24-Hour Readathon – Plans

My weekend plans: read. And read a bit more. And read. And repeat. It’s READATHON weekend. Below is my reading pile. I have no idea how much I’ll be able to get through, but these are some of my newest books and I don’t want them to end up in the black hole, a.k.a. my book case with unread books.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Day Four by Sarah Lotz
Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party by Alexander McCall Smith
Armada by Ernest Cline
Zink by David van Reybrouck

I think I’m most looking forward to Armada, just because Ready Player One by the same writer was one of my very favorite books of all time.

I’m not planning to read as fast as possible, just as much as possible (as in: time spent reading). I will not read for 24 hours. I do need sleep. In the Netherlands, we’re starting at 2pm on Saturday, and usually by 12 midnight, I take a few hours of sleep, to continue early in the morning until 2pm on Sunday.

Wish me luck! And let me know if you’re joining in!

The 24-Hour Read-a-thon! #readathon

It’s almost time to start the 24 Hour Read-a-thon! Over 1,500 (!) book bloggers and other book lovers all over the world will be reading as much as they can within 24 hours. Some will read 6 hours, some will try and read the full 24 hours.

Everyone starts at the same time, 12 GMT, which is 2pm for me here in the Netherlands. I do need my sleep, but I will try and read for 16-18 hours.

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This is what I’ll be reading from:

De stiefmoeder (The Stepmother) by Renate Dorrestein. One of my favorite Dutch writers.

A Mile Down by David Vann. Another favorite writer. This is a biographical story.

Britt-Marie was hier (Britt-Marie Was Here) by Fredrik Backman. From the writer of A Man Called Ove.

Joy by Jonathan Lee. I already started in this book, so it’s a reserve, in case I finish the others.

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End of Readathon survey

Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 11 (12.30 midnight) The story in my head was not the same as in the book: time to go to sleep!
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? A book like Britt-Marie was here, by Fredrik Backman. He also wrote A Man Called Ove.
Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No, it went well!
How many books did you read? Two and a half.
What were the names of the books you read? Britt-Marie was hier (Britt-Marie Was Here) by Fredrik Backman; A Mile Down by David Vann; De stiefmoeder (The Stepmother) by Renate Dorrestein.
Which book did you enjoy most? I loved them all, but Britt-Marie was hier was most fun.
Which did you enjoy least? Can’t say, as I did love them all.
How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? If I have the time, I’ll definitely join in again next time. I’ll be a reader.

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After twenty-four hours (2 pm)

I read 134 pages in De stiefmoeder (The Stepmother) by Renate Dorrestein. Not finished but over halfway.

Total pages after 24 hours: 732
Finished: Britt-Marie was hier (Britt-Marie Was Here) by Fredrik Backman
Finished: A Mile Down by David Vann

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After twenty-two hours (12 noon)

I read another 47 pages of A Mile Down by David Vann and finished the book (237 total). On to my final book, De stiefmoeder (The Stepmother) by Renate Dorrestein (read 22 pages).

Total pages after 22 hours: 598
Finished: Britt-Marie was hier (Britt-Marie Was Here) by Fredrik Backman
Finished: A Mile Down by David Vann

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After twenty hours (10 am)

I read another 95 pages of A Mile Down by David Vann (190 total). But I slept for seven hours, too. Then I read at breakfast and in the bath. I feel very much awake! 😉

Total pages after 20 hours: 529
Finished: Britt-Marie was hier (Britt-Marie Was Here) by Fredrik Backman

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After ten hours of reading (12 midnight)

I read 95 pages of A Mile Down by David Vann. It’s a good read, but now and then a little too detailed for me. It’s all about Vann buying a boat and traveling with it.

Total pages after 10 hours: 434
Finished: Britt-Marie was hier (Britt-Marie Was Here) by Fredrik Backman

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After seven hours of reading (9pm)

I finished Marie-Britt Was Here. It was a very fun book, ending differently from what I was expecting.
Next up: A Mile Down by David Vann.

Total pages after 7 hours: 339
Finished: Britt-Marie was hier (Britt-Marie Was Here) by Fredrik Backman

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After five hours of reading (7pm)

I read 223 pages of Marie-Britt Was Here. I’m still enjoying it a lot. There is a clear baddie. Will Marie-Britt realize in time?

Total pages after 5 hours: 223

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After two hours of reading (4pm)

I read 90 pages of Marie-Britt Was Here. It’s such a fun book! I’m really enjoying the story about this funny lady who has her own view of the world and spends most of her days cleaning.

Total pages after 2 hours: 90

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Opening Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I’m reading from the Netherlands. 
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I’m especially looking forward to A Mile Down. I am curious to read some non-fiction by David Vann. 
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I got some Tony Chocolonely chocolate, crackers and mackerel spread (yummy), and much more. All very nice!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I have my own book editing business so I get to read ALL THE TIME (and I still wanted to join in the readathon – there’s nothing better than that!)
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? I’ll do what I always do: read, eat, blog, and tweet!

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Are you participating? What will you be reading?

Please leave a link to your starting post so I can easily find you.

The 24 Hour Read-A-Thon!

It’s almost time to start the 24 Hour Read-a-thon! Over 400 book bloggers and other book lovers all over the world will be reading as much as they can within 24 hours. Some will read 6 hours, some will try and read the full 24 hours.

Everyone starts at the same time, 12 GMT, which is 2pm for me here in the Netherlands. I don’t have 24 hours the time for reading, but will do my beset to finish one or two books.

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Here’s where I will update my progress.

Hour 2 or so: I won a book already! Wow. I hardly read a thing. I chose SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR LIFE by Bear Grylls. That should be all I ever need to read, right?

Hour 18: Woke up after a good night’s sleep (I needed that). I read 200 pages in 10 hours yesterday – well, I did lots of other things in between or at the same time. 🙂

Still reading The Circle, enjoying it a lot!

Hour 24: I finished The Circle. I really pushed to get it read. It’s 491 pages, so nothing to sniff about. 🙂

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 Start of event meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

I’m reading from the Netherlands – it’s in between England and Germany. Very small and cozy.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

I only have two books in my stack and am now reading The Circle by Dave Eggers. A book that looks really very good (and it’s beautiful, too!).

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

I got some cashew nuts and some hummous (and toasts to put it on). That’ll keep me happy.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I went to the hairdressers the other week and my hair is a lot shorter now. It looks so much better. Let’s all take 4 inches off! 🙂

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?

I’m a readathon junkie but unfortunately don’t have as much time as I used to so I will take my sleep and do some other (mainly book-related) things this weekend. 

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End of event meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

The last few, as I really, really wanted to finish my book. I did sleep in between, so it’s not like I was suffering from lack of sleep too much.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

I only read one tome, and I don’t advise it. Read something short. See if you can get yourself engrossed in a series and read them all during the readathon. 

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Nothing really, it’s going really well.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

There was a lot of twittering going on, which was really nice. There was always someone around to chat to or to read their blogpost.

5. How many books did you read?

I read one book.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

The Circle by Dave Eggers

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

The above.

8. Which did you enjoy least?

The above.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

If I had more time, I’d love to be a cheerleader again. As it is, I’m glad I found some time to actually read. 

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These are the books I’m planning to read:

The Circle by Dave Eggers. I’m really looking forward to this book! FINISHED

Etched in Sand by Regina Calcaterra. A book abut a bad youth. It sounds good. NOT EVEN STARTED

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Join in the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop and give away a book to your readers. It’s in November and guaranteed to be a lot of fun. Sign up NOW!

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Are you participating? What will you be reading?

Please leave a link to your starting post so I can easily find you.

The Bout of Books 8.0 Read-a-thon #boutofbooks

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Yes, it’s almost time for the Bout of Books read-a-thon! 

This will my second time joining in. It’s a week-long read-a-thon, running from Monday August 19th 12.01 in the morning, to Sunday, August 25th at night.

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I did a readathon a few weeks ago, which lasted for 6 days. I read 4.5 books in those 6 days, so for this readathon, I’ll try 5 books. I already chose some books last week, but I have to change my selection. I am doing a game on Shelfari (a kind of Goodreads) in the second week of September. It works with tags (e.g., thriller, 2012, children’s, psychology) so I have to read books that have no or few tags (in the Shelfari system) now and leave my tagged books for the game. New (review) books often don’t have many tags yet (because not many people have read them) so those are the books I will read for the read-a-thon.

Yes, that’s 5 review copies! Notice how they are all blueish or greenish or blue-green-ish in color!

Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles – finished

Hemelvaart by Judith Koelemeijer [Dutch] – finished

De huisvriend by Bertram Koeleman [Dutch]

Goat Mountain by David Vann

The Long Shadow by Liza Marklund

I’ll be spending evenings plus an extra hour during the day on reading (more at the weekend).

Updates

Monday
Number of books I’ve read today:  half a book

Total number of books I’ve read: 0 books total

Number of pages I’ve read today: 150

Total number of pages I’ve read: 150 pages total

Books: Hemelvaart by Judith Koelemeijer [Dutch]

Other information: I took part in the Twitter chat and did the Bookish Bucket List challenge

Tuesday
Number of books I’ve read today:  1 book

Total number of books I’ve read: 1 books total

Number of pages I’ve read today: 130

Total number of pages I’ve read: 150 + 130 = 280 pages total

Books: Hemelvaart by Judith Koelemeijer [finished], Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles

Other information: –

Wednesday
Number of books I’ve read today: not a lot of 1 book

Total number of books I’ve read: 1 books total

Number of pages I’ve read today: 120

Total number of pages I’ve read: 280 + 120 = 400 pages total

Books: Hemelvaart by Judith Koelemeijer [finished], Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles

Other information: Very busy with other things! I seem to read less than normal rather than more!! I did do the TBR pile mini challenge. I am enjoying my book, Lighthouse Island, I just don’t find the time to read all that much!

Thursday
Number of books I’ve read today: not a lot of 1 book

Total number of books I’ve read: 1 books total

Number of pages I’ve read today: 90 (to page 220)

Total number of pages I’ve read: 400 + 120 = 520 pages total

Books: Hemelvaart by Judith Koelemeijer [finished], Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles

Other information: Not much time for reading. It’s bad, but what can one do? Other than work and family,  reading is my Number One priority… 😦

Friday
Number of books I’ve read today: almost got to the end of my second book!

Total number of books I’ve read: 1 books total

Number of pages I’ve read today: 110 (to page 330)

Total number of pages I’ve read: 520 + 110 = 630 pages total

Books: Hemelvaart by Judith Koelemeijer [finished], Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles

Other information: I tried really hard, but didn’t finish my second book. It’ll happen on Saturday, for sure. I have to reset my goal to 3 books total rather than 5. How sad!

Saturday
Number of books I’ve read today: finished one, started new book

Total number of books I’ve read: 2 books total

Number of pages I’ve read today: 185 (to page 120)

Total number of pages I’ve read: 630 + 185 = 815 pages total

Books: Hemelvaart by Judith Koelemeijer [finished], Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles [finished], The Long Shadow by Liza Marklund

Other information: I took part in the twitter chat, which was really good fun! Actually, me and some other people talked more about coffee, cookies, and childcare than books, but that was good fun, too. While I love talking to friends, I find more and more that I also love to talk to (near) strangers. 🙂

Sunday

Number of books I’ve read today: finished my third book

Total number of books I’ve read: 3 books total

Number of pages I’ve read today: 220

Total number of pages I’ve read: 815 + 220  = 1035 pages total

Books: Hemelvaart by Judith Koelemeijer [finished], Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles [finished], The Long Shadow by Liza Marklund [finished]

I tried very hard to finish my book today, and I did! So, in total I read 3 books rather than 5, but at least I managed those three (I was not sure I would!). It was a fun read-a-thon – just wish I had more time for it.

 

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