Read-A-Thon woes

Please don’t forget my two current giveaways: My 4th Blogiversary Giveaway ending April 24 and my Birthday Giveaway ending April 26!

I'm really sad I missed out on this read-a-thon! But it was my birthday and I knew right from the start that I couldn't possibly be around for the entire 24 hours. Plus, tomorrow is the first day of the new semester and I'd very much appreciate being wide awake! Also, I thought I would be busy with something, which fell through - and I only found out far, far too late *sigh*

But aw, what have I missed. After reading a few blog posts, I felt so sad I marked every RAT-post as read in my reader. I am so annoyed that I couldn't join in in any way (not long after my family left, our sweet neighbors came over and stayed - for for a quick visit for more than 2 hours!). All in all, it was a fun day with wonderful people, but I missed the whole atmosphere of the read-a-thon!

On the bright side, I'm participating in Jen's Detectives Around the World! I will be posting my review of Batya Gur's Literary Murder and some additional info on Thurday, so watch out for it!

and thus, the Mystery Read-A-Thon begins

For this weekend, I'm pretty much all set for the 3rd Mystery Read-A-Thon. Except for tonight, when I'll be out celebrating my Uncle's 50th birthday (Happy birthday, Bardo!), I will spend the weekend reading.

1) Give us five fun-facts about you.
I really have to figure out how to make buttons, so we have a button for the 4th Mystery Read-A-Thon in summer!
I completely forgot we'll celebrate my uncle's 50th b-day tonight. Sorry! Just prepared the panna cotta, will then make some mousse à la vanille.
Earlier this week I was worried what I would do if my male (but not gay) hairdresser would leave, and today Mom tells me he took over from the previous owners, so there's no need to worry.
I have two cats - they're brothers and we found them in our garden, sick with the cat flu or something like that and only the two of them survived :-( But they're hilarious! (Pictures will follow later this month, or maybe a vlog.)
I've semi-successfully weeded out Mt. TBR so now I'm back to about 300 books. What a relief!

2) What is on your TBR stack for the next two days?
John J. LeBeau's Collision of Evil - I'm excited!
Charlaine Harris' Dead Until Dark

3) Do you have any specific hopes and plans for this read-a-thon?
I want to finish the book. Everything else is a bonus.

4) Did you participate in the Mystery Read-A-Thon in the past?
Yes, I participated during the first read-a-thon, but couldn't make it for the second

5) If you already participated, can you give the new participants any tips on what to do and what not to do?
Don't overdo it, take short breaks - and keep hydrated... Nothing is worse than forgetting to drink something while reading and then having a headache. And pick shorter books for in between! Otherwise: Send everyone out so you can read and order-in.

a look back at the Read-A-Thon

hours read: 22 hours and 5 minutes (1325 minutes)

pages read: 825

books read:
Undead and Unreturnable by MaryJanice Davidson
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
The Spirit by Will Eisner
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

parts of:
Reliquary by Douglas Preston & Lee Child
Stake That by Mari Mancusi

minutes spent doing other things: 1 hour and 55 minutes (115 minutes)

I'm exhausted! I really am, but I'm also hungry, so I guess shower, food, packing my stuff will be the next things I have to do...

End of Event meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Basically every hour since Hour 17... But if you really want me to decide Hour 23.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

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

What is there to improve? it's perfect, you're doing an awesome job!

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

As usually I loved the mini-challenges.

5. How many books did you read?

Finished 4.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

MaryJanice Davidson: Undead and Unreturnable
Jay Asher: 13 Reasons Why
Will Eisner: The Spirit
Alan Bennett: The Uncommon Reader

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

??? No clue! I loved them all so much for different reasons...

8. Which did you enjoy least?

See question #7

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

I was a reader.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Definitely! Now off to more reading and then calculating how much I'm donating!

still reading

No worries, I'm still awake reading. I put down Stake That and am now reading The Uncommon Reader. I've marked so many scenes and sentences already, it's amazing!
So, back to reading now, I'll be back in a bit!

book #4 - and two WTF's

I'm so not sure my current book was money spent in a good way... It's Mari Mancusi's Stake That and so far I've had two scenes that made me want to shout WTF!

Scene #1:

Once in every generation, a girl is born, whose destiny is to hunt vampires."

(roughly translated by sleep-deprived me)

WTF #1:
Every generation, there is one slayer? Hello? Buffy anyone? Copy that one pretty nice, I think!

Scene #2:

When you were born, an employee of Slayer Inc, who worked at the Mercy Hospital, injected you a sleeping nano virus. If you refuse to fulfil your destiny, you will die a painful death, I'm afraid.

(again, roughly translated by sleep-deprived me)

WTF #2:
A sleeping nano virus? Who are you kidding anyway?

Now, would you continue reading or would you grab another book?

Take a Break mini-challenge

Gail from Ticket To Anywhere hosts this wonderful challenge.

So here's my stack of finished books and part of my snacks (the other package is already in the trash)...



My three books I finished (MaryJanice Davidson's Undead and Unreturnable, Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why and Will Eisner's The Spirit) and the left overs of my home-made muffins...

Read-A-Thon update #15

hours read so far: 20 and some

pages read so far: 621 (plus 2 hours of my audio book)

book of the hour: just finished #3, Will Eisner's The Spirit

minutes spent doing other things: maybe 3 talking to Mom who brought up the cat

CD of the hour: Grease Soundtrack

Read-A-Thon update #14

hours read so far: 19 and some (back with a complete calculation once the read-a-thon is over)

pages read so far: 555

book of the hour: after finishing MaryJanice Davidson's Undead and Unreturnable and Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why, on to Will Eisner's The Spirit

minutes spent doing other things: none

CD of the hour: Notting Hill soundtrack & some P!nk

Read-A-Thon update #13

hours read so far: 17 and some

pages read so far: 496

book of the hour: still 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

minutes spent doing other things: maybe 5 for writing a blog post

CD of the hour: Nelly Furtado: Loose

Dewey

I never had the chance to meet Dewey. Thinking of this now makes me sad because she was such an engaged blogger. Active to build a community, always there for great book reviews and host to awesome blogging and reading events.
I am always at a loss about how to say what I want to say. In my mind, I have a picture, but "on the paper" it never looks as good.

We all (probably, hopefully) know that she created the Weekly Geeks,an event I never participate in because I'm no good with regular events. Nonetheless, I try to check out some of the blog posts relating to it. It is great, informative and I still meet some new-to-me bloggers through this (however you do this, guys, because I seriously think my Google reader is bursting with blogs I subscribe to!).

The Bookworms Carnival is another of Dewey's babies. The varying themes bring together bloggers all over the world and are educating! If I would check out the Carnival posts regularly, I would end up with an even bigger "want to buy" list than I already have, but it is hard to restrain...

And then, there is the Read-A-Thon. My beloved Read-A-Thon, for which everything and everyone (with the exception of my cats) has to leave me alone, so that I have a quiet, comfortable place to read without any real interruptions (such as work for university). In fact, what I haven't accomplished until an hour before the Read-A-Thon likely will have to wait until after, because I prepare my snacks during that one hour before the Read-A-Thon!

I can't put down how much I appreciate Dewey's work and ideas, her inspiration and passion stays with us, even though she is gone. Rest in peace, Dewey, but know you're missed and we'll keep you in our minds!

Read-A-Thon update #12

hours read so far: 16 and some

pages read so far: 431 pages and 2 hours of Reliquary by Douglas Preston & Lee Child

book of the hour: back to 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher now, needed Reliquary to relax my eyes

minutes spent doing other things: max. 15 playing with the cat

CD of the hour: Lordi: The Arockalypse



Quite a change from my music before, huh? But now that I have relaxed my eyes I need to wake up my mind again.

Read-A-Thon update #11

hours read so far: 13 and some

pages read so far: 431

book of the hour: still 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher - thought-provoking read, that one!

minutes spent doing other things: besides reading I was deep in thought about the book, no clue how long!

CD of the hour: Leann Rimes


I love the song and the movie is the candy on top :-P

Read-A-Thon update #10

hours read so far: 12 and some

pages read so far: 411

book of the hour: 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

minutes spent doing other things: no clue - sorry, didn't keep track this time around, but besides wondering about sunlight savings time I didn't do anything but read

CD of the hour: Jordin Sparks and then Leann Rimes

mid-event survey

1. What are you reading right now?

Still on 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher!

2. How many books have you read so far?

finished one, am half way through the second

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

finishing book #2, more reading, no more artificial light (in about 5 hours)

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

not really, just told the people who might contact me & my family that I'm doing the read-a-thon and wouldn't be much help

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

not many, just the usual - the cats, once to approve comments, otherwise only blogging, if that counts as an interruption

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

I'm doing better than the last time!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

I would pick more short books, make sure the batteries are full to get milk foam (how do you call that stuff anyway? is it really milk foam?)

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

more healthy snack!

9. Are you getting tired yet?

yes, definitely! it's almost 3am here and I've been up since 9am yesterday...

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

have fun, pick short books, stay warm (but not too warm as that most likely makes you sleepy) and have snacks and drinks close by so you don't have to run around too often!

Read-A-Thon update #9

hours read so far: 10 and some

pages read so far: 337 (including the 17 pages of Girl Genius)

book of the hour: 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

minutes spent doing other things: 50 approving comments, writing blog posts and commenting at other blogs

CD of the hour: none - it's been all quiet for the past hour

semi-update plus Time For Comics

I have spent 40 minutes of the past hour approving comments, so much for "no distractions" LOL

So let me tell you about Girl Genius, the online comic a friend told me about. Diane, said friend, is a great person, and when I saw her Facebook comment on Girl Genius I had no clue what it was all about, so she told me and included a link to the website where you can read it online (see link above).

Here's what wiki says about Girl Genius:

Girl Genius has the tagline of "Adventure, Romance, MAD SCIENCE!". It features a female lead character in an alternate-history Victorian-style "steampunk" setting, although elements veer from what is usually thought of as steampunk. Kaja Foglio, one of the co-creators, describes it as "gaslamp fantasy" instead to suggest its more fantastic style.

This fits! It's a great description without giving too much away (and I wouldn't want to, because I'm still early on and have no clue what is going to happen next. It's such a great story, though, that I try to read it whenever I have a couple minutes at hand - so it's no wonder I took up Nymeth's Time for Comics mini-challenge to read a bit more. I think I managed to read about 15 minutes total before the comment flood set it (at least for my small blog it was a real flood!)...

If you have some time at hand, check out Girl Genius (and tell me how you like it!)...

side notes

Thanks to Chris of Stuff As Dreams Are Made On I just heard I'm one of the readers of the hour for the Read-A-Thon. How did that happen?

Chris, did I mention you're my hero? I just love your blog!





Maria wondered how I could have 0 minutes of distraction. My cat's sleeping, the other cat is somewhere else in the house, I'm in my room with music and don't take part in every mini-challenge. Plus, while really, really sad, 13 Reasons Why is a great read. And then, my food and drinks are all right beside me - no getting up or searching needed. One hand reaching out while having my eyes glued to the book works pretty well. Just have to work on my method to not spill any water all over the place!

And with my answer above I almost answered Serena's question as well. Not "no" mini-challenges, but only some, carefully selected mini-challenges. Otherwise I'm indeed dedicated to reading

And my current song:


Now, I'm back to reading!

Read-A-Thon update #8

It's now October 25 here, so the difficult hours are coming closer for me... Wish me luck! Last time I sucked at around 3, 4 am.

hours read so far: 10

pages read so far: 320

book of the hour: 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

minutes spent doing other things: 0

CD of the hour: Crescent by Gackt

re-reading mini-challenge

Erika at Reading With Momma has a great mini-challenge on re-reads.

Here's her question:

What book or books do you return to read again and again and why?

I re-read pretty much anything by Susan Elizabeth Philipps. She writes awesome, wonderful, cute, cuddly, feel-good romance novels with humor. Lots of humor! And the occasional "feeling ashamed for someone else" thrown in - yes, I sometimes feel ashamed for character's actions! I admit it...

Whenever I need a quick fix of love, the happily ever after kind where trouble are overcome by the heroine and the hero and they end up together for the rest of their lives. My life doesn't hold that kind of love in store for me right now, so SEP's novels do the trick. Because trust me, German universities are not the place to look for love. All we get are 1) sissies, 2) machos, 3) metrosexuals who need more time in the bathroom than I do, or 4) gays (we all love you, but face it, you can't fill in for the "happily ever after" kind of love ;-)

What happened to the heroes?