End of Event Meme

• Which hour was most daunting for you?
• Hour 17 - my eyes started to burn
• Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
• The Dengeki Daisy series was quite interesting with multiple story layers
• Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
• I know we were stretched thin with Cheerleaders so I think next time, I want to be a cheerleader!
• What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
• The addition of a Goodreads group was awesome. I'm going to look through all their posts today, and maybe next year I'll focus there exclusively!
• How many books did you read?
• I finished a total of 5 - and got well into 3 others
• What were the names of the books you read?
• Finished:
• Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase
• Dengeki Daisy, vol. 1 by Kyousuke Motomi
• Uprooting Racism by Paul Kivel
• Dengeki Daisy, vol. 2 by Kyousuke Motomi
• Give Him the Slip by Geralyn Dawson
• Didn't finish (yet):
• The Dragon's Triangle by Charles Berlitz
• Miranda by M.C. Beaton
• A Rom Of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

• Which book did you enjoy most?
• Uprooting Racism by Paul Kivel
• Which did you enjoy least?
• A Room of One's Own - apparently Hour 17 was not the best time to start a Virginia Woolf book. :-)
• If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
• I want to be a cheerleader next year!
• How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
• Oh, I'm definitely participating in April! And, as previously mentioned, I want to "up" my participation to Cheerleader level.

Readathon Mini-Challenge: The Pet Parade!

For the Pet Parade challenge, here's Kaylee, our chihuahua-terrier mix, wondering why we're up so late!

And two more...

Another two books read, for a total of five now:
Dengeki Daisy, vol. 2 by Kyousuke Motomi
Give  Him the Slip by Geralyn Dawson

Uprooting Racism by Paul Kivel

Another book finished for the Read-A-Thon!  This book was excellent - everyone should at least read his chapters on White Benefits, Middle Class Privilege and The Cost of Racism to White People.  Inspiring and deeply thought-provoking as well as practical.

Hour 6: Name your Read-A-Thon

My read-a-thon name pulled from my read and TBR pile: The Wonderful Red Daisy Happy Battle Read-A-Thon!

Quotable Quotes Mini Challenge

My favorite quote from today's reading so far:

“I have always believed that anyone who must violate the law to achieve his purposes must lack either intelligence or imagination, probably both.”
― Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase

Shelfie Challenge!

Here's my own-but-never-read TBR shelfie!

2 Books Done!

Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase - Regency historical romance - ♥♥♥♥
Dengeki Daisy by Kyousuke Motomi - shojo manga - ♥♥♥♥

Hour 1 Mini Challenge

Fig and Thistle Mini Challenge - Coffee or Tea?  I'm absolutely Team CS Lewis for Tea!  #TeamCSLewis

Opening Meme!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Mount Airy, North Carolina - EST time zone

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Dengeki Daisy, vol. 1 which I've been saving for the Read-A-Thon since it arrived at my house in late September.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

The colcannon!  I don't know what it is about this Irish mix of potatoes and cabbage - because, really, there should be nothing exciting about those two ingredients - but it is so delicious and creamy! Probably all that butter...

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I love to read!  The read-a-thon is a wonderfully official excuse to lock the rest of the world out for a whole day and night so I can disappear into my books.  My husband is super-supportive of the read-a-thon and always does a great job entertaining our son. They often join me in reading for an hour or so throughout the day.  I love it when they do this!!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? 

I have a wider variety of comfort foods available this time. Also I have a book on mp3 to listen to if I start to feel like a prisoner in my reading area!

It's Read-A-Thon time again!!

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-A-Thon starts tomorrow - for me at 8 AM sharp.  I am SO pumped!!  I have 4 manga books I've been saving for this, plus a couple non-fiction books to challenge myself with, and of course several romances of which I'll probably devour two!

Food this time is split pea soup, colcannon, celery and carrot sticks, and Slow Cooker Root Beer BBQ Chicken for the boys, which I've never tried before, but it looks super easy:

http://thefrugalgirls.com/2013/07/crockpot-root-beer-barbecue-chicken.html

End of Event Meme

End of Event Meme:

Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour 20 - I made it two more hours because I had a great book

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

Any new release by your favorite author that you've been waiting for

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

Just for my own sake, I'd like to know how the door prizes are done.

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

I'm not sure I know enough about the background stuff to answer this.  I certainly didn't notice anything going wrong! For myself, I'm glad I focused more on reading than on completing every mini-challenge this year!

How many books did you read?

Five!

What were the names of the books you read?

Dagger-Star

Texas Splendor

The Miracle of  Mindfulness

Inside Narnia

Three Weeks with Lady X

Which book did you enjoy most?

They were all pretty good, but probably Dagger-Star, although Three Weeks with Lady X was great too.

Which did you enjoy least?

Inside Narnia - oh my word, this was dry.

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

Oh, I'm definitely doing this again in October!  And I think I might like to try out cheer-leading!

This Could Be The End

I'm sooooo tired!!!  This is an hour longer than I thought I'd make it!

Hours read: 21

Books finished: 5

Pages read: 1422

WooHoo!!

Hour 20 Challenge: Book Jenga

This challenge from Curiosity Killed the Bookworm:

Here's my book jenga tower! Not bad for 3:45 am!

Hour 15 Mini Challenge: That Reminds Me of a Book

This challenge hosted by Doing Dewey:

I just finished Texas Splendor by Lorraine Heath (4 stars, very good), so here's a photo of Texas ranching land with big sky and a windmill since the book is based on a ranch in West Texas with multiple windmills (a favorite of Dallas - the ranch owner, not the city) and what I kept imagining in the background of every outdoor scene:

Hour 14 Mini Challenge: Name in Titles

Thanks to The Geek Blogger's Book Blog for this challenge:

I did my name in books from my To-Read list:

R - Rules of Engagement by Suzanne Enoch
E - Enchanting Pleasures by Eloisa James
B - Because You're Mine by Lisa Kleypas
E - Extreme Exposure by Pamela Clare
C - Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
C - Ciao Bella by Helena Frith Powell
A - A Different Kind of Dream by Geraldine O'Neill

Hour 12 Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?

Texas Splendor

2. How many books have you read so far?

Three

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

Three Weeks with Lady X by Eloisa James

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

I just had to get my husband on board with looking after our son for the day - which he was very happy to do.

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

A few from my son, but those tend to be quite entertaining.

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

How fast time is flying!

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

Can you let me know where you pull the "Roll-Call" prize winners from?  I don't understand that process.

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

Stock up on more fresh fruits and veggies.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

A little.

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?

Slow cooker food on the warm setting is always ready when you need it and delicious!

Hour 11 Mini Challenge: First Editions

Thanks to the Bluestocking Society for this educational challenge!  I love that blog name!

Looks like my copy of Lorraine Heath's Texas Splendor is a first edition:

Reading Update

I've finished:

Dagger-Star by Elizabeth Vaughan - 5 stars!!  I forgot how much I love Ms. Vaughan's writing style - the adventure! the strategy! the romance! - highly entertaining, she wrapped up the story enough to satisfy, but left me wishing the next book in the series was waiting for me on my shelf.

Inside Narnia by Devin Brown - 3.5 stars  This is an exegesis on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - but Brown doesn't offer many original insights.  Peter Ford's Companion to Narnia is much better and quoted very often in this book.

Hour 10 Mini Challenge: The Shelfie

What is with people always wanting me to post pictures of myself on the internet on a day when I'm definitely make-up free and in comfy clothes?? Anyway, I'm being a good sport and all, so here's my Shelfie (you should be so grateful, internet people ;-):

Hour 9 Mini Challenge: On Food and Books

Hosted by A Girl That Likes Books:

I'll share my recipe for Slow Cooker Black-Eyed Pea Stew inspired by the kind of books I knew I'd be reading through today.  I've got a couple fantasy and historical romance books in my stack for today, and these kinds of books always seem to have at least one scene where the characters are sitting around a fire, sharing a hearty stew. These scenes always make me hungry, so I threw the ingredients for a "hearty stew" in the crock pot this morning and have been merely eating bowlfuls all day long!

Slow Cooker Black-Eyed Pea Stew

In a slow cooker, combine:

1 lb dried black-eyed peas
6 cups of water
1 veggie bouillon cube
3 stalks of celery, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
6-8 pieces of bacon (I used half a package), cut into 1 inch pieces

Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 3-4 hours or until peas are soft. Check your water levels at hour 3 - you might need to add another cup or two.

Hour 6 Mini Challenge

Challenge hosted by Lisa's World of Books:

Best Non-Fiction of my Reading Year - Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan - hysterical! I "read" the audio book which is read by Gaffigan.

Best Indie Author of My Reading Year - Tara Sivec for Seduction and Snacks - another hilarious book. 

Best Book of My Reading Year - Hyperion by Dan Simmons - very long sci-fi book, but completely absorbing!

Hour 0 - Kick Off Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Mount Airy, NC

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Three Weeks with Lady X by Eloisa James

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Slow Cooker Black-Eyed Pea Stew (it'll be ready in a few hours...I hope)

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I love reading!!!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?

More reading, less blogging.  Also I'm keeping track of pages read this time!

Getting Ready for the Read-A-Thon!

The April 2014 event of the bi-annual Dewey's Read-a-Thon starts at 8 AM tomorrow! I've a got a big stack this year and the books aren't short!  Sadly, my new local library doesn't carry nearly as much manga as the VA Beach library did.  I know I won't finish all of these, but I'm hoping some of my non-fiction flies by quickly, along with the romance novels.  Once I start an Eloisa James book, I don't put it down, read-a-thon or no read-a-thon! Still, I expect plenty of book hopping may occur!

Here's my reading list:

Dagger-Star by Elizabeth Vaughan
Texas Splendor by Lorraine Heath
Three Weeks with Lady X by Eloisa James
Once Upon a Tower by Eloisa James
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons - already started this one and I can't abandon it for 24 hours just because of the read-a-thon!
The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh (probably spelled that wrong even though I looked)
Inside Narnia by Devin Brown
Loving Our Differences by George Selig & Alan Arrovo