The Big, Fancy, Freqently-Updated Read-a-Thon Post!

Thanks, folks, I’ll be here all day! (…and probably some of the night!) Updates as they come, running totals at the bottom. Let’s get this nerdfest on the road!

Hour Zero – 8 am

G’morning, all! I can’t talk so well at the moment (too much Rock Band last night, starring me and my terrible voice singing for the first time ever), but I got a decent night’s sleep and am ready to go – here’s to no fire alarms! Any guesses as to what time I manage to get out of bed long enough to put my contacts in?

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Hour One – 9 am

Time spent reading this hour: 0:56
Pages read this hour: 55
What book(s): The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley
Thoughts: I’m enjoying it well enough, but the language is dense enough that I may have to switch to something a little easier. Also, I should make some tea and have breakfast at some point.
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Hour Two – 10 am

Time spent reading this hour: 0:52
Pages read this hour: 54
What book(s): Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley
Thoughts: Tea now, then more reading, I think.
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Hour Three – 11 am

Time spent reading this hour: 0:39
Pages read this hour: 65
What book(s): – Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley
– The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Thoughts: Good breakfast of banana, bread, tea, and one of the six million easter eggs leftover from last week. My contacts went in at 10:13 (much earlier than I was guessing), for those of you keeping score. Still in my PJs, though.

I also had the revelation that the Hitchhiker’s Guide (the actual guide, not the eponymous novel) is essentially a Kindle. Douglas Adams was clearly ahead of his time. Do they sell Kindles with “Don’t Panic” written across the case? Because as much as I don’t think I really want a Kindle, I think I’d have to buy one of those, just for the nerd cred.
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Hour Four – 12 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:44
Pages read this hour: 48
What book(s): The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley
Thoughts: Almost done with my first book! It’s an interesting mix of exciting action adventure and rather ponderous language – McKinley’s writing style just is never going to be my favorite. I need something fluffier for my next book.
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Hour Five – 1 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:50 (roughly, I forgot to turn my stopwatch on)
Pages read this hour: 75
What book(s): Finished The Outlaws of Sherwood, and started The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Thoughts: Finally gave up on the PJs, although I’m still reading in bed. Should probably think about lunch soon. Disreputable History is an excellent choice (at 47 pages in) – light, funny, interesting, and suitably fluffy. Plus, the margins and print are so large that there’s about twelve words per page.
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Hour Six – 2 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:15
Pages read this hour: 31
Time spent listening this hour: 0:32
What book(s): Hitchhiker’s Guide and Apologize, Apologize! by Elizabeth Kelly (audiobook)
Thoughts: It’s been a long time since there have been strawberries at reasonable prices, I’d forgotten how good they are sliced with lime juice and a little sugar. Nice compliment to the frozen pizza, anyways. :)

I got started on my audiobook while making lunch, and it’s so funny I wanted to keep going, so I picked up my crochet… I have three unfinished projects already, but saw a pattern for a gorgeous triangle-motif afghan, and just had to try it. It takes about half an hour per triangle, which multiplied by the 250-odd I’m going to need means… that I will be working on this for the rest of my life, or until my hands fall off at the wrist from tendonitis.
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Hour Seven – 3 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:31
Pages read this hour: 72
Time spent listening this hour: 0:15
What book(s): The Disreputable History… and Apologize, Apologize
Thoughts: Things I figured out from reading: The spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum, draws its species name from the same root as the word immaculate… meaning spotless. I love it when science (or, well, Latin) makes sense!

And I’m taking this show outside. I might go for a walk later in the afternoon, but for now, it’s too nice not to be on my porch.
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Hour Eight – 4 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:44
Pages read this hour: 109
What book(s): Disreputable History…
Thoughts: Ooooh, this book is good. And not just because I’m a sucker for books about boarding schools, either (although I totally am.)
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Hour Nine – 5 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:47
Pages read this hour: 117
What book(s): Disreputable History
Thoughts: Finished my book not thirty seconds before my watch chimed 5 pm. The end was a smidgy bit abrupt, but overall, it was great… she says in the author note that she’s writing buddies with Scott Westerfeld, Maureen Johnson, and John Green, and it totally shows.

Now…. what am I in the mood for next?
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Hour Ten – 6 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:39
Pages read this hour: 75
What book(s): Darkwood by M. E. Breen
Thoughts: I took a few minutes at the top of the hour to indulge myself browsing the houseware catalog that was the only thing in the mail today. Darkwood‘s a little slow and confusing to start, but it’s getting better.
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Hour Eleven – 7 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:21
Pages read this hour: 44
What book(s): Hitchhiker’s Guide
Thoughts: Took the first part of the hour to visit others’ blogs; also made myself my current quick go-to dinner and chatted with my housemates for a bit. I’m torn between going back to my audiobook (and knitting/crocheting) and going back to my actual book.
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Hour Twelve – 8 pm

Time spent reading this hour: None
Pages read this hour: None
Time spent listening this hour: 1:00
What book(s): Apologize, Apologize! by Elizabeth Kelly
Thoughts: Halfway done, and I’m really, really surprised at how fast the time’s gone. This hour I got four rows of the baby blanket I’m making for a friend done. Not too bad, but I think I’m going back to my actual book soon.
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Hour Thirteen – 9 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:36
Pages read this hour: 78
Time spent listening this hour: 0:14
What book(s): Darkwood and Apologize, Apologize!
Thoughts: Didn’t update on the hour, since I was making good progress reading and wanted to keep going… by the time I found a good stopping place (i.e. the end of the book), it was already time for the next update!
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Hour Fourteen – 10 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:52
Pages read this hour: 122
What book(s): Finished up Darkwood by M. E. Breen
Thoughts: Not entirely sure how I feel about this one yet. It was interesting, and I think a little bit dark, and maybe too complex for the 10-14 age range. I was having a hard time following how one thing led to another in places… maybe because I’m starting to get a smidge tired?
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Hour Fifteen – 11 pm

Time spent reading this hour: 0:45
Pages read this hour: 87
What book(s): California Demon by Julie Kenner
Thoughts: Needed to get some blood moving at the beginning of the hour, so I took advantage of my currently empty house by having a brief impromptu dance party (shakin’-my-booty-like-an-idiot music of choice: “Hey Ya!” by Outkast).

California Demon is the second Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom book. I read the first one over a year ago… before I’d ever watched any Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And now that I have… woooo, boy, this book is essentially what would happen in Buffy Season 23, after she’d grown up and become a suburban housemom. (Except she’s called “Hunter”, not “Slayer”. But still.) On one hand, it’s exceedingly silly chick-lit, but on the other, I’ve been re-watching Buffy S6, and since I wasn’t going to take read-a-thon time to watch my daily episode, this fills the gap acceptably well.
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Hour Sixteen – 12 am

Time spent reading this hour: 0:34
Pages read this hour: 69
What book(s): California Demon
Thoughts: What did I do the other half of the hour? Tea (non-caffienated… I’ll sleep when I sleep) and stale Nilla wafers, but that didn’t take that long. Hmm. Can’t remember. Not a good sign.
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Hour Seventeen – 1 am

Time spent reading this hour: 0:44
Pages read this hour: 84
What book(s): California Demon
Thoughts: Still doing well, not too tired yet, although my eyes are getting scratchy and my contacts are probably going to have to come out soon. I give myself about an hour and a half or two before I call it a night. Enough time to finish this book and maybe start another.
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Hour Eighteen – 2 am

Time spent reading this hour: 0:46
Pages read this hour: 102
What book(s): Finished California Demon by Julie Kenner
Thoughts: Well, the current page tally isn’t quite what it was the last time I read-a-thon-ed, but I did listen to about an hour’s worth more audiobook than last time, plus I didn’t have any graphic novels (Jack of Fables Vol. 1 finally came in to the library, and it’s on hold for me… very helpful, since I can’t pick it up until tomorrow afternoon. Hrmph.) I doubt I’m going to make it to three o’clock proper, but I’ll stop by one more time with a final update before I hit the sack for good.
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Hour Nineteen – 3 am

Time spent reading this hour: 0:24
Pages read this hour: 48
What book(s): The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess et al.
Thoughts: 2:45 am, and that about does it for me, folks. Even looking at the pretty pictures my eyes are drooping. I could force myself to stay up longer, but I do need to be at least somewhat functional this coming week, so. Kudos to those who are still going, and three cheers for another successful read-a-thon! See y’all in the morning.
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Total time spent reading: 11:59
Total time spent listening: 2:02
Total # of pages read: 1335
Total # of books finished: 4
Total # of books read but not finished: 2

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