Bout of Books 2.0

It's here! Bout of Books 2.0 is going on all week over at On a Book Bender and I'm going to try to actually follow through this time. I completed a short read-a-thon over the weekend that ended in an epic fail when I spent Sunday buying things and then having to update all of my technology through lengthy upgrade downloads, but that's a story for another time.

I'll be updating all week on this post. Here are my goals for the week:

1) Read at least three books start to finish.
2) Read at least one review request book.
3) Read at least one library book.

I hope to get more than that, but we'll start conservatively since my weekend is mostly taken with Halloween activities.

I'm copying Amanda's format for updates, but I'm changing it to tracking page count and not book count since I won't be reading that many whole books.

10/24
Number of pages I’ve read today: 299
Total number of pages I’ve read: 299
Today #insixwords: First one down, two to go.
Books: When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen; The Devil Colony by James Rollins

10/25
Number of pages I’ve read today: 19% on Kindle; roughly 60 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 359 or so; more to come
Today #insixwords: I'm not sure about this book.
Books: Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barrett

10/26
Number of pages I’ve read today: 40% on Kindle, roughly 128 pages; 20 or so pages from library book
Total number of pages I’ve read: 508 pages
Today #insixwords: Had to DNF a boring book.
Books: Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barrett; The Devil Colony by James Rollins

10/27
Number of pages I’ve read today: On Kindle, roughly 100 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 600 pages or so
Today #insixwords: My love of steampunk reinforced.
Books: The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong; Soulless by Gail Carriger

10/28
Number of pages I’ve read today: 90 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 700 pages or so
Today #insixwords: Why is this book taking forever?
Books: The Devil Colony by James Rollins

10/29
Number of pages I’ve read today: Zero
Total number of pages I’ve read: 700 pages or so
Today #insixwords: Too many plans, none for books.
Books: N/A

10/30
Number of pages I’ve read today:
Total number of pages I’ve read:
Today #insixwords:
Books:

Bout of Books Wrap Up

The read-a-thon is just about complete! Thank you to Amanda at On a Book Bender for hosting this fun challenge. I did not make as much progress as I would have liked, but that's okay. No new books for me I guess.

Here was my planned list:

1) Wisdom's Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (review due 9/12)
2) The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge (library book due back Wednesday) FAIL
I couldn't finish this before its due date, so I'm picking a new book.
2) Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (although I may have to abandon this one too because Galley Grab is not playing nice with my new Nook)
3) Torrent by Lisa T. Bergren (because why haven't I read it yet? It's getting dusty and that is UNACCEPTABLE.)
4) Lover Unbound by J. R. Ward (I've started this one and now just need to finish it)
5) To be determined (something spontaneous that I want to read in the moment)

Here's what I actually read:

1) Lover Unbound by J. R. Ward

This took forever and a day to finish because I just wasn't feeling it. It didn't exactly set the tone for the week.

2) Starstruck by Cyn Balog

This was a tour book that arrived mid-week, which I decided to power through this weekend. Very enjoyable!

3) Torrent by Lisa T. Bergren (partial)

I got almost to the midway point today, but I have a lot more reading to do if I want to finish it in time to get the review up on Thursday. GULP.

4) Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (partial)

Here's the thing about Goliath: my Nook hates it. The beautiful artwork dotted throughout the book causes my Nook to crash out to the home screen, which makes reading it slow going. I read a little on my laptop today, and that's going to be how I finish it if I want to read it before it releases. At this point, I'm thinking of scratching and just pre-ordering a copy to read when it comes out. I am thoroughly annoyed with my Nook at the moment and it is negatively affecting my enjoyment of this book. Grrr.

So that's it. Two whole books. That's basically what I would read anyway, so I'm feeling like a total loser/failure. I also had to drop off the face of the blogging planet this week because I had so much going on, so I didn't even get to enjoy the Twitter updates or giveaways as much as I had hoped. Woe is me!

I hope all of you fared better than I did. I had a great week trying to get books read, and I did manage to catch up on my reviews. I now have a review completed and scheduled for every book I've read, which is a big load off. On to a new week!


Amazingly beautiful and painstakingly crafted signature courtesy of Small Review

Bout of Books Read-a-thon

It's time for another read-a-thon! After moping over the amount of challenges I have left to complete and feeling entirely overwhelmed by my library stock and review piles, I decided that Amanda's read-a-thon over at On a Book Bender is exactly what I need.

If you think you need one too, the good news is that it's going all week long. Personally, I get frustrated by weekday only or weekend only read-a-thons, because it's too much in a short amount of time. This gives me until Sunday night at 11:59pm to get through some books and feel like I actually accomplished something.

If you'd like to participate, it's pretty easy. You can click the button at the top of the page to find the sign-up page, and it's up to you whether you update your progress on your blog, via Twitter, through comments, or at all. Set your own goals, join the Twitter conversation using the hashtag #boutofbooks, or just sign up and enter the giveaways. It's entirely your choice.

Speaking of giveaways - there will be 10+ giveaways by different bloggers all week long, and mini challenges too! It's going to be fun, relaxing, and full of awesome people. You can check the list of fellow participants to see who are all the cool kids and maybe even make some new friends.

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Logan's starting line

My personal goals for the week are to get through at least 5 books. I have been burning the candle at both ends lately and my reading has fallen off, so I'm hoping this will be the push I need to find some enjoyment in reading again. With a busy work week facing me, and in-laws descending for the Chicago Triathlon this weekend, I think 5 is a pretty lofty goal, but I'll give it my best.

I have some review books I have to tackle and I want to read at least one book just for fun. Here's my planned list:

1) Wisdom's Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (review due 9/12)
2) The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge (library book due back Wednesday) FAIL
I couldn't finish this before its due date, so I'm picking a new book.
2) Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (although I may have to abandon this one too because Galley Grab is not playing nice with my new Nook)
3) Torrent by Lisa T. Bergren (because why haven't I read it yet? It's getting dusty and that is UNACCEPTABLE.)
4) Lover Unbound by J. R. Ward (I've started this one and now just need to finish it)
5) To be determined (something spontaneous that I want to read in the moment)

I plan to devote at least one solid hour of reading per night instead of watching TV or blogging or Twitter stalking. This means uninterrupted, guilt-free, distraction-free reading time. It can be on the bed while hubby sleeps, but it is not to be reading done while attempting to multi-task (which is what I do most of the time). I also will be reading, per usual, during my morning and evening commutes and my lunch break. All told, that should equal roughly 15-18 hours, depending on how much I can work in on Saturday and Sunday.

To make it really interesting, I'm going to give myself a little carrot to dangle in front of my nose all week. If I successfully complete all 5 books by Sunday night, I will gift myself a "luxury" book. Now, I buy books a lot, but there are some books I still won't buy because I consider them investments, or too expensive, or not relevant to blogging and so I guilt myself into not buying them. If I complete this read-a-thon, I give myself permission to buy one of those books.

I will probably update here as I go, but may end up doing it mostly through Twitter. You can find me there at @loganturner. I'll try to post a short wrap-up post on Sunday.

Ready?........GO!


Amazingly beautiful and painstakingly crafted signature courtesy of Small Review

Spring into Summer Readathon Updates

The Spring into Summer Readathon is here and I'm getting this party started! Over the next two days I'm going to be updating this post periodically with my status and participating in challenges and reports. Giveaways and mini-challenges run every two hours and I can't wait to dive in. You can follow all the action on Twitter via the hashtag #SiSRead or get the details at Squeaky Books. And without further ado...

What do you hope to read during the read-a-thon?
I hope to tackle some of my review books and also take the time to read some books I've been putting on the back burner while finishing school. I've gotten into the bad habit of focusing too much attention on review copies and not breaking it up with stuff I actually want to read just for fun. It's time to kick that to the curb!

What book are you starting with?
Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz. I started this on the train to work this morning and am LOVING it so far. I know it's a review copy, but I can't put this one down!



I hope to read:
At least three books, which seems doable, plus finish the two I've already started. I think it will depend on whether husband goes to work tomorrow and/or limits his intrusions.

Here are some of the titles I'm going to try to get through: SPELLBOUND by Cara Lynn Shultz; WHEN YOU DARE by Lori Foster; DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth; THE ESPRESSOLOGIST by Kristina Springer; VAMPIRE EMPIRE: THE GREYFRIAR by Clay and Susan Griffith; WILD CHILD by Mike Wells; OCTOBER GIRLS by L.C. Glazebrook; LEGACY by Cayla Kluver

Where are you going to read?
I'm reading from home. Not too exciting. I'll probably vacillate between the couch and my bed.

What will you include in your updates?
Enna (Squeaky Books) has given us a standard for our updates, which I'm going to use as well. It covers books and pages read, as well as the time spent reading. Mine will have to be modified a bit for Kindle books that don't have page counts, so for those I'll use percentages.

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Update: 5:00 p.m. CDT

I'm finishing up this post and then getting down to business!

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: 0
Books read since last update: 0
Pages read since last update: 0
Total time read: 0
How I'm currently feeling: Anxious! I hope I meet my goal. THE PRESSURE! I'm scrapping this mini-challenge attempt so I can get to reading already. I'll check back in a few hours for the next challenge.

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Update and Day 1 Report: 1:09 a.m. CDT

I majorly failed at day one. I was hoping to get through at least one whole book and I couldn't make it happen. We had a big stressful morning at work and I'm now too sleepy to finish. I'm really loving SPELLBOUND, but I have to call it a night.

1. First of all, give us an end-of-day status update. Books read, pages read, you know the drill!

Total books read: 0
Total pages read: around 250 (65% done)
Books read since last update: 0
Pages read since last update: around 250
Total time read: 4 hours or so
How I'm currently feeling: Disappointed! Hopefully tomorrow I can get going and not be so easily distracted by Twitter.

What is the favorite thing you have read today?
Considering I've only read one book, I'd say SPELLBOUND.

Which mini-challenge was your favorite?
I haven't participated in any, but my favorite to read was the picture puzzle challenge.

What has been your favorite thing about the read-a-thon?
Checking out the challenges and tweets. It's nice to feel like this is a community effort.

What has been your LEAST favorite thing about the read-a-thon?
My inability to read quickly. I'm so into this book that I'm savoring it. This may have been a poor choice for a readathon after all, but I don't have the strength to abandon it yet!

Are you on track to meet your goals?
Blech. No. I don't know how much I'll be able to focus/accomplish tomorrow, but I doubt very much that I'll have the patience to read 5 books in one day.

Will you be participating tomorrow? Do you have any new goals?
Yes, I'll be participating. I'll probably unplug for large chunks so I can actually read without as many distractions. I think my new goal is to finish my current read and finish DIVERGENT. If I'm feeling up to it, I'll try for one more.

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DAY 2

Update: 11:30 a.m. CDT - Mini-challenge #7

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 384
Books read since last update: 1
Pages read since last update: around 130
Total time read: 5.5 hours or so
How I'm currently feeling: I'm glad I at least got through one whole book. These are shameful times in the LET house, my friends. Seriously, could I read any slower? Doubtful.

Mini-challenge: Name one book you think should be taught in school, grade of your choice.
Shakespeare. Is that cheating? It's really hard for me to pick just one, as I consider at least a handful of them required reading: Othello, Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice. Frankly, I think each of these contain life lessons worth some deep reflection. Nobody expresses the power of choice quite so poignantly as Shakespeare. Every action has a consequence, and our decisions (or indecision) impact the world in big ways.

I also happen to think that challenging students to discuss these themes while reading outside of their comfort zone is equally important. Language evolves, but the messages stay the same. Shakespeare can be understood, and this realization builds confidence in young readers. I read my first Shakespeare play in 8th grade, but I think students would be capable of better discussions in high school.

Sorry to get preachy, folks. Will's my man.

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Update: 7:00 p.m. CDT - Mini-challenge #11

Total books read: 2
Total pages read: 586
Books read since last update: 1
Pages read since last update: 202
Total time read: 8.5 hours or so
How I'm currently feeling: Despite the challenge of the readathon, I have been very unmotivated to speed through books. I feel better that I finished another (albeit short) book, but I think I've reached my capacity. Hubs turned on the Tony Awards from last week and I haven't been able to really give my attention to DIVERGENT as a result. I think I might be done for the day.

Mini-challenge: If you could live in the world of one book, which would it be and why?
This is such a great question. I was going to say something historical, but I'm not sure I'd want to rough it without indoor plumbing and modern medicine. Instead, I'll go with ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. Oh, to be young and in love in a snooty boarding school in Paris! Sign me up!

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