Susan Used to Live on Reader Lane

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Susan wrote: "Kate wrote: "Love the sound of Pumpkin bagels.
I've read Artemis and quite enjoyed it (3 stars) but hadn't read The Martian so had no comparison."

The pumpkin bagels are delicious (and usually sol..."

I've never had pumpkin bagels either but it sounds interesting.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Susan wrote: "Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Impressive list - the only one I have read is Carmilla, and that was on audio"

I have Carmilla on audio, too, Erin. Hoping to listen to it this time. How did you ..."

It was different and I enjoyed it. Was something new and not something repetitive if this makes sense. That slow paced creepiness that's psychological with its subtlety.

[Susy]

Susan wrote: "Susy wrote: "Happy readathon, Susan!"

Thanks, Susy! Same to you!"

Thank you!

[Susan]

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Susan wrote: "I’m starting a little later than usual, but both the dog and I are fed, I posted my discussion topic (To Reread or Not to Reread), and I’ve got coffee in my cup that says “Never under..."

Those Halloween mugs sound like fun, Erin. Very fitting for the season

[Susan]

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Susan wrote: "Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Impressive list - the only one I have read is Carmilla, and that was on audio"

I have Carmilla on audio, too, Erin. Hoping to listen to it this time..."

This sounds perfect for today (plus it’s short). I’m moving it up on the pile. Thanks, Erin

[Avid Reader and Geek Girl]

Susan wrote: "I’m starting a little later than usual, but both the dog and I are fed, I posted my discussion topic (To Reread or Not to Reread), and I’ve got coffee in my cup that says “Never underestimate a wel..."

I hope it's going well so far!

[Susan]

Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now? Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir — a sci-fi thriller that’s keeping me on the edge of my chair

2. How many books have you read so far? I’ve finished two: New Kid, a graphic kid’s book by Jerry Kraft, was so good that I had to read the sequel, Class Act. (It wasn’t quite as good imo, but I got to see what happened next with the characters).

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Right now I’m glued to Project Hail Mary so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. I hope to get in a spooky story or two from one of the collections I’ve got lined up, too.

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Just the usual day-to-day things, no big interruptions.

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon so far? How fast the time is going by!

[Susan]

Avid Reader and Geek Girl wrote: "Susan wrote: "I’m starting a little later than usual, but both the dog and I are fed, I posted my discussion topic (To Reread or Not to Reread), and I’ve got coffee in my cup that says “Never under..."

It’s going very well. Hope you are having a good Readathon, too!

[Lena]

Susy wrote: "Susan wrote: "Meal and snack planning done! Now to whittle down Readathon TBR ;)

Snack Ideas:
—baby carrots
—yogurt with diced mango
—popcorn
—scones, jam, and clotted cream
—apple cider
—lemonad..."

So are you a unsweet or sweet tea person??

[Susan]

A good day’s reading! Heading off to get some sleep and hope to fit in a little more reading tomorrow. The scones, clotted cream and jam were delicious. Dinner with leftover meatloaf, rolls, and roasted asparagus was good, too. Hope everyone is having a good Readathon

[Cynda]

I just finished a short nap and am awake possibly for the duration. Hope to see you after some sleep.

[Dannii]

Susan wrote: "A good day’s reading! Heading off to get some sleep and hope to fit in a little more reading tomorrow. The scones, clotted cream and jam were delicious. Dinner with leftover meatloaf, rolls, and ro..."

Yum, your food sounds great. The food is as equally as important as the books for me, in a readathon lol.

[Susan]

Lena wrote: "Susy wrote: "Susan wrote: "Meal and snack planning done! Now to whittle down Readathon TBR ;)

Snack Ideas:
—baby carrots
—yogurt with diced mango
—popcorn
—scones, jam, and clotted cream
—apple c..."

Unsweet tea for me! How about you?

[Susan]

Cynda wrote: "I just finished a short nap and am awake possibly for the duration. Hope to see you after some sleep."

Hope you got some good reading in, Cynda! I’ll be around to your thread to say Hi

[Susan]

Dannii wrote: "Susan wrote: "A good day’s reading! Heading off to get some sleep and hope to fit in a little more reading tomorrow. The scones, clotted cream and jam were delicious. Dinner with leftover meatloaf,..."

Always nice when the food is as good as the books!

[Susan]

Closing Survey

How would you assess your reading overall? I’m pleased with how I did. I enjoyed all the books and read 832 pages which is more than usual for me. And I even got a one row BINGO after thinking I wouldn’t make it ;)

Did you have a strategy, and if so, did you stick to it? My strategy was not to start with an audiobook since that worked so poorly the last time ;)

What was your favorite snack? Definitely scones, clotted cream and jam. YUM

Did you add any new books to your TBR/wishlist after seeing what everyone else is reading? Of course, I did. I’ll probably add some more after reading everyone’s roundup, too. ;)

What was your favorite book or experience from this readathon? Not sure I can pick just one. I thought New Kid by Jerry Craft was excellent and very deserving of its Newbery award. Fantastic Tales by Iginio Ugo Tarchetti was the biggest surprise — picked for my spooky reading, it really delivered but with a philosophic slant and sly humor.

BINGO —

Got two BINGOs on Board One, none on Board Two —

Board One

Diagonal —

Reading in your favorite location — X
Read a book about war/conflict — Allegria by Giuseppe Ungaretti
Free — X
Exercise for 30 minutes — X
Read in your pjs or comfy clothes — X

Row Across—

Read a book written in first person — Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir
Read a book with illustrations — New Kid, Class Act, Jerry Kraft
No electronics while reading for one hour — X
Exercise for 30 minutes — X
Read a book with a seasonal theme — Fantastic Tales, Iginio Ugo Tarchetti

[Lena]

Susan wrote: "Lena wrote: "Susy wrote: "Susan wrote: "Meal and snack planning done! Now to whittle down Readathon TBR ;)

Snack Ideas:
—baby carrots
—yogurt with diced mango
—popcorn
—scones, jam, and clotted cr..."

I like sweetened ice tea and unsweetened Hot Tea! Great job on the readathon!!

[Ann A]

"scones, clotted cream and jam"! - *makes note for next RAT*

I wasn't sure about adding Project Hail Mary to my TBR, but you've convinced me. It will be on the next RAT list, if I don't get to it before then.

I'll look forward to your wrap-up, and *fingers crossed* hope to participate more fully next time.

[Susy]

Sounds like you had a great readathon, Susan! Hope to see you in April!

[Susan]

Way to go Susan! Glad you had a successful readathon. Did you read Project Hail Mary or listen to audiobook? I'm thinking about doing audiobook.

[Elyse]

Susan wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Susan wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Susan wrote: "Here’s a tentative book list, still in progress until the last minute. I do like to have some ghostly, spooky, mysteries for the fall Readath..."

Very true but I did find in the case of Stuart Turton that I loved The Devil and the Dark Water but barely handled The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle! I was so pleasantly surprised by his second book!

[Elyse]

Sounds like a great readathon, Susan! Way to go! Glad you're enjoying Project Hail Mary!

[Susan]

What I read:

—New Kid, Jerry Kraft, graphic kids, Newbery winner, 260 pages
It’s not easy being a new kid in a fancy private school. Fitting in is made tougher because Jordan comes from a middle class African American family, and the new school is not diverse racially or socio-economically. Honest, funny, and empathetic, this book makes its points without preaching. I enjoyed it so much I went right to the sequel.

—Class Act, Jerry Kraft, graphic kids, 246 pages. It’s a new year for Jordan and his two best friends at school, and there are new and old challenges to deal with, including girls.

—Allegria, Giuseppe Ungaretti, poetry, (198 pages — half in Italian — didn’t read that half, so = 99 pages. These poems reminded me of haiku — they are so delicate but contain a world of meaning. “When I find/ in this silence of mine/ a word/ it bores into my life/ like an abyss.”

—Fantastic Tales, Iginio Ugo Tarchetti, gothic tales, 55 pages. This was the perfect spooky fall reading. I read three stories “The Legends of the Black Castle,” “Captain Gubart’s Fortune”, and “A Spirit in a Raspberry” — I’m surprised I’d never seen them before, especially “A Spirit in a Raspberry” — macabre with a touch of philosophy and humor.

—Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir, sci fi, read 152 pages. I read about a third of this whiz-bang science fiction story with a unique premise and a million twists and turns.

—The Old Ways, Robert Macfarlane, nature, audiobook, 30 mins (about 20 pages). Robert Macfarlane sets off to explore the historic trails and paths of Great Britain with interesting facts and meanders.

Total = 832 pages

[Cynda]

That's a lot of pages Susan. Well done!

Hope to see you here next year.

[Susan]

Lena wrote: "Susan wrote: "Lena wrote: "Susy wrote: "Susan wrote: "Meal and snack planning done! Now to whittle down Readathon TBR ;)

Snack Ideas:
—baby carrots
—yogurt with diced mango
—popcorn
—scones, jam, ..."

Where I live, I think there’s a 50/50 split for sweetened/unsweetened ice tea. I’m with you on hot tea!

[Susan]

Ann A wrote: ""scones, clotted cream and jam"! - *makes note for next RAT*

I wasn't sure about adding Project Hail Mary to my TBR, but you've convinced me. It will be on the next RAT list, if I don't get to it ..."

Hope your eyes will soon be better, Ann, and hope to see you in the spring Readathon.

I was up way past my bedtime last night, reading Project Hail Mary — just one more chapter, just one more chapter ;). I didn’t quite make it to the end, but I’m almost there, and I think it’s great readathon reading ;)

The scones, jam, and clotted cream were delightful, but pretty much anything would be good with jam and clotted cream imo ;)

[Susan]

Susy wrote: "Sounds like you had a great readathon, Susan! Hope to see you in April!"

I did, Susy! Hope you did, too. See you in the spring!

[Susan]

Susan wrote: "Way to go Susan! Glad you had a successful readathon. Did you read Project Hail Mary or listen to audiobook? I'm thinking about doing audiobook."

Thanks, Susan! Hope you did, too. I read Project Hail Mary as an ebook. I like the ability to skip over some of the math explanations ;). YMMV. Hope you enjoy it. See you in April

[Susan]

Elyse wrote: "Susan wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Susan wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Susan wrote: "Here’s a tentative book list, still in progress until the last minute. I do like to have some ghostly, spooky, mysteries for th..."

I’ll have to try that; I definitely had my issues with Seven and a Half Deaths but thought the author had a lot of potential. Thanks for the tip

[Susan]

Elyse wrote: "Sounds like a great readathon, Susan! Way to go! Glad you're enjoying Project Hail Mary!"

Thanks, Elyse. I hope you did, too, at least before you started feeling poorly :(. Yes, I stayed way up past my bedtime reading Project Hail Mary last night. Love the alien ;) Maybe I’ll finish today

[Susan]

Cynda wrote: "That's a lot of pages Susan. Well done!

Hope to see you here next year."

Thanks, Cynda! Hope you had a good Readathon, too. See you in April if the creek don’t rise ;)

[Vanessa]

Susan wrote: "Lena wrote: "Susan wrote: "Lena wrote: "Susy wrote: "Susan wrote: "Meal and snack planning done! Now to whittle down Readathon TBR ;)

Snack Ideas:
—baby carrots
—yogurt with diced mango
—popcorn
—..."

All good choices . Yum .

[Susan]

Vanessa wrote: "Susan wrote: "Lena wrote: "Susan wrote: "Lena wrote: "Susy wrote: "Susan wrote: "Meal and snack planning done! Now to whittle down Readathon TBR ;)

Snack Ideas:
—baby carrots
—yogurt with diced ma..."

Thanks, Vanessa! Time to get snack planning again, I guess :)

[Susan]

Can’t believe how fast this readathon is sneaking up on me. Not very prepared so far, but I’m looking forward to it and starting to think about what to read

[Susan]

Here’s the current list of reading possibilities — I’m hoping to read some poetry for National Poetry Month, but not just poetry.

Sliver, Ira Levin (suspense)
Slow Horses, Mick Herron (spy)
Jumping Jenny, Anthony Berkeley (mystery)
Euripides plays for class: Medea, Hippolytus, Bacchae (plays)
The Stolen Lake, Joan Aiken (children’s)
The Telling, Ursula K. Le Guin (fantasy)
The Mystery of Mrs Christie, Marie Benedict (fiction)
Mrs Griffin Sends Her Love, Miss Read (essays and short stories)
The Lark, E. B. Nesbit (fiction)
Maus (graphic novel)
Small Things Like These, Clare Keegan (fiction) (library)
Collected Short Stories, Anton Chekhov (short stories)

Poetry for poetry month:
—Acrobat, Nandana Dev Sen
—Distant Transit, Maja Haderlap
—Starshine and Clay, Kamilah Aisha Moon
—Girl, Rebecca Goss
—The Many Days, Norman MacCaig
—Perfect Black, Crystal Wilkinson

[Elyse]

Susan wrote: "Here’s the current list of reading possibilities — I’m hoping to read some poetry for National Poetry Month, but not just poetry.

Sliver, Ira Levin (suspense)
Slow Horses, Mick Herron (spy)
Jumpin..."

I've only heard of a couple of these! Looking forward to seeing what you think and getting some recs!

[Susan]

Lots of good options!

[Susan]

Elyse wrote: "Susan wrote: "Here’s the current list of reading possibilities — I’m hoping to read some poetry for National Poetry Month, but not just poetry.

Sliver, Ira Levin (suspense)
Slow Horses, Mick Herro..."

Thanks, Elyse! After the good recommendations I’ve gotten from you, I’d be glad to return the favor ;)

[Susan]

Thanks, Susan! Probably too many choices, hut I like to have options

[Susan]

Choices, choices, choices! (“final” selection for Readathon)

Sliver, Ira Levin (suspense)(loan from friend)
Small Things Like These, Clare Keegan (fiction) (library, due 5/3)
French Braid, Anne Tyler (fiction)(library, due 5/5)
Euripides for class: Medea, Hippolytus, Bacchae (plays)
Maus, Art Spiegelman (graphic novel)
What It Is, Lynda Barry (graphic, non-fiction)
The Telling, Ursula K. Le Guin (fantasy)
The Stolen Lake, Joan Aiken (children’s)
The Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham (science fiction)
Murphy’s Law, Rhys Bowen (mystery)
Slow Horses, Mick Herron (spy)(Kindle)
The Circle, Peter Lovesey (mystery)
The Thin Man, Dashell Hammett (mystery)
Prisoners of Geography, Tim Marshall (non-fiction)

Poetry for poetry month:
—Judah’s Lion, Anne Caston
—Bright Dead Things, Ada Limon
—Starshine and Clay, Kamilah Aisha Moon
—Perfect Black, Crystal Wilkinson
—The Many Days, Norman MacCaig
—Distant Transit, Maja Haderlap

[Susan]

Four Bingo boards!?! Bring ‘em on ;)

[Susan]

No sooner did I say I wasn’t doing any meal/snack planning, than I decided I should (if only to bag a Bingo square)

Breakfast —
—cheese Danish
—coffee
—yogurt

Lunch
—beef and cheese sandwich on rye bread
—baby carrots

Dinner
—leftover roasted veggie salad
—toasted naan

Snacks
—banana
—popcorn
—hummus with carrots, cucumber, pea pods, and crackers
—Outshine watermelon bars
—lemon biscotti bites
—rice krispy treat
—lemon seltzer

[Leni]

Ooh, I haven't checked out the bingo boards yet. Great looking tbr! I really want to read The Thin Man. It's one of my all-time favourite movies, with Myrna Loy and William Powell.

[Susan]

Susan wrote: "Choices, choices, choices! (“final” selection for Readathon)

Sliver, Ira Levin (suspense)(loan from friend)
Small Things Like These, Clare Keegan (fiction) (library, due 5/3)
French Braid, Anne Ty..."

Excellent choices, Susan!!

[Elyse]

Susan wrote: "No sooner did I say I wasn’t doing any meal/snack planning, than I decided I should (if only to bag a Bingo square)

Breakfast —
—cheese Danish
—coffee
—yogurt

Lunch
—beef and cheese sandwich on..."

I went on a bit of a snack and sweets binge last week and still have a few items so those become readathon snacks! lol. But I might pick up some healthy stuff tomorrow. It's time to start doing crudités again! It's a summer staple in my house.

[Susan]

Leni wrote: "Ooh, I haven't checked out the bingo boards yet. Great looking tbr! I really want to read The Thin Man. It's one of my all-time favourite movies, with Myrna Loy and William Powell."

I really want to read The Thin Man, too. I’m imagining witty and cool repartee with lots of martinis and a dog

[Susan]

Susan wrote: "Susan wrote: "Choices, choices, choices! (“final” selection for Readathon)

Sliver, Ira Levin (suspense)(loan from friend)
Small Things Like These, Clare Keegan (fiction) (library, due 5/3)
French ..."

Thanks, Susan! Like you, I like a variety on hand

[Susan]

Elyse wrote: "Susan wrote: "No sooner did I say I wasn’t doing any meal/snack planning, than I decided I should (if only to bag a Bingo square)

Breakfast —
—cheese Danish
—coffee
—yogurt

Lunch
—beef and chee..."

Elyse wrote: "Susan wrote: "No sooner did I say I wasn’t doing any meal/snack planning, than I decided I should (if only to bag a Bingo square)

Breakfast —
—cheese Danish
—coffee
—yogurt

Lunch
—beef and chee..."

I’m glad you’ve got some snacks on hand, Elyse. Crudités sound great, and it’s practically summer, right?

[Cynda]

I had popcorn last weekend. Must've sounded really excited as neighbor had to buy some too. I hope you enjoy your popcorn as much as I did!

[Vanessa]

Susan wrote: "Four Bingo boards!?! Bring ‘em on ;)"

LOL !