Spring 2012 Read-a-Thon Wrap Up

The verdict is in: I am a fan of the read-a-thon.  Here is a list of the things I loved:

1. I got through almost all of my book club book, which probably wouldn't have happened had I not forced myself to take the day to do some reading;

2. I liked reading other blogger's updates, and the cheerleading posts that were going on;

3. I liked the snacks (duh!);

4. I liked how supportive my husband was - even if it really was because he got to spend the evening watching sports. 

Here are some things that I'll change because they didn't work the best for me:

1. It's a really solitary event - despite the other bloggers and the cheerleaders, it can get kind of boring and lonely.  Maybe this is because of the book I was reading, but I don't think so. I think that I'd like to make it a little more social next time.  This means I'll be commenting more on other blogs, and stuff.  But it also means that I'd like to have some people over and really make an event out of it.  I have some ideas, and they'll have to be nurtured over the next couple of months in preparation for October's read-a-thon. 

2. I think I need more of a variety of books.  I really liked The Unbearable Lightness of Being, but I think it's the kind of book that should be read over a longer period of time.  It needs to be savored, not scarfed down. 

3. I need to eat less.  This will make me less tired.  I also need a more comfortable set up.  My back really hurts from sitting on my couch all day.  I could also have benefited from a change of scenery - I was threatening to ride my bike to the park to read, but I was too lazy.  I shouldn't have been so lazy, but it's hard to be un-lazy when you're reading all day.

So, I read over 250 pages in my book, and I read for maybe only a total of 7 hours.  Next time I'm going to read more, and I'm going to plan my work so that I don't have to work on the weekend.  But I'm really happy I participated, and I'm excited to try it again more fully.  

Read-a-Thon Update #2

Ok, so I've done work for about 4 hours, and even though I still have so much work to do, I'm tired and bored with it.  I'll do some more tomorrow.  For now, it's back to reading.  I guess I'll have to go in our bedroom, because I won't be able to read with Mike watching TV in the living room.  I don't think I'm going to make it all the way through The Unbearable Lightness of Being tonight, but I'm going to try. 

For now, because this post looks too boring, I'll leave you with these two pictures of my adorable niece:

Read-a-Thon Updates

Hi there. So, progress is happening, but slowly.  For one thing, I'm doing laundry.  Correction - WAS doing laundry (yay!).  I also spent some time catching up on reading blogs I follow.  That counts as reading, right?  Well anyway, I'm not a big stats person, but here's the update:

Approximately 100 pages in The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Approximately 100 blog posts.

Approximately 4 hours

Approximately 5 cookies, 1 cup of tea, 1 giant bowl of popcorn, 1 bottle of water and 4 chocolate covered raisins. 

Now back to reading! I'll have to stop around 4 pm to do some work, but I'm hoping to be back to reading later this evening.  I'll leave you with a couple quotes from the book I'm reading today:

"he had no idea whether it was hysteria or love."

"His love for Tereza was beautiful, but it was tiring ... [Then Tereza left] Now what was tiring had disappeared and only the beauty remained." 

I love that idea of love at the beginning of a relationship - is it real? is it lust? is it a desire to find love and be loved, rather than actual love?  Then juxtapose those beginning feelings with the ending where a person romanticizes the relationship and forgets everything terrible, only remembering the beautiful - not in a "I want the person back" kind of way, but more like nostalgia - glad to not be going through it again, but glad that it happened, and appreciating the value of it. 

I don't know that this is the point the author is making - mainly because I'm only 100 pages in and I don't know the full story of these lovers yet, but this is what I think of when I read these two sentences. 

Let the Read-a-Thon Begin!

Good morning! It's been slow going here this morning.  I'm up and I went to the store and ate breakfast, and now it's time to settle in to some reading.  I don't really have a stack of books that I'm choosing from, but I have a large bookshelf! 

I know I'm going to start off with The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera.  Its my book club book for this month, and I haven't even really started it.  I doubt I'll want to read it all day, though, so I do have a few other ideas.

For one thing, I have a large stack of magazines that I haven't read yet - some Bookmarks, a couple New Yorkers, Elle, and some other randomness, so I'll be taking breaks with those.  For another option, I've got several other books around that would fit in with my TBR challenge, so I may go for one of those.

I do have to take a break for a few hours this afternoon to do some actual work, so that kind of sucks, but maybe it will break up the day.  There's a UFC fight on pay-per-view, so that will keep my husband occupied while I continue to read. 

I thought it was supposed to be nice today, but it seems kind of overcast and icky out right now, so I'll wait for a bit before I decide if I'm going to head to the part to read for a bit.  I'll try to post my progress throughout the day - I'll probably just make one post, and keep updating it.  For now, I'll leave you with this:

Introductory Questionnaire

 

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

Here are my answers:

1) I'm reading from my home in Huntington Beach, California!
2) I've been looking forward to The Unbearable Lightness of Being for quite awhile. Anyways, that's the only book in my stack right now.  Ha.
3) I bought some Mother's English Tea cookies.  It's my diet cheat day, and I couldn't be happier.
4) I've lived in 7 different states in the past 16 years.
5) This is my first read-a-thon, so I have no idea what to look forward to, other than the entire experience as a whole.

Cheers!

Dewey's Read-a-Thon, April 2012

This is just a quick, simple post to announce that I'll be participating in Dewey's Read-a-Thon tomorrow! This is my first time participating and I'm really excited. Alright, maybe not really excited, but I am interested to see how it goes. I do have book club next weekend and I didn't read that book yet, so this will be a good opportunity to try it out.

I'm not making any huge goals, and I'm going to keep my expectations low, but I'm going to try it out, see what works, and then maybe make adjustments for the October Read-a-Thon.

My basic plan is to run to the store in the morning and stock up on some snacks for the day, and then settle in. Mike has a class all day, so luckily I won't be ruining any plans to hang out with him. I certainly won't be starting at 5:00 a.m., which is when it all starts. I get up early every day during the week, and I'm going to sleep in. The books will still be there when I get up.

If it's nice out, I may ride my bike to the park to do some reading, or maybe I'll go out to lunch somewhere and eat outside and read. I do have some cleaning to do, and I have an audio book my mom gave me for my birthday last year that I could listen to while I do that.

But I do know that 24 full hours of reading is not going to happen. For one thing, I have a lot of work to do this weekend, and I can't leave all of it for Sunday - especially because I have plans to hang out with a good friend on Sunday. Also, I'm not going to stay up all night reading - I'll stay up late, but not all night.

So basically,the plan is to see how it goes, and just attempt to read a lot tomorrow. I'll do a few posts tomorrow to track my progress and maybe participate in some mini-challenges or memes. We'll see. The theme for tomorrow is to take it easy - something I almost never do in real life.

Wish me luck!