Ann's Readathon Residence-2023, 24, 25

[Ann A]

Kate wrote: "Hello Ann, glad you're joining even if busy. A few pages is better than none! Enjoy the readathon. :)"

Totally agree - even a few pages "count". Enjoy your readathon!

[Ann A]

Susan wrote: "Ann A wrote: "Reverse Readathon - July 2023

I debated whether to even try to participate this time as I have conflicts (again), but reading through all your threads got me so excited I have to jum..."

I hadn't read Margery Allingham before, but I'll definitely read more by her. Clarissa is a year-long read in the 1001-group, and it's going to take me that long! I like it, but can't read too much at once - have to really focus on the sentence structure .
Hope you enjoy your RAT!

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Popping in to say hello from the Eastern time zone, where we are ending the Midnight Hour, one of the most magical nighttime reading moments for me with Read-a-thons for some reason.



“Don't compare her to sunshine and roses when she's clearly orchids and moonlight.”
― Melody Lee, Moon Gypsy

Happy Reading! Or sleeping, whichever is happening on your end of the world! :)

[Susy]

Halfway through already! Hope you're having a wonderful time Ann!

[Vicki Willis]

It sure is going fast!

[Susan]

Hope you’re enjoying your reading this time!

[Cynda]

Hope you got to read some Ann and that next readathon will fall into place for you! Hope to see you then.

[Susy]

Hope you enjoyed your readathon, Ann!
See you in October hopefully!

[Ann A]

Well, I set a new record for this readathon (and not in a good way):

1 hour of audio and 10 minutes reading, for a whopping total of 37 pages (!!)

I trust I will fare better in October, Hope to see you all then!

[Susy]

Ah but you did read! And it’s more than I read on most days…
As you say, there’s October! See you then!

[Susan]

Hope you enjoyed what reading you were able to fit in yesterday and the reading you’re doing today. It all counts as nohtadaeR :). imo. See you next time, I hope!

[Ann A]

I'm planning on a readathon October 21st, even if it's just me! If the "official" readathon doesn't happen, I'm hoping many of you will still join me here.

I've had conflicts with every readathon lately, but this time (fingers crossed - again) I may actually have the whole day and night free! Now, to start the initial TBR prep... I have so much fun assembling the stack :)

[Susy]

Ann A wrote: "I'm planning on a readathon October 21st, even if it's just me! If the "official" readathon doesn't happen, I'm hoping many of you will still join me here.

I've had conflicts with every readathon..."

The official readathon IS happening on the 21st!
Have you heard otherwise?

[Ann A]

Susy wrote: "The official readathon IS happening on the 21st!
Have you heard otherwise?

No, I just hadn't seen any announcements so wasn't sure...

[Elyse]

It's on the main group page here, the picture and the description. I did check IG and the website and there was nothing on either. Because I was wondering when it was too! lol

[Susan]

Glad to hear you’ll be readathoning in Oct. Me, too. I’ve just started thinking about my reading stack

[Ann A]

As with many others here, life is crazy busy right now so I will not be pre-readathonning much other than to try and finish up two books this week: The Covenant of Water (SO good) and Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. So far, it's looking good for me to have ALL of Saturday free. Time to start crossing my fingers :)

Here's the stack:

Circe
Horse
Whereabouts
The Great Believers
The Bandit Queens
Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life
Brida
Freewater - 2023 Newbery winner
The Clue in the Jewel Box - Nancy is my wee-hours-hard-to-keep-eyes-open companion
The Stand - I own the original uncut version and have the audio on hold at the library - 48 hours! Shoutout to Elyse's Kingtober ;)

Two of my bibliophiliac (?) readathon eccentricities:

- I must have ten books in my stack, even though I normally only read about 500 pages during a readathon.
- I must include library books, even though I own 637 unread books (some on Kindle). This time, half of my books are from the library.

I'm glad I am among friends who won't judge me. Haha.

[Susy]

Hahaha, no judging amongst fellow readers Ann!

Looks like your all set to go. I have done no prep at all. I'm afraid I will have to do it all on Friday.

Glad to hear you will have all of Saturday free for reading, yay! See you then!

[Ann A]

Susy wrote: "Hahaha, no judging amongst fellow readers Ann!

Looks like your all set to go. I have done no prep at all. I'm afraid I will have to do it all on Friday.

Glad to hear you will have all of Saturday..."

Thank you, Susy. I get judged quite enough irl when I tell people how much I LOVE attempting to read for 24 hours straight (well, with as few breaks as possible). When I say it like that it does sound a little crazy. HAHA

[Susy]

Ann A wrote: "When I say it like that it does sound a little crazy. HAHA "

Nope, doesn't sound crazy to me at all!! :D

[Vicki Willis]

If one must be crazy, I think it is a good kind of crazy to be!

[Elyse]

Ooooh The Stand is a biggie! I read it a few years ago. I enjoyed it and it's interesting to read books by other authors that follow a similar vein, definitely influenced by The Stand. Such as by his own son, trilogy by the legend Nora Roberts, and trilogy by P.C. Cast!

I'm pretty sure we ALL sound at least a little crazy when we talk about reading for 24 hours to "normal" people! 😂 Good thing we have each other!!

[Susan]

I’m reading The Covenant of Water, too, but putting it aside for the Readathon. I’m really enjoying it (about 1/3 of the way through)

The uncut version of The Stand! Wow! Stephen King untamed and at his storytelling best (I read the *short* version which is only short if you compare it to the whole thing ;).

I’m curious to hear what you think of Circe. I really liked the author’s Song of Achilles, and I’ve heard good thing about this one.

And I loved The Great Believers. Hope you do, too

Looks like you are all set for Saturday! See you then at the Readathon

[Cynda]

Circe by Margaret Atwood is really good and is true to naturenof story in The Odyssey. I hope you get to read soon.

See you tomorrow!

[Susan]

I'm glad to see you'll be around for the readathon, Ann! Thanks for sharing your reading eccentricities. To me, they aren't eccentric. You are definitely among those who can relate.

What do you think of The Covenant of Water? I think it's one of my favorite reads this year.

Enjoy the readathon fun tomorrow!

[Ann A]

Elyse wrote: "Ooooh The Stand is a biggie! I read it a few years ago. I enjoyed it and it's interesting to read books by other authors that follow a similar vein, definitely influenced by The Stand. Such as [boo..."

Thanks for the book recs, Elyse. I had forgotten Joe Hill was King's son! I definitely would like to read something by him. I want to at least get a start on The Stand tomorrow but I'll probably take it slow, hoping my audio hold at the library will come up.

[Ann A]

Susan wrote: "I’m reading The Covenant of Water, too, but putting it aside for the Readathon. I’m really enjoying it (about 1/3 of the way through)

The uncut version of The Stand! Wow! Stephen King untamed and ..."

For some reason, I haven't been too excited about Circe but there's been so much buzz I decided I'd better read it! See you tomorrow for our book fest. :)

[Ann A]

Cynda wrote: "Circe by Margaret Atwood is really good and is true to naturenof story in The Odyssey. I hope you get to read soon.

See you tomorrow!"

I may start with Circe tomorrow. I've been really curious about it. See you in a few hours!

[Ann A]

Susan wrote: "I'm glad to see you'll be around for the readathon, Ann! Thanks for sharing your reading eccentricities. To me, they aren't eccentric. You are definitely among those who can relate.

What do you th..."

Hi Susan! I agree about Covenant of Water - it's probably my favorite so far this year. I simply don't understand the few bad reviews I've read. But, to each his own...

Enjoy your day tomorrow!

[Ann A]

It's been a crazy busy week and I have company arriving Sunday night, but tomorrow it's just ME AND THE BOOKS!!

Good luck to one and all. Nine hours to the starting gate!

[Elyse]

Yay just you and the books! Happy reading, Ann!

[Ann A]

Elyse wrote: "Yay just you and the books! Happy reading, Ann!"

Thank you, Elyse! Having a lovely day so far.

[Ann A]

Hours 1 - 6

Circe - 51 pgs
Horse - 44 pgs
Whereabouts - 103 pgs (audio)

Running total, pages: 198
Running total, hours: 2 hrs reading, 1 hr 45 min audio

I've decided on 6-hours updates this time, so I can spend more time with my beloved stack. Heehee. I had a slow start this morning, as I read for an hour then slept for an hour (I think I did the same thing last time - oh well, must listen to the body). I'm going to now get dressed (it's noon!) and go for an "audiowalk" to finish up Whereabouts.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful readathon so far!

[Elyse]

I enjoyed Circe but Song of Achilles was phenomenal. Waiting for a new one but she's had long Covid. ☹

[Susy]

Ann A wrote: "Hours 1 - 6

Circe - 51 pgs
Horse - 44 pgs
Whereabouts - 103 pgs (audio)

Running total, pages: 198
Running total, hours: 2 hrs reading, 1 hr 45 min ..."

Yeah, I brought down my updates to 2 (or 3 if you count the wrap up): when we're at 33% and 66%...

[Susan]

Sounds like you and your beloved stack are having a good time today! Read on ;)

[Cynda]

Glad you have made progress on several books. Hope your Readathon is shaping up to be a success!

[Vicki Willis]

Looks great Ann!
I am doing the same thing with every 6 hours for updates. Otherwise I get too confused about what I have read and where I recorded it!

[Ann A]

Hours 7 - 12

Whereabouts - 54 pgs, finished (audio)
Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life - 45 pgs
The Stand - 47 pgs

Running total, pages: 344
Running total, hours: 4 hr 20 min reading, 2 hr 41 min audio

Finished one book! I'm enjoying jumping from book to book, so will probably continue doing that. It's a good thing they are all very different so I don't get confused.

As usual, the time is going too fast. I can't believe we're already half done!

[Ann A]

Thanks for checking in, Elyse, Susy, Susan, Cynda, and Vicki! Hope you are all having a fabulous day!

[Ann A]

Hours 13 - 18

Freewater - 10 pgs (audio)
Brida - 65 pgs
The Great Believers - 36 pgs
The Bandit Queens - 43 pgs

Running total, pages: 498
Running total, hours: 7 hr 30 min reading, 2 hr 54 min audio

Just had a Diet Coke and hope to get at least a few more hours in. I'm liking all my books and don't want to stop!

[Vanessa]

Ann A wrote: "Hours 13 - 18

Freewater - 10 pgs (audio)
Brida - 65 pgs
The Great Believers - 36 pgs
The Bandit Queens - 43 pgs

Running total, pages..."

It's 12:34 PM in Albuquerque . I gotta stop for catnap .

[Vicki Willis]

It is just past 2am here, with 2 hrs to go.
I think I will crack my diet coke now.

[Ann A]

Hours 19 - 24

The Stand - 34 pgs
Horse - 35 pgs
The Clue in the Jewel Box - 25 pgs
Freewater- 50 pgs (audio)

Final total, pages: 642
Final total, hours: 13 hr 40 min (9 hr 50 min reading, 3 hr 50 min audio)

I'll do a separate summary post later today. Hope everyone had a good time - I certainly did!

[Cynda]

Ann glad your Readathon went well with 644 pages! I see that you read a Nancy Drew mystery. I read a few of the novels as a girl. .. .The nocels still work forgriwnup girls? . . . I have read two Enola Holmes books which are good girl detective books too.

[Elyse]

Great totals, Ann! See you in April!

[Susy]

Ann A wrote: "Hours 19 - 24

The Stand - 34 pgs
Horse - 35 pgs
The Clue in the Jewel Box - 25 pgs
Freewater- 50 pgs (audio)

Final total, pages: 642
..."

Glad to hear you had a great time, Ann! Your results are great too! See you in April!

[Ann A]

Summary

Here's what I read:
Whereabouts - 157 pgs, finished
Circe - 51 pgs
Horse - 79 pgs
Brida - 65 pgs
The Bandit Queens - 43 pgs
The Great Believers - 36 pgs
The Stand - 81 pgs
Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life - 45 pgs
Freewater - 60 pgs
The Clue in the Jewel Box - 25 pgs

Total: 642 pages, 13 hr 40 min (including 3 hr 50 min audio)

The hours total might be a record for me! I read one full book, and started all nine others in my stack. I had two in-progress that I had put aside until after the readathon, so that makes a total of 11 books I'm currently-reading - also a record, I think! 😄 I'm especially enjoying Horse, The Great Believers, and The Stand. Can't wait for the next excuse to unplug from the world and hang out with my books and all you fun bookish people! 📚

[Ann A]

Thanks to all who visited. See you in April! :D

[Ann A]

Cynda wrote: "Ann glad your Readathon went well with 644 pages! I see that you read a Nancy Drew mystery. I read a few of the novels as a girl. .. .The nocels still work forgriwnup girls? . . . I have read two E..."

Cynda, I can't recommend Nancy Drew for grownups - they're pretty ridiculous. I read one now and then because I loved them so much as a child. I think for future readathons, I will add more Newbery Honor books (I always read the winner) for some quality easy reading.