Monday, July 23, 2012

High Summer Read-a-Thon--Updates

***This is a sticky post.  Scroll down for newer content.  Thanks!***


***Scroll down for updates and completed mini-challenges***

My High Summer Read-a-Thon started at midnight.  In case you missed it, my read-a-thons now have a dedicated blog, Seasons of Reading.  If you're thinking that you might want to join us this week, head over there to find out the details and sign in.

I'm not going to officially start reading until later this morning.  I have a ton of reading to catch up on.  I'm so behind on everything.  Still have not finished Middlemarch...ugh! So here goes my list:

  • Middlemarch by George Eliot (finish)
  • Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (catch-up)
  • Graceling by Kristin Cashore (read section for TuesBookTalk)
  • Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (finish)
I hope I can fit in some other reading this week.  I wanted to read a couple of Ray Bradbury books or possibly something else.  Here are some more I might choose from:
  • The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
  • Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
  • From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
  • The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
  • The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (possibly start)
None of these are set in stone, as I may change my mind where the wind takes me...so to speak.  I'm using this handy little update template I grabbed from my friend, Heather at Between the Covers.

Day 5--mini-challenges and currently reading
Okay, I've been really shabby about updating this week.  Why?  Because I have not read much at all.  My work at home job as a virtual assistant (I started in early June) has been really slow...up until this week.  They had a big project that needed finished and it ate into the first three days of the RAT.  Plus, hosting duties, etc.  I know...excuses, excuses! I'm currently reading Anna Karenina...hoping to get caught up on it.  You can see my progress in the Day 4 update below...

Now to complete some mini-challenges.  This first one is hosted by Nova at My Seryniti. The "Based on the 99 Test" Challenge.  Basically, pick a book that you have on your to read list this week, turn to page 99, read page 99! Now, from that page post in comments or link back to your updates on what you think of the book. Would you continue reading based only on the page 99 test?

Based on page 99 of Graceling by Kristin Cashore, I would definitely continue reading.  This is the section that grabbed me from the page and would make me continue:

"The heat and closeness of the air seemed to bring a lull to Randa's cruelty as well, or perhaps he was merely distracted by the flood of foods and wares that always washed into the city from every trade route at that time of year.  Whatever the reason, Randa did not summon Katsa to perform any of his nasty errands.  Katsa found herself daring to relax into summer's end."

Based on just the above, the reader would be wondering, "What are these nasty errands?"  It would compel the reader to want to read on.  At least it would for me!

This next challenge is hosted by Laura at Book Snob.  Here is the challenge: Take one aspect of your book and show an illustration/picture/photo for it. Then explain it briefly so we know the connection to the book you are reading.  My picture is chosen to represent Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.


In this picture, we see Anna and Vronsky and, of course, the train.  In the book, trains play a significant role.  Early in the book, a man is killed by being run over by the train while Anna, Vronsky, and other characters are at the train station.  Also, I'm not sure if everyone knows this, but the book has a tragic end and it involves a train.  I think this image is very atmospheric.  It is from the 1997 film of the same name starring Sophie Marceau.

Thank you to Nova and Laura for hosting these awesome mini-challenges!

Day 4 (June 19):
  • # pages read: 15
  • # books finished: 0
  • WTD pages: 117
  • WTD books: 0
My final update:

Bad, very bad! Oh well, most importantly, I had fun.  I hope everyone else did too.  I didn't finish any books so I will just post a total of pages read.  That total is 189 pages.  God! That is a horrible total for a week long read-a-thon.  *hangs head in shame*  The pages I read were from Graceling by Kristin Cashore and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

If you're reading this update, take a look at the poll in the top right sidebar.  I've decided to host a write-a-thon for those of us writing novels, stories, articles, reviews...whatever you're wanting to focus on writing...and I need your help deciding when.  Thanks!

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20 comments:

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment. It means so much.

I apologize for word verification, but as soon as I changed the settings from only users with Google accounts, I started receiving a ton of spam comments...within one hour of changing the settings. The bots are on high alert apparently.

  1. Good luck and happy reading!

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  2. I really enjoy Erik Larson's books. I forgot that I've been planning on reading In the Garden of Beasts. I'm updating my "reading options" list already! ;)

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  3. Here is my starting post: http://jaynesbooks.blogspot.com/2012/07/high-summer-read-thon-stickie-post-and.html

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  4. Good luck, Michelle! I've gotten a bit further in that one book today, but not yet as far as I'd like. Gotta keep chugging along!

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  5. You are going to be way more organized than me on this thing. :) I'm reading two books, one fiction (THIRD GRAVE DEAD AHEAD bu Darynda Jones) and a nonfiction (THE WAR OF ART by Steven Pressfield). I have an audio too, but haven't started yet. It's SUMMER BREEZE by Nancy Thayer. If I can complete just those, it will be a super successful week. I don't read books as quickly as I once did...unfortunately.

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  6. Great books, Michelle! I should really catch up on the classics :) Happy reading!

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  7. I'm dying to read ANNA KARENINA, but with so many books on Mount TBR right now I reckon I'll wait a while before I bring another epic tome into the house! Congrats on getting stuck in today and doing the challenges too - I have GRACELING on Mount TBR so I was intrigued by that extract! Happy reading this weekend... :)

    Ellie @ Musings of a Bookshop Girl

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  8. Even though you've just started reading, I think you're doing great! You've been to everyone's blogs and did the twitter chats. Keep reading! :-)

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  9. I didn't read as much as I wanted either. We always have the next Read a Thon to look forward to! I kept failing at the Twitter thing also. I have got to get used to that! Hopefully before the next RaT!

    Super excited about the write a thon! Maybe I'll actually get some writing done too. YAY!

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  10. Congratulations on a successful week Michelle! (I totally think it's been a success - you were busy AND hosting AND reading an epic great book!) Thanks again for a brilliant week, it's been a lot of fun! :)
    Ellie @ Musings of a Bookshop Girl

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  11. As long as you had fun, that's all that matters! :-) Thanks for hosting such a great event.

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  12. But hosting takes a lot of time and energy and, anyhow, every page of Anna K counts as two. I'm pretty sure that's written down somewhere. Congrats on a great read-a-thon, and your mini-challenge work! Now, this week, you can really get some reading done! :)

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  13. I agree with the above comment - Anna K should most definitely count for more pages! :) Great hosting!!! I'll definitely be back for more read-a-thons. It was an excellent time.

    Randi @ Cardigans, Coffee and Bookmarks

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  14. Hey, Michelle! Don't feel bad!! Accomplishing ANY reading at all is a feat some days, LOL! Feel good about what you've been able to read and, most importantly, enjoy doing it! Try not to get so caught up on the numbers. You are also tackling some pretty heavy classics, and I find that it takes me longer to get through those.

    Thanks again for hosting, and congrats on your accomplishments!

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  15. Forgot to ask: What does "WTD" stand for in your template?

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  16. Thank you everyone for your pats on the back! You have made me feel so great. Great people like you are what make hosting a read-a-thon worthwhile. =O)

    Darlene--WTD stands for "week to date".

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  17. Any reading is good especially when you are the one hosting, organizing twitter chats, etc. So you did good!

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  18. At least you had fun! Your final update sounds like mine from the last read-a-thon LOL!

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  19. Good job, having fun is what matters. Thank you for hosting the RAT.

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  20. Anxious to hear what you think of Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. Sounds intriguing but I have not spoken to anyone who has read it!

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