A Slow Start for Readathon (and a Few Book Bargains)

Well, I thought I had this all planned out perfectly.  Amanda and I had booked a hotel room, packed our suitcases, and selected piles of books.  We had the perfect readathon planned.  So how come I didn't even start reading until 4 p.m.???

We had a good start last night:  checked in to our lovely hotel room, had an excellent dinner at a Lebanese restaurant, and made it to the 8:15 showing of Jane Eyre (which we both found underwhelming).  But I just could not get started reading today.

Part of the problem was that Readathon always falls on the second Saturday, which is also the day of our monthly book discussion groups.  Our classics group (at 10. a.m.) was discussing I Capture the Castle, of which I am terribly fond, and I could not miss that.  Immediately following was the Jane Austen Book Group (at 11 a.m., discussion of Jane Austen's biography by Claire Tomalin, which I hadn't actually read), which I missed last month, and I felt too guilty to skip it again.  Then it was lunchtime -- see how this is going?  Already lunch and I hadn't read anything yet!

We did try to read during lunch, without much luck.  I did read a couple of short stories from The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami, but then they became so odd I had to put the book down.  In desperation, I chose Mrs. 'Arris Goes To Paris, which I have been saving specially for Readathon.  I have a cute little edition published in 1958 which I purchased in a charming antique bookstore during my Christmas vacation in Baltimore.  It's 157 pages and a tiny little book, only about five by six inches, so it was a quick read.  At last, I've completed something!

I did read a few pages of the Jane Austen biography this morning, and a bit of a nonfiction book called Jane Austen and Crime, which is intriguing.  Right now I'm finally reading one of the books I've owned the longest, a book of essays called My Misspent Youth by Meghan Daum.  I purchased this book about ten years ago when I was living in Nebraska.  It had a local connection since Ms. Daum was a resident of Nebraska at the time.  I have been moving it from house to house ever since, quietly unread.  I've read four of the ten essays so far and they're quite good, so at least I'm not angry that I didn't donate it to the library book sale.

And other than reading, eating, and book discussions, Amanda and I also entered an online mini-challenge and ahem, went to the Half-Price Books -- I had been longing for a copy of The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh which I saw months ago.  It was still on the shelf, so obviously, I was fated to buy it.  And also Stoner, a NYRB Classic that Thomas at My Porch raved about in this review.  It was half-price and in very good condition, and besides, my library doesn't own a copy.  I had to buy it, didn't I?

And I'm not even going to discuss my outing yesterday to a fundraising book fair for one of the local school districts.  There were thousands of books, paperbacks all 50 cents and hardcovers for one dollar.  Here's what I added to the TBR shelf:

From top to bottom:

• Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope (I now own five of the six Pallisers novels, still haven't finished a single one yet)
• The House at Sugar Beach by Helen Coope
• Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane
• The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford (an NYRB Classic and it looked interesting)
• Return to Thrush Green by Miss Read
• The Three Daughters of Madame Liang by Pearl S. Buck
• Drood by Dan Simmons
• The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Total cost:  $5.50 (I also bought a book for each of my daughters, so my total output was $7.)  Such bargains!

Anyhow -- I hope to make some progress and actually finish some of the other SEVENTEEN books I brought with me.  I'm crazy, I know.  But I need choices.  You should see my carry-on luggage when I travel.  I really do need to break down and buy an e-reader someday.

How's everyone else doing with Readathon?  I hope to post with more progress before the end of the night.

Readathon Retreat

Eat. Sleep. Read. Repeat.  Sounds like a Readathon mantra to me!

I had a great time during the October Readathon, in which I read several novellas and a graphic novel.  However, I kept thinking about how great it would be if real life didn't get in the way -- cooking dinner, letting the dog out, et cetera.  I have always had fantasies about being locked in a library or a bookstore, as long as there were plenty of snacks and squashy couches.

But it also occurred to met that a hotel room would be much more comfortable, though it would have less books.  But it would have a pool!  And room service!  And didn't I already own, oh, about two hundred unread books on my own bookshelves, just waiting to be finished??

So I jokingly remarked to my good friend Amanda from The Zen Leaf about how fun it would be to get a hotel room for Readathon.  And she immediately thought it was a great idea, so we've booked a hotel room for the weekend and are having a Readathon Retreat!  We'll check in on Friday, have dinner, and then we're planning on going to see the new Jane Eyre movie (adapted from one of my all-time favorite books, so that's book-related, right?).  Saturday, we have our classics book group, then the rest of the day is basically, read with no distractions other than eating, blogging, and the occasional break in the pool or the exercise room if we're feeling too sedentary.  It's going to be about 95 degrees here in San Antonio this weekend, so indoor exercise might be a good thing.  And we might take a side trip to the Half-Price Books nearby. . . if we run out of things to read!

I've already set aside a stack of books as possible reads -- I know I can't possibly finish all of them, but I hope to complete a couple of novellas, some short stories and essays, and one Persephone book which is an Interlibrary Loan and needs to be returned next week. Here's a photo of my tentative stack:

From top to bottom: 

• Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico
• The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery
• The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith
• Doreen by Barbara Noble
• The Complete Stories by Saki
• The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami 
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
• Jane Austen and Crime by Susannah Fullerton
• One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
• My Misspent Youth: Essays by Meghan Dowd

Of course, I may ending adding or subtracting books at the last minute, but I think I have a good mix of genres and styles.  I have novellas, short stories, essays, and nonfiction, so there should be something to keep me amused the entire time.  Plus, all but one of these are books from my unread shelves, so I'll make some progress on that Owned-and-Unread Challenge.  If you want to see what Amanda's bringing, you can read her post here.

What are you doing for Readathon?

TBR Readathon Results and TBR Dare Update

So, there was a TBR Readathon over the weekend (hosted by Unputdownables)  and I did my best.  W hat was I thinking, signing up for a Readathon the same weekend as my book groups, the Superbowl, and the Latin competition???  Seriously.  After my good start on Saturday with about 250 pages read, I kept falling asleep reading on Sunday.  But perhaps it was my reading material.  I did eventually make some progress, but it seemed like the whole day was bits and pieces of this and that.  Here's my final results for the weekend:

• Farewell Leicester Square by Betty Miller -- read about 2/3, approximately 230 pages
• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry -- completed, about 150 pages
• Villette by Charlotte Bronte-- 49 pages (still more than 500 to go!)
• The Virago Book of Ghost Stories -- completed, read about 100 pages over the weekend

I guess it's not a bad total for a weekend, but nowhere near what I was hoping and not nearly as much as last spring -- I did finish two novellas and an enormous graphic novel, but I guess I can't compare that.  Next Readathon I want to book a hotel room and read all weekend.  And order room service! (Well, I can dream, can't I?)

And as for my TBR Dare Challenge -- I've completed 16 books so far this year, of which three were rereads.  Of those,  seven were books from my TBR shelves, which isn't bad. It's approximately 50% of my reads which is what I was hoping for.  Last year I completed about 130 books, and only 28 were unread books from my own shelves -- approximately 22% owned books versus library books read!   I'd love to read ONLY from my shelves this year, but I just know it won't happen.  Between book groups and volunteering at the library, I am constantly assaulted by the temptation of books.

Regarding the book-buying ban, I've been pretty strong.  I've been to bookstores several times since January 1 and not purchased anything for myself (presents for others do not count.  And I am NOT buying books for myself and pretending they're presents, I swear.)  My one digression so far was at the library's book sale last week -- I found a tiny little Trollope that I just could not resist!  It is a 1950 edition of Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite, in a cute little pocket size, from Oxford University Press.  It was only $1 and I felt the need to make an exception for Trollope -- seriously, could you blame me?

And how did everyone else do over the weekend?  Lots of books crossed off the TBR list?  And is anyone else trying a book-buying ban, and have you been successful so far?

TBR Readathon Update 1

Sunday morning already and I didn't post any updates yesterday.  What I thought would be a quiet day reading was not so much.  Not only did I have my classics discussion group yesterday, it was also the Jane Austen Book Group, and it was movie day.  I had originally planned on staying only a little while since I wasn't optimistic about the movie adapation -- fittingly, The Jane Austen Book Club, which I read and reviewed (briefly) last month.  Despite the changes made by the filmmakers, I quite enjoyed it.  And of course since it's held at the library, I had to stay afterward and help clean up and ended up chatting with my librarian friends. . . it was 2:30 by the time I got home!

Then at 4:30, it was off to the high school for the awards from the annual Latin competition.  My daughter is in the eighth grade, but her class is high-school Latin so they were allowed to compete.  She had a lot of fun but the awards were delayed which meant a long wait in a loud gymnasium with uncomfortable bleachers. . . I did bring a book, naturally, but it was hardly optimal reading conditions.  When we finally got home I did get some reading done after dinner. Here's what I got finished:

1.  Finished A Raisin in the Sun for the classics discussion -- about 100 pages, but it's a play and it was really fast.

2.  Finished the audio book of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day -- I only had a couple of chapters, and I finished it easily while driving to and from the library.  I read it last year but I'd always wanted to listen to the audio version, narrated by Frances McDormand who played Miss P. in the movie adaptation.

3.  Read three more stories from The Virago Book of Ghost Stories, about 40 pages -- I only have one story left and it's finished.  The final unread story is The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell.  For some reason I've been avoiding it, I'm not sure why because I love Gaskell.  I guess I'm saving the best for last.

4.  Started a new Persphone Book, Farewell Leicester Square -- I made some real progress, 109 pages!  I know I posted earlier I was going to read Flush, but I grabbed this one instead.  I joined the Persephone Reading Group on Goodreads and this is the February read.  (Last month was Few Eggs and No Oranges which is more than 600 pages, and I haven't even opened it.  I'll try to get to it in time for Persephone Reading Weekend).

So -- I still haven't tackled Villette but I did read about 250 pages total.  Not bad for a Saturday when I was actually out and about since I couldn't lock myself in a room and read all day.  I hope to get more reading done today since I don't really watch the Superbowl!

TBR Readathon

It's a Readathon weekend hosted by Wallace at Unputdownables, and it's the perfect opportunity to complete a few books off my TBR shelves.  I do have a book group meeting tomorrow, but I should have lots of time to get some serious reading done.  Here are some of my choices: 

From top to bottom:

1.  A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry -- my book group selection for tomorrow -- I'd better get this one done tonight! 

2.  The Virago Book of Ghost Stories -- I started this one last week during Virago Reading week, and I only have five more stories left.  Should be an easy one to finish. 

3.  Flush by Virginia Woolf -- it's short, it's a Persephone (though not this particular edition) and Amanda from The Zen Leaf chose it for me as part of our reading swap.

4.  Mrs. Craddock by W. Somerset Maugham -- because I'm in the mood for some Maugham.  The Painted Veil is one of my favorites and I was tempted to check out some Maugham today while I was volunteering at the library.  But I was strong and resisted -- got to work on my own shelves first! 

5. Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer.  I have a whole shelf of nonfiction books and I love animal stories.  I've been thinking about elephants since I went to the zoo the other day (it was in the 70s on Monday -- and today we had a snow day!  Go figure.) 

6.  Villette by Charlotte Bronte -- Not the whole thing!  Just about 30 pages for this week's Readlong entry.  I'm behind already! 

7.  Love and Kisses and a Halo of Truffles: Letters to Helen Evans Brown by James Beard.  This is one of the books on my TBR shelf I've owned longest, so I really want to make some progress.  I started this volume of letters the other night, and I don't know if I'd want to read the entire thing straight through but it's fun to read a few at a time.  It's all about food and recipes so it makes me really hungry. 

So -- is anyone else participating?  What are you reading?  I'll try and post updates but it'll only be once or twice a day.  

Readathon Wrap-Up

All done!  I lasted until about 2 a.m. Central time.  I did finish my final book, a creepy little Gothic thriller by Joan Aiken called Died on a Rainy Sunday.  It's a short book, only about 120 pages, and I'd read it before so it was a fun way to end the evening (plus it counts for the RIP challenge).  I was too tired last night to write a final update, so here are my numbers:

Pages read: 1237
Books finished: 5
Books finished from my shelves: 3
Books finished from the library: 2

Cecelia's books:

Pages read: 1499
Books finished (all from her own shelves): 6

It was really fun but I was sorry to get started so late in the day.  I also should have planned out the dinner better.  Hopefully I'll be able to plan my day better next year -- it just worked out that book group fell on this day, and I hate to miss it.  What I'd really love would be to pack a bunch of books into a suitcase and check into a hotel for Readathon!  I could lock myself into the room and order food in.  I'd get tons of reading done (except breaks for the hot tub, of course).  Wouldn't that be great?

Readathon Update 3

Four books and counting!

I'm so glad I have such a pile of short books -- it really helps me feel I'm making progress.  Of course the pile keeps getting bigger instead of smaller. . .

I've finished another Persephone, Cheerful Weather For the Wedding, which was super short.  And I finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  I read a total of about 90 pages of it today, so I'm going to count it was one of my finished books.

Updated totals:

Pages read: 1016
Books finished: 4
Books finished from my shelves: 3
Library books read: 1

It's after midnight and I think I'm going to reread a favorite gothic novel by Joan Aiken, then go to bed.  If I'm early enough tomorrow I may read some more.  I didn't get nearly as many books read as I'd hoped, but next time I'll hopefully have an entire day.

Readathon Update 2

I've made progress!!  582 pages of progress, to be specific! Woo hoo!  I finished Blankets by Craig Thompson, a wonderful, big, fat graphic novel.  And I finished it in less than two hours!  This will do great things for my total number of pages.  I'm definitely energized and inspired.  I loved Blankets and I'll post about it this week.

I've started my Persephone book, Cheerful Weather For the Wedding by Julia Strachey.  It's a really thin book, only 119 pages, and I realized it's one of those books that the publisher has fleshed out by using really, really wide margins -- the book itself is 5 1/2 by 7 1/2 inches, but the actual text on each page is only 3 inches by 4 3/4!!  That's a LOT of white space on each page.  I should finish it quickly.

I should have planned ahead for dinner, but I ended up making a roast duck with crusty potatoes and braised red cabbage.   I know, I should have planned ahead and ordered in or cooked ahead of time, but the duck was finally defrosted and I didn't know if it would keep another day in the refrigerator, so I stuck it in the oven.  But please don't be impressed -- roast duck isn't any harder than a roast chicken, it just has a lot more fat.  And it comes with its own packet of delicious orange sauce.  Gabriela, my 13-year-old, made cupcakes this morning, so dessert was ready.  She has already promised to make French toast for breakfast tomorrow.

I can't give an accurate update for Cecelia, because she fell asleep on the couch so her big sister tucked her into bed.  I'll report on her final page numbers tomorrow, but it's very impressive, somewhere around 1500 pages.  She's a fast reader and I think she reread the entire Percy Jackson series, but who cares?  She's raising money for charity and I think that's great.

Current totals:

Pages read: 838
Books finished: 2
Books finished from my shelves: 1
Library books finished: 1

Readathon Update 1

Oh, I am starting out so slowly.  Of course, I wasn't planning on reading the entire 24 hours, but I'm disappointed at my progress.

This morning I did read about 25 pages of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies -- our discussion was at 11 a.m. and I still wasn't finished.  Honestly, though, I was really just skimming the Jane Austen parts and looking for the ultraviolent zombie mayhem to see how Seth Grahame-Smith worked it into the novel, so it's not as if I was missing much. I didn't get around to making zombie cupcakes, much to the chagrin of my daughter, but I'll work on that tomorrow.

I still haven't finished it -- I had about 50 pages to go, but somehow I didn't think it would be appropriate to read during lunch!  Instead, I started Ella Minnow Pea, which I really enjoyed.  But I got sidetracked by a nap and you know how that goes.  I did finish it after my nap, and one of my goals was that half of the books I read today would be from my shelves, not all library books, so that's good.


And of course my daughter Cecelia is on a roll!  Of course, she didn't attend book group or take a nap.

Progress so far:

Karen's Books:

Pages read:  232
Books finished: 1
Books finished from my shelves: 1
Library books finished: 0

Cecelia's Books:

Pages read: 1,499
Books finished: 6
Books finished from her shelves: 5
Library books finished: 1

Well, I am well rested and something of a night owl, so I hope to make good progress tonight.  Plus, juvenile lit and graphic novels await!  Should make up some lost time.  I was hoping to read five books for the Readathon, so if I finish P&P&Z, I'll count that towards my books for donations event though I didn't start it today.

My Readathon List

My first Readathon!!  I'm so looking forward to this, I've already started collecting piles of books and making lists.

Unfortunately, I am not actually going to be able to participate in the entire 24 hours.  I am leading back-to-back book groups that morning -- sorry, I just can't miss the discussion of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!!  So I'll miss about three hours.  And I honestly don't think I can stay up all night reading, I'd be completely zonked the next day.   I'll probably end up reading about 15 or 16 hours, which is still a lot.

Since this is my first Readathon, I have no idea how many books or pages I'll be reading, so I don't have any particular goals other than to get through as many as possible.  I'm guessing I can get through at least three or four books.  I will be donating to charity based on my results.  I've never done this before, but I was thinking a penny a page, plus $5 for every book completed.  I'll be donating to the Humane Society of San Antonio.  And my nine-year-old daughter is participating also!  She's going to donate a penny a page to SNIPSA, another pet charity, and I told her I'd pay half so she doesn't deplete her savings account.  (She's a fast reader!)

I tried to take most of my Readathon list off of my to-read bookshelf, which is getting bigger and bigger!  I really shouldn't even check out more library books, but I volunteer twice a week, and I can't help myself.  (So many good things -- it's like being in a candy store!)

So, here is a list of my potential reads:

1.  Blankets by Craig Thompson.  I've heard it's a good idea to have a graphic novel for Readathon, and I've heard so many things about this one.  It's a must-read.

2.  One juvenile book by Diana Wynne Jones, either The Pinhoe Egg or Homeward Bounders, both on my to-read shelf.

3.   One Persephone, as they're starting to pile up.  I have two that I just checked out from the library (thank you, Interlibrary Loan!):  The Home Maker by Dorothy Canfield, and An Interrupted Life: The Letters of Etty Hillesum.  I also have a nice stack from my owned-and-unread bookcase. Mariana was the earliest unread purchase, so that's possible, but Cheerful Weather for the Wedding is nice and short.

4.  Something creepy for RIP.  Probably We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, or The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells.

5.  Something by Joan Aiken, author of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, one of my favorite childhood books.  She wrote a lot of short gothic novels for adults also, so that would satisfy RIP.  I definitely want a lot of short books to choose from!

6.  The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery.  Because I loved Anne of Green Gables.

7.  Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn.  It's short and been on my bookshelf forever, and I think it will be a fast read.  Perfect for Readathon.

8.  Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float by Sarah Schmelling.  A humorous-looking book -- what if literary characters were alive today and all joined a social networking group?  Literary and timely!

9.  Pearl Buck in China by Hilary Spurling -- a new biography, been on the library's wait list for this for months.  I really loved The Good Earth, and last year I was lucky enough to visit her home

10.  The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett -- it's the November selection for my IRL classics book group, and I'll be picking it up that day.

Other possible reads:

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
Wuthering High by Cara Lockwood
The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson.
The Ghosts of Kerfol by Deborah Noyes

Plus I have lots of books of short stories -- always a good choice, since you can read them in bits and pieces to break up the longer books.

Anyone else participating in Readathon?  What are you reading?  And do I have too many books on my list?  This will be so fun!