Bout of Books: Goals & Updates

The Bout of Books Readathon starts on Monday morning at 12:01 AM! I am quite excited about this. For those of you unaware, here’s some info about it (from the Bout of Books blog itself)…

Follow @boutofbooks for all important announcements.  The Bout of Books Twitter list will also be found under this Twitter account.  It will no longer be found at @BookBender.
Email us at the official Bout of Books email address for any questions.

Standard info:

• Bout of Books is a week long read-a-thon, run from 12:01am on Monday, May 14th through 11:59pm Sunday, May 20st in whatever time zone you are in.
• Bout of Books is low pressure, meaning participants are only asked to push themselves to read more than they normally would during any given week. There is no competition between readers.
• How much time a reader wants, and can commit, to read, tweet, or network with fellow bloggers is left to individual preference. All challenges and giveaways are optional.
• Networking with fellow bloggers is actively encouraged, though never required. Co-hosts are there to facilitate blog hopping and interaction between participants.
• Use Twitter to post updates throughout the read-a-thon. Everyone will be tweeting with the #boutofbooks hashtag.

Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?

MY GOALS

• Host and advertise my mini-challenge running all day on Monday! The prize will be any book from Book Depository up to $15, available to any country that they ship to. Keep an eye out for that entry post Monday AM.
• Read 200 pages a day, or a total of roughly 1400 pages altogether. I’m definitely trying to catch up on my yearly reading goals.
• Join in the Twitter parties whenever possible. (I set reminders on my phone, so hopefully I can join in no matter where I am).
• Update daily.

MY TBR BOOKS

Oh man, so many that I want to read right now. Here’s a tentative list, but I just may go ahead and change it at any time…

(EDIT: I updated this list on 5/18 to show the books I’m still hoping to read…)

• American Gods by Neil Gaiman (chapters 7-10, at least)
• The Dead and The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
• The Duke is Mine by Eloisa James
• Aloha From Hell Richard Kadrey  
• Why Does E=mc2? by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw
• This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman (next section for readalong, I think it’s chapters 11-14) 

I could like at least 25 books right now that I want to read asap. Just not enough time in the day, my friends.

MY UPDATES (I borrowed and slightly modified this from Amanda.)

5/14
Number of pages I’ve read today: 146, not quite my goal of 200.
Total number of books I’ve read: 0, just parts of two books.
Today #insixwords: Very good books, too many naps.
Books: American Gods ch. 7-10, and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Preface & ch. 1.

For some reason I was very sleepy most of the day and kept dozing off. So I’m going to go to bed now so that I can wake up, drink coffee, and read. Tomorrow I’m going to read more of Bryson’s book, and I’ll start The Dead and The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
5/15
Number of pages I’ve read today: 169.
Total number of books I’ve read: Still zero, I read from two.
Today #insixwords: Stuff to do, game night drinking.
Books: The Dead and The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer, and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

5/16
Number of pagess I’ve read today: 165. I seem to be stuck at this number…
Total number of books I’ve read: Finished 1, started another.
Today #insixwords: Didn’t reach goal, house is clean.
Books: The Dead and The Gone, Why Does E=Mc2? by Brian Cox

So, it’s only 7:30 but I have to go to sleep because I have to work tonight. Sadly, I’ll miss tonight’s Twitter party but I should be able to make the other ones. And getting more sleep tonight means I’ll be less tired and I’ll get more reading done at work tomorrow!

5/17
Number of pages I’ve read today: About 90. Fail :*( In my defense, it’s a book about physics, so ya know. Need to read it slowly and try to absorb the information.
Total number of books I’ve read: Still just 1… seems like it should be more though, lol.
Today #insixwords: Busy work, tweeted alot, smart reading.
Books: Why Does E=Mc2?

I’m totally bombing on my goal of 200 pages a day, which sucks. HOWEVER. I have a plan for Friday… read a bit more of that smarty-pants book, and I’m going to start Aloha From Hell because the honeyman just finished it and I’ve been waiting to read it. Yay! Should be a quicker read, and hopefully work goes slow, and I’m not too sleepy. OK it’s more of high hopes for Friday than a plan per se, but still. I’m ever the optimist!

5/18
Number of pages I’ve read today: 151.
Total number of books I’ve read: Still just 1… I’m really hoping I can finish 2 more by Sunday night.
Today #insixwords: Fell asleep right after I got home.
Books: Aloha From Hell  & Why Does E=Mc2?

5/19
Number of pages I’ve read today: 353! I beat my goal’s ASS!
Total number of books I’ve read: 2! Yay!
Today #insixwords: Slow at work, best day yet.
Books: Aloha From Hell & Why Does E=Mc2?

 Guys, yesterday was AWESOME. I had to work but it’s was pretty dead around here (the reason I love working weekends, actually). I read about 50 pages from that smarty-pants book, and then read 300-ish pages to finish off Aloha From Hell, which was a really entertaining book.

And now it’s the last day of the readathon! How sad And for me, that really means the next 8 hours, because it’s date night with the honeyman tonight. I’m hoping to finish off the E=Mc2 book, and I’m going to start This World We Live In, by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I’m also going to read the next section of American Gods by Neil Gaiman, chapters 11-13. And I will be around for the Twitter party! Yay!!!

5/20
Number of pages I’ve read today: 333! Another awesome day!
Total number of books I’ve read: 4! FOUR!!!!! I so exceeded my expectations here.
Today #insixwords: Finished two book, awesome twitter chat.
Books: This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer (read in it’s entirety), Why Does E=Mc2? by Brian Cox & Jeff Forshaw (finished, and read a few pages in American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

I’m going to make this post sticky so that it shows all the time at the top for the next week, and you can check back here for my updates

JUST FOR FUNSIES…

I’m not entering to win a prize, but Tuesday’s challenge at Nyx Book Reviews just looked really fun, so I’m going to answer it here! 

Also, chat with me on Twitter! @SarahSaysRead

Looking forward to readathoning with all of you!

~Sarah