do tomorrow so it is quite possible that I will finish the audiobook. 
I am also listening to the audiobook of Missoula: Rape and the Justice System In A College Town. This one is rough to listen to. It is enraging, devastating and heartbreaking. I can only listen to it in small pieces. It is such an important subject. I love Jon Krakauer's writing. All his books are fascinating. 
I started Insatiable by Meg Cabot. I love the modern day twist on a vampire story. I didn't get that far in it as I could barely keep my eyes open but I am really looking forward to reading more of it tomorrow. I didn't even take any photos of my books today which is quite surprising but I will try to be better on Instagram tomorrow. 

Day One Numbers 
Pages read: 183
Audiobooks Time: 5 hours 45 mins
Books finished: None

Tuesday-- This was a much better reading day since my photo session today was only about 25 minutes. I had lots of editing/audiobook time and I even finished a few books. I didn't finish either of my audiobooks but I am nearing the end on both. 


I finished up Insatiable. It ended up being a pretty fun read if the author meant it to be a cheesy vampire parody. If she didn't well not so good. 


I also started and finished My Folks Don't Want Me To Talk About Slavery. It is a collection of twenty one oral histories from the Slave Narrative papers. People went around in the late 1930's gathering all these stories and commentary on slavery: how they were treated, what they ate, were they educated etc. I think this is a must read. Their voices were silenced most of their lives and it's important to hear what they have to say. I plan on looking for more books written about these first person narratives. 


In honor of the Olympics being over I started reading You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott. Ahh it is SO good. I could barely put it down and go to bed. I have heard so many great things about her books and now I want to read them all.
I have to take my MIL to the dr tomorrow an hour away so I have downloaded another Jon Krakauer book for us to listen to in the car. 

Day Two Numbers 
Pages read: 445
Audiobooks Time: 5 hours 47 mins
Books finished: 2

Wednesday--
Well today was a busy day with lots of editing. And a simple 10 minute doctors appointment turned out to be a nightmare of traffic and storms and five hours away from the house. I finished The Hunger Games audiobook and You Will Know Me. I started The Great American Whatever and The Invisible Intruder. I am pretty irritated tonight so I will talk more about these books tomorrow. 

Day Three Numbers 
Pages read: 388
Audiobooks Time: 5 hours 23 mins
Books finished: 2

Thursday-- Well this was a much better actual book reading day although I didn't feel very good. I am afraid I am getting sick. 
I finally finished the Missoula audiobook that I have been listening to for a few months. It was a tough one to get through. It's a very difficult subject matter and very enraging. But I definitely recommend reading it. It should be required reading for boys and girls in high school.
I also am listening to Under the Banner of Heaven. I downloaded this for our  trip to the dr yesterday. It is a book about Mormon fundamentalists. It is another very hard subject matter. 
I finished The Invisible Intruder, the 46th Nancy Drew book. I love the Nancy Drew books so much. I have a huge collection of Nancy Drew books and companion books.


They are some of the first books I remember reading. My mom had all the blue covered books. She threw them away one day for some reason and I will never get over it. Sadly I just have the new yellow ones. It is interesting to read these books and even though they have been updated from the original books they still are old fashioned. And poor Bess gets fat shamed all the time. I enjoy the three or four older books I have because they have the illustrations inside the front cover from all the books. It just brings me right back to childhood! 


I also finished The Great American Whatever. I really loved this book! The breezy style Tim Federle writes with is great even with the sad subject matter. I would say this isn't so much a love story as a story of grief and acceptance. I love all the quips and jokes. I enjoyed being in Quinn's head. 


I started listening to Catching Fire, the next Hunger Games book. This is my favorite of all the Hunger Games books. I love it so much. I am just really enjoying listening to these. It's a different experience. 


I started and finished the 19th Agatha Raisin book, A Spoonful of Poison. I love these cozy mysteries and I love Agatha. She is so unpleasant and foolish about men but she always solves the case! The books always make me laugh. I have really been enjoying the books since she started the detective agency. 


I started See Me, the newest Nicolas Sparks book. I won it in a Goodreads giveaway so I figured I would read it now. I feel bad when I win a book and don't read and review it right away. I have a love/hate relationship with Nicolas Sparks. A lot of his books are too formulaic. However I don't mind formulaic (see Nancy Drew and Agatha Raisin above ha ha). I am having a hard time getting into this one though. I also ate about a pound of Twizzlers while reading it. Not a good idea when I already don't feel good. 


Tomorrow I plan on finishing editing my last photo session, listening to the new Butch Walker album and hopefully getting some reading in. 

Day Four Numbers 
Pages read: 695
Audiobooks Time: 3 hours 19 mins
Books finished: 4

Friday-- It was a fairly good reading day even though I also was busy with work and cleaning. I stayed up late since it was Friday. 
I finished See Me and it ended up being pretty good near the end. But there were just so many annoying characters and it was too long and rambly. I felt like the character development was terrible. Lily was a horrible cliche of a Southern woman which is ridiculous because Nicolas Sparks is from the South and knows better. But Lily and Serena seemed to share too many characteristics. And I just didn't buy the romance between Colin and Maria. I thought a real woman would have been SO annoyed by his saying okay all the time. Nope not cute. I hated how her family had to be told about his past and Colin have that dramatic talk with her father. My parents would never have a say in who I dated at 28. Ridiculous! Anyway I am just glad he has gone away from one of the main characters always dying at the end. That was getting pretty predictable. 


I also started and finished the next Agatha Raisin book There Goes the Bride in which James Lacey's young bride to be is shot to death on their wedding day. Oh James you and Agatha belong together because you are idiots about the people you date. Ha ha. The only sad thing about this book is that I don't have the next one.
I finally started Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I can't wait to read this one as I have heard so many good things about it. And I love following Tahereh's travels and photography on Twitter and Instagram. She wears amazing outfits. And she and Ransom Riggs are #relationshipgoals. Am I too old to say that?
My goals for tomorrow and Sunday are to read as much as I can while enjoying it and hopefully do something fun along the way as summer is winding down.

Day Five Numbers 
Pages read: 655
Audiobooks Time: 3 hours 1 min
Books finished: 2

Saturday-- Today was a pretty leisurely day. I did work a little and then enjoyed dinner and spending time with my husband so didn't get as much reading in as I did the last two days but it was a good day.
I am still listening to and really enjoying Catching Fire. I forgot how much of the book was set before the Quarter Quell even started. 
I am still reading Shatter Me. I am liking the characters but I am fascinated with this world and hope to hear more about it before the book is over.
I started and finished another Meg Cabot book Nicola and the Viscount, a Regency romance and it was funny and very entertaining. I also started the Overbite, the sequel to Insatiable, but I am having a hard time getting into it.


Tomorrow is the final Bout of Books day and I probably won't read as much as I have been because I have some work to do. We shall see. Oh and I also noticed today on Goodreads that I met my book reading goal for the year! I didn't know I would meet it so early. I may have to change the goal to the amount of books I read last year. 

Day Six Numbers 
Pages read: 466
Audiobooks Time: 3 hours 11 min
Books finished: 1

Sunday-- I got some good photo editing in today and also watched a movie with my husband but still was able to do a good amount of reading on the final Bout of Books day.
I finished the Catching Fire audiobook and listened to a few more chapters of Under the Banner of Heaven. I finished Shatter Me and started and finished Ramona the Brave. I just can't help but marvel at how perfectly Beverly Cleary captures the emotions and feelings of being a child.
I will do a wrap up post tomorrow.

Day Seven Numbers 
Pages read: 471
Audiobooks Time: 4 hours 9 min
Books finished: 2

Wrap Up & Totals
Well Bout of Books 17 has come to an end. I really enjoyed taking the time all week to just enjoy books. I didn't watch any tv or listen to any podcasts. Even though I did miss my podcasts I did enjoy time away from the TV. It was a busy week but I definitely read way more than I thought I would. I read many hours of audiobooks while working and driving and that definitely helped me read more. I am already looking forward to the next Bout of Book in January!

Totals
Pages read: 3,303
Audiobooks Time: 30 hours 35 min
Books finished: 13


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Bout of Books 16

The Bout of Books Read-a-thon sounds like a really good read-a-thon!
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 9th and runs through Sunday, May 15th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team
It sounds like it is a fun and casual read-a-thon so I thought I would participate although this week and weekend is busier than usual. I always can make time for reading! I will update this post with all the books I am reading so check back in throughout the week! I will also be updating at Twitter and Instagram.

Monday
Books Read: 1

 Pages Read: 328

 Notes: I finished Salt to the Sea. I also am switching off on listening to the Jane Eyre audiobook and reading the book depending on what I am doing.

Tuesday

 Books Read 0

 Pages Read: 293

 Notes: I finished about 75% of The Guest Room. It is such a great book and I can't wait to finish it tomorrow. I also read a little more of Jane Eyre.

 Wednesday

 Books Read: 3

 Pages Read: 729

 Notes: I finished The Guest Room and started and finished Kissing Christmas Goodbye and Marcy Catches Up. I started Criminal That I Am and kept reading Jane Eyre. The Guest Room was very good and Criminal That I am is a fascinating memoir. Kissing Christmas Goodbye is an Agatha Raisin book that had a Christmas celebration in the last ten pages so they slapped a Christmas name and cover on it. Marcy Catches Up was the second installment of a 1950s YA series I have been reading.

 Thursday

 Books Read: 2

 Pages Read: 466

 Notes: I finished Criminal That I Am, started and finished The Good Girl. I read more of Jane Eyre, or rather listened, while I ran errands. And I started The Dream Thieves.

 Friday

 Books Read: 0

 Pages Read: 195

 Notes: I didn't get much reading in today as it was a busy work day.

Saturday

 Books Read: 1

 Pages Read: 157

 Notes:I didn't get much reading in as I was working but I did finish the 3rd Marcy Rhodes book and read more of The Dream Thieves.

 Sunday

 Books Read: 0

 Pages Read: 86

 Notes:Another bad reading day since I had a photo session and then hung out with my sister afterwards.

 Bout of Books Totals:

 Total Books Read: 7

 Total Pages Read: 2,254


The Big Game's On Read-a-thon

I used to have to watch the Super Bowl for school, analyze and pick it apart. When I graduated I didn't really have the desire to watch it anymore. Football has never been my game. Baseball is my passion and always will be. And don't even get me started on the (mostly sexist) commercials. So today instead of checking out the big game I will be participating in Jenn's Bookshelves the Big Game's On Read-a-thon. I am not pre picking books to read or setting a goal. I just plan to enjoy some books from my (large) TBR pile. I am starting to read this morning so I will keep checking in throughout the day. Happy reading everybody!

10 am
The two books I am starting off with today are See How They Run by Ally Carter and Rosemary The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Lawson. See How They Run is the second book in Carter's Embassy Row series. I always enjoy her YA books. She gives a lot of depth to her characters and I love the teennage spy/international intrigue/secret society elements in this series. I have always been fascinated with the Kennedy family and always saddened by the way Rosemary was treated so I definitely wanted to read Rosemary when I heard it was coming out. I am listening to that one on Audible while doing things around the house and cooking. I am planning to make some delicious chicken noodle soup for me and my mother in law to eat while my husband goes to his super bowl party.



11:30 am
I finished See How They Run which ended on a cliffhanger. I need to remember to stop reading her books until the next one is out! The next book I am reading is A Wilder Rose by Susan Witting Albert. It is a fictionalized account of Rose Wilder Lane's life but based off of her letters and diaries. I love all things Laura Ingalls Wilder (except the awful tv show) so I have been so excited to read this book. It also made me realize I still haven't read Pioneer Girl the annotated bibliography of Laura Ingalls Wilder so I went and grabbed it from Amazon with my birthday gift card. Thanks to Amazon Prime I will have it Tuesday. I am really excited. Ok going to settle I with A Wilder Rose and a cup of lavender chamomile tea!



7:00 pm
I just finished eating dinner and I am stuffed. It took me a couple of hours to make the soup but it was worth it in the end. It was delicious. I added too many noodles but I still enjoyed it. 
I am halfway done with A Wilder Rose. Currently I am reading about her time during the Great Depression. It is very sobering to read about how difficult it was with so many people losing their money, homes, jobs and a lot of people not even having food. The book says that the Little House books may never have been published if it wasn't for the Depression because Rose actually had time to write them since she wasn't getting that much work. I also found it interesting how much she seems to hate Roosevelt and all his programs. There is so much good stuff in this book as far as history goes. I also am interested in the relationship between Laura and Rose. The book is mainly based on the fact that some people think that Rose is the actual author of all the Little House books using only her mothers bare boned outlines. I have heard this before and have never known if it is fact or rumor. As soon as I finish this book I am going to investigate!
I listened to the Rosemary Kennedy book the whole time I was making the soup and it is just tragic. I like the way Kate Clifford Lawson talks about the way people with disabilities and mental illness were perceived at the time. I had no idea moron and idiot were used to categorize people and were medical terms. And interesting to hear how Joe Kennedy Sr. and Jr. initially thought Hitler's ideas were good. 

10:50 pm
I just finished A Wilder Rose. It was such a good book. If you aren't a huge Little House fan you probably won't enjoy it as much as I did.  But I loved it. The book seemed well researched with just a light dramatization. There is so much more to this book than the story about Laura and Rose and the writing of the Little House books. I loved the background information and the history and events surrounding the book. 
I am on chapter five of Rosemary. World War II has just started. Interesting how Joe Kennedy was a huge isolationist. It's sad how he put Rosemary's letter in the diplomatic pouch because he didn't want anyone to see how childish she wrote. 
I am starting Legend by Marie Lu as my last book of the night. I have had this one on my TBR list for awhile and I am looking forward to reading it. I love that the first chapter has gold writing. I am not sure if I have ever seen that in a book before. I will add a little wrap up tomorrow.