Bout of Books 27.5: Safe At Home Edition

Many thanks to the wonderful ladies at Bout of Books for doing an in between Bout of Book readathon for people who have to stay at home during the coronavirus shutdowns. My library is closed and I am working from home as much as I can but I am glad to have this to distract me a little this week. I have a lot of Advanced Readers Copies to read for books that are coming out in the next few months so that is my biggest goal during this readathon. That and distraction and hopefully pulling me away from social media which is so bad for my mental health. So don’t expect many updates on Twitter except the ones that post from Goodreads. I will try to post on Instagram though.

Monday

Happy first day of Bout of Books! It was such a nice thing to be distracted from everything going on. This week and next week are the surge week for my state so my anxiety is at an all time high. So in between working, instead of going on Facebook and Twitter, I read.

An ultimate comfort read is Sense & Sensibility. This time I am listening to it as an audiobook read by Rosamund Pike. It is a really good edition and terrific narrator. It’s also my bedtime read to calm me down before I go to sleep.

I started reading What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter. And I could not put it down! It was so good. I finished it tonight. What delightful characters in this book. It comes out tomorrow so I really wanted to finish it today.

I also started a physical (bath) book Come Find Me by Megan Miranda. It is pretty creepy and so I am not sure if I can read it at night.

So I had to start a new book Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me before I could go to sleep. I am really loving this book so far. I am excited to see where it goes.

Monday Numbers

Pages read: 520

Audiobook Time: 1 hours 50 minutes

Books finished: 1 

Tuesday

Happy Tuesday! Today was a little bit of a rough day for me. As I think we all do, I have good days and bad days. It is just such a weird and bizarre time. I am such an introvert and I love staying at home and reading. But there is something about knowing you can’t go out and you need to shelter in place that makes me not want to stay at home. I am of course and will continue to but I am getting antsy.

I am still listening to Sense & Sensibility. I am also listening to Take Me On by Katie McGarry. I have been listening to some Audible Escape books during my free trial and this is one of them. These are YA books but I feel like they read a little older.

I finished Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me. I ended up not actually like it. The ending was strange and the romantic relationship of the book really bothered me. It was a shame because I was really looking forward to this one.

I also have been reading Ruthless Gods. It came out today and I have been trying to finish it before then but it has been really hard to read. It is very, very dark. I am finding it hard to read dark books right now. But I will try to finish it by the end of this week.

Tuesday Numbers

Pages read: 252

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 16 minutes

Books finished: 1

Wednesday

Today was a little busy. I had a lot of work to do today and I was also distracted so I did not get as much reading done as I would have liked.

I finished Sense & Sensibility. I enjoyed it so much. It was a terrific audiobook. I really enjoy hearing a beloved book in a new format. I love Jane Austen books so much!

Wednesday Numbers

Pages read: 75

Audiobook Time: 2 hour 49 minutes

Books finished: 1

Thursday

Today was a good reading day. I started the book Little Universes and had such a hard time putting it down tonight. This book is beautiful. I was very emotional while reading it. I am very close to my four sisters so the sibling relationship really resonated with me. I openly cried over parts of this book. It was just really heart wrenching and moving.

I also made the decision to DNF a book I was reading. I was just not enjoying it and was even dreading picking it up and reading it. I never used to DNF books but I have gotten better over the years about DNFing books. There is just not enough time to read books that you are not enjoying.

Thursday Numbers

Pages read: 245

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 29 minutes

Books finished: 1

Friday

I finished the Take Me On audiobook. I was super disappointed not to find the next book on Audible Escape. I don’t really want to pay for it so I probably won’t read it unless the library has it.

I continued reading Come Find Me and there was a mid book twist that I did not see coming. Which made me happy because I often guess the twists.

I am almost done with Little Universes. I love the book.

I started a new audiobook, The Heartbreakers. It is a book about a girl who stumbles into a job on a boy band tour. It’s delightful so far.

Friday Numbers

Pages read: 133

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 43 minutes

Books finished: 1

Saturday

I love Saturdays even in quarantine! So much more reading time. I finished Little Universes. Wow, what an amazing book. I loved it so much.

I started Rural Diaries by Hilary Burton Morgan. This was such a good and comforting read. It was all about her life with her family and her finding peace in their cute, small town and on their farm. I could not put this down.

I started the first book in the Jessica Darling series. This was recommended to me by several friends. It’s one of those YA books I missed. I really am enjoying it. She is quite snarky. It definitely is a trifle dated but I am enjoying it.

Saturday Numbers

Pages read: 396

Audiobook Time: 1 hours

Books finished:

Bout of Books 26

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Pages read: 301

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

Books finished: 0

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon April 2019

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

Bout of Books 23

Hooray it is time again for Bout of Books! What is Bout of Books you ask?

"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 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th 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 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team."

It will be a great week full of extra excuses to read (as if I need any). It will be a busy week work wise but hoping to get some good reading in. I have a small physical stack of books to read, a couple of eARCs and an audiobook. Happy reading y'all!

Monday

Today was a really busy day. I worked at the library and had a city meeting tonight so I mostly got reading in at lunch and when I got home I took a nice long bath. I did get to finish a book that I had started prior to Bout of Books, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. This was my second time reading it but after watching the Netflix movie twice over the weekend I had to read it again! Love that series. I hope Netflix makes all the other books into movies too! 

Monday Numbers:

Pages read: 325

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 9 minutes

Books finished: 1

Tuesday  

Another busy day. I didn’t get much of a chance to read today. Tomorrow is even busier so it may be the weekend before I get any good reading in.

Tuesday Numbers: 

Pages read: 163

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 34 minutes

Books finished: 0 

Wednesday  

Today was a super busy day working until 10 pm so reading was a bust for today.  

Wednesday Numbers:

Pages read: 58

Audiobook Time: 1 hour

Books finished: 0

Thursday 

Today was a very rough and sad day as a family dog died. I got home from work and just didn’t feel like reading so I watched tv instead.  

Thursday Numbers

Pages read: 121

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 29 minutes

Books finished: 0

Friday 

It was another busy day but when I got home from work I tucked myself away with my books and had a glorious evening reading. My husband was at a football game until late so I had no one to interrupt my reading. It was a good way to cap off a long week.

I finally finished The World As It Is audiobook. I have been reading it for about a month. It was painful to get through at times. It was an unflinching look at what is was like working in the Obama White House. I liked the honesty but a lot made me made. So many obstructions. Maddening.

I also finished The Proposal. I adored Jasmine Guillorys first book. It was delightful but this one lacked the same magic for me. 

I also finished P.S. I Still Love You. I forgot how unlikable Peter Kavinsky was in this book. I hope they change that if they make the second movie. 

Friday Numbers 

Pages read: 191

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Books finished: 3

Saturday 

My depression and tiredness kind of overwhelmed me today so I stayed in bed most of the day. I slept and read The Kiss Quotient. I also am listening to the first Maisie Dobbs audiobook. I have read the book before but never moved on in the series so starting it again!I also started How Fascism Works which was probably a bad idea considering how I feel. I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Saturday Numbers 

Pages read: 326

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 23 minutes

Books finished: 1

Sunday

I felt so much better today that I ended up spending most of the day working on photography things. So I really didn't get much of a chance to read.

I finally started Dread Nation by Justina Ireland! It has been on my TBR list for awhile so I was excited to finally read it. 

I am sad it's the last day of Bout of Books. 

Sunday Numbers 

Pages read: 80

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 9 minutes

Books finished: 0

Warp Up

Well this Bout of Books ended up being different from others I have done. It was a weird emotional week and it was also busy at the library. I didn't have as much time to read as I would have liked. But it was always nice to be able to sink into a book when I was feeling bad. 

Bout of Books 23 Totals

Total pages read: 1,264

Total audiobook Time:  12 hours

Total books finished: 5

Dewey's Summer Reverse Readathon

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

24in48 Summer 2018 Readathon

I am coming right in under the wire in signing up for this readathon! I had a photo session Saturday and a birthday party Sunday so I wasn't able to sign up for the 24in48 Readathon. But my little client is under the weather so I am jumping into this one! I have lots of good books to read and thought I would have to wait until Dewey's next weekend to get some good reading time in. It stats in two  hours! Glad I had a Coke for lunch. It will help me stay up for a little bit tonight!

All right here is my TBR pile that I gathered with 20 minutes before the Readathon starts! I have already started Rust & Stardust and Unbelievable so I hope to finish both of them. I also have a few graphic novels on my iPad that I hope to read as well. And the other two are just in case I finish all the others. I have heard so many good things about The Star-Touched Queen so I am excited to read that. I will also be updating on Twitter and Litsy (ReadingSusan). Happy reading everyone!

1:20 am

Well I think that's enough reading for tonight :-) I can't stay up any later and my eyes are trying to close. But I am enjoying getting back to reading tomorrow!

Totals for this time block

Reading time: 1 hour 16 minutes

Pages read: 43

Audiobook Time: 45 minutes 

Books finished: 0

1:00 pm

I got up a little before eight and jumped right back into reading! I finished my first book, Rust & Stardust. It was a very difficult book to read. I didn't realize until the end that it was based on a true story and was the inspiration for Lolita. It was beautifully written but wow packed a gut punch. 

I  am still listening to Unbelievable by Katy Tur. I can't believe how much stuff I have forgotten. That's all like a gut punch too.

I started The Star-Touched Queen. I have been wanting to read this book for awhile so I was excited when my sister lent it to me. It is so good so far.

Is there anything better than a day spent reading? I think not!

Totals for this time block

Reading time: 5 hours 31 minutes

Pages read: 311

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 13 minutes 

Books finished: 1

8:00 p.m.

I finished Unbelievable. What a great title for the book. I couldn't have said it better myself. I still can't believe all that stuff happened.

I am really, really loving Star-Touched Queen. Her descriptions are just beautiful and I love the world building. I had delicious salty lunch today. I have eaten way too much bad food today so I am just going to eat a bowl of broccoli for dinner :-)

Totals for this time block

Reading time: 7 hours 

Pages read: 190

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 46 minutes 

Books finished: 1

2:00 a.m.

Time to call it a night (morning?). I have my dads birthday party tomorrow so I can't stay up any later. 

I finished the Star-Touched Queen. Wow! What a good book. Maya is a terrific character. I loved getting swept up in this book. I could barely put it down. The descriptions in this book were beautiful and made it so easy for me to picture it in my head. What a great story. I was shocked when I went to do a review on list and saw the low rating. I really loved it.

I started the next Crazy Rich Asian book, China Rich Girlfriend. The Crazy Rich Asians movie comes out next month and I can't wait!! I normally don't like going to the movies but I am so excited for this one! It looks so good. This book is good too. I really like all these characters but Astrid is my favorite!

I am also listening to The World As it Is by Ben Rhodes, President Obama's speechwriter, deputy national adviser and various other positions. It is an unflinchingly honest look at behind the scenes of the Obama presidency. I am enjoying the content of the book but not crazy about the narrator so far (Yes that's my cute dogs paw in that photo). 

I am also reading The Complete Pat of Silver Bush series by L.M. Montgomery. I was so excited to snag these titles on my Kindle. Of course I have them in paperback but its nice to just be able to read them on my phone and iPad. I love the Pat books. I have read them several times. Not as much as the Emily and Anne books but they are so good too. I had a delicious snack of cookies and milk earlier. These cookies from the Publix deli are so good! They have M & M's and giant chunks of chocolate in them. Yum yum!

Well headed to bed and hoping I can get to 24 hours tomorrow. Happy reading everyone!

Reading time: 9 hours 1 minute 

Pages read: 222

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 47 minutes 

Books finished: 1

4:00 p.m.

I woke up before eight this morning and just read the whole morning away. Twas glorious! I didn't finish any books today but I have had a fun day of reading. I think I will get back to reading China Rich Girlfriend. It's such a good book and I want to see what happens!

Reading time: 4 hours 20 minutes 

Pages read: 115

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 13 minutes 

Books finished: 0

Wrap Up

What an amazing 24in48. I had so much fun and read so many good books. I am so glad I was able to do this last minute. It's such a fun readathon. 

Total Numbers

Reading time: 27 hours 8 minutes 

Pages read: 881

Audiobook Time: 11 hours 15 minutes 

Books finished: 3

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon April 2018

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).

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Prep

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. 

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.

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

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

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!

The Big Game's On Read-a-thon

Happy Super Bowl Sunday or as I like to call it Happy Reading Day! I am not a huge football fan unless the home town team is playing so this year I will one again be participating in Jenn's Bookshelves The Big Game's On Read-a-Thon. I plan to spend the day curled up under a blanket reading. It is rainy and cold here so it is a perfect day for reading! I will check in periodically throughout the day.

5:00 p.m.

I started out the day getting back to All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater. I just can't get into this book. It's very slow and just not catching my attention. But I bought it and I am determined to finish it.

I decided to start this Adanced Reading Copy of Curtis Sittenfeld's new short story collection. One word: fantastic!!

I only have a week and a half left on this book before I have to  take it back to the library. So I decided I better start it. I can't even stand to look at this cover. Had to fortify myself with a bloody mary.

Wrap Up

Well that was a fun little read-a-thon! I enjoyed this relaxing Sunday. I only finished one book and didn't read that many pages but my husband and I spent the evening watching a movie and then The West Wing. It was fun!

Numbers

Total Pages read: 324

Total audiobook time: 2 hours 27 minutes

Books finished: 1

Bout of Books 21 January 2018

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. 

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.

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. 

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!

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

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!

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!

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.

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).

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. 

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!

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

Dewey's Readathon April 2017

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 

24in48 Winter 2017 Readathon

I love the 24in48 Readathon! The premise of it is to read for at least 24 hours of a weekend. I enjoyed doing this last year. I thought I wasn't going to be able to do it this year due to other commitments but they all fell through so suddenly with one day before it starts I get to sign up! I have one photo session Saturday morning but other than that I plan to read, read, read. It is perfect timing as I want to escape from all coverage of the Darkest Day. I doubt I will be able to do 24 hours because of my photo session and I can't stay up all nigh but I will read as much as I can. I will keep this post updated throughout the readathon and I will also be updating on Litsy and Instagram at ReadingSusan. Not sure if I will venture back into Twitter but will definitely be on the other two. Happy reading everybody!

These are the books I am planning on choosing from during the readathon

Saturday

2:30 pm

Wow it has been a great day of reading so far. I sadly ended up having to cancel my photo session because of really bad weather. We were under a tornado watch but luckily didn't get any tornados. But that left me plenty of time to read as the wind and rain howled outside.

I finally finished Carve the Mark which I started reading before the readathon began and I know that there was some controversy about the book but I really enjoyed it. I definitely liked it better than the last Divergent book. 

I am also listening to the audiobook Shrill by Lindy West. Such a great book! And a perfect book to read today thinking about feminism and empowering women. 

I also started The Comeback Season by one of my favorite young adult authors. It's also about baseball so that is awesome! I have pretty much been reading the whole day only taking occasional breaks to go on Twitter and enjoy all the Women's March posts. Today is the most hope I have felt since the morning of November 8th! 

Totals for this time block

Reading time: 6 hours 17 minutes

Pages read: 243

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes 

Books finished: 1

10:30 pm

I have been reading interspersed with breaks to check in on the different women's marches. So inspiring! It makes me so happy! I wish I could have participated. 

I finished The Comeback Season. It was good and I enjoyed it. I loved reading about the Cubs and the sadness of them never winning a World Series when they finally won last year. 

I started Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica. I always enjoy her books and this one seems like it is going to be another suspenseful one. I just wish the blurb on the front cover didn't give some of it away! I had a great evening reading and drinking a delicious rose while my husband made me dinner. I love weekends!

I also started reading Mandie and Holiday Surprise. As I said in My Bout of Books post a few weeks ago I have been rereading these holiday classics. It is amazing how I can remember whole passages from these books. I read them over and over as a child as they were one of the few series I owned. My cat Trixie (yes named after Trixie Belden!) has been extra snuggly today because she was so scared of the storm earlier. Looks like we will get more storms in the middle of the night and possible tornados. I hate this kind of weather.

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 5 hours 2 minutes

Pages read: 271

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes 

Books finished: 1

Just before midnight 

Well this is a quick update and Saturday wrap up. Since the last time I checked in  I finished my Mandie book and am close to finishing up the Shrill audiobook. I am also really starting to get into Don't You Cry although I feel like it took awhile to get the story going.  

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Pages read: 82

Audiobook Time: 19 minutes

Books finished: 1

I am pretty tired so I am not sure how much more I will read. We have strong storms on the way so if they fire up I may not be able to sleep. But hoping to get some sleep in before then. I was hoping to get at least 12 hours of reading in today and I got really close! I will check in tomorrow. 

Saturday Totals

Reading time: 11 hour 38 minutes

Pages read: 596

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 43 minutes

Books finished: 3

Sunday

10:30 am

I didn't sleep great last night as violent storms kept coming through so I listened to a little of my audiobook throughout the night when I would wake up. I finished Shrill. Wow what an excellent book. The online harassment Lindy West has had to put up with is ridiculous. I hate the whole oh it's the internet what do you expect argument. When did we stop being concerned about being decent people?

This morning I started the audiobook Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac about a 16 year old girl who hits her head and can't remember her life past age 12. I am really enjoying it so far. My husband made me biscuits for breakfast this morning which were so good. I am also still reading Don't You Cry. I am losing interest in it a little. My audiobook is far more interesting at this point. I hope to get at least 13 reading hours in today. I also want to spend some time with my husband so I don't know if that will happen. We shall see. Off to read more! 

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 3 hours 1 minute

Pages read: 62

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 11 minutes

Books finished: 1

3:30 pm

I have had a terrific and relaxing afternoon reading! It is so great just to be able to push everything else aside and read. 

I finished Don't You Cry. It was such a disappointment. I feel like nothing happened until the very end and I had already figured out most of the plot twists. And it felt like it took me forever to finish those last 200 or so pages.

I am really loving the Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac audiobook. It is so good. I think I need to go do some yoga while listening because my back is starting to get sore from too much reading. I had to take a long hot bath this afternoon. I also started Boy Erased A Memoir. I have been wanting to read this book for a long time.

We are under a tornado watch right now which stinks. I have huge tornado paranoia and anxiety about them so I am hoping to use books to distract me until 8 when it expires. But I am sure I will be watching the radar the whole time.

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Pages read: 149

Audiobook Time: 52 minutes

Books finished: 1

11:30 pm

Well it has been such an awesome day of reading! I started and finished the graphic novel Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Freefall. It was a great issue in that series. I really need the next one ASAP!

I also finished Folly's Bride #4 in the Brides of Montclair series. I love this series of books. I have been reading and rereading it since I was a teen. I made a delicious dinner of cracked pepper pork tenderloin and garlic green beans. 

Erased is a really hard book to read. It is terrible to read about gay conversion therapy. I thought I grew up in a really restrictive environment but the one in the book is way more extreme. I think this is a really important book to read.

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 5 hours 44 minutes

Pages read: 493

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 43 minutes

Books finished: 2

Sunday Totals

Reading time:  12 hours  25 minutes

Pages read: 704

Audiobook Time:  5 hours  46 minutes

Books finished: 4

Wrap Up! 

I had a terrific weekend reading. I am so happy I was able to do this readathon at the last minute, I also really enjoyed interacting with the wonderful bookish community on Litsy. I just made it to 24 hours. I can't wait until the next readathon. 

Readathon Totals

Reading time:  24 hours   3 minutes

Pages read: 1,300

Audiobook Time:   10 hours  29 minutes

Books finished: 7

Bout of Books 18 January 2017

I love the Bout of Books read-a-thon. This is held twice a year. This will be my second time participating. 

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 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th 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 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

I really enjoy this read-a-thon and am looking forward to a fun week. It will be a great way to ease back into post holiday work. I will be updating this post throughout the whole week!  I will also be on Twitter, Instagram and Litsy as Reading Susan!

Monday

The first day of Bout of Books I have been a little scattered and not done a lot of reading between storms (scared puppy), last day of vacation and setting up this lovely new blog home.

I was about 50 pages in on Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs so I finished that up this afternoon. It was an interesting installment in the series although it was set in summer and kind of threw me out of the story. I also enjoyed some of my delicious Christmas candy including this out of this world salt water taffy. 

After I was done with that I started A Necessary End which was a book I won through a Goodreads Giveaway. I am about halfway through now and this is one that is holding my attention mostly because I really want to find out what happens at the end. 

I started listening to audiobook Night by Elie Wiesel. Whew. 15 minutes in and it is intense. This may be one I can only listen to in small chunks. This is a book I have been wanting to read for years and I am glad I finally bought it. I enjoyed some tea tonight as its pouring down rain in my new Jane Austen mug. My sister got it for me for Christmas and it is so cute. I will have to take more close up photos tomorrow because I love all the quotes all over the mug.

Monday Numbers:

Pages read: 435

Audiobooks Time: 22 minutes 

Books finished: 1

Tuesday 

Today was my first day back to work after the holidays. I got a lot done and was super energized. I didn't get much reading time but I did finish one book and start reading Roses and Rot by Kat Howard. I am hoping to have more reading time tomorrow.

Tuesday Numbers:

Pages read: 224

Audiobooks Time: 2 hours 4 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Wednesday

Today was another busy day with working on sales tax and my (accounting) books. Numbers are not always my friend. I got a little more reading in today but still felt a little distracted. I am working on Sunday so I decided to take tomorrow off and just enjoy reading.

I finished Night. Wow was that a hard read. Very difficult to comprehend how much horror people went through at concentration camps. Also, terrible to think how much Elie Wiesel has had to put up with from Halocaust deniers. So awful. This book should be read by everyone. Never forget how quickly evil men can destroy the people with their hideousness. 

I also finished Roses and Rot. I liked it for its strangeness and some of those characters were really interesting. But I feel like it faltered in places. It could have been so much better and I didn't feel the story was developed as much as it could be.  

I started listening to the audiobook of The Man of My Dreams. I was so excited to see this on my library page. I love Curtis Sittenfeld and I thought I had read all of her books. 

I splurged and bought Heartless today so I started that next. I am super excited to read it. I love anything based off of fairy tales or other books and this is based off of Alice in Wonderland. I got some good kitty snuggles while reading tonight. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Wednesday Numbers:

Pages read: 326

Audiobooks Time: 1 hour 38 minutes

Books Finished: 2

Thursday

I had more time to read today, especially my audiobook. I didn't take the day off like I planned because I had to much to do. Lately I have been re-reading the Mandie books which are books I loved so much as a child. I started the tenth in that series today. They are quick reads so I finished it tonight. The forecast is calling for 3-4 inches of snow which is huge for here. I am super excited and hope it really happens.

Thursday Numbers:

Pages read: 332

Audiobooks Time:  6 hours 7 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Friday

How is it already Friday!? It is shocking to me how fast this week went by. I really feel like I didn't read much this week but that is only because I read for so many hours during vacation. Today I read a lot. We had a winter storm system forecasting today so I just huddled under blankets trying to stay warm, drinking wine, baking cookies and getting so excited for the snow. We hardly ever get any snow and some forecasters said we could get up to three inches which is so exciting for this area. I love snow sooo much. I was more excited the last couple of days about the snow then I was about Christmas. Well we got a whole lot of nothing! Absolutely no snow. All gross freezing rain. And now we will be stuck in the house all weekend because of the ice but no snow. Huge waste! So I am super down in the dumps about that.

I finished listening to the audiobook of The Man of My Dreams. It was an interesting book in places but overall was just kind of dullish. If you don't like unpleasant main characters definitely don't read it because Hannah is awful. 

I also finished Heartless. It seemed to take me forever to read. The premise of this book (the origin story of the Queen of Hearts) was so good. But the execution was just so so. There were parts I adored (like the things she would dream) and parts I hated (pretty much Jest). I think maybe that was a book I had been anticipating so much it could have never lived up to my expections. 

I started and finished You Know Me Well and it was so good. I loved how it was written by Nina LaCour and David Levithan and they each wrote parts of it. It really gave Mark and Kate such distinctive voices because it was! Terrific book and perfect since I want to read more diverse books in 2017. 

Friday Numbers

Pages read: 470

Audiobook time: 2 hours 23 minutes

Books finsished: 3 

Saturday  

I had such a great and relaxing day today. Although it did not snow it was icy so I just stayed in all day drinking tea, reading books, watching Sherlock, eating and listening to audiobooks and podcasts. It was glorious. 

I started reading All the Rage this morning and this book really did enrage me. Don't get me wrong it was a great book but it was a very difficult subject matter dealing with a teenage rape victim. The way she is treated is sickening and even though I know it's a fiction book I also know this is how people treat victims all the time. The rape culture we have is truly terrible and I hope in my lifetime I can see that go away. I did enjoy using my new teapot although I did take this photo before I read the book and realized it was such a  heavy topic.

I had to take a little break in reading books after I finished All the Rage since it was so upsetting but then I stated something a little lighter Yes Please by Amy Poehler. It's a really good and funny audiobook. I always enjoy when an author narrates their own book.

I also started The Sun Is Also a Star. I am about 100 pages in and absolutely loving it. I loved Nicola Yoon's first book and this one is so good so far. 

I also finally started the fourth Game of Thrones book. I only read these books when it's cold so I figured today's would be a perfect day for that. 

I can't believe tomorrow is the final day of Bout of Books! I have done a terrible job of interacting on social media and others blogs but I plan on doing that tomorrow. And doing lots of blog reading on Monday. 

Saturday Numbers 

Pages Read: 479

Audiobook Time: 50 minutes

Books finished: 1

Sunday

Well this was an even more leisurely day than yesterday. I spent more time watching TV than reading because I had a hard time concentrating on reading. I also didn't feel very good which meant that I was able to take a nap which I usually have a really hard time doing during the day.

I finished The Sun Is Also A Star. I really, really loved that book. I usually am not a fan of "instal-love" but this story went a little deeper than that and I liked the themes of immigration and race.

I am about half way through Yes Please and I highly recommend the audiobook version. Amy Poehler is so funny and I love listening to her read her book. She also brings in special guests like Seth Meyers and her mom. It is really funny.

A Feast for Crows is really good. I don't know why people were telling me that none of the main characters were in this book. I would have read it a long time ago if I knew that they were.

I also started an ebook The Last Anniversary which has been on my Kindle. It is really interesting and I can't wait to see what really happened. I have a mixed reaction to Liane Moriarty books. I either love them or hate them and I think this was one of her first books.

Sunday Numbers

Pages Read: 368

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 12 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Bout of Books Wrap Up

I had so much fun participating in this week of reading with the awesome book community. I am very happy with all the reading and relaxing I was able to get in. It was a great way to begin 2017! Thanks to Amanda, Kelly and all the other volunteers for making this such a great event!

Pages Read: 2,634

Audiobook Time: 16 hours

Books Finished: 10

Thankfully Reading Weekend 2014

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of all time. I love fall, eating and hanging out with my family so it is the perfect combination! Over the past few years I have also added my love of reading to the mix by participating in

Thankfully Reading

. Thankfully Reading is November 27-30 and is a way to stay at home and relax while shopping and Black Friday nonsense is going on.  There are no rules just to read whenever you get time. I love this challenge and really enjoy my time Thankfully Reading and blogging about it. This is usually the only time I ever consistently blog! I have been setting aside some books as they come in specifically to read that weekend. This is what I have set aside. I will probably also throw an audiobook in there to read while driving and cooking.

I actually will start my Thankfully Reading a day early on Wednesday. This year I probably won't make it through half the books as I have a

concert

Saturday and a

photo shoot

Sunday. The good news is Thanksgiving is back at my parents house so I won't have that stress the day of Thanksgiving hosting. Check back Thanksgiving week for more updates. You can also keep track with me on my

Thankfully Reading Goodreads shelf

 and

my Twitter account

. And if you want to see what my previous Thankfully Reading weekends were like check them out

here

,

here

,

here

,

here

and

here

!