Dewey's Reverse Readathon August 2021

It’s time for the Dewey’s Reverse Readathon! With my job now this one is much easier to do this one than the regular one so I am super excited! I will be checking in throughout the evening. I did not pick out a TBR. I will go wherever the wind takes me!

11:45 pm

It’s been a lovely day of reading. I just finished my first book, Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda. This was a wonderful thriller that kept me on my toes. I also enjoyed some delicious cookies & cream muddy buddies. Yum yum. Nice sugar rush!

I also have had some good reading snuggles with my cat and dog. It’s a little cooler today so my dog actually laid in my lap while I read and petted him. I took my cat to the vet yesterday which was super dramatic so I will thrilled when she came out and cuddled with me.

It’s nearing midnight and I am still pretty awake so I am going to start another book. I will check in later. I hope everyone is enjoying their readathon!

Total reading time: 3 hours 45 minutes

Pages read: 333

Audiobook Time: 23 minutes 

Books finished: 1

3:30 a.m.

I just finished Well Matched by Jen DeLuca. I really love this series and the acknowledgments made me tear up. It’s really emotional to read books that were written during 2020. I am hungry but I didn’t do a good job stocking snacks so I think I am going to head to bed. I had a nice cup of black tea at 1 a.m. but I don’t think that is going to keep me awake. I have also been listening to The Royal Correspondent audiobook and so I am going to let that send me to sleep.

Total reading time: 7 hours 26 minutes

Total Pages read: 669

Total Audiobook Time: 41 minutes 

Books finished: 2

10:20 a.m

Well I woke back up at 7 after a nice nights sleep. I am sad that I forgot to get my traditional readathon cinnamon rolls so I had a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch instead.

I have had an enjoyable morning lazing around and reading. My bones were a little achy after reading all night so I had a nice long soak in the tub. I have a hair appointment this morning and then I am home for the rest of the day! Hopefully I will get more kitty snuggles!

Total reading time: 10 hours 47 minutes

Total Pages read: 832

Total Audiobook Time: 2 hours 16 minutes 

Books finished: 2

4:30 p.m.

It’s been a terrific Saturday! I have to say the Reverse Readathon is so much more convenient to participate in. I went and got my hair done. I really wanted to read while she did my hair but I knew that would be rude ha ha. But I did read while my color was setting. I then walked around the Saturday market on the town square listening to my audiobook. It was lovely.

I grabbed some sushi for lunch on the way home. It was so good.

So I finished The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins. Wow I hated this book. It was boring for 50% and then really ratcheted up and went into a very violent place. It left me with a really icky feeling. Luckily I have a very cute doggie to snuggle with.

Total reading time: 15 hours 23 minutes

Total Pages read: 1,032

Total Audiobook Time: 3 hours 4 minutes 

Books finished: 3

Wrap-Up

Well it was another great Readathon! The last four hours of my day were perfection. I actually went outside and read in the sun which was so nice as it has cooled down a little. I didn’t finish another book but I am almost done with The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley which I am really enjoying. I am happy with the amount of time I got to read! Already looking forward to the October readathon!

Total reading time: 18 hours 46 minutes

Total Pages read: 1,207

Total Audiobook Time: 4 hours 48 minutes 

Books finished: 3

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:

24in48: The Social Distancing Edition

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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

Thankfully Reading Weekend 2019

It’s time for the wonderful Thankfully Reading weekend from Jenn’s Bookshelves.

I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year. We are staying in town and work is closing at 2 pm on Wednesday! I am looking forward to cooking, reading, and spending time with family. I plan to finish up a few books I am currently reading and starting Queen of Nothing by Holly Black and Intercepted by Alexa Martin. Let the reading time begin. I will start my Thankfully Reading on Wednesday.

Wednesday

Today was a terrific day! We closed the library at two and I had already shopped for all my food supplies. I spent the rest of the day reading, cleaning, and cooking. I don’t know why I cleaned. I am not even hosting Thanksgiving but I felt like I needed to since I got off early.

I finished The House on Tradd Street by Karen White. It was a delightful cozy ghost mystery. It made me chuckle out loud a few times. I had already started this before today so I did not read the whole thing.

I am also reading Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free by Linda Kay Klein. This is a very difficult book to read if you grew up in that movement.

As I headed out of work I grabbed three graphic novels that just came in and looked interesting. I finished Jane and oh boy I loved it! It is a modern day retelling of Jane Eyre. The art work was gorgeous and I liked the changes to the story.

But my favorite read of the weekend so far is the audiobook of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. This book is so good. I am really caught up in this story so it’s good I had plenty of audiobook time today while cooking and cleaning.

Headed to bed so I can be rested for Thanksgiving madness tomorrow.

Wednesday numbers

Pages read: 394

Audiobook time: 5 hours 46 minutes

Books finished: 2

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving! I had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my parents house.

And then we got home and I started having violent chills. I couldn’t stop shaking. I feel terrible. I had some Advil and feel a little better but I am headed to bed early so no more reading until tomorrow. I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Thursday numbers

Pages read: 20

Audiobook time: 3 hours 2 minutes

Books finished: 0

Friday

Today was a much better reading day although I still feel pretty bad. I either have a bad cold or a sinus infection. I stayed in bed reading most of the day and then my husband and I finished the Crown this evening. I can’t imagine choosing to go out and shop Black Friday sales instead of reading. Shiver.

I finished Intercepted. It was an interesting romance novel about being the girlfriend of an NFL player. It was written by a former NFL wife. I wondered how much of it was true to life. Sounds awful.

I read the first 10 pages of Queen of Nothing before I was so tired I had to go to sleep. I look forward to diving more into that tomorrow.

Friday numbers

Pages read: 347

Audiobook time: 2 hours 33 minutes

Books finished: 1

Saturday

I started feeling a little better this morning so did a lot of errands. I still got some good reading in then though.

I finished the audiobook of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. This was an extremely sad book. I cried through a lot of it. But it was such a good book!

I am about 80 pages into the Queen of Nothing. It isn’t really capturing my attention so far. The first two books I couldn’t put down. At least I had a cute little kitty keeping me company while I read.

I started and finished Alex, Approximately. This was the first Jenn Bennett book I have read and I loved it. It is very much in the style of a Kasie West book and I have finished all of her books so I was happy to discover this author.

I have started not feeling very good again so I have purchased The Discovery of Witches tv show on Apple and plan to watch it tonight while my husband is at a concert. I think it’s still in the spirit of Thankfully Reading since it’s based on a book series. It will be interesting to see how well it is adapted. I can’t picture it. Diana is very in her head and there are a lot of lulls to the book. I imagine there will be a lot of flashbacks utilized. I adore Matthew Goode too. Rawlings is ready to enjoy an evening of snuggling and watching TV.

Saturday Numbers

Pages read: 461

Audiobook time: 2 hours 34 minutes

Books finished: 2

Sunday

Being sick is no fun when you are on vacation. I felt worse today than I have all weekend. It’s really such a bummer.

I finished Queen of Nothing. So sad this series is over. I will have to let it sit a while before I can formulate my thoughts.

Sunday Numbers

Pages read: 219

Audiobook time: 2 hours 22 minutes

Books finished: 1

Wrap-Up

Well this Thankfully Reading would have been more enjoyable if I had not been sick. But as always thanks to Jenn for hosting this fun reading weekend.

Total Numbers:

Pages read: 1,441

Audiobook time: 16 hours 28 minutes

Books finished: 6

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

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

Thankfully Reading Weekend 2017

It is one of my favorite times of the year! I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday. There is lots of yummy food, no presents and lots of time for reading. Thankfully Reading is the first readathon I ever participated in seven years ago. I love this readathon because there are no rules and I can read whenever I can fit it in. Thanksgiving is pretty busy with cooking and family time so its good to have some quiet reading time. As usual I will be starting my Thankfully Reading on Wednesday. This is the first time since I started this readathon that I am working outside my own business so I made sure to take Wednesday off for cooking and Thankfully Reading! All updates will be in this post. For more information on this readathon and to sign up head to the host, Jenn's Bookshelves website! http://www.jennsbookshelves.com/2017/11/14/2017-thankfully-reading-weekend/

Here are all my Thankfully Reading posts from previous years!

I am getting my TBR list together and I have picked A LOT of books haha. It's as if I have two weeks to read and not just a long weekend. Here is my print book pile. I also have an audiobook and some e-books. I can't wait to get started!

Kick Off Morning!

Yay Thankfully Reading starts today and I couldn't be more excited. 

• How will/did you celebrate Thanksgiving? I will celebrate Thanksgiving at my house. My immediate and extended family will be coming and enjoying the day with us. I am so excited.
• What’s in your TBR pile for the weekend? My TBR pile is pictured above. I also hope to finish up some ARCs and an audiobook.
• How much time do you think you’ll have for reading? I should have a lot of time for reading except for Thanksgiving Day. I have one photo session on Friday and then my husband and I will probably binge the last season on Broadchurch Sunday but that is all I have planned! 
• What book are you starting out with? I am going to start out with Alias Grace on audio. This morning I plan to cook most of my Thanksgiving dishes so I will listen to that as I cook. 
• Are you reading print, ebooks, or audio? Maybe a bit each? Definitely all of them! 

I will check back in later today! Happy reading!

Wednesday

Day one of Thankfully Reading is in the books and it was a good day. It was so great to have an entire week day to read. 

I woke up early this morning and started cooking so my first book had to be an audiobook. I decided on Alias Grace. I am loving it. It’s such a good book. I bought the Kindle edition and added on the Audible audiobook and that is my new favorite thing. It is terrific how easily you can switch betweeen the two. I am about 40% of the way through this book. 

The first book I finished was Confess by Colleen Hoover. I have a love hate relationship with some of her books but this one I liked better than any others I have read. It was a quick and entertaining read. 

And then I finally dove in to The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur. I loved this book of poetry so, so much. I can’t always relate to her poems on a personal level but they always crush me with the honesty and the rawness of them. 

The last book of the evening that I started is the absolutely stunning The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo. This book is gorgeous! The covers, the paper, the colored inks and the illustrations are just amazing. It’s so aesthetically pleasing I can barely concentrate on the content of the actual book!

I am so happy that I had such a good reading and cooking day!  I am ready for Thankgiving tomorrow and so excited to spend the day with my family!

Wednesday Numbers:

Pages read: 703

Audiobook Time: 5 hours 30 minutes

Books finished: 2

Thursday 

Thanksgiving was wonderful! I had all my family at my house. We had four tables groaning with food and it was amazing. We have the best cooks in my family. 

​I listened to my Alias Grace audiobook while getting ready and cleaning up after. It is getting really intense. I am about to find out what really happened to Grace. I was finallly ready to sit down with Language of Thorns and a glass of wine but eyes were dry so I popped upstairs to take out my contacts and I accident broke a blood vessel in my eye. 😭 My mom suggested I not strain my eye and read. So that was it for the night. I didn’t even update the blog until this morning. So sad. But I think I will be fine to read all day today. I have a photo session in a few hours and then the rest of the day to read. 

Thursday Numbers:

Pages read: 64

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 37 minutes

Books finished: 0

Friday 

Today was another good reading day! I finished The Language of Thorns. I loved this book of fairy tales from the Grisha Verse. You really don’t have to read any of the Grisha books to appreciate this. I love the twist she puts on some classic fair tales. So good! And the book itself was gorgeous! The illustrations, the ink colors and the beautiful cover made a wonderful reading experience.

I also finished Alias Grace. This was such a good book! I don’t know why I have only read three Margaret Atwood books as I have loved every one of her books! I am also looking forward to watching the mini series on Netflix. 

​I started One of Us Is Lying. And it is so good so far. I don’t think I have figured out the culprit yet and I am enjoying the different POV. That can be a very risky way to write a story as it can get confusing but I am liking it in this book.

I also started the Young Elites audiobook. I have been wanting it read this series for awhile and I have owned the second book for months. So I finally found the audiobook on Overdrive. I am really enjoying it so far. I love everything Marie Lu writes. 

I had a great day of a wonderful family photo session, yummy Thanksgiving leftovers, a Christmas movie and lots of delightful reading time!

Friday Numbers:

Pages read: 479

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 15 minutes

Books finished: 2

Saturday 

I didn’t get in as much reading today as I thought I would. I had a lot of stuff today so I just mainly listened to my audiobook and read print books here and there.

I finally started Shadowshaper. This is a book I have been wanting to read for ages. And when I posted a photo of my to read shelf to Litsy everyone was like read that one, read that one. It is really good. The shadowshaper stuff can be a little confusing at times though but I am thinking that is intentional.  

​I finished One of Us is Lying. I loved it! I did guess part of the ending before the end but I still really enjoyed reading this book. 

I am also reading The Thousandth Floor. I got the second one accidentally at the library but luckily I had the first one on my Nook. I am really enjoying this book so far. It’s set really far the future and NYC is now all inside in a thousand floor tower. It is fascinating world building. I have also had a ton of Thanksgiving leftovers this week. I probably need to go on a long walk tomrorow to compensate for all the delicious food I have eaten. 

The main reason I didn’t get much reading in is that my sister, brother in law and I went shopping this afternoon. It is Small Business Saturday so we went to our local downtown and supported our small, locally owned businesses and got some Christmas shopping done. Tomorrow probably won’t be that great of a reading day since I plan to decorate for Christmas and watch the final season of Broadchurch.

​​Saturday Numbers:

Pages read: 453

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 17minutes

Books finished: 1

Sunday 

So sad it’s the last day of Thankfully Reading Weekend. And I ended up having an awesome reading day due to the fact that Broadchurch doesn’t come on Netflix until tomorrow. Boo!

I finished The Young Elites audiobook and was not happy with the end. Hoping that it gets resolved in book two but not hopeful at this point. I really enjoyed that book. It was very good!

I about 2/3 of the way through The Thousandth Floor and still loving the concept of this book. I am looking forward to settling down and reading it more tomorrow. 

I finished Shadowshaper and it did not disappoint. I am always afraid that having a book really hype do up will cause my expectations to be overblown. But this one really came through. I loved it and I love Sierra. She was an awesome heroine and I can’t wait to read the next one! 

​I took a break from novels for a minute to see what graphic novels Hoopla has. I found the next two Archie volumes and the last volume of season nine of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am loving the Archie volumes and can’t wait until the next ones come out. It also inspired me to watch a few episodes of the show Riverdale which I really enjoy. 

I also started the book Hanna Fell From The Sky. Whew. That’s a tough one to read! It is very maddening. It’s all about an fundamentalist LDS like cult. The men are awful and they have all the power as the young girls are forced into plural marriages. It’s truly horrible. But the book is beautifully written with some magical realism elements popping up. I am looking forward to seeing where this book goes!

Sunday Numbers:

Pages read: 644

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 6 minutes

Books finished: 4

Wrap-Up!

What a fun Thankfully Reading Weekend! I had a blast reading and enjoying some relaxing down time.

Total Numbers

Pages read: 2,343

Audiobook Time:  21 hours  45 minutes

Books finished: 9

Reading Susan Read-a-Thon

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. 

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

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

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon October 2016

I am so excited that this weekend is the

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

. It is such a fun event. It goes from 8 am Saturday to 8 am Sunday in my time zone. It is a time to read books, relax, chat with other book lovers and try to stay up 24 hours to read. I did it for the first time

earlier this year

 and it was so fun! I wasn't able to stay up for 24 hours but it is always fun to attempt. There is no pressure to read a certain amount of books and not a lot of rules to follow. 2016 has been a rough year so I am looking forward to a reading weekend!

This is my stack of possible books to read. Obviously I won't read all of them. But what I learned from the first readathon is that it was nice to have books to dip in and out on.

I will be updating this blog post a few times during the readathoon. I always try to spend a little time online so I will be updating

Twitter

,

Instagram

and

Goodreads

as well. Now I am off to buy snacks!

10 am

Well I didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked last night so I am doubting I will be able to make the whole 24 hours. But I popped out of bed excited to get started on reading. I began with an audiobook while getting ready for the day,

Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor

. I didn't really like the second book in this trilogy but I decided I wanted to find out what happened. Hopefully this one is better than the second. Then I made cinnamon rolls (from a can:-) for breakfast and started Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon while waiting for them to cook. I have been waiting to read this book for months. It is not a disappointment. It is funny, entraining and touching. However, I don't see any way around it being a heartbreaker.

Hours Spent Reading: 2

Total Pages read: 168

Total Audiobook time: 40 min

Books finished: 0

1:30 pm

Everything Everything ended up being terrific. I definitely gasped out loud near the end. I was NOT expecting that. I highly recommend you read it. I can't wait to read Nicola Yoon's new book when it comes out.

My second read of the day was Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher. It was a hilarious book with also some pretty sad moments. It was only about a 150 pages so it was a quick read. My head is feeling a little fuzzy so before I start my next read I think I will go for a walk while listening to my audiobook.

Hours Spent Reading: 5.5

Total Pages read: 468

Total Audiobook time: 1 hr 6 min

Books finished: 2

4:30 pm

I enjoyed a beautiful walk while listening to 

Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor

. It is a gorgeous fall day here. A little chilly but warmed up throughout the afternoon. I love fall but hate that winter is on the way. 

I enjoyed a yummy pizza for lunch. And then sat on the front porch to read my third book,

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

. I love this modern take on the Holmes/Watson story. I am really enjoying the characters and the story. I am developing a little bit of a headache and if this advil doesn't work I may have to take a nap to get rid of it.

Total Hours Spent Reading: 8.5

Total Pages read: 624

Total Audiobook time: 2 hr 20 min

Books finished: 2

9:30 pm

Wow I can't believe I am halfway there and I am still reading. That seems like a win to me. It took me quite a long time to finish A Study In Charlotte. I absolutely loved it. I loved the characters of Holmes and Watson. I am looking forward to reading more of their stories. I dug into my snack stash for some yummy candy corn which means it really is fall!

I started lagging a little so I decided I needed caffeine in order to make it through the evening. I rarely drink caffeine and never after one so this should keep me pretty hyper at least for awhile.

I started my fourth book

Fortune's Bride by Jane Peart

. This is a reread. I love the Brides of Montclair series. I have been reading them since I was about 12 years old. I started my reread a few months ago and this is the third book in the series. I loved these generational series as a young girl where it followed one family through many different generations and times. I broke into some more snacks after realizing I forgot to eat dinner.

Hours Spent Reading: 13.5

Total Pages read: 891

Total Audiobook time: 3 hr 22 min

Books finished: 3

1:00 am

Well I am getting a little sleepy. I may have to nap soon. I am reading in bed now and that's not the best place to stay awake. My husband is at a work event though and I probably won't be able to sleep until he gets home.

So I have pretty much been reading or listening to an audiobook since 8 am except for popping in on social media and writing blog. It's a lot! I am glad I had the audiobook so I can get up and move around. Ironically I have more Fitbit steps today than I have had the whole week.

I finally had one of my cats come snuggle with me after being snubbed by them all day. They can't resist the red blanket! I think Trixie knows how pretty her light fur looks against it. I finished Fortune's Bride after forgetting how annoying the heroine was.

I bought some special pastries at Publix yesterday: fall petit fours and a mini cannoli. They were quite delicious and gave me a wonderful sugar buzz. And they are so pretty too!

I just started my fourth (fifth if I count audiobook that I haven't finished) book of the day:

Heaven to Betsy by Maud Hart Lovelace

. I read the Betsy high school books every fall so I thought Readathon was the perfect time to start. I took a nice relaxing bath hoping that would wake me a little. It did not. Just made me sleepy but I am going to try to stick with it at least another hour before I try to nap.

Hours Spent Reading: 17

Total Pages read: 1104

Total Audiobook time: 3 hr 42 min

Books finished: 4

Wrap-up

Well at three thirty I decided take a little nap and set my alarm for five. My alarm went off and I could barely open my eyes so I listened to my audiobook for about 15 minutes and then decided I wanted sleep more than reading and woke up at nine. A little sad I missed the very end of Readathon but also happy I won't want to spend all of Sunday sleeping. Because of course I will be reading! This was a terrific readathon. I finished four books and got halfway through another and about 1/3 of the way through my audiobook and I read over 1000 pages which was my goal. I didn't read as many books or say awake as long as I did in April. But I also spent more time this year participating in social media and blogs throughout the day. I am already looking forward to April!

Final Totals:

Hours Spent Reading: 19 hr 30 min

Total Pages read: 1250

Total Audiobook time: 4 hr 54 min

Books finished: 4

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