September readathon Progress and Reporting

[Dee]

ugh - I really hope Unwholly isn't that bad - i've been looking forward to it :(

[Nadine]

Hm, it might be just me! I reeaaally have been looking forward to it, I really loved Unwind. I am at about 40 %, but it feels like the story is still in the "getting started" phase. You know, the forst 50 pages, when you practically already know what will happen because you read the book info on the back? It feels like that. Everything is just the way it is to be expected. Bad things are shaping up, but they are described in a somewhat rushed up and distant way and at the same time it is obvious where things are leading up to.
But I will finish it, and I hope it will turn better soon.

[Dee]

i'm hoping that it is just a second in a trilogy hump, although who knows when book 3 will be out

[Nadine]

Yeah, he really kept us waiting! :-(

[Linette]

Today's update :)


Four books finished:
The Beautiful Mystery
A Fountain Filled With Blood (Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery series, #2
Shadow of Night
A Study in Sherlock: Stories inspired by the Holmes canon

Books in progress:
Out of the Deep I Cry
The Body in the Lighthouse
Gone Girl

[Nadine]

(During this readathon I want to finish my current books and I dug out some others that I had put aside at some point but "always wanted to finish". So my goal isn't so much to read a lot of books or pages, but to use the time to get into those books again and either finish them or put them aside for good. Although of course I prefer to finish them.)
Here are the books:

1. The Graveyard Book page 87 -> 220 pages left FINISHED ✔
2. UnWholly 35 % ->
3. A Visit from the Goon Squad FINISHED ✔
4. Slave to Sensation 50 % -> FINISHED ✔
5. 4:50 From Paddington page 126 -> 145 pages left FINISHED ✔
6. Between page 199 ->256 pages left
7. Ready Player One page 138 -> 234 pages left FINISHED ✔
8. Between Shades of Gray page 46 -> 298 pages left FINISHED ✔
9. Lover Eternal page 119 -> 335 pages left
10. The Child Thief page 125 -> 351 pages left
11. My Name Is Memory 50 % read so far

Day 1:
A Visit from the Goon Squad 26 pages
The Graveyard Book 3 pages
Slave to Sensation 187 pages (Book finished)
216 pages in total

Day 2:
A Visit from the Goon Squad 162 pages
The Graveyard Book 117 pages
Ready Player One 26 pages
305 pages in total

Day 3:
(Slowed down by massive headaches)
Ready Player One 77 pages
4:50 From Paddington 44 pages
121 pages in total

Day 4:
4:50 From Paddington 101 pages (Book finished)
Ready Player One 131 pages (Book finished)
232 pages in total

Day 5:
Between Shades of Gray 298 pages (Book finished)
Between 10 pages
308 pages in total

Day 6:
Slated 192 pages
UnWholly 30 pages
Between 3 pages
225 pages in total

Books finished:
Slave to Sensation ✔
The Graveyard Book ✔
A Visit from the Goon Squad ✔
4:50 From Paddington ✔
Ready Player One ✔
Between Shades of Gray ✔

Pages read in total:
1.407 pages

I strayed from my track of reading just old books I wanna finish... but "Slated" is really great, a very catchy read and I am enjoying it a lot, so I can't really bring myself to feel too bad about having started a new book.

[Ava Catherine]

Finished The Light Between Oceans M.L. Stedman 343 pages

total pages to date: 2887

@ Nadine: How do you like so far? I have almost picked that book up several times but just never took the leap.

[Nadine]

@ Connie: i really enjoyed A Visit from the Goon Squad. I loved the way the stories and life lines were linked. Like the big picture formed bit by bit in the head. It is a great read. Somewhat different but great. I am looking for something similar now. Short stories that are linked and interwoven.
In this one the stories are not chronological and they jump forth and back in time, which makes it a bit challenging to pick the characters and lives apart, but somehow that makes it more interesting.

[Dee]

wow, Nadine - you are kicking butt! what did you think of Between Shades of Gray? that was one of my few 5 star reads in 2011

[Nadine]

I really liked it. But I lost track somehow. It was the kind of book I decided to read in small dosages and then the pauses between the reading became longer and then I had stopped reading for a month or so! The second time around I just kept reading, no matter how bad things were in the story which is definetely the better strategy. (Just explaining why it took me so long to finish.)
I liked the book a lot. I loved the way we kept being reminded of her normal/former life by these flashbacks (which also told a story in themselves). I liked the way the story was told. Not too shocking, a lot of the cruel bits told in an open but not too cruel way, if you know what I mean.
I granted 4 stars in the end.
I also liked the way the characters were pictured: Even the "baddies" showed some heart at certain points. It would have been so easy to design them as pure evil, but there was always some redeeming moment.

[Ann A]

Day 6 Report

The Girls - 56 pages - Finished. Good book, but a few minor irritations dropped it from 4 to 3 1/2* for me.
Jude the Obscure - 48 pgs
The Fifth Witness - 18 pgs

Total for Day 6: 122 pages

Running total: 1114 pages

I don't think I'm going to reach my pages goal (1500), but I'm happy to get over 1000. One day left - READ, READ, everyone!

[Ava Catherine]

Nadine wrote: "@ Connie: i really enjoyed A Visit from the Goon Squad. I loved the way the stories and life lines were linked. Like the big picture formed bit by bit in the head. It is a great read. Somewhat diff..."

Thanks, Nadine! I shall have to put it on my tbr list. I have read a previous book by her and liked it. Have you read Olive Kitteridge? Also Nocturnes: Five stories of music and nightfallby Kazuo Ishiguro is one of my favorites. I don't know if you like that sort of book, but you might check them out.

Girl! You are smoking!!! Wow!!!! ; ) Loving it!!

[Nadine]

(During this readathon I want to finish my current books and I dug out some others that I had put aside at some point but "always wanted to finish". So my goal isn't so much to read a lot of books or pages, but to use the time to get into those books again and either finish them or put them aside for good. Although of course I prefer to finish them.)
Here are the books:

1. The Graveyard Book page 87 -> 220 pages left FINISHED ✔
2. UnWholly 35 % ->
3. A Visit from the Goon Squad FINISHED ✔
4. Slave to Sensation 50 % -> FINISHED ✔
5. 4:50 From Paddington page 126 -> 145 pages left FINISHED ✔
6. Between page 199 ->256 pages left
7. Ready Player One page 138 -> 234 pages left FINISHED ✔
8. Between Shades of Gray page 46 -> 298 pages left FINISHED ✔
9. Lover Eternal page 119 -> 335 pages left
10. The Child Thief page 125 -> 351 pages left
11. My Name Is Memory 50 % read so far

Day 1:
A Visit from the Goon Squad 26 pages
The Graveyard Book 3 pages
Slave to Sensation 187 pages (Book finished)
216 pages in total

Day 2:
A Visit from the Goon Squad 162 pages (Book finished)
The Graveyard Book 117 pages (Book finished)
Ready Player One 26 pages
305 pages in total

Day 3:
(Slowed down by massive headaches)
Ready Player One 77 pages
4:50 From Paddington 44 pages
121 pages in total

Day 4:
4:50 From Paddington 101 pages (Book finished)
Ready Player One 131 pages (Book finished)
232 pages in total

Day 5:
Between Shades of Gray 298 pages (Book finished)
Between 10 pages
308 pages in total

Day 6:
Slated 192 pages
UnWholly 30 pages
Between 3 pages
225 pages in total

Day 7:
Slated 248 pages (Book finished)
UnWholly 15 pages
Between 2 pages (can't force myself to read more than 2-3 pages each day, go figure!)
265 pages in total

Books finished:
Slave to Sensation ✔
The Graveyard Book ✔
A Visit from the Goon Squad ✔
4:50 From Paddington ✔
Ready Player One ✔
Between Shades of Gray ✔
Slated ✔

Pages read in total:
1.672 pages

Not bad! I finished 4 books that I had lost all hope to ever finish them and 2 more that were only recently started and I read one book completely. I really enjoyed to finish those books and really learned my lesson. Even books you think you won't ever be able to "get into" again after a longer break can be picked up again without much fuss.
Slated had me hooked for about 350 pages, the last 100 were... a let down, there was a lot of tension built up, lots of questions in the air, and then, when I thought they would be answered (last 100 pages) there was almost nothing! In the last 2 pages there are "some" answers. God I really get annoyed by first parts of trilogies that leave so many questions unanswered. (Especially when the release of part 2 is still far away!)

@ Connie: No, I haven't read anything by Olive Kitteridge, I will check her out. Which other book by the author of "A visit from the goon squad" did you read and enjoy? ... and THANKS! :-)

[Anne]

My progress so far:

Finished:
The Gods of Amyrantha- last 100 pages

Continued:
Autobiography, Vol 1- 27 pages

Started:
Daughter of the Empire- 20 pages
The Curse of Chalion- 103 pages

Total pages: 250

One of my projects got a deadline extension, and the other is on hold until Monday, so I have the weekend off :) Hopefully I'll have some time to get some reading done before the end of the readathon. I didn't have time to finish my book that is due today, so I'll have to request it again.

[Nadine]

Oh great about your unexpectedly free weekend, Anne!

[Ava Catherine]

Nadine wrote: "(During this readathon I want to finish my current books and I dug out some others that I had put aside at some point but "always wanted to finish". So my goal isn't so much to read a lot of books ..."
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

I read The Keep by The Goon Squad author. It is a very unusual book, but I liked it.

[Ava Catherine]

Completed:

The Stories of Mary Gordon Mary Gordon 480 pages

total pages to date: 3367

[Nancy H]

I have been traveling and haven't been able to update. I have finished four books so far and am over halfway through number five. I hope to finish it tonight before bed. I will update page totals tomorrow.

Finished:
In Cold Pursuit
Deception
Vows, Vendettas, and a Little Black Dress
Home Free

Halfway through I'm In No Mood for Love

[Tracy]

Completed:

Undead and Unstable by MaryJanice Davidson
Zero Day by David Baldacci
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
Blood Warrior by H.D. Gordon

Books:4
Pages:1306

[Rachael]

I read 198 pages over the course of this readathon. I was sick most of this week so I didn't get much reading done.

I finished Between the Lines

and I am on page 162 in The Guardian

I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, but I love reading and will keep on going. I would recommend both of these books.

[Tracy]

Rachael wrote: "I read 198 pages over the course of this readathon. I was sick most of this week so I didn't get much reading done.

I finished Between the Lines

and I am on page 162 in The Guardian

I didn't ge..."

Rachel, I hope you are feeling better! It stinks to be sick. Did you have the flu or something? I heard on the news they are expecting it hard this year. But then again they say that every year.

[Ann A]

Day 7 and Final Report

Jude the Obscure - 151 pgs - Finished. Thomas Hardy is one of my favorite writers. This book did not disappoint.
The Fifth Witness - 26 pgs

Total for Day 7: 177 pages

Grand total: 1291 pages

I'm happy that I finished three books, read one completely, and started another during the week:

The Devil All the Time
The Girls
Jude the Obscure
The Marriage Bureau for Rich People
The Fifth Witness (still in progress)

It's been fun reading everyone's updates, and I've added more books to my TBR (something I did NOT need to do :) Hope you are fit and healthy for the next RAT, Rachael! And it's nice to see you back, Nancy. Hope you enjoyed your travels.

[Kim]

53 more pages of A Discovery of Witches and I'll be done by tonight!

[Anne]

Final Totals:

Finished:
The Gods of Amyrantha- last 100 pages
Dead Level- 245 pages

Continued:
Autobiography, Vol 1- 27 pages

Started:
Daughter of the Empire- 20 pages
The Curse of Chalion- 103 pages

Total pages: 495

[Rachael]

Tracy wrote: "Rachael wrote: "I read 198 pages over the course of this readathon. I was sick most of this week so I didn't get much reading done.

I finished Between the Lines

and I am on page 162 in The Guard..."

Tracy wrote: "Rachael wrote: "I read 198 pages over the course of this readathon. I was sick most of this week so I didn't get much reading done.

I finished Between the Lines

and I am on page 162 in The Guard..."

Just a really bad cold that made me lose my voice and everything. I'm feeling better today.

[Ava Catherine]

Kim wrote: "53 more pages of A Discovery of Witches and I'll be done by tonight!"

I have heard really good things about this book. ; )

I have found so many books to add to my tbr list. It is already bulging at the seams! I enjoyed reading with everyone this week!

[LynnB]

I was out of town this weekend without computer access, so here (finally) are my totals for the read-a-thon:

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, 336 pp.
The Gift of Rain, finished 184 pp.
Death Loves a Messy Desk, 296 pp.
Catching Fire, 391 pp.
The Hour I First Believed, 740 pp.

Total pages read: 1947
Total books read: 4-1/2

[Nancy H]

I did not get as many books finished as I had hoped because I was traveling and welcoming a new niece-in-law into the family. My goal was five and I finished four and a half within the Read-a-thon. I did make my goal of at least 1,000 pages, though. I didn't have any day that I could devote to a 24-hour reading spree, so that didn't help. This is probably the worst I have done during any Read-a-thon, but since I was very involved in happy family activities, that was okay.

Finished:
In Cold Pursuit - 61p.
Deception - 242p.
Vows, Vendettas, and a Little Black Dress - 320p.
Home Free - 384p.

Started: I'm In No Mood for Love - 221p.

Total Pages: 1,228p.

[Kim]

Forgot to post, but I finished at 11:53pm on Saturday night, literally minutes to spare. LOL I don't care about the pages, I just wanted to finish the book.