Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon discussion

I’m excited to be participating in the Read-a-thon! I’ve already lined up way too many books!

That's part of the fun! Stack building! LOL

About halfway through and I’m still working on Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson. I also read several chapters from Claire Tomalin’s biography of Jane Austen and read the beginning of a play, Marisol by Jose Rivera, which I put aside for another time. I won’t sit up all night reading, but hope to get a few more hours in tonight and maybe a few in the a.m.

I'm going to call it a night soon too. I'm on the UK, so it doesn't end until 1pm. There'll be reading time in the morning!

I really like Shirley Jackson's work, I just read We Have Always Lived in the Castle this year. Happy Reading! ~Ashley

Update:

I’m reading Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson, a funny family memoir instead of her usual spooky fare.

I haven’t actually finished any books..yet, but have read bits of several others — a bio of Jane Austen and a play as well as the Jackson. Researching Shirley Jackson on the internet I found and read a few articles about her life, too.

I’m looking forward to listening to audiobook of A Thousand Years of Solitude this evening and maybe reading a short story by Octavia Butler for a change of pace.

Not many interruptions at all. I did take a little time to do a mini-challenge but that was refreshing.

I’m surprised I haven’t read more, but the day’s not over ;)

Leni wrote: "I'm going to call it a night soon too. I'm on the UK, so it doesn't end until 1pm. There'll be reading time in the morning!"

Good reading in the morning, Leni!

Susan wrote: "Update:

I’m reading Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson, a funny family memoir instead of her usual spooky fare.

I haven’t actually finished any books..yet, but have read bits of several o..."

I feel like Shirley Jackson would be an interesting person to read about. Are you enjoying your books so far? ~Ashley

Colona Public Library wrote: "I really like Shirley Jackson's work, I just read We Have Always Lived in the Castle this year. Happy Reading! ~Ashley"

Thanks, Ashley! I might try We Have Always Lived in the Castle as my next Jackson book. Happy reading to you, too!

Colona Public Library wrote: "Susan wrote: "Update:

I’m reading Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson, a funny family memoir instead of her usual spooky fare.

I haven’t actually finished any books..yet, but have read bit..."

Ashley, There are some great articles about her life online, including one about a visit to the house she lived in when she wrote Life Among the Savages. I enjoyed the book as well. How did your reading go?

Susan wrote: "Colona Public Library wrote: "Susan wrote: "Update:

I’m reading Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson, a funny family memoir instead of her usual spooky fare.

I haven’t actually finished any..."

Going well, mostly graphic novels for me! They are my favorites!

One of my favorite Shirley Jackson stories was a short one called The Lottery. We read it in my college course and it had her thoughts about the letters she got from people who wanted to go to the town where the lottery took place and just the reactions she got from that story in general. She seems really great, happy reading! ~Ashley

Update: Finished “Life Among the Savages”, read a rather creepy science fiction short story by Octavia Butler, “Blood Child” and listened to a bit of audiobook of A Hundred Years of Solitude” before falling asleep. Hope to fit in a little more reading in the a.m.

Colona Public Library wrote: "Susan wrote: "Colona Public Library wrote: "Susan wrote: "Update:

I’m reading Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson, a funny family memoir instead of her usual spooky fare.

I haven’t actuall..."

Good luck with your reading! I’m impressed that you are still up. Any graphic novel recommendations for a newbie? Our library has a big section, but I don’t know where to start. I have been reading March memoir by John Lewis and was surprised how much the graphic format added to the power of the story telling. Now back to my audiobook.

I tried listening to A Hundred Years of Solitude but eventually decided that I needed to read it in print. I am not sure why but hope to do so by the end of this year.

Pup tail wags back to you and yours! Ringo, my GSD, is feeling much better this time around but still does not know what to make of me sitting still for such long periods of time :)

Andrea wrote: "I tried listening to A Hundred Years of Solitude but eventually decided that I needed to read it in print. I am not sure why but hope to do so by the end of this year.

Pup tail wags back to you a..."

Hope you enjoy it, Andrea! My audio reader (John Lee) is kind of fast, so I’ve actually slowed the speed down, but print might be better.

Guess Ringo will think life’s back to usual today :). Wags back to him from little dog, Monkey.

1. Early evening because I was so close to end of my first book, and I was a little tired of reading...but I finished it!
2. I read Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson (229 pages), about 50 pages of Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin, 15 pages of a play, Marisol by Jose Rivera, Blood Child by Octavia Butler ( a science fiction short story), a few comics in Nate el Grande Hola!, listened to half an hour of A Hundred Years of Solitude, and just started The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway this a.m.
3. I’d recommend Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson if you are looking for something fairly light and funny. Based on the first third of the book, Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin is for die-hard Jane Austen fans — the author paints a really thorough picture of the author’s family and neighbors in the first third of the book) as well as the little actually known about JA’s early years.
4. The memes about reading came at a good time and really made me smile. So did the cheerleading.
5. I might participate again if my schedule worked out. I really enjoyed cheerleading and would like to do that again, too.

Finished the Read-a-thon, my first after years of reading about it! I read 343 pages — read one whole book (Life Among the Savages), read in two books I was already working on (Jane Austen: A Life, A Hundred Years of Solitude) and sampled four others (Marisol, Blood Child and Other Stories, Nate el Grande Hola! and The Cellist of Sarajevo). Also read a bunch of articles about Shirley Jackson online—very interesting but maybe I should have finished the book first :)

Ideas for next time: Don’t listen to audiobook when feeling sleepy ;). Try reading fiction.

Hooray! I’m excited to do the Readathon again tomorrow. I’ve been working on my possibilities and am thinking I’ll choose from:
Breakfast at Tiffany (audiobook)
Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov (play)
A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde (play)
Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith (poetry)
Letters to Quick, Letters to the Dead, Shirley Cochran (poetry)
Peace, Locomotion, Jacqueline Woodson (children’s)
March, Book 3 (graphic)
Vanish in an Instant, Margaret Millar (mystery)
Fair Play, Tove Jansson (short stories)
Blood Child and Other Stories, Octavia Butler (short stories)(Kindle)
The Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham (science fiction)
Balzac And the Little Chinese Seamstress, Day Sijie (fiction)
Concussion, Jeanne Marie Laskas (non-fiction)
Good to have a choice (or two)!

What a great list! I am very happy with my own TBR, but I keep wanting to add to it when I see what other people are reading. lol

Leni wrote: "What a great list! I am very happy with my own TBR, but I keep wanting to add to it when I see what other people are reading. lol"

I know that feeling! ;)

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? East coast USA
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I want to read them all, which isn’t likely to happen, but maybe Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Day Sijie
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Lemon biscotti and a cup of green tea
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! Love to read, naturally. Still very much a beginner, but learning a little Spanish—Hola!
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? Last readathon was my first. Tempting as all the goings on are, I want to spend more time reading my stack and less time on social media. To the stackmobile!

Half-way mark
What are you reading right now? Three Sisters, a play by Anton Chekhov
2. How many books have you read so far? I’ve finished one and am halfway through two others. (all fairly short)
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Not sure what I’ll pick up next, but maybe something different like poetry or short stories for change of pace.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Yes, had an appointment that took up 3 1/2 hours this morning. Hoping to stay up a little late tonight to make up for it.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I’m so happy with the books I’ve been reading!

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 18, so sleepy
2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read!

Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
Fair Play by Tove Jansson
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (audiobook)
Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov
Letters to the Quick, Letters to the Dead by Shirley Graves Cochran— (about a third of the book)

Also read a bit in Candide by Voltaire, Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman, and The Shepherd’s View by James Rebanks

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

Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson is such a touching children’s story about a young boy and his sister living in separate foster homes. Fair Play by Tove Jansson is a short novel about two women artists living in Finland with some wonderful observations about love, art and writing.

4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you smile? Loved the memes and the scavenger hunt this time. Maybe Readathon haiku or limericks?
5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep?
Yes, I’d like to do this again. Next time I’d love to do some cheerleading.

Making a pile of possible reads for the Reverse Readathon July 28 and getting excited about choices. Now to think about snacks and meals....

Susan wrote: "Making a pile of possible reads for the Reverse Readathon July 28 and getting excited about choices. Now to think about snacks and meals...."

I have my reads but nothing else. Meals and snacks for a hot summer day...oooh I have a chilled tomato soup recipe I wanted to try! And fruit, lots of cut up fruit! And smoothies, I've been meaning to get back into making smoothies! :)

Elyse wrote:

I have my reads but nothing else. Meals ..."

Chilled tomato soup sounds delish, and so do smoothies. Weather here has been unseasonably cool, but I’ve got iced cappuccino and tropical green tea. Maybe tuna salad and corn muffins with a side of summer veggies if the weather warms up....

Susan wrote: "Elyse wrote:

I have my reads but nothing else. Meals ..."

Chilled tomato soup sounds delish, and so do smoothies. Weather here has been unseasonably cool, but I’ve got iced cappuccino and tropic..."

Yum!

My stack of possible reads — Starred books are first up!

**The House of Dies Drear, Virginia Hamilton
**Green Almonds, Anaele and Delphine Hermans (Libby)
**Life Upon the Wicked Stage, Grace Cavalieri
**Blood Child and Other Stories, Octavia Butler
**Texts from Jane Eyre, Mallory Ortberg
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Day Sijie
The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
The Heir, Vita Sackville West
Classic Welsh Stories, ed Jones and Elis
Conversations with Lucille Clifton, ed. Michael Glaser
The Shepherd’s View, James Rebanks
The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Brecht
Nature’s Chaos, James Gleick
The Georgics of Virgil
Three Sisters, Chekhov (audiobook)

Susan wrote: "My stack of possible reads — Starred books are first up!

**The House of Dies Drear, Virginia Hamilton
**Green Almonds, Anaele and Delphine Hermans (Libby)
**Life Upon the Wicked Stage, Grace Caval..."

Nice list!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? East Coast USA
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Life Upon the Wicked Stage, a memoir by poet and playwright, Grace Cavalieri
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Mango and vanilla ice cream bars
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! This is my third readathon, and I’m excited to spend a whole day reading. My little pooch, Monkey, is sound asleep in his bed already, but will want his share of snacks tomorrow. I like reading mysteries, novels, poetry, history, drama, natural history, science and children’s books.
5) This is our VERY first Reverse Readathon! How does it feel in your time zone? I was so impatient waiting all day for the readathon to start. I’m glad to be finally reading (and snacking ;)

I’ve finished Green Almonds, Anaele and Delphine Hermans, a graphic non-fiction story. Now to listen to some of my ongoing audiobook — David Copperfield — about 3 hours left (out of 39 1/2 hours) and Dickens is wrapping up all his loose ends.

Susan wrote: "5) This is our VERY first Reverse Readathon! How does it feel in your time zone? I was so impatient waiting all day for the readathon to start. I’m glad to be finally reading (and snacking ;)..."

Me too!! I was antsy all day and by the time 8pm rolled around, I was so tired! lol. I ended up sleeping 12:30-5:30 and now I'm cheering and listening to an audiobook, then back to reading! Good luck!

Elyse wrote: "Susan wrote: "5) This is our VERY first Reverse Readathon! How does it feel in your time zone? I was so impatient waiting all day for the readathon to start. I’m glad to be finally reading (and sna..."

Thanks! I ended up sleeping from 12-ish to 5 ish, too, and am getting ready to dive in again, bagel breakfast in hand :).

Susan wrote: "Thanks! I ended up sleeping from 12-ish to 5 ish, too, and am getting ready to dive in again, bagel breakfast in hand :)..."

My breakfast = English muffin with PB :)

Elyse wrote: "Susan wrote: "Thanks! I ended up sleeping from 12-ish to 5 ish, too, and am getting ready to dive in again, bagel breakfast in hand :)..."

My breakfast = English muffin with PB :)"

Fortifying! Read on ;)

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now? The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton, Texts from Jane Eyre, and Life Upon the Wicked Stage. Texts from Jane Eyre (very funny) and Life Upon the Wicked Stage are made up of short pieces, so I like to read a few, then switch to something else.
2. How many books have you read so far? One completed.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Are we really half-way there? If/when I finish my audiobook of David Copperfield, I’m going to start Heartburn by Nora Ephron read by Meryl Streep—really looking forward to it.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Biggest interruption was needing some sleep, but now I’m refreshed and ready to go. I think little breaks help my concentration as long as there aren’t too many of them.
5. What surprises you most about the Reverse Readathon so far?
It seemed funny waiting all day, then starting to read, then sleeping. Hopefully my momentum will pick up now that it’s daylight.

The young hero in The House of Dies Drear wants black coffee like his dad drinks instead of coffee that “was mostly cream and sugar with a dash of cinnamon.” He’s inspired me to add a bit more milk and a dash of cinnamon to the cup of coffee I’m sipping. ;)

I’m back from taking dog to vet. They were super busy because it was Saturday so it took longer than usual. But I’ve got a big glass of iced coffee, some mini biscotti and am ready to dive back in to the House of Dies Drear.

Hope your dog is ok. I'm envious of your biscotti. I'll have to add that to the list for next time!

Kate wrote: "Hope your dog is ok. I'm envious of your biscotti. I'll have to add that to the list for next time!"

Thank you. He’s 14 and hanging in there. The biscotti will be on my list for next time, too ;)

Reverse Readathon Summary

Page Count — 650 pages

Green Almonds, Anaele and Delphine Hermans — finished — 128 pages
The House of Dies Drear, Virginia Hamilton — finished — 218 pages
The House On Mango Street — finished — 110 pages
Life Upon the Wicked Stage, Grace Cavalieri — read about half — 112 pages
Texts From Jane Eyre, Mallory Ortberg — dipped into when I needed some humor— 59 pages
David Copperfield, Charles Dickens (audiobook) — 1.25 hr or 23 pages.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 21 because I’d fallen asleep listening to audiobook and woke up to realize there were only 3 hours left
2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read!
I finished 3:
—Green Almonds by Anaele and Delphine Hermans (graphic memoir)
—The House of Dies Drear, Virginia Hamilton (children’s)
—The House On Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (fiction)
I read some of 3:
—Life Upon the Wicked Stage, Grace Cavalieri (memoir)
—Texts from Jane Eyre, Mallory Ortberg (humor)
—David Copperfield, Charles Dickens (audiobook)

3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners?
—The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros about a Latina girl growing up in Chicago — the fabulous prose combines poetry, insight and power as do the characters.
—Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg is hilarious collection of text conversations with various literary characters
—Actually, they were all good ;)

4. How did you feel about this first-ever Reverse Readathon?
Should we do it again? Yay!
5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep in October?

I plan to participate in October.

It may be a little early, but I’ve started thinking about what to read...ñ

Susan wrote: "It may be a little early, but I’ve started thinking about what to read...ñ"

Never too early! :)

Susan wrote: "It may be a little early, but I’ve started thinking about what to read...ñ"

Ha ha! Me too. Must be our name...

It's only a month away! Definitely time to start thinking about it. :D

I had fun today putting together a tall pile of possible reads for next weekend:

Kindred, Octavia Butler
The Hare, Cesar Aíra
Democracy, Henry Adams
The Third Policeman, Flann O’Brien
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Day Sijie
Trains and Lovers, Alexander McCall Smith
The Flowering Thorn, Margery Sharpe
HHhH, Laurent Binet
In a Lonely Place, Dorothy B. Hughes
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson
The Greatcoat, Helen Dunmore
Fear the Darkness, Becky Masterman
From the Meadow, Peter Everwine
Omeros, Derek Walcott
The Selected Poetry of Osip Mandelstam
Georgics, Virgil
Evicted, Matthew Desmond
Conversations with Lucille Clifton, ed. Michael Glaser
The Shepherd’s View, James Rebanks
The Lost City of Z, David Grann
March, Vol. 3, John Lewis etc

Audiobook — The End of the Affair? Lullaby?

We have always lived in the castle will be one of my possibilities for this. :)

It's classic suspense. Seems like a good time of the year to read it, Jamie. I'll have to see what else is on your list...

Susan wrote: "It's classic suspense. Seems like a good time of the year to read it, Jamie. I'll have to see what else is on your list..."

I still have to finish making it on my next day off. Right now its just a few ideas stacked in my living room. Hopefully it'll be more on Mon or Tues and I can share it. Then fine tune it as the date draws closer since I always have WAY too many options then is realistic but I still like to have options to pick from.