Once Upon a Read-a-Thon--Wrap-Up

Another read-a-thon! This one is hosted by Candace's Book Blog, Pure Imagination and Reading Angels.

Wrap-Up
I read 87 pages of The White Queen, Philippa Gregory
35 pages of The Queen's Rivals, Brandy Purdy

Not much, but I did read some. =O)

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Not sure how much reading I'll get done because I have to work, but I at least need to read The Queen's Rivals by Brandy Purdy (by Wed. for a tour) and read the section of The White Queen for the read-a-long.

Happy Read-a-Thon!

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon--Reading Plans and Updates

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

 

Final Update
Didn't do too hot, but I never do on this shorter read-a-thons.  I read:

101 pages of Graceling by Kristin Cashore
20 or so pages of Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (basis for the John Carter film...read aloud with my sons)
100 pages of Middlemarch by George Eliot

My first update
So...haven't been doing too hot so far.  On Monday, I had too much work stuff going on so didn't do any reading really.  Today (Tuesday) I read 101 pages of Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  Now I'm reading Middlemarch by George Eliot.  It's a monster!

I decided not to participate in any of the day two mini-challenges.

Day One--Mini-Challenge
This mini-challenge is hosted by IB Book Blogging.

Question 1:
What is your favorite cover that has been revealed this summer and why? Post a link or picture of the cover if you want.

This one is an easy one.  As soon as I saw this cover, I fell in love immediately.  Do I need to explain?  LOL! Being a huge lover of historical fiction, this is the kind of cover that really appeals to me.  Let's face it...the dresses were IT back then.  Put a gorgeous dress on the cover, photograph it right and it's swoon time! This is my favorite book read so far this year.  If you'd like to read my review, go HERE.

Question 2:
Do you rely on the cover to help you choose whether you want to read a book or not?
I am always drawn to covers first.  If I see a gorgeous cover, it automatically leads me to read more about the book.  And yes, I have let the cover sway me on more than one occasion...I admit it. ;O)

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This read-a-thon is being hosted by Pure Imagination, Reading Angel, and Candace's Book Blog.  Of course, I'm participating.  Was there ever any doubt?  lol! I have a lot of reading to get done since I'm so behind, but since I'm working now, it's going to be tricky.  I have a project to work on for work in the morning, but otherwise it's pretty slow since I'm not an Apprentice VA yet.  Here's what I'm hoping to get to:

• Middlemarch by George Eliot...finish (starting on page 89)
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith...finish (starting on page 141)
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore...read section on Tuesday for TuesBookTalk (reading pages 82-183)

I'm not going to list anything else at this point because I'm not sure what I want to pick up next, but this will definitely get me started...and I may not be able to get to any others anyway.  I will probably count progress by pages read instead of books read since I'm really only reading portions of books.

Updates (and any mini-challenges I do) will be listed above the intro part of this post daily. 

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon is on!

STICKY POST FOR READ-A-THON UPDATES AND MINI-CHALLENGES--SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW POSTS


End of read-a-thon--final update


Total pages read = 226 (almost equivalent to one short novel, although pages read were from three different books).
To the Lighthouse = 60 pages
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo = 102 pages
The Widow of the South = 64 pages

Not great, but I did do some catching up, which was what I wanted.  I just have too many distractions in my life right now!

Thanks to Lori at Pure Imagination, Readind Angel, and Candace's Book Blog for hosting this fun event!



Update 7/13/11


I'm not going to do any mini-challenges so I can focus on the reading.

I have read a total of 190 pages so far in the read-a-thon.

I read 60 pages in To the Lighthouse for a read along
I read 102 pages in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for my TuesBookTalk read along.
I have read 28 pages out of the 294 I need to read to get caught up on The Widow of the South read along
If/when I finish that, I will pick up Roots again.


Read-a-Thon Update and Mini-Challenges 7/12/11


I'm not updating in terms of entire books read because right now I'm reading sections of books for read alongs.  Yesterday was less than stellar...big surprise! I read the first section of To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, 60 pages.  Late last night (or technically early, early this morning) I tried to start Roots by Alex Haley and promptly fell asleep.  I got up late this morning so after I get this bit of blogging done, I will read the section of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson for tonight's TuesBookTalk.  After that, it will either be Roots again or The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks.

Mini-Challenge
I'm doing one of the mini-challenges today and it's hosted by Casey at The Bookish Type.  The challenge is to pick any book from your readathon pile and write a fake synopsis based solely on the cover. The synopsis does not have to be related to the actual book at all, just the pretty, pretty cover.


The sea swirls and churns below the lighthouse.  In the distance, a ghostly ship can be seen upon the water.  Sam McKay has been the lighthouse keeper for years, but this is the first time he has seen this apparition.  What does this mean for their little island?  Sam finds local paranormal expert, Abbie Turner, and together they set out to investigate the story behind the ship.  Will they find out the ship means to menace or will it prove to be just a harmless haunting?

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Mini-Challenge #1--hosted by Bailey at IB Book Blogging.  She asks us to answer the following questions:


Mini Challenge Question 1:What is your favorite type of myth (Greek, Roman, Egyptian etc)?
While I'm a fan of most myths, my favorite has always been the Arthurian legends and myths.

Mini Challenge Question 2:
What is your favorite book with some type of mythology in it?


My favorite book featuring my most favorite myths and legends is The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.  One of the best Arthurian legend novels ever written!


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The read-a-thon started 30 minutes ago...oops! I was thinking midnight my time, but I'm an hour behind the 12am EST start time so it should have been 11:00 my time.  Anyhoo, I'm starting now! Here are my plans:

First thing will be to catch up on read along reads today...

• To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
• Roots by Alex Haley
• The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks

If I have any time left today, I will read the following...

• Finish Dante's Journey by JC Marino
• Finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

On Tuesday, read the section for the TuesBookTalk read along...

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson

Continuing Tuesday and for the rest of the read-a-thon...

• The Greek Maiden and the English Lord by Patty Apostolides
• Captivity by Deborah Noyes
• Blood and Silk by Carol McKay

I realize I may not get to all these, but always keeping my options open.  

Yours truly,

a read-a-thon addict

Once Upon a Read-A-Thon--Update #2

This read-a-thon for me = FAIL! I can't believe I'm STILL on the same book.  I'm not even sure how many total hours I've actually put in reading, but I've read a total of 163 pages of Virgin and the Crab.  I'm
hoping to at least finish it and start another book before midnight tonight.

On the health front, I went to my doctor yesterday and she thinks that my leg looks 70% healed, which is great news! However, I'm still going to be doing the IV antibiotics from home for another two weeks and home health will continue with my leg care.  The boys go back to school the middle of August so this summer is officially shot! Oh well...things happen.  I'm just glad I'm going to be okay!

Anyway, back to reading! Thanks to everyone who has stopped by with encouraging words...I appreciate it! But perhaps a cattle prod would have been more effective...LOL!

Once Upon a Read-A-Thon--Update #1

Well, my first day of the read-a-thon was less than stellar.  I'm still recuperating from my illness so I kept falling asleep yesterday! Between that and dealing with the kids, etc., I managed to read less than 100 pages or so.  Pretty sad, huh?! Today, I have a doctor's appointment at 11:00am so I will resume reading when I return from that (will try to snatch some time while waiting, etc.).

Still reading Virgin and the Crab by Robert Parry
on page 99 of 490

Will seriously try to kick it in gear today! Wish me luck...I'm going to need it...LOL!

Once Upon a Read-A-Thon...official start

This is my official start post for the read-a-thon.  I started at 12:30 pm my time (which is central time).  I am reading Virgin and the Crab by Robert Parry, starting on page 32.  Let's get this party started!

Once Upon a Read-A-Thon

Can I just say that I'm super pysched for this read-a-thon?! Since I've been so sick with this leg infection, I don't really have a lot going on but sitting around those three days (although I will have to put in a little time on my work-at-home writing job).  Plus I do have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, but that shouldn't take up too much time. 

So here is my plan for the read-a-thon.  I'm going to update at least once per day on my progress.  I probably will not be doing any other posting on this blog for those three days and probably not on my Christmas blog for Christmas in July (I will try to set up some advance posts for that this weekend).  My tentative reading list is as follows, although I may add to or take away as the mood fits:

1. Finish Virgin and The Crab by Robert Parry
2. Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show by Frank Delaney
3. Finish The Red Door by Charles Todd
4. Under the Dome by Stephen King
5. The Queen's Pawn by Christy English
6. Dracula in Love by Karen Essex

Are you doing the read-a-thon too?