Bout of Books 37

I have not participated in this readathon in a LONG time. Thought I would give it a shot again. Not making any promises. lol

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 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 37 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm currently reading The Witch Elm by Tana French so I will be trying to finish that. I'm also reading The Last Duel by Eric Jager. We are currently reading An Iliad by Alessandro Baricco for my True Book Talk book group so I will also be reading a portion of it. 

Adding the BoB schedule here so I can keep up (I'll try...honestly)...

Daily Reading-in-Place Times

Reading-in-place times, or reading sprints, happen daily on Twitter*. If you don’t have Twitter, make note of these times and report your reading progress on your platform of choice.

All reading-in-place times last 30 minutes.

📚 10 a.m. Eastern | 7 a.m. Pacific
📚 2 p.m. Eastern | 11 a.m. Pacific
📚 6 p.m. Eastern | 3 p.m. Pacific


Instagram Photo a Day

For those of you who use Instagram, don't forget to post your daily Bout of Books photo. Find out more on our Bout of Books Instagram page! For those who like to plan ahead, prompts are posted the Friday before the read-a-thon begins.

Discord Daily Qs

For those of you who use Discord, don't forget to check out the chat forum where daily bookish questions will be posted Tuesday-Sunday for you to answer.

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24-Hour Readathon October 2021

UPDATES

Opening Event Survey

Yes, I'm doing this at 12:30 pm. I got up late today. Go figure!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Mt Pleasant, Michigan, USA
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I'm really enjoying Mexican Gothic, but I would love to get to Tomb of Gods and Those Who Came Before.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I have a Cadbury Caramello bar stashed for later. Right now, I'm drinking Dunkin' pumpkin spice coffee...yum!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I always bite off more than I can chew, but that's just my unending enthusiasm. I'm a baby witch. I LOVE cats. I have a home library with over 4000 books.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? I never do anything differently for readathon. lol

*************

Here it is again...and I'm diving in. Don't know if I'll start at 8:00 am, and I do have to work a few hours, but still going to make an attempt. 

Reading plans

Finish Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Catch up on Blood Countess for the Something Wicked Fall read-along

Tomb of Gods by Brian Moreland

Those Who Came Before by J.H. Moncrief

(hoping to read both of the books above...yeah, overly ambitious)

Going to listen to Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian while I'm working (maybe) It's 14 hours long so I realize I won't finish it.

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Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P.) XVI and Something Wicked Fall

I rarely share the scary stuff on this blog. Everyone knows I have my horror blog, Castle Macabre. However, I make an exception during this time of year. Yes, autumn is the season for scary. I know it's not technically fall yet, but what's a few weeks. You should see all the Halloween stuff I've been buying. Step away from the online shopping, lady.

So, R.I.P is back...version XVI...and my scary events are back this year with Something Wicked Fall over at Castle Macabre in September and October, and in conjunction, the FrightFall Readathon over at Seasons of Reading in October (sign-ups for the readathon will be open soon). All the details about Something Wicked Fall can be found here.

My reading plans are in the graphic below. I know I won't get to everything, but going to try. Several are for sure, as I'm reading them for read-alongs, challenges, and my book group read in October. The Blood Countess, All Things Cease to Appear, Stoker's Wilde, and Mexican Gothic. Some of them are short story anthologies so I will be picking and choosing stories from them. Gothic horror in September and horror in October.

I completely forgot about this beauty I picked up a couple of months ago. A lot of great classic horror stories in this 864 page tome. Classic Tales of Horror 

Going to try to fill in this BINGO card for R.I.P. since I watched three horror movies last night...The Fear Street trilogy on Netflix. SO good! I'll also be listening to Bone White by Ronald Malfi on audio. It's a reread...one of my favorites.

I will be posting updates on this post. Hopefully, I'll keep up with it. There will a tab linking to it in the blog menu. Title = Fall Reading

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Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon - April 2021

This is the year! I have completely cleared my schedule this time. No work. No movie theater or going out to eat. Staying home and getting my read on! I have a nice batch of unhealthy snacks (yes, I'm indulging myself) and a fantastic reading stack. I just wish I wasn't such a slow reader. I know I have no hope of getting through them all, but one can dream. Right? Oh, and I'm also limiting time on social media big time. I'll be updating mostly on Instagram (or Facebook). May not even open my computer...just use my phone. 

So, here's my stack...

And here's my snacks...

Are you participating this year? If so, good luck to you. May the reading gods look on us favorably.

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Dewey's 24 Hour #Readathon - Fall 2020

I don't think I'm getting up at 8:00 am to start...but you never know. 

My reading has been less than stellar of late because of moving in August and STILL unpacking and shelving BOOKS. Don't get me wrong. I love my books, but this has been a lot. Incidentally, I'm never planning to move again. 

Here's what I'm planning to read...

...while trying to catch up on this...

If you're joining in as well, good luck...and happy reading!

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Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P.) XV #ripxv

Fall is upon us. Well, fall to me means September 1st, especially now that I'm living in the north (Michigan) where fall really shows up in all its splendor. 🍁🍂

Fall also means it's time for all the scary...and that means all the scary events, including R.I.P., back for another year. Version XV.

I'm also hosting my yearly FrightFall Readathon in September and October this year (due to the hiatus of my summer readathon, High Summer, in August because of my move). FrightFall also happens in conjunction with my annual fall event, now in it's third year, Something Wicked Fall at my horror site, Castle Macabre. We are doing a read-along of Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White. Click the links above to find out all the details.

So, what will I be reading you ask? I have quite a bit of reading lined up, but not sure if I'll get to everything. I'm still unpacking and arranging the new house. Moving seriously takes a chunk out of reading time. 😠

• Finishing Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff (I'm also watching the excellent series on HBO).
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
• A couple of classic horror novels as of yet not decided for my True Book Talk reading group in October. Possible titles...Le Fanu's Carmilla, Lowndes' The Lodger, Benson's The Necromancers
• The Witch of Ravensworth by George Brewer
• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
• Snow by Ronald Malfi
• Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Watching tons of horror movies, of course. We will be having two or three horror film watch-alongs during Something Wicked Fall as well.

Join us for ALL the scary!

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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 - Tomorrow!

Get all the readathon details here

I have cleared my schedule this year for the readathon. Plus, with social distancing, I'll not be going anywhere so this just might be a success. That being said, I'm not getting overly ambitious with my reading goals. My main focus will be to finish this book...

If I finish that one, I'll start on this one...

I'll be updating on Instagram. Also, on Goodreads in my Seasons of Reading group. My Spring into Horror Readathon is going on right now through April 30th.

I'll post my wrap-up here on the blog...if I don't flake. You never know with me.

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Dewey's 24 Hour #Readathon

Once again, the 24 hour readathon is upon us. I'm not going to make any solid plans, as I know I won't be reading the entire 24 hours. We shall see how it goes. I'm going to see Countdown today. When I get back, reading time!

Here's my stack. I also have some eBooks and I might listen to some of an audio book I've been listening to...

Here's the opening survey, even though I won't be reading until later.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? USA, Nashville, Tennessee
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Full Dark, No Stars, Stephen King
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I'll be getting my snacks while I'm out today. I've been watching my eating (down 22 pounds in 5 weeks) so I won't be indulging too much. 
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I'm a mom of two boys 17 and 16 years old, cat lover, writer, virtual assistant, owner of a massive home library (3000+ books).
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? Not really sure. I can't remember what I did last time. lol

Happy Reading!

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Scary Fall Doings! #SomethingWickedFall #RIPXIV #FrightFall

It's that time of year again! I'm so ready for fall...the weather, the scary reading, Halloween! As usual, there are tons of fun events and challenges for those of us who love the scary, and I'm hosting two of them. 🎃

Readers Imbibing Peril XIV (RIP) is here! I look forward to this every year. It coincides well with my other scary events too.

Bonfires.

Gourds.

Sweaters and seasonal socks and candles.

Welcome to the FOURTEENTH year of Readers Imbibing Peril, or RIP, as it is affectionately called. For these many years, we here at RIP headquarters have embraced the spookiness of the seasons’ change.

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.

The goals are simple.

1. Have fun reading.

2. Share that fun with others.

Sign up here.

I'm doing...

Peril the First:

Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (our very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature.
This is my for sure list of books. I'm sure there will be more.

Doctor Sleep, Stephen King

The Vampire Armand, Anne Rice

The Fall, Bethany Griffin

The Siren and the Specter, Jonathan Janz

Peril of the Short Story:

I'll be reading Poe, of course. Also, short stories by Algernon Blackwood, Nathaniel Hawthorne, M.R. James, Ralph Adams Cram, Ronald Malfi...and maybe more.

Peril on the Screen:

I'm a horror movie lover ALL the time so it's not like this will be any different, but of course, kicking things off with IT next week. We're also going to have some movie watch-alongs during Something Wicked Fall (see below). Probably The Shining to go along with our Doctor Sleep read-along, and possibly Midsommar (a rewatch for me...I absolutely loved it). 

and possibly even...

Peril of the Review:
Submit a short review of any book you read and you may see it here on the blog! 

I'm not terribly great at posting reviews of late, but I will try. 

Something Wicked Fall is an event I created last year at Castle Macabre (my horror blog)...an all encompassing event featuring a read-along, horror movie watch-alongs, Gothic and horror reads, and the penultimate FrightFall Readathon in October.

Get all the details at Castle Macabre here. I hope you will join us!

FrightFall Readathon runs all of October. Sign ups coming very soon at Seasons of Reading. Stay tuned!

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Dewey's 24 Hour #Readathon #FrightFall #SomethingWickedFall

This will probably be my only post here on the blog for the readathon. I will be updating mostly on Facebook (including in the Seasons of Reading group), Instagram and Twitter.

I'm keeping it scary to go along with my FrightFall Readathon, which is still going on through the end of the month, and with the R.I.P. challenge.

• First, I want to finish The Narrows (Ronald Malfi) and read the 100 page section for the Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) read-along

Then I will pick and choose from this list of books:

• A Head Full of Ghosts, Paul Tremblay
• The Bank of the River, Michael Richan
• Bird Box, Josh Malerman
• The Vampire Armand, Anne Rice
• Shirley: A Novel, Susan Scarf Merrell

Also, perhaps some short stories by these authors:

• Poe
• Lovecraft
• Shirley Jackson
• Algernon Blackwood
• M.R. James 
• Ralph Adams Cram

Getting to know you survey:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Nashville, Tennessee
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Not really sure...probably A Head Full of Ghosts.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?  I have to go out today so will buy my snacks then. Going to see HALLOWEEN!!! (I'm excited. Can you tell?)  I'm not sure but hoping for some nice chips.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I'm an avid reader, very active in the online book blogging/reading community, and master procrastinator. I have two teen sons and two cat daughters, and I'm working on a novel.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? I doubt I'll do anything differently. I don't know...perhaps try not to fail miserably. lol

Good luck and happy reading to all!!!

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Readers Imbibing Peril 13 #RIPXIII & #SomethingWickedFall 48 Hour Kick-Off #Readathon

From the new dedicated blog...

Welcome to the THIRTEENTH year of Readers Imbibing Peril, or RIP, as it is affectionately called. For the last 13 years, we here at RIP headquarters have embraced the spookiness of the seasons’ change.

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
Basically, read scary. Yay!

The levels of participation (participate in one, all, or various) are:

Peril the First: Read four books, any length, that you feel fit.

I'm doing this level. My list:

The Narrows, Ronald Malfi

A Head Full of Ghosts, Paul Tremblay

The Secret History, Donna Tartt
The Bank of the River, Michael Richan
The Vampire Armand, Anne Rice
Bird Box, Josh Malerman
Shirley: A Novel, Susan Scarf Merrell

Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury

This is more than four, but I'm working on a challenge so...

Peril the Second: Read two books of any length that you believe fit.

Peril the Third: We all want you to participate. This Peril involves reading one book that fits.

Peril of the Short Story: Self explanatory...read short stories.

I'll be reading Gothic short stories in September during my Something Wicked This Fall Comes event at my sister blog, Castle Macabre. 

I'll be picking choosing stories from the following:

Edgar Allan Poe (of course)

M.R. James

Shirley Jackson

Algernon Blackwood

H.P. Lovecraft

There's a great list of Gothic fiction on Goodreads here.

Peril on the Screen: Again, self explanatory...watch scary TV shows/movies.

Horror movies and shows are my favorite so this is a no-brainer!

Movies/Shows I will be seeing/watching for sure...

Halloween

The Nun

The Haunting of Hill House (new series)

Peril of the Review: Submit a short review of any book you read (they may even post it on the blog).

I'll try!

I've participated in this challenge since 2009, so 10 of the 13 years. I'm stoked, and it goes along nicely with my scary Fall event at Castle Macabre and the FrightFall Readathon in October at Seasons of Reading.

Coming to Castle Macabre tomorrow...Something Wicked This Fall Comes! We are kicking off with a 48 Hour Readathon hosted at Seasons of Reading. Find out all the details for the Fall event here. Sign up for the 48 Hour Readathon here. 

I'll be reading scary books from my RIP list above. Will probably start with The Narrows, but not sure. 

Hope you will join us!

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Bout of Books 23 #Readathon

I sign up for this and usually fail, but there just might be a twist this time. I've decided to start a personal Daily Reading Challenge to challenge myself to read more, and I'm kicking it off with Bout of Books this week. I have a tab in the menu for daily updates and then I will do a weekly post (probably during A Reading Life) to share what I accomplished each week. Yes, it will probably be embarrassing at first, but I'm willing to deal with a little of that as a way to motivate me to READ MORE!!!

Now, on to the Bout of Books business...

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th 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 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm not going to set up any big reading plans, and I'm not sure how often I'll update, but these are the books I'm currently reading and plan to continue, and hopefully finish, during the readathon (except for War and Peace, as it's a year long read-along I'm hosting at Lit Collective, one that I'm horribly behind on 😑).

Ombria in Shadow, Patricia A. McKillip

The Anomaly, Michael Rutger
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen

War and Peace, Tolstoy

I'm also listening to a Discovery of Witches (Deborah Harkness) on audio.

If my daily reading challenge goes well, I may be able to start another book this week. Here's hoping!

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#BoutofBooks Day 6 - An update and The Royal Wedding!

Yes...I wasted a bit of time watching The wedding today. How could I not? 37 years ago I watched his mother, precious Diana, become Princess of Wales. This video, Harry supposedly says to Meghan, "You look amazing. I'm so lucky." How wonderful. I'm not normally romantic. Life experience has pretty much burned it out of me, but this, and the wedding itself (except for the hideously drawn out religious ceremony) really got me. 💜

Okay, a quick update. It's pretty meh. I read 50 more pages in The Terror and a bit of They Feed by Jason Parent. I kind of fell into a depression when I found out my car has two blown heads, etc. Yeah...fun.

Hoping to get some more reading time in tomorrow.

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