Tag Archives: Readathon

Spring 2013 Readathon

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Today’s the day!

Starting at 8 AM EDT, I’ll be reading all day! While Dewey’s Readathon is technically 24 hours, I’ll cut off by midnight. 16 hours of reading (in a row) is enough for me!

I’ll update this post with my progress every couple of hours. You can see the stack I’m reading from here: http://ignoranthistorian.com/2013/04/readathon-stack/ .

Quick Stats
475 pages read
120 minutes audiobook listened
finished: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

9:30 Update

Reading is going well. I’ve read 60 pages so far, from 3 different books: The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Jerry Bridges, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, and All too Human by George Stephanopoulos. Since I’m reading only 20 pages in any book at one time, I may never finish a book today. That’s okay…I’m reading what I like!

11:15 Update

I’ve completed my first “circuit,” reading 30 pages each in Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. Also read another 20 pages in Transforming Power of the Gospel.

I got sleepy, so I ended up taking a 15-minute nap. I’m more awake now and ready to hit the books again.

1:45 Update

Losing a little steam. Only read 40 pages since my last update, from Blink and All Too Human. About to dive back in to the reading.

3:30 Update

Picked up the pace since my last update. Helps that I only read fiction. I read 90 pages, from Les Miserables and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. At this point, I think I’ll switch to focusing on one book, and read Harold Fry until it’s finished. I’m about 1/3 of the way through at the moment.

I did go outside for about an hour which was nice. Sat on my balcony for the first time. I came back in, though, as sitting in the sun on the balcony got uncomfortable after a while.

5:55 Update

Continuing in The Unlikely Pilgrimage Harold Fry, reading 90 pages. Hope to complete it before I update again. It likely will be the only book that I finish this Readathon, but I’m okay with that. If you add up all the pages I’ve read today, I would have already finished any normal-length book.

8:00 Update

I finished a book! Kept reading until I finished Harold Fry. It was good, and I’m glad my SIL recommended it.

I may turn back to the Stephanopoulus memoir, or another fiction book. Or maybe a little bit of both. I still have a few more hours in me!

10:30 Update

That’s it. I’m ready for bed. What can I say, going to work at 7 AM has ruined the night owl in me! Totals are as above. I’m happy with my day and looking forward to another relaxing day tomorrow…at the beach!

Readathon Stack

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It’s that time of year…time for the bi-annual Readathon!

When I decided to participate this time around, I was thinking through what books I wanted to request from the library. Then I remembered the decent-sized stack of books I already had out, and wasn’t reading. So instead of getting new, enticing books from the library, I’m going to read what I have.

That said, here’s my stack:

Readathon stack

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (how much longer can I not read this?)
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by Richards and O’Brien
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce*
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
The Year of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood
Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston
Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Jerry Bridges*
All too Human by George Stephanopoulos*
Quiet Leadership by David Rock
Citizens by Simon Schama*
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo* (not pictured)

*in progress

Clearly with this stack, I’m not going to be putting up huge numbers with this stack, though I do have a couple of easy reads. They’re all books that I’ve wanted to read, and this is my opportunity to do so. I’ll be keeping up with my habit of jumping around between different books, so probably won’t be finishing many, either. I’m okay with that, though. I’m just going to enjoy the read! If the weather’s nice as it appears likely to be, I’ll probably spend some of the day reading outside, and knock one more thing off my list!

If you’re joining in, what are you looking forward to reading?

New Year’s Eve Readathon Wrapup

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Well, it’s past midnight and time to wrap up my readathon. I had a good day and got in a good amount of reading: 433 pages plus a good chunk of an ebook. I did finish two more books, to bring my yearly total to 143 (yes, I find that ridiculous).

This was just my type of celebration. I look forward to bringing in the next year with a good book, too.

New Year’s Eve Readathon

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A few weeks ago, I told you all about my big New Year’s Eve plans. I know that it’s only New Year’s Eve Eve, but I’m starting to think through my plans for tomorrow and which books I will be tackling.

I don’t have a big stack in years past, though a few should be coming in the mail tomorrow and maybe a few more will be picked up from the library. I will definitely be dipping into at least one of my Christmas goodies.

My plan for this Readathon is definitely to take it easy. I plan on doing my “normal” reading: 20 pages each of a spiritual growth book, a biography, another non-fiction, a classic fiction, and a modern fiction book. Obviously, that’s not enough to cover the 13 hours I plan to read, so I’ll throw in more “free” reading as well.

I’ll be keeping my Twitter feed updated with what I’m currently updated and will do a wrap-up post here when it’s done.

Happy New Year’s!

Interested in joining the NYE Readathon? Read about it here!

Big New Year’s Eve Plans

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Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a big party person. I’d like to think I’m not anti-social (and I don’t think I am), but I tend to enjoy an evening at home more than an evening out.

That said, it’ll be no surprise to hear what I’ve decided to do this New Year’s Eve:

Join the NYE Readathon.

This is my type of readathon: no rules. Personally, I hope to spend most of the day reading. I agreed to work a half-day that day, so I will be getting off at 11, then I can read the rest of the day. Works out well that I can read 13 hours to welcome in 2013!

I’m excited about the chance to be home for New Year’s this year. I’ve traveled over New Year’s the last two years, but I always feel like that starts my year off on a hectic note. A readathon seems just the right way to end 2012.

Olympic Readathon Stack

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Here’s my stack for tomorrow’s Olympic Readathon:

Not pictured: LET'S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED by Jenny Lawson and UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand

As always, I don’t really anticipate getting through this stack. Unlike a 24-hour readathon, I won’t be focusing on quick reads or fiction. Instead, I’ll be doing my thing, reading off of 5 different lists: spiritual growth, biography/memoirs, other non-fiction, modern fiction, and classic fiction. For example, right now I’m reading To Live in Peace, A Passion for God, Nom de Plume, Red Mars, and The Man Who Was Thursday. I’ve decided to try to read 25 pages off each list each day. Because of this, I’ve upped my goal for the whole readathon to 2012 pages (which is not only fun but gives me a little grace).

I hope you’ll be joining in in the reading and the rooting for your team!

Olympic Readathon

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Something that people are often surprised to find out about me is how much I love to watch sports. I’m not a walking sports encyclopedia or a Sportscenter addict (I mean, I couldn’t even tell you about the Sooners’ last football season, other than it existed and we won and lost some games), but I do love watching sporting events on TV. While I definitely have a few favorites, it really doesn’t matter what it is. I’ve found pretty much anything but soccer can hold my interest.

Given my love of watching sports, it’s no surprise that I’m looking forward to the Olympics. The summer Olympics are especially fun for me because the only “sport” (swimming laps) I really do is in the summer version. Believe me, the Olympic swimmers swim a bit faster than me.

While I do enjoy watching sports, I like to do so with a book in hand. So, with the opportunity to watch sports for every night for the next two weeks comes an opportunity to get some good reading in. When I heard about the Olympic Readathon, I was sold! After all, I can’t think of what two things to better together.

I may post an official readathon TBR stack later this week, but regardless of whether I do or not, I’m really just working on the same TBR stack I always work off of. I have a good number of fiction books still out from the library since April’s Readathon, so I’d like to get through some of those. I’m also hope to continue to make good progress on my official TBR shelf, with the goal of it being empty (at least for a few minutes!) at some point before I turn 30 in December.

My goal for the Olympic Readathon is to read 1700 pages…100 for each day of the Olympics. This is usually what I short for on any day, but I don’t want to push myself as I do plan on looking up from my books (especially during the swimming and gymnastics events!).

What are you looking forward to this Olympic season?

Finalish Readathon Post

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I always forget how tired I get when trying to stay up late. I’m not a spring chicken any more!

So, I’m calling it night before I had hoped. I even considered finishing my 24 hours of reading by staying up until 2…nope.

Since my last update, I’ve been reading A Million Suns. It’s been easy getting back in that world, and I’m amazed at how many tricks the author still had up her sleeves. Will enjoy continuing that tomorrow.

So, what have done?

7 books finished (4 started previously)
1347 pages read
619 minutes of audiobooks listened to
21:26 total reading time

I’ll easily be able to finish the 24 hours tomorrow or the next day! Good night!

9:08 Readathon Update

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It was getting a little dodgy there about an hour ago, put I popped open a Diet Dr Pepper, and I’m doing better.

Since the last update, I took a dinner/audiobook break and read Chu Ju’s House. Great choice for the Readathon as it’s a quick read. Up next is A Million Suns. I doubt I’ll finish it tonight, but I hope to get a good chunk read.

Stats of the Readathon:

7 books finished (4 started before the Readathon)
1271 pages read
567 minutes of audiobooks listened to
19:23 total reading time

6:33 Readathon Update

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Well, the past 2 hours have been great for reading. Finished 3 books! Okay, okay, I had less than 25 pages left in 2 of them, but it was good to finish them off.

I’ve decided to give up on Asimov’s Foundation series. Just can’t get into a book that skips through time…gives no chance for character development. Oh, well.

Next up will be Chu Ju’s House, at the recommendation of a friend. Should be a quick, good read.

Stats so far:

6 books finished (4 started before the Readathon)
1044 pages read
491 minutes of audio listened to
16:49 total reading time