Bout of Books 28 #readathon

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are daily challenges, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For Bout of Books 28 information and updates, visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I usually fail miserably at this readathon...but you know what? I'm going to try again. I have lots of reading to finish this month. Plus, a huge book for my 1000 Books Project read-along (April - June) that I need to read the first section by May 15 (The Sagas of Icelanders).

My current reads:

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Dewey’s 24-Hour #Readathon - Wrap-Up and Closing Survey

I'm pretty proud of myself this time around. As I mentioned in my reading plans post, I was able to stay home for the entire readathon. However, I still only managed to read a total of 9 hours. Still, I did some time on social media, participated in a few of the mini-challenges AND I read a whole book! 418 pages to be exact. I haven't read a whole book in a day (less than a day) in many, many years.

I read The Ritual by Adam Nevill (so good!). I also kept track of hours (minutes) read and pages read.

Closing Survey!

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? 

Definitely Hour 24!

2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read!

Like I said above, one book, but that's pretty darn good for me in a 24 hour period (actually 9 hours total). That book was The Ritual by Adam Nevill.

3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners?

If you like horror, I highly recommend The Ritual (see above). There is a movie adaptation on Netflix that is pretty darn good too, but as usual, the book is much better.

4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you smile?

I can't really think of anything, but I will say that I was really pleased with the mini-challenge format this time. So nice to be able to participate in them at our leisure during the entire readathon. Thank you!

5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep? 

Very likely to participate again. 

I would volunteer, but since I have my own readathon blog/group, Seasons of Reading, from which I host four month long seasonal readathons and two special two week readathons yearly, I've got my hands pretty full.


Thanks for the fun! See you next time in October!

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Dewey’s 24-Hour #Readathon #SpringHorror

I am VERY excited this year because this will be the first year I will stay home for the ENTIRE 24 hours! Woot!

Here is everything I'm planning to read/try to read.

Since my Spring into Horror Readathon is still going on through Monday, it's all about the scary. Plus, scary books are always great at keeping the eyes open. lol

I'm not doing special snacks this time. Just normal things I usually eat like honey peanut butter, popcorn, high fiber brownies, yogurt, sugar-free lemonade and coffee. I'm also going to make this cake...

Hungry Girl

Low Calorie 2-Ingredient Pineapple Bliss Cake 

I will probably be updating on Facebook and Twitter mostly, and will wrap up here. I will also be interacting in my Seasons of Reading Readathons Facebook group. Come join us if you're on Facebook. 

Go here to learn more about Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon.

Happy Reading!

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Spring 2018 #Bloggiesta - Plans and #ccspin announcement

Another Bloggiesta - I'll do my best!

1. First on the list...finally announcing my Classics Club spin. They picked #3 and on my list of 20 books, #3 was Rabbit, Run by John Updike. This works out good because I can make this my March selection for my Read Your (Book) Shelf reading challenge. THIS TASK IS DONE!
2. My main focus for this Bloggiesta is going to be to update my reading challenge tabs in my blog menu. --I need to add a tab for one of the main perpetual challenges (#13WLRP) I host so I can keep track of my progress. --I need to update my Perpetual challenges tab with the rest of my perpetual challenge participation. --I need to add my yearly challenges (the ones I host) to my 2018 reading challenges tab, and update my progress with all 2018 reading challenges.
3. If I have time, I will update my Books Read tab.
4. Bonus tasks, if there is time.

Wish me luck!

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#CatThursday - #BannedBooksWeek Edition #cats

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

I look forward to Banned Books Week every year because I feel it is such an important event to raise awareness of censorship/attempts at censorship. I haven't been as prolific with my series of posts this year, but if you missed my two earlier posts this week, you can check them out here and here. I'm hoping to do two or three more posts to round out the week. 

Turns out cats have some views on censorship too!  😾😿🙀

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Easy-Linky widget will appear right here!
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Banned Books Week - Censored Books in Ancient and Medieval Times #BannedBooksWeek

Today I'm going to take a look at five books which were censored in the ancient and medieval worlds. It seems the act of banning books has been around for a very long time. What a shame that over a millennium (and longer) has passed, yet the attempt to ban books is still going on. So much for a modern and enlightened society.

It's important to remember that publication possessed a different form before the printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440. However, textual censorship and book burning were still prolific in the Mediterranean region in premodern times.

Abelard - burned his own book in 1121 CE. It must have been some traumatic experience to be forced to burn your own book. Unfortunately, that is exactly what Abelard, medieval philosopher and theologian, was forced to do by the Council of Soissons in the twelfth century. Book burning in this time period was a highly public event and Abelard was forced to burn his book on the Holy Trinity. He was also imprisoned in the Abbey of St. Medard. He did manage to escape and he continued to teach in Troyes.

 

Ovid in Exile, by Romanian painter Ion Theodorescu-Sion, 1915. 

Ovid - exiled in 8 CE. Rome's public libraries did not open until late in the first century BCE Under Augustus's reign, the Temple of Apollo, the Atrium of Liberty and the Porticus of Octavia were thriving public libraries. The emperor had control over the content of the libraries. In 8 CE, he sent the poet Ovid to exile and banned Ovid's Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love") from public libraries (Ovid's other works were still available though). From his place of exile, Ovid wrote: "I come in fear, an exile’s book, sent to this city: kind reader, give me a gentle hand, in my weariness: don’t shun me in fear, in case I bring you shame: not a line of this paper teaches about love." Tristia Book III

 

Sappho

Sappho - burned in 1073 CE. The legendary poet of Lesbos lived in the seventh century BCE (born around 615 BCE). However, her writings were not burned until the year 1073 when Pope Gregory VII allegedly called for the action to be taken in Rome. What is left of Sappho's works can be read here, or read about the translated Sappho fragments at the Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard.

 

Leaf from a Manichaean Book. Khocho, Ruin K. 

8th/9th century AD. 

Painting on paper. 17.2x 11.2 cm. III 6368. 

Manichaean Texts (297 or 302 & 923 CE) The texts of the followers of Mani, the Manichaeans, were ordered to be burned, along with their leaders by the emperor Diocletian (r.284-305 CE). It is said that the bishop Augustine was also not a fan. Speaking out against these followers, he wrote (in 400 CE) that the Manichaeans should, "burn all [their] parchments with their finely ornamented bindings; so you will be rid of a useless burden, and your God who suffers confinement in the volume will be set free."

 

The Sibyl of Cumae by Elihu Vedder

The Sibylline Books - Prophecies burned in the 6th c. BCE and 5th c. CE. The utterances of the Sibyl of Cumae were kept at Rome and overseen by the Quindecimviri sacris faciundis.
In ancient Rome, the quindecimviri were the fifteen (quindecim) members of a college (collegium) with priestly duties. The Greek verses were first brought to Rome probably during the reign of the King Tarquinius Priscus, the infamous fifth king of Rome (r.616-579 BCE), or possibly during the reign of the last regal period king, Tarquinius Superbus (r.535-509 BCE). The story goes that a woman approached to sell him nine scrolls. He refused her price. The woman went away and proceeded to burn three of the nine books. She then came back, asking again the same price as before. Once again, Tarquin rebuffed her and she burned three of the remaining six. One last time did she come back and again asked the same price for the remaining three, the same price she originally pitched to Tarquin for the nine scrolls. By this time, Tarquin became worried. He asked Rome's religious augurs what he should do. They told him the scrolls were a gift from the Gods and he should buy them -- so he bought them. Allegedly, the remaining scrolls were eventually burned by Stilicho at the beginning of the 5th c. CE. The lesson here might be...always buy a book from a persistent lady. (Sound legit to me 😉)

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Fall #Bloggiesta - Plans

I have a lot of things to accomplish and I hope I can get to them all.

-First on the list is to finish cleaning up the mess Photobucket created (reference: this post...if you don't know what I'm talking about). I have to go through five sites. Not sure if I will do the individual posts. It will take too long. If I do decide to do that, I'll only go back a year. My feelings toward Photobucket...please note below. lol

-Draw the winners for my two blogiversary giveaways (here and for Castle Macabre).

-Work on creating the Halloween page for my year round Christmas blog, Christmas Spirit and get together a post for Rudolph Day on September 25.

-Start prepping posts for Banned Books Week next week (Sept. 24-30).

-Finish my Patreon page and add buttons to my three main blogs.

-Can't think of anything else right now, but will add if I do...and if I have time.

This may end up being my motto for this event, but that's okay.

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Happy Nine Years, True Book Addict! #Blogiversary

Can you believe it? Nine years! Where has the time gone?

I found my tribe nine years ago and it has changed my life. A girl who already loved reading blew that love up into the stratosphere when she discovered book blogging and this wonderful bookish community. This blog started it all for me. I not only blog here, and at my sister (horror) blog, Castle Macabre, but I also host two book clubs on Goodreads, host six readathons yearly at Seasons of Reading, and I have a community reading site, Gather Together and Read, from which I host all of my reading challenges (and read-alongs of books from those challenges).

I know my blogging/reviews have slacked off a bit, but I'm still around and I'm trying to get back into more regular review writing. In the meantime, I'm participating in Roof Beam Reader's Austin in August, and I still host Cat Thursday every week.

I'd like to thank everyone who follows me and takes the time to read what I post. As many of you know, blogging is a labor of love. We don't get paid. A person must have a real passion for it to keep at it year after year. I have no intention of stopping. I love it. I love all the friends I've made, all the great authors I've met, and all of the wonderful books I've discovered.

So, in recognition of nine wondrous years, and to thank you for your friendship and loyalty, I'm hosting a little giveaway. I'm giving away a $10 gift certificate (egift) from Better World Books to one lucky winner. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me a book you've read recently that you would recommend. Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact the winner. (Anyone who does not leave an email address will not be entered. If you're afraid of a bot stealing it, enter it like so: truebookaddict AT gmail DOT com) This giveaway will end on September 1st at 12 midnight central time.

Good luck...and thanks again for being here!

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Austen in August #AustenInAugustRBR Northanger Abbey #CBAM2017

I've been looking forward to this all summer! I think it's time for some Jane in my life again. How about you? My friend, Adam, Mr. Roof Beam Reader is hosting his FIFTH year of Austen in August. How awesome is that? Also, he appropriately planned Northanger Abbey for the August Classic Book of the Month read-along. I have not read NA yet so it works out great!

My other plans for Austen in August...

I recently acquired Pride and Prejudice for free on audio. I'm a big lover of audio books. I mostly listen when I drive and since my sons will be going back to school this coming Monday, I'm going to be doing a lot of driving with school drop off/pick up, football practice, music lessons. Looking forward to listening to P & P which will be a reread for me.

Note: These are the exact covers of my editions of Jane Austen's books (the fab five). I got them from Book of the Month Club years ago. I'm so glad I did!

I'm also going to be reading a bit from these three books. I won't have time to read them all entirely, as I have tons of other reading obligations this month, but I will read from them and post some commentary here on the blog on what I read/discovered.

Again, I couldn't be more excited! What can I say...I love Jane!

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Bout of Books #Readathon - I'm in!

From the Bout of Books blog:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Here's what I will be reading (only portions of some books, as they are for book clubs):

Wish me luck...I always need it. 😉

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