It's 24 Hour Readathon Time!

I've decided to keep one master readathon post which I'll update throughout the day. So, if anyone wants to follow me during my reading escapades, just stay tuned in to this post! :)

I'm getting a little bit of a late start since I forgot to set my alarm, but it's okay since I got up only 15 minutes late and my husband helped get my coffee going. I'm looking forward to reading so I'm going to keep the introduction short.

Books:

1. The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Started at page 284-

The first hour of the readathon is some introductory questions:

1)Where are you reading from today?

I live in Pittsburgh, PA and will  be reading in my house... probably either on the couch or recliner. I may go out for some coffee later if I need a change in location.

2)Three random facts about me…

a- I've driven across country twice (well, I didn't actually drive because I was too young, but I went across country with my family). b-I've been married for over a year now. c-I went to the opera last night and loved it.

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

I participated in the readathon last spring and was way to overambitious in my goals, plus I like to sleep and can't stay up the whole 24 hours. So my TBR for today is to finish up Volume 1 of the complete Sherlock Holmes and get a good start- at least half way through- on The Inferno by Dante Aligheiri.

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

See above in my answer for #3. I want to keep today relaxed and a great time to just sit down and read since I've been really busy lately.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?

This is just my second time participating in the 24 hour readathon, but I guess I'd tell people to relax and have a great day. Last time I tried to do too much with trying to read a lot and participate in the mini-challenges. Today I want to mostly read and do just a little online participation.

Update #2- Photo Mini-Challenge

It's not a picture of a character, but rather a representation of Hell, which I'll be reading about in The Inferno later today.

Update #3:

Well, I'm almost 4 hours into the readathon (since I didn't get going until 8:30~ish EST). I never thought I was such a slow reader, but I'm only on page 358 and I started at 284, meaning I've read only 74 pages so far. However, I've gotten online once an hour to update and look at the new posts on 24hourreadathon.com which must be really slowing me down. Plus, my husband came home from his 15 mile run and wanted to talk... the nerve. ;-) I'll just have to stop getting distracted and start plowing through my book so I can move onto the next one. 

Update #4:

It's now 4:08 EST and I've been "reading" for 8 hours now! Reading is in quotes because of course I've done other stuff in the past 8 hours, but reading has been my main focus. I took a shower a couple hours ago to feel all nice and clean and refreshed, then I made some popcorn to munch on. Then I ended up falling asleep for a little bit, but now I'm back and ready to keep tackling my book! I don't know if I'm just a slow reader or maybe I'm reading the Sherlock Holmes stories particularly slow because I like to pick up on clues before Holmes divulges the secret to the mysteries, but I'm now on page 462, which means I've read only 178 pages. I really need to pick it up! Hopefully my husband will come home soon and maybe make some dinner or at least feed me a snack so I can keep going! I hope everyone else is having a wonderful readathon!

Update #5:

14 hours into the readathon and I'm still going, albeit quite a bit slower than earlier. My husband felt like talking earlier so I spent some time on the couch with him... trying to read and respond to him at the same. I'm on page 596 now in the Sherlock Holmes volume and I'm in The Hound of the Baskervilles, which is the last story of this volume! My new goal is just to finish this before falling asleep, which I should be able to do. If I get started on The Inferno, I'll count that as a bonus for today :)

Final Update:

The readathon has been over for 30 minutes. I'm rather disappointed in my own performance for this readathon. I felt like I was reading all day yesterday (I did stop at midnight and went to bed), but I didn't even finish the book I had already started. I'm reading a Sherlock Holmes collection and yesterday I read from page 284 to only 630, which is a total of 346 pages. Now, the print is small and I tried to pay attention to all of the details to figure out the mysteries... but I still should have read more pages than that! Maybe I'll do better next time...

Have Fun Reading!

Updates and Readathons

So... I am back in school and got a job, so my book reviews have really fallen to the wayside. I don't know how many actually read this blog but I feel guilty whenever I glance over at my small pile of books waiting to be reviewed. My reading has also slowed down but I do have several books finished and waiting to be reviewed on here. I'm going to try to get back on track and starting updating By the By Books as often as possible.

To help me get back on track, I'm going to try to participate as much as possible in two upcoming readathons. I participated in last spring's Dewey's 24 hour readathon and loved it! I still went to sleep that night, but I tried to read as much as possible while I was awake. Dewey's read a thon is this weekend, and I may be going out some to see friends, but when I'm home and awake, I want to read! If you're interested in finiding out more about Dewey's 24 hour read a thon, go here.

November 18-20 is the Re-readathon hosted by The Perpetual Page Turner at perpetualpageturner.com

This readathon is for giving us time to re-read books that we don't always have the time to get back to. Ever since starting my blog, I've been loathe to re-read books because I want to keep adding new and fresh reviews, however I really love to re-read my favorite books. Maybe I'll use this readathon to re-read the Harry Potter series, which I like to do about once a year, or I'll go back and read some of my favorites since starting this blog. This readathon hits the start of my Thanksgiving break, so I shouldn't have much schoolwork to do, which will give me the excuse to take the weekend off and just enjoy my books.

I hope this readathon planning and finding the balance between school, work, spending time with my husband and friends, and reading will allow me to start posting new book reviews with some regularity. Please bear with me when my blog slows down, I'm not leaving any time soon. :)

24 Hour Read-A-Thon Wrap-Up

I wish I had been able to stay up later, but I kept falling asleep on the couch with a book open in my lap around 1 or 2am, so I just went to bed then. I also had to do a few things during the day that distracted me (go to the post office, pick up pizza for dinner, do a load of laundry), but I did get some significant reading done during the day. Overall, I really enjoyed the Read-A-Thon and I hope I can join in again for the next.

Here are my stats for the day:

Books Read- 1 (I only read one book cover to cover yesterday)

1. The Postmisstress by Sarah Blake. Page 238 to the end
2. Middlemarch by George Eliot. Book 3, pages 277-391
3. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. Beginning to end.
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Beginning to 80.

Total Number of Pages: 88 + 114 + 211 + 80 = 493 pages

Next time, I hope to read at least 750 pages. That will be new goal. :)

How was your experience with the Read-A-Thon?

24 Hour Read-A-Thon Starts Now!



Before I start reading, I'm going to use the introductory questions on the Read-A-Thon website to officially start my 24 hours. Here I go:

1)Where are you reading from today?

I live in Pittsburgh, PA, USA

2)Three random facts about me…

Hmmm. 1- I have a B.S. in Neuroscience. 2- I wish I had a dog but my apartment building doesn't allow pets and my husband doesn't want one. 3- My husband won a trip for us to Germany with a great video he made for his research group. We're going in May!

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

Well, I have 9 books from the library as well as unread books on my book shelves. I will definitely not get to the majority of them, but I wanted a variety so I can pick up whatever strikes my fancy today.

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

I think I'd like to finish at least one full book. I plan to finish up the Chronicles of Narnia (I only have the last book left, so I can definitely do that). I'm almost done with The Postmistress by Sarah Blake, so I will finish that this morning. I also want to get half way through Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence as part of a read-a-long from aliteraryodyssey.blogspot.com Then, if I have any time left, I'm still working my way through Middlemarch or I may pick a different book.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?

This is my first read-a-thon! Yay!

P.S. I love comments! Please feel free to leave me comments here or anywhere throughout my blog!

Dewey 24 Hour Read-A-Thon





I recently found out about the Dewey 24 Hour Read-A-Thon and I am super excited for it to start!

The Read-A-Thon is this Saturday, April 9. I have already signed up and checked out several books from my library to keep me well supplied.

This date is perfect for me since my husband will be taking an 8 hour test that day (the FE for engineers) so he won't miss my company, even when he comes home since he'll probably just want to have a beer or go to bed and stop thinking. ;-)

If anyone else is also participating, let me know so we can help each other out to stay awake that day! If you haven't heard of the Read-A-Thon, the link to their site is in the top line, so you should check it out!