Bout of Books Final Update: Mission Accomplished!

Update:

Yay! I did it! :D I read my 5 books and reached my goal. Awesome. This was a great read-a-thon and definitely helped to keep me motivated! 

Books Completed During Read-A-Thon: 5

Love and Freindship by Jane Austen
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson
Blood Rites (Dresden Files #6) by Jim Butcher
The Woman In Black by Susan Hill

Bout of Books Day 6 Update: 5/19 Progress

Update:

Book #4 complete! Yay! One left to go. I can do it! :D

Currently Reading:

The Woman In Black by Susan Hill

Thoughts:

Just starting... hope it's good! :D 

Books Completed During Read-A-Thon: 4

Love and Freindship by Jane Austen
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson
Blood Rites (Dresden Files #6) by Jim Butcher

Bout of Books Day 5 Update: 5/18 Progress

Update:

Woohoo! I finished The Alloy of Law (as you can surely tell by the fact that I posted my review for it already.) Starting book #4 for the Read-A-Thon and I'm still hoping to hit my goal of 5! Wish me luck!

Currently Reading:

Blood Rites (Dresden Files #6) by Jim Butcher

Thoughts:

This is different, and so far I'm just kinda hanging in there, waiting to see where it will go. I really loved the last book, so I'm hoping this one ends up being as good, at least. 

Books Completed During Read-A-Thon: 3

Love and Freindship by Jane Austen
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson

Bout of Books Day 4 Update: 5/17 Progress

Update:

Well then. I finished Amity... Stayed strong right to the end, that one did. *snort* Who am I kidding? That book was awful. My review is kinda meangirl style... but it makes me giggle. 

Currently Reading:

The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson (in Progress)

Thoughts:

Alloy: Not really anything new here. I mostly focused on Amityville so I could get it out of the way. Looking forward to finishing Alloy today though! :D

Books Completed During Read-A-Thon: YAY 2!!

Love and Freindship by Jane Austen
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

Bout of Books Day 3 Update: 5/16 Progress

Update:

Not much to report here... Nook charged, I picked back up where I left off with The Alloy of Law... but still didn't get very much reading done. I got about 100 pages of Alloy, and another 50 of Amityville. 

Currently Reading:

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson (in Progress)
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson (in Progress)

Thoughts:
Amityville: Exclamation points! Exclamation points EVERYWHERE! 

Alloy: Stop me if you've heard this one... "Wax and Wayne walk into a bar..." Hehe... Come on... Wax and Wayne? That had to be intentional. ;)

I'm really enjoying this one, although I feel like it's not QUITE living up to the trilogy. I think the conclusion that was just reached where I am in the book (no spoiler) was a bit obvious, but I'm curious to see where it goes. I love Wayne. He is hilarious and awesome. I miss Spook. I also miss the Steel Inquisitors. Yeah. Really. 

Finally, I love how Sanderson gives us intelligent and independent female characters, but I'll be honest and say that I wish that they were better defined individuals. 

I mean this in the leg-humpingest way possible, BSands (you know I love you) but your female characters all kind of remind me of each other... with the exception of Vin, who stands apart in my mind. 

Books Completed During Read-A-Thon: 1 (still...)

Love and Freindship by Jane Austen 

Bout Of Books Day 2 Update: 5/15 Progress

Update:
So, I started The Alloy of Law... and then my Nook battery died. :( 
*Note to self: The glowlight uses more juice... check charge more often. O_o

So anyway, I picked up The Amityville Horror, and probably would have read more than the 133 pages I got in if the book wasn't so atrociously bad that I had to keep quoting it on Goodreads. I mean... REALLY. This book seems to have been written by a 4th grader and edited by someone in a coma. It's that bad. Scary? Only the fact that I must finish.

Because of that... I have no real progress to update here. I went to bed early last night with a migraine, cutting my reading time short. I hope today is better!

Number of books read on 5/15: 0.5

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson (in Progress)

Thoughts:

The only thing worse than having to read this last night was the pain of not being able to read The Alloy of Law. :(

I will share with you some of my Goodreads comments on this book:

"Haha... it's like a cheesy melodrama!

Father Mancuso turned sadly away from the doctor, his eyes staring out the window at the snow. "I think so. Something...". The priest brought his gaze back to the doctor "...or somebody."

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNN!"

And

"As he rode by, Gionfriddo didn't really notice the figure going into The Witches' Brew. The detective was a good fifty feet beyond before he swerved his police car and braked to a stop. He looked back, but the man was gone. The shape of the body, the beard, and the swaggering walk were the same as Ronnie DeFeo's!"

Ugh... First, I hate exclamation points in the narrative! Secondly... did he "not really notice" or did he "notice enough for positive identification"?Yeah... can't say I recommend this one - but it was chosen for a group read so I'm reading it. 

Books Completed During Read-A-Thon: 1

Love and Freindship by Jane Austen 

Bout of Books Day 2 Mini-Challenge: Book Confessions

I like Cosmo quizzes too, what? ;)


Challenge
Book Lover Confession hosted by Nyx Book Reviews

Physical book or eBook? - Yikes... Both, honestly, but Ebooks win for convenience and portability. ♥ my Nook. :D
Paperback or Hardcover? - Paperback most definitely! Hardcovers are tooooooo bulky and cumbersome.
Reality or Make-believe? - Usually make-believe... but I do love a nice dose of tear-jerker reality every once in a while too.
Adult or Young-Adult? - More adult now... I think YA trends recently are irritating, to be honest. *Shakes fist at persistent effing instalove*
Dog ears or Bookmarks? - Bookmarks. I like them. I hate folded pages in books. *twitch*
Breaking the spine or Barely open the book? - Umm... well... I don't fold pages... but I do break spines. I'm a terrible person.
Tea or Coffee? - COFFEEEEEEE. And I need some right now. :(
Reading in bed or On the couch? - Comfy couch is preferable. Unfortunately I don't have one of those. Stupid narrow doorways and hall in my apartment! >:(
Series or Standalone? - Depends on the story, really... but I do think that far too many books which should be standalones are being published as series now. Annoying.
Original or TV Adaptation? - This is a trick question right? O_o Original.
Defy motion sickness or Audiobooks? - I don't get motion sickness, but I still love audio.
Author crushes or Who-was-that-guy-again? - Total author crushes. You know who you are, gentlemen. ;)
Interview or Guest post? - Hmm... I've only ever done interviews on my blog so far. I'd like to try a Guest post, though. :D

There you have it... all my dirty little secrets.

Don't judge me. ;)

Bout Of Books Day 1 Update: 5/14 Progress

Update:
I finished off Death Masks (Dresden #5) by Jim Butcher today (which was fantastic!), and then read my first full Read-A-Thon book (which was good, but not fantastic). Looking forward to book number 2! 

Number of books read as of 5/14: 1

Love and Freindship by Jane Austen 

Thoughts:

I can't say that this is one of my favorites of Austen's. It was very quick, and very short, and funny in an over-the-top way, but I find that I much prefer her subtlety. Considering how young she was when writing this though, it's pretty damn impressive.

"Run mad as often as you chuse; but do not faint--"

Words to live by. ;)

Books Read During Read-A-Thon: 1

Bout Of Books Read-A-Thon Goal / Reading Plan 5/14-5/20

Instead of doing my usual Reading Plan, at the last minute (as is usually my style) I've decided to join up for the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon!

I'm sure we're all used to my usual goal by now (Read 3 books a week to total 160 books in 2012), right? I rarely tend to meet it, but since I have a read-a-thon lending me its willpower, maybe I'll get there this week. Maybe.

The goal for the Read-A-Thon is to read at least 5 of the books below.

Potentials:

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
Love and Freindship by Jane Austen
Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Glory In Death by J.D. Robb
Among Others by Jo Walton
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
M Is For Magic by Neil Gaiman

This week might not be my most productive reading-wise, despite my grandiose plans to read-a-thon it up, because work is sure to be crazy. I'm the "Unofficial Official" trainer for my team at work, and we have a new person starting on Monday for the 2nd week in a row, meaning that I'll need to train and keep up with my usual workload. But... that's the way it goes sometimes, and all the more reason to escape into bookworlds when I get home, right?

Right. :D

Anyone else participating in the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon? Let me know! I probably won't have much time to socialize between work and trying to get my goal finished, but if you comment here, I'll reciprocate! :D

Read-A-Thon: Hour 19/Final Update

Yikes... So... Once again I missed my goal for Read-a-thon. Booooo! I'll wait until the snickers die down.

Ok. That's better. So, right, I didn't hit my goal, but I had a ton of fun reading and hanging with other Read-a-thoners on Twitter. Good times. :D

Here's a full recap of my reading yesterday:
Book 1: Remainder of The Ruins of Gorlan - 113 pages (4 stars)
Book 2: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - 181 pages (4 stars)
Book 3: Perry Mason: The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito - 219 pages (3 stars)
Book 4: Part of The Maze Runner - 176 pages (Lookin' like a 5 star so far)

Total Books Attempted: 4
Total Pages Read:  689

I guess that's pretty good for one day of reading. So I'm proud of myself even though I didn't hit my goal.Unfortunately, when I crashed, I crashed HARD. I slept like a log, and now my neck is stiff and sore and very uncooperative. >_>

Oh well... Here's the Final Survey:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 19 - That's when I crashed
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? The Maze Runner definitely kept me engaged - but I started it too late for that to do me any good! :(
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Still no. LOL
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I loved keeping up with the people on Twitter.
5. How many books did you read? 2 and 2 halves. :P
6. What were the names of the books you read? See above.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? The Maze Runner, even though I haven't finished it yet. It's creepy and awesome.
8. Which did you enjoy least? Perry Mason - and it's not that I didn't enjoy it, it was just somewhat twisty and I had trouble following all of them.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn't a cheerleader this time around...
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Very likely - I love the Read-a-thon! :) I think next time I will read and cheer though.

So that's it... See y'all in October!

Read-A-Thon: Hour 15 Update

Holy cripes... I feel like I just got out of serving jury duty. Perry Mason... You took forever to figure that one out. On TV you used to do it in less than an hour!!

Next up is The Maze Runner! Woo!

--Stats--
Books: 3
Pages: 513

Oy. I need to step up my game here! Oh well... Meme time!

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? About to start The Maze Runner by James Dashner
2. How many books have you read so far? 2 1/2
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? The Maze Runner
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Well I TRIED! I had a whole awesome maniacal plan to ship my boyfriend off to help my mom reside her house... but NOOOO. Thanks a lot PA mud.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Pt.1: Ugh. Yes. Constantly. Pt. 2: Evil glares.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Not much... it's pretty much what I expected. Lots of reading, lots of awesome participants and lots of fun. I miss lots of cheerleading this time around though. I guess that's my karma for not signing up to cheer myself. *hangs head*
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Nope.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? I'll sign up as a cheerleader, since I've yet to do that and this is my 2nd Read-a-thon.
9. Are you getting tired yet? Surprisingly, no.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Maybe lock significant other/children/needy pets in the attic? ;)

Read-A-Thon: Hour 6 Update

Whew... OK. Slow and steady wins the race! Eh? OK, not so much.

I keep being distracted by a certain boy who was supposed to be at my mom's house helping to re-do her siding... but NOOOOO... It has to be too wet and muddy for that. Even though it's sunny and nice today. Stupid yesterday rain.

So now he's bored... and hungry... and just wants to show me this ONE COOL THING... and just needs me to look at the other ONE THING-- REALLY QUICK!... and just keeps turning up his music or the TV or whatever...

Grrrr...

I'm going outside.


--Stats--
Books: 2
Pages: 294

This is abysmal. :*(

Read-A-Thon... Hours One & Two Update

OK, so... Kind of uneventful morning. I never got to finish my book last night like I had wanted to, so this morning was spent finishing up The Ruins of Gorlan, and making a Dunkin Donuts run. Pretty good book - 4 stars. :)

Next up is The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken. I'm looking forward to that one. :)

--Stats--
Books: 1
Pages: 113

Now, for a Q&A session:

1)Where are you reading from today? My bedroom, maybe the porch if it gets nice later!
2)Three random facts about me… I have 9 tattoos / I'm blind as a bat without glasses or contacts / I really dislike gold jewelry (on myself).
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? Potentially 20.
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? I hope to read at least 5 complete books - but the more the better!
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? I've only done this one time before, so I'll leave the tips up to the pros!

Read-A-Thon... Starting Line.

My mom used to always sing this horrific off-key "Good Morning" song in the mornings when us kids wouldn't get out of bed on time. No amount of whining or crying or holding our breath or covering our heads would stop her. Nothing worked... except actually getting out of bed. 

Needless to say, it was irritating enough that we'd get up just to make her stop singing. Luckily, there is no sound on my blog, so you're all spared that experience. But I am not now, nor have I ever been, a morning person. I try... I have grandiose ideas about getting up early and having the whole day ahead of me... and then I stay up too late and sleep too long. Blissfully. :D

I think Saturdays should start around 11am. Any earlier is just indecent.

Anyhoozle... I'm starting off my Read-a-thon with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
It's short, and finishing it early will be a stroke to my ego and willpower. Plus, it just sounds awesome!

Then I was thinking I would move on to The Maze Runner. *sniff* I love the smell of dystopia in the morning!

Hmm... I seem to be channeling Apocalypse Now. Maybe getting out of bed wasn't such a hot idea after all. ;)

It's Read-A-Thon Time!! ...Well, almost...

Yep. It's almost here. Tomorrow, I and a whole lotta other people will be gettin' our read-a-thon on.

I can hardly wait! It's like Christmas, only without the tree, and the cold (at least I hope that it's without the cold! *shoots threatening glare at PA weather*) and without the presents and the music and the bell-ringers and the National Guard keeping the peace at Wal-Mart and the early Valentine's Day decorations starting to creep onto shelves... and, well ok, it's not like Christmas at all.

But it IS like an awesome day that allows me to read the hell out of some books! Ka-Ching!

Right... so, I know you're all dying to know what I might be reading. I won't keep you in suspense. Here it is... The Stack™.

Now what we have here, is a stack of 20 potential Read-a-thon books. All of these are from the books I'm selling to fund my move. I'm hoping to beat my October 2010 Read-a-thon best (*cough* ONLY) high score of 4 complete books. Five would be cool. Six or seven would be awesome.

Here is the list of candidates:
Obernewtyn
Confessions of a Shopaholic
The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Sphere
The Rising
Visibility
Terminal Man
The American
The Spell of Seven
The Pilgrim's Progress
An Abundance of Katherines
Push
Blue is for Nightmares
White Is for Magic
Ender's Game
The Maze Runner
The Doomsday Conspiracy
Alcatraz: the True End of the Line
Across the Universe