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February Read-a-thon Summaries
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This is what I did:1. Not-quite-a-chunkster:
2. No more peek-a-booKs:
3. I hereby swear that I will not procrastinate:
4. Random fortune:
5. Loved one's golden touch:
Outside the challenge:
Takeover by Lisa Black
Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern-audio
Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath-audio
Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane
Next Time You See Me by Katia Lief
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
This read-a-thon helped me finish some challenges in other groups.
Read: 9
Audios: 2
Don't know how many pages or hours I listened, but all together 11 books.
Partial book finished = Starvation Lake 370p (170p for challenge)
Trouble 228p (challenge #5)
Clara and Mr Tiffany 401p (challenge #1)
Sexy Forever 327p (207p not including recipes)
Heart of Darkness 146p
______
1152p TOTAL + 2 AUDIOS not counted since in middle of discs.
All and all it was a good week and the challenges were fun but too many for me to tackle with my huge pile staring at me to be read. :)
I finished 5 regular books and 1 audio book. I only finished 3 mini-challenges. Total pages for books: 1921 and 11 hours for the audio book.Rising Tides by Nora Roberts 2/21/11 - 330 pages
Inner Harbor by Nora Roberts 2/21/11 -324 pages
Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts 2/22/11 - 320 pages
Ransom by Julie Garwood 2/25/11 - 546 pages
Never Lie to a Lady by Liz Carlyle 2/25/11 - 401 pages
Memory in Death by J.D. Robb 2/26/11 - Audio Books 11 Hours
1. Not-quite-a-chunkster: Ransom by Julie Garwood
3.Ransom by Julie Garwood
7. Globe-trotter: Read a book set in a country you don't live in or have never been to. England - Never Lie to a Lady by Liz Carlyle
My best reading days were the 21st and 25th
I finished 7 books and all the mini-challenges.My best reading day was Monday because I had the day off work and my husband didn't.
I really enjoyed the challenges. They gave me a push to read a couple of books that had been on my TBR pile for too long.
. Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right by Kieran Kramer
2. The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel by
Diane Gabaldon
3. Assumed Engagement by Kara Louise
4. Demon's Fire by Emma Holly (#40 from by TBR)
5. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
6. Atlantis Unleased by Alyssa Day
7. Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right by Kieran Kramer
and the extra was A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh
and a grand total of 2263 pages.
Mod
Total Pages Read: 1673
Finished Books
Gideon - I started at 65% this afternoon at the dog park - 118 pages
The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs And Men in a Race Against an Epidemic - started at page 195 - read 72 pages
Bengal's Heart - started at page 131 - 192 pages
The Help - started at part 9 of 14 (audiobook) - 234 pages
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World - started at page 45 - 254 pages
Blood of the Wicked - started at pg 34 - 270 pages
Hot Mail - 266 pages
Island of Icarus - 113 pages
Books in Progress:
Friday's Child - 154 pages
Not quite finished:Possession by A. S. Byatt- 496 pages out of 555 total - would have satisfied challenges 1. Not-quite-a-chunkster: Read at least one 400+ page book.
AND
5. Loved one's golden touch: Ask someone - a friend, family member, spouse or kid - to pick a random book from your bookshelf for you to read. Then read it.
The Brotherhood by Jerry B. Jenkins - 371 pages
The Light of the Falling Stars by J. Robert Lennon - 307 pages
Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran - 464 pages
The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse - 288 pages
Wither by Lauren Destefano - 356 pages
Mini-challenge progress:
Mini-challenge 6. Member choice: From Candiss's shelf: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - 209 pages
Total Pages progress for Read-a-thon: 2491 pages - 6 3/4 books
My best reading day I believe was during the 24-hour challenge (great that it was on a Saturday)
24-Hour Readathon:
Read:
The Brotherhood by Jerry B. Jenkins - 371 pages
The Light of the Falling Stars by J. Robert Lennon - 307 pages
Total pages read for 24-hour readathon: 678 pages - 2 books
I loved the mini-challenges, and although I didn't finish all of them, I had fun picking out the books for them as well.
I feel as though I accomplished some good reading more from my personal pile this week; now it's back to hitting the review books!
I didn't get as much reading done during the week as I should have (even considering 4 were non-fiction), but the numbers are okay.Number of books 5-3/4
Pages 1,539
List of books
The Invention of Air
Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease
The Case of the Missing Books
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Andorra
and only 3/4 done - The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier
Minichallenges weren't done because I was short on time anyway, but I would like to do them next time if they're offered.
Best reading day was yesterday, Friday the 25th.
Finished 5 books, one audiobook, & 2 partials for a total of 2255 pages for the week. I finished 5 of the mini-challenges.
Mini-Challenges
√ 1. The Falcon at the Portal @464 pages - completed Feb 21
2. The God Delusion (on TBR since Mar. '09) - on p. 143
√ 3. Impulse by Candace Camp (on TBR since Mar. '09) - completed Feb 26
√ 4. False Colours - completed Feb 22 - delightful!
√ 5. Aunt Dimity's Good Deed - Feb 23 - love this series!
6. ?
√ 7. The Falcon at the Portal - Egypt - completed Feb 21 - *audiobook*
In addition to the challenge books, I also read:
Dark and Deadly by Jeanne Adams - completed Feb 20
They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer
and I listened to 6 hours of Moby-Dick
Total reading time - didn't keep track
Total audiobook listening time: 20 hours
Total pages including audiobooks: 2255
Least amount of reading on 2/20 & 2/23
I thought the mini-challenges were a nice touch!
My reading week went well, but not as well as I expected. I did finish almost 4 books. That may not seem like a lot for most, but seeing as it takes me 2-3 days to read one book, I am proud of my accomplishment!I didn't do any of the mini-challenges, because I really just wanted to concentrate on reading some of the books on my tbr list.
Number of books? 3.75 finished
Pages? 1,218 total pages
List of books:
1. Guilty Pleasures (was on page 69), counting 299 pages towards readathon.
2. The Maze Runner, 384 pages
3. Minion, 320 pages
4. The Awakening, made it to page 215
My best reading day was this past Friday.
I had a great time during this week long readathon and can't wait for the next one!!
Four challenges complete. It was fun and I will definitely do it again! However, with work I can't manage 7 books in one week (especially if 1 is a chunkster), so the full challenge list will be out of my range - but it was fun coming up with books for them, and I did end up reading books that were long on my TBR list because of them, hurray! 2 - The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
5 - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
6 - Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
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Challenges:
#1: Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens (currently reading, not much progress)
#2: Life of Pi by Yann Martel (magical realism)
#3:
#4:
#5:
#6:
#7:A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (England) (currently reading) (pg. 30 to )
Personal Challenge: 7 books from the "1001 books list": 6 of 7 books read
I didn't count any partially finished books in the page counts, too lazy to go through and calculate pages from the 10 books I'm currently reading. I guess it would be another 500-1000 pages.
1. Not-quite-a-chunkster: Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran - 464 pgs 2. No more peek-a-books: Devilish- 263 pgs YA, not really a genre I am scared of, but not one that I usually read.
3. I hereby swear that I will not procrastinate: The Indiscretion by Judith Ivory - 363 pgs, it's been on my shelf since 11/09.
4. Random fortune: Did not get to this one.
5. Loved one's golden touch: Accidentally Engaged- 314 pgs my daughter picked this one out for me.
6. Member Choice: I started Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets last night.
7. Globe-trotter: Did not get to this one either.
Outside the challenge: Seducing an Angel- 33o pages This was a book I had started before the challenges.
Total Pages read during Read-a-thon: 1761 pages - 5 books read, 6th book started.
I enjoyed the mini-challenges as they had me tackle books that I would not have read this week. I didn't keep tract of hours or any day that I read more than another.
I would like to do this again and I would love to see more mini-challenges too!
Total reading time - 24 hours, 2 minutesTotal listening time - 5 hours, 11 minutes
Total pages/percent read - 92% (among 4 books), 12 pages
Total chapters listened to - 26 chapters
Books Read:
1. Pride and Prejudice (Audio): started @ chapter 1/ listened to 25 chapters
2. I Am Number Four: started @ 69%/ FINISHED/ read 31%
3. Dorris Bridge: started @ page 126/ read 12 pages
4. Jane Eyre: started @ 13%/ read 10%
5. Clockwork Angel: started @ 1%/ read 32%
6. Killer: started @ 65%/ read 19%
Best reading days: 19 Feb & 21 Feb
I didn't participate in the mini-challenges because I was so busy, but I will try to for the next read-a-thon. Even though I didn't participate in them, I think it was a good way to get us a little more motivated :)
Is that too hard to understand?! Basically, I'm saying that I completed one book, started two, and continued three.
Books finished:Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution (Challenges 1 & 7)
Person (Challenge 2)
A Reliable Wife (Challenge 3)
Wish (Challenge 5)
The Replacement (Challenge 6)
Started:
Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories about People Who Know How They Will Die (only read 20 pages)
Total read: 1582 pages (5 books + started a 6th)
I don't know about the amount of time I spent reading because there were so many times when I read for a few minutes in line at the store or in the car while my boyfriend ran in somewhere that I couldn't keep track. My best day was probably the first day, and I didn't read much on the 22nd or 23rd. I had hoped to read more of my 6th book this morning before the readathon ended, but I had an unexpected meeting with a client, so I only read for about 5 minutes.
I love, love, loved the mini-challenges. They were a great help when it came to deciding what to read, and I think I read more than I would have without the challenges.
I loved, loved, loved this Read-a-thon with the mini-challenges! Although I didn't get them all done, it was really fun using them to decide what to read next in my stack.I finished 7 books (my goal was 8), and started several more that I didn't get finished because of work and because of friends stopping by.
Finished:
1.Cold Hands, Warm Hearts - Jenny Jacobs
2.Your Mind at Its Best -Biebel, Dill, & Dill
3.We Could Be Brothers - Derrick Barnes
4.Oh.My.Gods - Tera Lynn Childs
5.My Candlelight Novel - Joanna Horniman
6.Hothouse - Chris Lynch
7.The Elegance of the Hedgehog -Muriel Barbery
I completed mini-challenges #2, #6 (from Vanessa's shelf), and #7 (Greece).
I started Sons and Lovers By D.H.Lawrence, which would have counted for #1 and #3 if I had finished it by the end of the Read-a-thon.
I also started several other books, but did not have time to get into them very far.
Sons and Lovers - 126 p.
The Treasures of Montauk Cove - 35p.
Fish - 25p.
Lady Luck's Map of Vegas - 160p.
Year of the Golden Dragon - 29p.
Town in a Blueberry Jam - 26p.
Page counts: For finished books: 1,536
Books started but not finished: 400
Total pages: 1,936
Considering everything I had going on, I am satisfied with what I got read this week.
I cannot wait until the next Read-a-thon! Please have the mini-challenges again. They were so helpful. And one of my favorite things about doing this is seeing what everybody else is reading, and being able to chat with them about the books!
Thank you, thank you, whoever came up with this whole idea!!! You are fantastic!
finished 4 books, started a 5th for a total of 1500 pages readFinished these challenge categories:
Book I started, but didn't finish during the read-a-thon:
Embrace The Darkness (read first 111 pgs)
I was doing so well, but once I started one of the books and it turned out to be sort of awful and I had to force myself to finish, I never really got my momentum back.
Monday, the 21st was my best reading day...kids were off school, 10 inches of snow fell the night before so we didn't even think of going anywhere. I basically had a book in my hand the whole day. I loved it!
I ended up with 6 books, with 4 mini-challenges completed. Not bad considering. I was doing really well until Tues. Enjoyed it though and look forward to the next challenge.
I liked the mini-challenges. They were fun categories plus they kept me from having 'decision paralysis' during the read-a-thon, LOL! I liked that they helped provide focus for anyone that needed/wanted it but weren't mandatory.Number of books? 3 complete, 1 partial
Pages? 1,598
Audiobooks? 1 complete, 1 partial
Hours listened? 9 hrs, 15 mins
List of books:
(Completed)
Sandman: Book of Dreams
The Help
City of Bones
Mountains of the Pharaohs
(Unfinished)
The Book Thief
The Modern Scholar: Hebrews, Greeks and Romans
Minichallenges:
#1- Sandman: Book of Dreams (not quite a chunkster)
#2- The Help (no more peek-a-books, member's choice)
#3- City of Bones (I hereby swear that I will not procrastinate)
#4- Mountains of the Pharaohs (random fortune)
Best reading day? Sunday, 2/20
Books:1) Back On Blossom Street finished
2) read most of Jane Eyre
3) started Twenty Wishes
I thought I would have time but after working a 15 hr shift on Sunday and a 16 hr shift on Monday and losing a supervisor. I had a lot of work so my days off I slept...a lot. :) Not enough time to read and do everything around the house.
First time for me actually tallying for a Read-A-Thon. Four completed books:
Call Me Irresistible - 400 pages
Milk in My Coffee - 384 pages
Happy Endings: The Tales of a Meaty-Breasted Zilch - 233pages
Sugar Creek - 372 pages
One book started but not finished until after the deadline
Treachery in Death - about 120 pages by deadline
Grand total of 1507 pages.
I didn't keep track as well as I should have, but I did finish the following:Shantaram - 944 pages
Little Brother - 382 pages
The Naked Mole Rat Letters - 208 pages
Audio books - half of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - 180 pages (approximately)
Five disks of The Help - about 175 pages
Three disks of Shanghai Girls - about 100 pages
Total pages: 1989
I liked the mini-challenge, but I couldn't finish in time because my chunkster was too large at 944 pages. The read-a-thon helped me shrink the large pile of library books I had and got me motivated to make reading a priority. Can't wait for the next one!
Amy, how did you like Shantaram? I'm reading The Far Pavilions and Shantaram looks like an interesting perspective on modern India.
Shay wrote: "Amy, how did you like Shantaram? I'm reading The Far Pavilions and Shantaram looks like an interesting perspective on modern India."It started out a bit slow because he was focusing more on character introduction, but once the story really got going, the book was quite good. It is at times philosophical and thought-provoking, while still dealing with the life of an Australian fugitive hiding out in India. Overall an interesting read that I gave four stars.
Forgot one...I listened to the first 12 parts of the audio book of The Time Traveler's Wife which comes out to about 388 pages. That brings my total pages up from 1989 to 2377.
Amy wrote: "Shay wrote: "Amy, how did you like Shantaram? I'm reading The Far Pavilions and Shantaram looks like an interesting perspective on modern India."It started out a bit slow because he was focusing ..."
Glad to hear! I bought a copy of that book in Jan, and am planning to read it with a blogger friend over summer. I'm itching to start, but very unsure too.
Amy wrote: "Shay wrote: "Amy, how did you like Shantaram? I'm reading The Far Pavilions and Shantaram looks like an interesting perspective on modern India."It started out a bit slow because he was focusing ..."
I'm adding it to my India pile.
I LOVED the mini challenges but would like to see them sooner so I can get my books all laid out ahead of time.I read 3.5 books:
Finished:
Irish Thoroughbred, A Hint of Wicked, Christmas Eve on Friday Harbor
Finished the audio of Mockingjay
Started A Breath of Snow and Ashes
The best reading day for me was on Sunday, Feb 20th.
Jennifer wrote: "I LOVED the mini challenges but would like to see them sooner so I can get my books all laid out ahead of time."I certainly agree! It came as a late inspiration. I almost decided to postpone them for next time. Next time, the mini challenges will be set up even earlier.
Thanks Aths. What a great idea. It definitely got me looking at my TBR pile and pulled books that I haven't thought of for a while.
Are there plans for a March Read-a-thon? (I hope, I hope....)
Nancy wrote: "Are there plans for a March Read-a-thon? (I hope, I hope....)":-) I wish, but nop. When we had readathons every month last year, there were very few people participating as the months went on. That's mainly why we decided to not to have them too often.
Lisa S wrote: "April or May?"Sure! If there are quite a few of you who want a readathon, then go for it! This is a lot of fun!
I would love to have another one in April as long as we can still do the whole-week thing as well as the weekend one. The February one was so great - it really got me reading and thinking about what I was going to read next. I ended up reading a couple of books that I would not have picked up at that exact time if it hadn't been for the mini-challenges- loved them!!
Aths / Athira wrote: "Lisa S wrote: "April or May?"Sure! If there are quite a few of you who want a readathon, then go for it! This is a lot of fun!"
I'd be up for either an April or a May one (not sure I could swing two so close together, though).
I agree Nancy, I definitely look at my books to read next very differently now. What an awesome outcome. :DI am up for April or May or Both. Why not. :D
We do have a May one, and I was going to start the polls for the May readathon this weekend. Let me check with Lisa on whether we can quickly get one for April.
I think we can do one for April. If not you know you guys can do one on your own. That's what I was planning on doing. It's the only way can get my family to let me read without interruptions. I know it's not as fun as doing it as a group though.
Lisa that's a great idea, I vote for doing our own thing in April and waiting for the May one for a group read.
Cover to Cover Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (other topics)Of Mice and Men (other topics)
Pride and Prejudice (other topics)
Martin Chuzzlewit (other topics)
Life of Pi (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Edith Wharton (other topics)John Steinbeck (other topics)
Nora Roberts (other topics)
Yann Martel (other topics)
Ted Dekker (other topics)
More...
How has your reading week been? Did you get to read as much as you expected to? More? Less?
How many books did you get done? How do your stats look? And if you did the mini-challenges, which ones did you complete?
And finally, I would appreciate it if you could let us know whether you enjoyed doing the mini-challenges. Do you want us to continue with more new challenges for the next readathons?
For a general outline:
- Number of books? Pages? Audiobooks? Hours listened?
- List of books
- Minichallenges
- Best reading day?