Category Archives: Readathon

May 13, 2013 · 7:37 am

Bout of Books Readathon 7.0 MASTER POST

Bout of Books
Eeeeeeeeek! Bout of Books 7.0 is starting!!!
cougar town gif
Once again, here’s the official blurb from the Bout of Books team about what exactly this readathon is all about:
BoB 7 blurb
Sounds awesome, right? Cause it is.
So this here is my goal and updates post. I’m going to make it a sticky post so it’ll be at the top of my blog all week. I don’t like over-running your readers with daily posts like this (especially since reviews and whatnot will still go up), so just check back here for my updates :-) So, let’s move on to the goals!

pile of books

Obviously I probably won’t be finishing all of these, but I like to have options.

THE BOOKS

  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (read 1st section for HP readalong)
  • Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
  • The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
  • Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me by Chelsea’s family, friends, and other victims
  • George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking

THE GOALS

  • Read at least 200 pages per day, hopefully getting up to 1500 pages read by the end.
  • Finish The Professor and the Madman, which I’m about 1/4 of the way through.
  • Cross at least 4 books off of my list.
  • Visit and comment on other blogs, new-to-me and not, at least once a day.
  • Join in on at least one Twitter chat (@SarahSaysRead if you wanna talk to me!)
  • HAVE FUN OF COURSE!

MY UPDATES – (I’m using a slightly modified version of the Bout of Books template)

Monday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 133
Total number of books I’ve read: 0
Books I read from: The Professor and the Madman, Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me
#todayinsixwords: Could have been worse, I guess.

shrug i guess

Monday.

Tuesday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 278
Total number of books I’ve read: 1
Books I read from: The Professor and the Madman, Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me
#todayinsixwords: Had to work, read decent amount

grin

Tuesday.

Wednesday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 263
Total number of books I’ve read: 2
Books I read from: The Professor and the Madman, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
#todayinsixwords: Felt sick, did nothing all day

Wednesday.

Wednesday.

Thursday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 205 – barely made my page goal for the day!
Total number of books I’ve read: 2
Books I read from: George’s Secret Key to the Universe
#todayinsixwords: Was weird, sleepy, somewhat busy day.

Thursday.

Friday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 159 – missed my daily page goal.
Total number of books I’ve read: 3!
Books I read from: George’s Secret Key to the Universe, Lord of the Flies
#todayinsixwords: Distractions! Work, internet, The Office finale…

Friday.

Friday.

Saturday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 143.
Total number of books I’ve read: 4!
Books I read from: Lord of the Flies, and The Good, the Bad, and the Witchy by Heather Blake (not pictured in original readathon list)
#todayinsixwords: Couldn’t decide next book, wrote reviews.

Saturday.

Sunday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 502! (For a total of 1683 pages!!)
Total number of books I’ve read: 5! 
Books I read from: Prey by Michael Crichton (not on my original readathon list)
#todayinsixwords: Chose a perfect fast-paced book.

 

Sunday.

Sunday.

 

Okay, I’m off to visit some of you before I start reading! READATHONNNNNNNN!!!!

~Sarah

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April 28, 2013 · 8:21 am

Readathon! THE END.

Woooooo, it’s the end of the readathon! Which was so fun and awesome, and I’m already looking forward to whenever in October the next one is.

 

Thank you SO SO MUCH to the organizers, challenge hosts, prize donors, cheerleaders, and everyone else who makes Dewey’s readathon such a big deal!

 

End-of-Event Meme

  1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Ummm hours 18 through 22 were pretty rough. I was still really tired and couldn’t focus on my book, so I spent a lot of time online, visiting blogs and clearing out my Bloglovin reader.
  2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Sure! Holes by Louis Sachar was really good, if you’re okay with reading kids books! Also any Harry Potter is a good pick too, or any other really interesting YA.
  3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I don’t think so! It worked pretty darn well, I think.
  4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The challenges were SUPER fun this time around! I don’t usually participate in that many, but I really enjoyed a lot of them.
  5. How many books did you read? Finished 2 and started a 3rd.
  6. What were the names of the books you read? The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, Holes by Louis Sachar, and I started Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde. Soooo… 477 pages total, which isn’t much but I’m still okay with it.
  7. Which book did you enjoy most? Probably The Song of Achilles.
  8. Which did you enjoy least? I liked all of them, but I think Something Rotten wasn’t the best pick for my last book. I forgot how much focus you kind of need to read the Thursday Next books and my muddled brain was just not up to the task.
  9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn’t a cheerleader this year, but I think the cheerleaders did a FAB job!
  10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? OF COURSE I’ll be participating again! And most likely just as a reader, but depending on how busy life is at that time, mayyyybe as a cheerleader or challenge hostess.

 

So yeah, I had so much fun! I’m slightly regretting ALL THE SNACKS yesterday, so today will be a light food day. I still feel so full from dinner 12 hours ago.

Aaaand now I have 6 hours left of work, and guess what I’m gonna do? Read and blog some more! Catch ya’ll later.

~Sarah

 

 

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April 27, 2013 · 8:17 pm

Readathon! Half-way point!

IT Crowd clapping

 

 

Holy moly, we made it half-way! How the time flies when you’re having fun!

So updates, yes?

  • Finished Holes
  • Started Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
  • Read 149 more pages, which puts me at 431 pages so far today.
  • Ate SO MANY jalapeno poppers. SO MANY.
  • Went for a walk around the neighborhood with the honeyman.
  • Took a bath in which I read and drank wine, which was super awesome.

Sadly, didn’t get the chance to join in on any challenges during the last few hours.

So, now I’m about to eat a chicken taco and visit some blogs. Then I should probably go to bed and get some sleep, cause I have to get back up at midnight-ish to go back into work. I’ll get hardly any reading done during the next 6 hours, but once I’m at work I’ll have the last 6 hours to read LOTS. But yeah, I need to get some rest for that plan to work.

SO GODDAMN CUTE

 

Read on, folks!

~Sarah

 

 

 

 

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· 3:51 pm

Readathon! 8 Hours In!

Me while readathoning.

Me while readathoning.

How are ya’ll doin???

So, we’re 8 hours in! 1/3 of the way over! Which is so sad to me.

Updates, yo:

  • Started Holes by Louis Sachar, read 104 pages of it before I left work
  • That’s 282 pages total so far, about half of my modest page goal for today!
  • Got home and started the chicken in the crockpot for chicken tacos later.
  • Ate some Nutter Butter cookies, and I’m going to make jalapeno poppers soon. YUMMMMMM.
  • Partook of the Self-Portrait Challenge, hosted by The Estella Society:
image

For the Hour 5 Challenge, Self-Portrait

  • The honeyman went out with a friend to an army supplies kinda store today and brought me back a present:

 

image

The honeyman, he gets me.

 

So yeah. Best day ever! I’m off to read a bit more, and chat a bit more, and eat sooooo many jalapeno poppers. I’ll be back in another 4 hours or so.

 

~Sarah

 

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· 12:01 pm

Readathon update – 4 hours in

thatssotrue_com_1257_1329759570

 

It’s just about noon now, so it’s officially 4 hours into the readathon! How’s everyone feeling?

Update-y time:

  • Finished The Song of Achilles
  • 178 pages read
  • Veggies and ranch dip eaten
  • Won a prize! My first Dewey Readathon prize EVER, so I’m super excited :-)

 

Book Appetite Challenge

This is for the challenge hosted by Book Journey, in which you create a menu to go along with your current read! So, for The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller the feast would be set outside on a beach. There would be roasted lamb, cheese, bread, olives, and figs. Probably some berries and honey for dessert. And to drink there would be spring water and honeyed wine. There would be lyre music playing, and people dancing, and WOW I totally want to go have this party in real life! That food sounds SO delicious.

Re-Title Your Current Read Challenge

This is for the challenge being hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog, in which you re-title the book you just finished or are currently reading.

If I was seriously re-titling The Age of Achilles, I might change it simply to “Patroclus”. If I was being silly in re-titling it, I’d call it “Gods Are Some Scary Shit”. Cause dude… Achilles’ mom is super freaky.

 

THANKS SO MUCH to all of the prize donors and people hosting challenges today! It makes the readathon tons of fun :-)

Anyhoo, how is everyone else doing? I’m thinking of starting Holes by Louis Sachar for my next book, and probably going to snack on a Skinny Cow peanut butter bar or something. And I’m going to try to come around and comment on some blogs before I dive back into reading.

How ya’ll are having fun!

~Sarah

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· 2:48 am

Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon! Starting Post

What is UP, fellow readathoners??? Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon is finally here!

I do work today and Sunday, so I’m going to have to sleep at some point, but for the most part I can read whenever I’m not taking calls (of which there are not many, being the weekend) and when I’m at home. I gots snacks, I gots books – I’m ready!

image

THE BOOKS. BAM.

The books I’m reading from today, from bottom to top…

  • The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which I’m already about halfway through
  • A Mercy by Toni Morrison
  • Holes by Louis Sachar
  • Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
  • The Good, the Bad, and the Witchy by Heather Blake
  • Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie

And of course, if I somehow finish or get bored with these, I have about a billion other books to choose from at home.

My readathon goals for today:

  • Finish at least two books, or read at least 600 pages.
  • Update a few times on the blog – I’ll be doing separate posts, cause I’m too lazy to keep coming back and editing this one.
  • Participate in challenges, visit new-to-me blogs, socialize a bit.
  • Check in on Twitter every now and then (@SarahSaysRead is my Twitter handle if you want to say hi!)
  • Eat delicious food.
  • Take at least a 4-hour nap before I go back into work.

 

THE INTRODUCTION MEME

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? NY, and it’s a lovely 70-degree day here today! I may have to take a break and go for a walk later.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Hmmm… probably Holes. And I’m looking forward to maybe finishing The Song of Achilles.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Jalapeno poppers!!! Of course.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! Umm I’m Sarah, I’m 26, I live with my awesome honeyman and my adorable kitty Gabby, and I’ve been reading more non-fiction than usual lately… I may have to add a non-fic pick to my pile later.
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? You know, this is my 5th or 6th Dewey’s readathon and I think I’ve finally got it down! I won’t be afraid to take a nap if I need to, I have caffeine waiting for me, and I’ll try to socialize but not so much so that it hogs all my reading time.

 

I am SO READY you guys!!! Let’s do this!

~Sarah

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April 24, 2013 · 6:18 am

Weekday Readathon! Plan and Updates

Weekday Readathon

Good morning fellow readathoners!

First, thanks SO MUCH to Rebecca at Love At First Book and Allison at The Book Wheel for hosting the Weekday Readathon! It’s SUCH a great idea, cause weekends tend to be really busy for some people!

So, it is 6-ish in the morning and I’m just trying to shake myself awake and read a bit. I have to hit the gym later, and I have errands to run in the afternoon, and I have to go to sleep early because I have to go to work at 2 am. It sucks, but all those things were pretty unavoidable for today. Well except for the gym… but I really should go workout… But I’m going to try to read as much as I can in between all that! And I’ll be draining the battery on my phone by checking in to Twitter whenever I get a chance :)

image

THE BOOKS.

Reading plans:

  • Read chapters 8 through 18 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the HP readalong.
  • Finish My Beloved Brontosaurus by Brian Switek (I have less than 100 pages left, so this shouldn’t be an issue)
  • Start The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Snacky plans:

  • Energy drink and/or coffee FOR SURE, and water in between
  • Cereal, probably PB&J for lunch, leftovers from my jewelry party last night (SO MANY LEFTOVERS)
  • Hopefully jalapeno poppers, if I stop at the store and buy them (they’re practically my readathon tradition, so I should)
  • Whatever we decide to have for dinner

And those are my humble little plans! OH, and I’ll try to get online for updates / challenges / being social too, of course! What is everyone else reading / eating today?

***********************************

End-of-thon update

Well that didn’t quite as I planned! It ended up being a MUCH busier day than I anticipated – unfortunately yesterday was the only the day the honeyman could get off of work so that we could go do a few things that needed to get done.

I did manage a bit of reading though! Much more than I would have if not for the readathon, because normally I would’ve fit in gym-time and gotten more sleep! LOL.

I finished My Beloved Brontosaurus, and I’m almost done with the section of HP that I need to read – I read 217 pages total. I didn’t get to start The Song of Achilles like I initially hoped, but I’ll probably start it later today or tomorrow anyways.

Thanks to Rebecca and Allison for hosting this!!! And if you guys decide to host another one, I’ll make sure that my schedule is a lot clearer!

Off to visit some blogs now! Hope everyone has a lovely day and gets some rest!

~Sarah

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January 21, 2013 · 4:33 am

A Winter’s Respite Readathon

A Winters Respite Readathon

Good morning! How’s everyone’s Monday so far?

I am signing up for this at the very last minute, but there’s a week-long readathon happening this week! It’s hosted by Michelle (of The True Book Addict) over at Seasons of Reading, it’s time for A Winter’s Respite Readathon, starting today and ending on Sunday the 27th. Seeing as how I have 4 days off this week, and it’s going to be freezing this week (finally in the teen degrees now), this sounds like a fabulous idea.

This readathon sounds particularly awesome because there aren’t any daily challenges or updates happening – it’s VERY relaxed and focused on reading, with some socializing mixed in. I’m going to update this post everyday, as well as updating and chatting on Twitter (@SarahSaysRead), with the hashtag of #wintersrespite.

pictures of books

The books.

My goals are going to be very simple – finish The Stand by Stephen King, and read the first half of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, for a total of 1204 pages. Also, join in at least one Twitter chat, and visit some blogs to say hi and cheer people on, at least a couple a day.

Monday

  • What I read: The Stand
  • Pages read today: 228
  • Thoughts: Woo hoo, did better than I thought I would! Managed about 100 pages at work, and the rest at home (though that was interrupted by a nice long nap). The book is picking up a bit now, so hopefully finishing it this week will be easy.

Tuesday

  • What I read: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (first half for a readalong), and The Unnatural Inquirer by Simon R. Green
  • Pages read today: 233
  • Thoughts: This was a lot of light reading. I started the Nightside book (the Simon Green book) because I was at the gym and needed a small paperback to read while I was on the arc trainer. And I finished the first half of the HP book for the readalong I’m doing, so now I just have to focus on The Stand for the rest of the week!

Wednesday

  • What I read: The Stand
  • Pages read today: 287
  • Thoughts: Yes! I am  rocking this readathon thing. Between doing a ton of laundry and taking a 3-hour nap, I didn’t expect to even make it to 200 pages. I’m hoping I can finish The Stand by Friday night, and then I can start reading some other books! I have a bunch of library books calling my name.

Thursday

  • What I read: The Stand
  • Pages read today: 329!
  • Thoughts: My goal for Thursday was 300, and I beat it! I now have less than 200 pages left in The Stand, which I intend to go read right now and finish.

Friday

  • What I read: The Stand
  • Pages read today: 179
  • Thoughts: Finished The Stand, and therefore completed my goals! MOST SUCCESSFUL READATHON EVER! Now just have to decide what to read next :)

Saturday

  • What I read: The Baby Boon by Elinor Burkett
  • Pages read today: 70
  • Thoughts: Spent time catching up a bit on blogging, and resting my tired eyes.

Sunday

  • What I read: The Baby Boon by Elinor Burkett
  • Pages read today: 58
  • Thoughts: Catching up on blogging and sleep kind of got in the way of reading. Still really happy with this readathon though, because I made my goals!

Okay I’m at work and it’s slow, so I’m going to start reading! If you want to join in, head over here to sign up and get reading.

~Sarah

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January 7, 2013 · 8:25 am

Bout of Books Readathon 6.0 MASTER POST

bout of books

Bout of Books 6.0 is finally here!

cougar town

In case you’re wondering what Bout of Books is, here is the OFFICIAL BLURB from the Bout of Books website:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and
Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins
12:01am Monday, January 7th and runs through Sunday, January 13th in whatever
time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading
competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There
are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely
optional. For all Bout of Books 6.0 information and updates, be sure to visit
the Bout of Books blog. -From the Bout of Books 6.0 team

So this is going to be my master post, with my goals and my daily updates. It’ll be a sticky post for the duration of the week, so it’ll be right at the top of my blog all week, but it also means I won’t be overcrowding your readers with constant posts. Let’s get to the goals, shall we?

Books

BAM.

I don’t actually think I’ll be able to read ALL of these, per se, but I think I can read most of them if I focus this week.

THE BOOKS

  • Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
  • The Stand by Stephen King
  • Hyperspace by Michio Kaku
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (Read the 1st half for the readalong.)
  • Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio
  • The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
  • Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
  • The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

MY GOALS

  • Finish Hyperspace, which I’m already about halfway through.
  • Read the 1st half of the HP books for a readalong I’m doing.
  • I’d like to be able to cross at least 4 books off of my list above.
  • Read roughly 200 pages per day, for a total of 1400 pages by the end.
  • Visit and comment on other blogs, at least once or twice a day.
  • Take part in at least one Twitter chat (@SarahSaysRead is my Twitter handle).
  • HAVE FUN! :-)

MY UPDATES – (I’m using a slightly modified version of the Bout of Books template)

Monday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 59
Total number of books I’ve read: 0
Books I read from: Hyperspace
#todayinsixwords: Got busy, didn’t have much time.

love actually gif

Monday.

Tuesday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 208! Yessss, made my daily goal!
Total number of books I’ve read: Well, the first half of HP, but since it’s for a readalong that’s all I’m supposed to read of it. 
Books I read from: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Hyperspace
#todayinsixwords: Honeyman’s sick, I took a nap.

naps, sleep, gif

Tuesday.

Wednesday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 410! Hell yes.
Total number of books I’ve read: 2.5
Books I read from: Hyperspace, Between Shades of Gray, The Age of Miracles
#todayinsixwords: I done good, missed Twitter chat.

Friends, Chandler, gif

Wednesday.

Thursday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 245. Woo hoo.
Total number of books I’ve read: 3.5
Books I read from: The Age of Miracles
#todayinsixwords: This book was easy but slow.

Mal, Firefly

Thursday.

Friday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 54. *sad face*
Total number of books I’ve read: 3.5 still
Books I read from: Around the World in Eighty Days
#todayinsixwords: Easily distracted, then got too busy.

Sheldon throws paper

Friday.

Saturday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 55. In my defense, I was sick.
Total number of books I’ve read: 3.5 still.
Books I read from: Around the World in Eighty Days
#todayinsixwords: Sick sick sick sick sick sick.

faint, monsters inc

Saturday.

Sunday
Number of pages I’ve read today: 53.
Total number of books I’ve read: 3.5 I guess?
Books I read from: Around the World in Eighty Days
#todayinsixwords: I got lured outside by food.

ellen degeneres

Sunday.

THE WRAP-UP

  • Finished Hyperspace, The Age of Miracles, and Between Shades of Gray
  • Read 1st half of Harry Potter #1, and 3/4 of Around the World in Eighty Days.
  • Total pages read – 1084, so I missed my goal of 1400 pages :-(
  • Did okay with commenting and visiting other blogs, but not great.
  • Missed ALL of the Twitter chats, which sucked.

Although I’m disappointed that I didn’t meet my page goal, this was still an awesome reading week for me and helped me get ahead for the year! I think things would have gone differently if I hadn’t been quite so busy, and then if I hadn’t gotten sick over the weekend. I’m a wuss when I’m sick, I can’t focus on reading or computer stuff or anything.

Can’t wait until the next Bout of Books! And thank you SO MUCH to the lovely people who put it all together!

~Sarah

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