Tuesday 24 April 2012

Spring into Horror readathon updates

Day 5/6
Just about to go to bed, so I will do a combined day 5/6 post. I have not had as much time to read as I would like, but I have read much more than I did during the week. Having a teenager a lot of my time is spent ferrying her around rather than doing what I want to!
Pages read since last update: 245 (The Bones of Avalon)
Pages read in total: 473
Books finished so far: 0

I am thoroughly enjoying The Bones of Avalon, but it doesnt look like I will get to finish it.




Day 4
Today was not too good again, however tomorrow is a holiday, so I should get to read much more!
Pages read today: 55 (The Bones of Avalon)
Pages read in total: 228

I have not had a chance to do any mini-challenge, but hopefully will tomorrow. I am however, also trying to study, so not too sure.

Day 2/3
I didn't get a chance last night to update, so will do a combined update for day 2 & 3.
Pages read since last update: 128 (108 of The fires of Heaven and around 20 of Sarum. I say around because I appear to have mislaid the book! It is somewhere around the house, but since we have just had our cupboards/carpet replaced it is a bit chaotic around here)
Pages read in total: 173
Books finished today: 0
Books finished in total: 0

In other news, I popped to the bookshop today and picked up The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman, so that will be my scary book.
To Bob if you read this, I couldnt work out how to send you a message. I absolutely love Phil Rickman, he is one of my favourite scary authors. I love that there is always a bit of history thrown in. I have read all of his books, and would especially recommend the earlier ones like December, Curfew or The man in the moss. The newer ones are still good, but a bit less of the supernatural in them.

Day 1
Didn't get too much read last night at all! Life was just too busy, and I doubt that tonight will be any better. We do, however have a long weekend coming up :-)
Pages read today: 45 (The fires of Heaven)
Books finished today: 0

Monday 23 April 2012

Spring into Horror Readathon Start up post

I found this readathon last night when posting on a few other blogs after the 24 hour readathon. I am amazed that I havent seen it before now because I have done a few other readathons with Michelle. Anyway, I decided to join in because my reading challenge needs a bit of a boost! I have, however not got any horrors on my reading pile at the moment, so will have to sort that out! I did want to go to the library today to get something, but I left work at 16:40, still had to get to the shops and it was pouring with rain.
Anyway, here is my current reading pile picture:






I found this readathon last night when posting on a few other blogs after the 24 hour readathon. I am amazed that I havent seen it before now because I have done a few other readathons with Michelle. Anyway, I decided to join in because my reading challenge needs a bit of a boost! I have, however not got any horrors on my reading pile at the moment, so will have to sort that out! I did want to go to the library today to get something, but I left work at 16:40, still had to get to the shops and it was pouring with rain.




Anyway, here is my current reading pile picture:
Well, that was what it looked like prior to the readathon! 3 of those are gone. That is besides another bag of books which I have not even taken out the packet! As you can see I have plenty to keep me busy.

Having said that, my goals for the week are:

Scary books:
Have a couple of ideas for this:
a) Get something from bookclub tomorrow night, I know we have a few in the pile
b) Go to the library on Wednesday and get an Anne Rice, which I have been wanting to try for ages
c) Reread my Phil Rickman's (also wanted to do this for a while)

Other books:
  • get halfway through The fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
  • Finish Sarum by Edward Rutherford
Of course my other goal, as always at this time of year is to get some studying done each day too :-(

So, here's to a good reading week

Sunday 22 April 2012

Dewey's 24hour readathon final update post

I had a few things to do after the readathon was over, so only got a chance to do this now. I thoroughly enjoyed this readathon, and cant wait for the next one :-( However, I must say that I am ready for an early night now.

Final reading achieved:

Pages read since last update: 202 (Bored of the rings)
Pages read in total: 967
Books finished since last update: 1 (Bored of the rings)
Books finished in total: 3
Time read since last update: 2 hrs 30mins (gave up when I finished my 3rd book!)
Time read in total: 13hr20minutes

There is also an end of event meme to fill in, so here goes:

1.Which hour was most daunting for you? Definitely hour 9-10 which was late evening for me, I was really tired by that time and only stayed up to finish the book I was reading. I also battled in the last hour, just didnt feel like I could read anymore.


2.Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? - No real book names, but just anything that is quick, and lighthearted, and maybe funny. I also think a James Patterson may be good, since he has such quick, short chapters that it is easy to see progress.

3.Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? - Love it the way it is

4.What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? - Not sure why, but I felt it was less frantic than last time and this seemed to make it easier for me. Thinking back though, maybe that was my attitude, lol. Also, the cheerleaders were great this time around, and the twitter chat which I mainly read.

5.How many books did you read? - Finished 3, read a little bit of a 4th

6.What were the names of the books you read? - The Sandalwood Tree, The Sacred Cut and Bored of the Rings were the three I finished. Also read a little bit of Sarum by Edward Rutherford

7.Which book did you enjoy most? - They all so different so it was hard to say, and I really enjoyed them all.

8.Which did you enjoy least? - See above

9.If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? - NA

10.How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? - will definitely participate again. The October one is awkward for me due to exams, but if I can't read I will definitely take the time to cheer.



Deweys 24 hour readathon hours 11 - 21

I slept for longer than planned, but was up at 6 and reading again. I read pretty much all the time until 11am, apart from a quick bath. I am now ready to spend a bit of time on here. I have managed to finish book 2, and have started book 3.
Pages read since last update: 371 ( 361 - The Sandalwood tree by Elle Newmark + 10 - Bored of the Rings)
Pages read in total: 765
Books finished since last update: 2 (The Sandalwood Tree)
Books finished in total: 2
Time read since last update 4:40minutes
Time read in total: 11hrs and 50 minutes

Mini challenges participated in: 3
Introductory meme
Turn to a page
Culinary Catastrophe


Saturday 21 April 2012

Dewey's Readathon hours 5 - 10

Apart from a bit of a nap I have been reading most of the time since my last update and have managed to finish a book. I am going to turn in for the night now. I was going to try and read through, but I am seeing double!
So here is my progress
Pages read since last update: 225
Pages read in total: 39
Time read since last update: 4 hrs 20 mins
Total time read:7hrs 10 mins
Books completed: 1 (The Sacred cut)
See you all in the morning!
Sent from my BlackBerry®

Dewey's 24 hour readathon hours 1-4

Okay I am still here, but I had an unscheduled break of about an hour to sort out some issues on my daughters email/facebook account. I have read a fair bit but not as much as I would like. It is dark outside now which is also going to start making me tired still. I am going to take it a bit easy this hour and check out some blogs too.
Progress so far:
Time read: 2 hours 50min.
Pages read so far: 169 (Sarum 20, The Sacred cut by David Hewson 149)
Books completed so far: 0
Mini-challenges completed: 2

Deweys 24hour readathon hour 1

Ok, so once again I am going to do this one. I missed the last due to exams, but this one is a more convenient time for me. So, for the next 24 hours I will be reading as much as I can! I have quite a few books on my readathon pile.



The three books on the small pile are what I am actually reading at the moment.
  • Sarum by Edward Rutherford (starting book)
  • The fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
  • The Sandalwood tree by Elle Newmark
I, unfortunately am on a strictish eating plan, so no crisps and pizzas for me. However, I have compromised with some other yummy goodies. I will post a picture of my snacks some time!

Over on Dewey's blog there is a little questionnaire to fill out, basically introducting yourself. Here are my answers.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? - Durban, South Africa


2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?- Bored of the Rings, a spoof on THe Lord of the rings

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? – my cappucino sachets and my salad

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! – I am a single mother of 1 who will probably read a bit too.

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?

I am not having as many junk food snacks, going for things that will give me longer lasting energy! Hope to read for longer




So, here goes, wish me luck!