Read-a-Thon: The Progress Post

Today is the Read-a-Thon! I’m psyched! Yesterday I posted my two very ambitious book stacks, finished cleaning my apartment (except doing laundry…), and got my pile of snacks ready. I suspect I meant to do more than that, but now I can’t figure out what!

This Read-a-Thon I’m at home in Madison in my very quiet apartment. My roommate is at a conference and my boyfriend is otherwise occupied for the day. I have Hannah, my cat, and a friend might be joining me later. I’m expecting a pretty chill day.

This is a sticky post that I’ll be updating throughout the day (most recent update at the top). And here’s some embedded links to any memes or challenges I participated in:

• Oldies But Goodies Mini-Challenge
• Mid-Event Survey

Allez viens!

Update #12: Hour 19, 1:11 a.m. CST

Pages Read: 1,420
Books Read: I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph, Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart, Fables: Sons of Empire by Bill Willingham, Fables: The Good Prince by Bill Willingham, Nothing Left to Burn by Jay Varner, and Fables: War and Pieces by Bill Willingham.

Total Time Reading: 8 hours, 52 minutes

Snacks Consumed: Nothing this time.  

I am… out of the reading chair and sitting in my bed. Movement (for the moment)!

Other Stuff: Fables: War and Pieces marks the end of the first major story arc of the Fables series — the final war with the Adversary for the Fables’ Homeland. It was a way to end that story arc, and setup ongoing conflict to keep the Fables stories coming. It seems fitting that I’d end my Read-a-Thon on that story, since Fables were such a huge help getting me through the long afternoon hours today.

And with that, I think the caffeine I drank in a cup of tea a bit ago is wearing off, so I think I’m going to (finally!) settle in with Talking With Girls About Duran Duran and read a couple chapters before I drift off to sleep.

Thanks for a great Read-a-Thon, everyone! I’ll be up tomorrow to do the End of Event Meme and try to come up with some thoughts about seriously doing the Read-a-Thon for the first time ever 🙂

Update #11: Hour 17, 11:30 p.m. CST

Pages Read: 1,228
Books Read: I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph, Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart, Fables: Sons of Empire by Bill Willingham, Fables: The Good Prince by Bill Willingham, and Nothing Left to Burn by Jay Varner.

Total Time Reading: 8 hours, 2 minutes

Snacks Consumed: I just had tea recently, but I have a cranberry orange scone sitting nearby for a sugar boost soonish. 

I am… still in my reading chair. Chair = happiness (and not sleepiness). 

Other Stuff: Nothing Left to Burn was awesome. I’m not exactly sure what to follow it up with since I enjoyed the book so much. Probably more Fables (I have two more volumes) or Talking With Girls About Duran Duran, which I have been talking about reading and then not reading all day.

Also, I just learned that my cat is not the only cat that has been going crazy today. @bonjourcass, @dragonflyy419, @SueySays, and @ashleylaura also had cats be especially attention-hogging or nutty today. Is this a thing with cats in the Read-a-Thon?

Update #10: Hour 15, 9:22 p.m. CST

Pages Read: 1,080 (Woo! Over 1,000 pages!)
Books Read: I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph, Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart, Fables: Sons of Empire by Bill Willingham, and Fables: The Good Princeby Bill Willingham.

Total Time Reading: 7 hours, 2 minutes

Snacks Consumed: For dinner we had Totinos Party Pizza (disgustingly delicious). 

I am… still in my reading chair. 

Other Stuff: Nothing Left to Burn by Jay Varner is really, really good; I’m loving this book. And I love that it has short chapter. That’s been huge this late in the game. I’ve been gone for awhile, so I’m going to cheer for a bit before finishing up the book.

Update #9: Hour 13, 7:35 p.m. CST

Erin and I just got back from a much-needed 45-minute walk and I’m feeling reinvigorated. And I’ve got a little bit longer to finish up the Mid-Event Survey, so here goes!

1. What are you reading right now? I’m just starting Nothing Left to Burn, a memoir by Jay Varner.

2. How many books have you read so far? 4! I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph, Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart, Fables: Sons of Empire by Bill Willingham, and Fables: The Good Princeby Bill Willingham.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I have Rob Sheffield’s Talking to Girls About Duran Duran which I think will be fun. I also have two more Fables comics that I am excited about.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Not really. I had to talk to my boyfriend about my plans, but otherwise didn’t have anything specifically scheduled for today.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? My cat has been a little attention starved, but those are welcome interruptions 🙂

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I’m actually surprised I’ve read as much as I had. I got a lot of reading done this morning without too many distractions.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? My cheerleading was a little confusing. I wasn’t sure which list of participants to be cheering from, so I just did things randomly.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? I’d put more fiction on my reading pile. Obviously I could just go grab some, but most of what I have on my TBR shelf now seems too long.

9. Are you getting tired yet? Yes. Going on a walk helped, but I can definitely feeling that I’m getting tired.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Get up and take a break if you need it. That will really help. Also, graphic novels were a godsend when I was feeling like I was making no progress in finishing books and needed a break from heavy-text books.

Update #8: Hour 12, 6:00 p.m. CST

Pages Read: 936
Books Read: I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph, Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart, Fables: Sons of Empire by Bill Willingham, and Fables: The Good Prince by Bill Willingham.

Total Time Reading: 6 hours, 2 minutes

Snacks Consumed: A lot of cheddar rice cakes. And a can of Mountain Dew. 

I am… still in my reading chair. Buying this chair last summer was the best $100 I have ever spent. 

Other Stuff: Woo, Fables. You make me so happy. But I’m also feeling pretty punchy from reading for 6 hours and more than 900 pages, so Erin and I are going to take a walk. I think we’re going to buy scones. Going for a walk mitigates eating scones, right? Right?

Update #7: Hour 10, 4:45 p.m. CST

Pages Read: 698
Books Read: I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph, Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart, Fables: Sons of Empire by Bill Willingham.

Total Time Reading: 5 hours, 11 minutes

Snacks Consumed: Shortcake with strawberries, blackberries, and ice cream; cheddar rice cakes.  

I am… still in my reading chair. I’m not sure I am going to read anywhere else unless it starts making me sleepy.

Other Stuff: I number of people (well, two) told me to switch to comics after Summer at Tiffany, which was great advice. Getting back into Fables has been awesome. Sons of Empire was as excellent as the last time I read it, and so far Fables: The Good Prince has been fun as well. I am going to go back through some Wikipedia summaries for the series to make sure I’m not forgetting details.

Umm… that’s all. I’m feeling a little worn out, so might go for a walk or something soonish. I’m craving scones, too, which seems weird!

Update #6: Hour 8, 2:45 p.m. CST

Pages Read: 498
Books Read: I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph, Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart. 

Total Time Reading: 4 hours, 7 minutes

Snacks Consumed: Some chocolate.  

I am… still in my reading chair! I tell you, this is the most comfortable place in my entire apartment.  

Other Stuff: I just finished up Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart, a memoir of Hart’s summer working for Tiffany in 1945, and I think it was a perfect read-a-thon book. The font was big, the story moved quickly, and I thought Hart was really charming. It’s captured the spirit of the summer of 1945 really well, and I liked it quite a bit. There’s not really any conflict, but I don’t think the book pretends there is either, you know?

I’m not sure what to read next. I’m debating between a few chapters in Pox: An American Epidemic by Michael Willrich, Nothing Left to Burn by Jay Varner, or switching to graphic novels for a bit. I may also go sneak some fiction off my shelves for a change of genre. We’ll see what I feel like after some cheering 🙂

Edited to Add: I JUST realized I’ve been calling Summer at Tiffany “Breakfast at Tiffany” ALL DAY. I am such a dork!

Update #5: Hour 7, 1:09 p.m. CST

General Updates: I took a shower, grabbed some lunch, popped in The West Wing for a little break, and now I’m doing some comments and Twitter cheering before I get back to reading. I’m at 61 comments – woo!

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by and left some encouragement — its making me smile. Yay, Read-a-Thon!

Update #4: Hour 6, 12:05 p.m. CST

Pages Read: 312
Books Read: I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph.  in the middle of Breakfast at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart. 

Total Time Reading: 3 hours, 2 minutes

Snacks Consumed: An apple. 

I am… still in my reading chair! I’m in the middle of Breakfast at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart which is charming and not-at-all difficult to read — perfect for the Read-a-thon. 

Other Stuff: It’s has been another busy hour-ish! I won a prize for cheerleading, which is amazing. I’ve always loved the cheerleaders during the read-a-thon, but never feel like I do a good job of it myself. That said, I have left almost 50 comments today, which is a lot more than normal. Yay, cheerleading 🙂

I also participated in the Oldies But Goodies mini-challenge, writing about Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Now, I’m off for a quick shower and some lunch — I’m hungry.

Update #3: Hour 4, 10:25 a.m. CST

Pages Read: 208
Books Read: I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph 

Total Time Reading: 2 hours, 18 minutes

Snacks Consumed: Greek yogurt and more tea. 

I am… still in my reading chair! I just finished I’m Sorry You Feel that Way and it was great. Funny but also a little sad, and a good short read to start out with. 

Other Stuff: It’s been a little nutty around here the last couple hours. My friend Erin arrived — she’s working on a paper about woodland Caribou while I read. I left about 20 comments earlier, and I am going to do some more now. Hannah has been a little out of shorts, so I’m hoping she calms down soon.

I just added my finished book to the Master Book List created by the Read-a-Thon folks — you should too!

Update #2: Hour 2, 8:04 a.m. CST

Pages Read: 90
Books Read: I’m in the middle of I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph. 

Total Time Reading: 56 minutes

Snacks Consumed: I grabbed a cheese stick and some almonds. Protein!

I am… still in my reading chair, getting ready to do some cheerleading for a bit and then going to finish I’m Sorry You Feel that Way which is awesome.  

Other Stuff: The full title of Diana Joseph’s memoir is amazing, just too long to keep typing. In case you were interested, the book is I’m Sorry You Feel that Way: The Astonishing but True Story of a Daughter, Sister, Slut, Wife, Mother, and Friend to Man and Dog.

Also, I popped over and did the Where in the World Are You? Mini-Challenge.

Update #1: The Beginning, 7:00 a.m. CST

Pages Read: 0
Books Read: 0

Total Time Reading: 0 minutes

Snacks Consumed: I have some Oolong tea, but no food yet. 

I am… in my reading chair, starting with I’m Sorry You Feel that Way by Diana Joseph. 

Other Stuff: I didn’t get as much sleep last night as I wanted — some crazy yelling people were hanging out in front of my apartment about 3 a.m. It was ridiculous. Also, I’m scheduled to be a cheerleader for an hour sometime during Hours 1-6, so I’ll be popping around to do that.

Read-a-Thon on!