Tag: readathon

Readathon

Posted October 24, 2020 by Nicky in General / 0 Comments

So it’s time for a readathon, and with a sick rabbit, I need the distraction. Let’s go!

13:00: 

I’ll be starting with Jordan L. Hawk’s Stormhaven on my ereader (the delightful Onyx Boox Poke2). Here’s the opening survey:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
South Yorkshire, UK, where we have just moved into tier 3 lockdown.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
I haven’t thought about a stack for this one. I have a mini-shelf of next-up books which might qualify (The Angel of the Crows, by Katherine Addison; Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia; Phoenix Extravagant, by Yoon Ha Lee; Cemetery Boys, by Adrian Thomas), but I’m going to go by my whim.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
No specific snacks laid in! But I’m rather fancying a helping of peanuts or two.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I’m currently studying for a degree in Infectious Diseases, in this year of the plague, 2020. I believe in being curious about your fears and going toward them (safely) rather than away! Seriously, best tip anyone ever gave me about anxiety. Relatedly, one of the books I have on the go at the moment is about infectious diseases through history: Murderous Contagion, by Mary Dobson.

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 used to be super hardcore and feel bad if I did anything but read and the bare necessities. That hasn’t suited me in a long time, so I’m planning to be relaxed, and also play my video game, watch the rugby and hope someone wipes the smug off Ntamack’s face, and maybe find an audiobook to do some cross-stitch. Don’t burn yourself out; if you need a break, take it.

14:24: 

Finished Stormhaven! My next pick will be Mexican Gothic, because why not? But first I need to warm up and find my Wales jersey ready for the game.

17:07: 

I’m about 100 pages into Mexican Gothic now, after I took a bit of a break to get warm and then play Hades. I think I’ll take a bit of a break now to do some more work, and then read more of Mexican Gothic until it’s time for the game!

23:23:

Had another pause to game a bit, then watched the game. Then I got back to it and finished reading Mexican Gothic! I think now I’ll go back to my reread of The Eagle of the Ninth.

Tags: ,

Divider

24-Hour Readathon

Posted April 24, 2020 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

Impulsive decision! I will take part in the 24-Hour Readathon tomorrow! I will not in fact be reading for 24 hours, alas: one, I’ve learnt that my sleep is too important to lose, so that’s 7-8 hours gone already, and two, I have work. But when I’m not doing other pre-scheduled things, I will try to read.

A speculative reading pile:

  • The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis) [reread]
  • The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis) [reread]
  • The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis) [reread]
  • The Steerswoman (Rosemary Kirstein) [reread]
  • Network Effect (Martha Wells)
  • Digging Up Armageddon (Eric Cline)
  • A Treacherous Curse (Deanna Raybourn)
  • Think of England (K.J. Charles)

Cover of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis Cover of The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis Cover of The Steerswoman, by Rosemary Kirstein Cover of Network Effect by Martha Wells Cover of Digging Up Armageddon by Eric H. Cline

That’s probably enough to be going on with… and goodness knows I’m likely to pick whatever I feel like in the moment, which means I could end up reading almost anything.

Anyone else taking part?

Aaand it’s time:

13:37: I’m starting off with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, with the help of one very cuddly bunny…

 

Photo of Biscuit and Nikki reading
Biscuit Bun always likes a good book!

And here’s the opening survey:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I’m in sunny(!?) South Yorkshire, UK.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Actually, it might be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, because it’s so cosy and familiar. But Network Effect is pretty exciting too!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I don’t particularly have snacks lined up, but dinner will be pasta carbonara and that will be tasty.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! My hair is supposed to be bright turquoise but it always fades to this green. If anyone’s a hairdresser or very experienced with dyeing hair, feel free to advise me on how to dye over it with my natural darkish brown! (I love my turquoise hair, but I leave it to hairdressers. And I have plans for my post-lockdown hair that mean going back to my natural colour anyway.)
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’ve participated before but not for a while, because I don’t do well without sleep or with feeling obligated to sit down and read specific books. So I’m gonna be super flexible, and sleep plenty.

15:01: There, finished my first book. Not sure what next… but probably The Steerswoman, as long as Lisa doesn’t mind me getting on and finishing it without her!

16:15: I ended up reading The Silver Chair, and I’m finished with that. Now it’s work time, for around an hour!

18:07: I did an hour’s work and then I finished up The Steerswoman! I put A Treacherous Curse on today’s to-do list for the next book, so… maaaaybe that next? 2h35m reading, so far.

19:25: I’m about 30% of the way through A Treacherous Curse! Then I stopped for a stretch to admire my wife’s tidying efforts. It’s time for me to do some blog stuff now, and then probably dinner, and then back to reading as long as I still feel like it.

21:46: I’m now about 60% of the way through A Treacherous Curse, and I’ve read 3h49m in total.

22:53: It’s bedtime soon, but I did finish A Treacherous Curse! 4h35m reading in total, and four books read. Not bad, though two were short and I was already 60% of the way through The Steerswoman!

10:26: Well, I’ve slept and done my morning’s work, and now I’m going to start on Martha Wells’ Network Effect.

11:27: I read for half an hour and then got a bit fidgety — I’m only 14% of the way through the book, and I’m being so fidgety about books lately that “long” books daunt me… even when I love them. I’m going to see if I can settle for another reading stint, though!

Compared to prior readathons, this one has been really quiet in terms of interaction for me, though. It doesn’t really feel like as much of a community event. I miss that.

12:04: I got more into that reading session! 29% of the way through Network Effect now. I think I’m going to take a short break to do some of my to-do list for the day, and then rejoin for the last half hour.

12:47: I didn’t get back to it, so that leaves me at a total of four books finished, and 5h25m of reading. That’s a lot more than I’ve been managing lately, so yay!

Tags: ,

Divider

The Reading Quest

Posted August 11, 2017 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

Sign up card for the Reading Quest readathon

I’m a sucker for a good readathon, and this version sounds awesome; there’s so much attention to detail! I shall be embarking on the Knight’s Quest first. Provisional reading choices:

  • The first book of a series: Pantomime, by Laura Lam.
  • A book with a verb in its title: Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple.
  • A book with a weapon on its cover: Magic Binds, by Ilona Andrews.
  • A book with a red cover: Chameleon Moon, by RoAnna Sylver.
  • A book that has a TV/movie adaptation: Caliban’s War, by James S.A. Corey.

I plan to go on and try and do all the squares, but that’s where I’ll start… You can read up on all the rules here, and credit for the art goes to CW of Read, Think, Ponder.

Are we there yet!?

Tags: ,

Divider

Readathon Updates

Posted April 29, 2017 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

In an hour or so, the 24 Hour Readathon begins! We’re all ready here — me, my wife, and our bunnies.

Breakfast looking at books
Well, Breakfast is still deciding what he’s going to read.

Not sure how long any of us are going to be reading for, but the wife definitely isn’t staying up overnight. Much as I’d like to, I haven’t for a few years, so I might not make it through the night either. But even a few hours dedicated to reading are well spent. All my updates are going to be edited into this post, so it might get a little long, but at least I won’t be doing tons of posts!

13.59: About to start, but the wife isn’t home from groceries yet and we haven’t set up her update post on this blog (coming soon!) yet. Still, here’s the opening meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Cloudy Belgium!
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Probably Waking Gods. It’s certainly the one my wife is most looking forward to me having read…
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? We don’t really have many snacks lined up. No doubt I’ll demand a mug cake at some point.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I’m taking this weekend for reading out of my exam revision time. Cell bio, human bio and ecology, coming up in early June. Save me.
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? As always, I’m going to take it easy; read if I feel like it, stop if I don’t. I haven’t done the full 24 hours in a long time, and that’s fine by me.

Now I’ll just get laundry on and groceries in and then start — probably with The Soul of an Octopus, by Sy Montgomery. My stack is here, though I probably won’t be sticking to it very well!

14.58: I’m about 80 pages into The Soul of an Octopus. Paused for a bunny snuggle (with Breakfast, the brown bun pictured above; Hulk, our grey lady bun, is sulking on a shelf, appropriately enough) and to help the wife pick a new book. (Her update post is up here, by the way!)

15.28: We both just totally derailed to eat hummus and cheese doritos, and now the wife is off to get us cornbread, more hummus, and some chilli. If you’re in Belgium and within reach of Leuven, the hot dogs at Wurst are okay, but the hummus is amazing.

16.22: I read more while Lisa was out, but then she came back with a copy of the new volume of Saga, some cornbread still warm and fresh, and a pot each of chilli and a pot each of hummus. Om, nom, nom.

17.16: Almost teared up after the death of one of the octopuses mentioned in this book. Non-fiction is not normally so heartwrenching! And here’s a photo of me and the wife and Breakfast chillin’. Hulk is still on her shelf.

Photo of me and the wife reading, with bunny

18.14: Just finished The Soul of an Octopus. Fascinating book. In the meantime, Breakfast and Hulk have been exploring the flat together without much supervision, for once. There’s been no violence, yet! I’m going to have a break now and play some Stardew Valley, and then I should get on with reading Waking Gods — before my wife explodes.

19.36: Reading Waking Gods now, have been for maybe half an hour. Annoyingly, my Kindle’s running out of charge, though.

21.07: I just took a break after getting to about halfway through Waking Gods, and we ended up taking the bunnies for a drive (the slight stress helps bunnies bond). Now they’re shockingly quiet…

23.17: Yeah, nope, not feeling it. Which is sad. Maybe I’ll be back tomorrow?

Tags: ,

Divider

Readathon!

Posted April 27, 2017 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

It’s that time again — readathon time! I’m already thinking about my pile, of course, so I thought I’d share some of what’s on my plate…

Cover of Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel Cover of Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan Cover of Bloodshot by Cherie Priest Cover of Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin

I usually try to come up with books from a bunch of categories, so here’s a menu…

RereadsARCsFinish-this-book-alreadysBacklogNew to the stacks
Lavinia, by Ursula Le GuinWaking Gods, by Sylvain NeuvelThe Godless, by Ben PeekA Closed and Common Orbit, by Becky ChambersWithin the Sanctuary of Wings, by Marie Brennan
Ancillary Justice, by Ann LeckieSovereign, by April DanielsReality 36, by Guy HaleyLegion: Skin Deep, by Brandon SandersonThe Soul of an Octopus, by Sy Montgomery
Bloodshot, by Cherie PriestThe Pinks, by Chris EnssNova, by Samuel R. DelanyVengeance Road, by Erin BowmanThe Essex Serpent, by Sarah Perry
Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin HobbSkullsworn, by Brian StaveleyLamb: The Gospel According to Biff, by Christopher MooreHero, by Perre MooreSomewhere Beneath Those Waves, by Sarah Monette

Although knowing me, I might digress entirely and go off to read something else.

I also need to assemble some options for my wife, since she’s going to join for a couple of hours.  Anyone got any recs for space opera like Lois McMaster Bujold, perchance?

Tags:

Divider

Readathon!

Posted October 22, 2016 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

It’s that time again, and sadly, I know I can’t participate much today — so I haven’t even officially signed up. Darn those lectures… All the same, I do want to participate for a while, so I’m hoping to drop by and read from 2pm-8pm today, Belgian time, and 10am-4pm tomorrow. That way I’ll hit some readathon hours, and hopefully do some catching up on my backlog!

And what’s on my stack? Well —

  • Gut, by Giulia Enders. I’m over halfway through it, so I should be able to get finished.
  • Emma, by Jane Austen. On the last 15%, so this should be a good time to polish it off.
  • The Man Everyone was Afraid Of, by Joseph Hansen. On the TBR for this month, and in the past it was a very good readathon companion. (It’s a reread, so tried and true.)
  • The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi. This is a reread too, and also on the TBR. I don’t think I’ve ever read Scalzi’s work for a readathon, but I think it should be pretty well suited.
  • The Boys from Brazil, by Ira Lenin. Pretty much a classic, and not too long — perfect time to try and polish it off my list.

I think if I stay focused, I should be able to finish all five, which will make it a very good readathon for me despite the interruptions!

14.21: I started early, since class was over, so now I’ve finished reading Gut. And here’s the intro meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Belgium!
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Hmm, I’m looking forward to having Emma finished, at any rate?
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I have some nice chocolate chip cookies lined up.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I have a bunny whose joy in life is sneakily nibbling my books.
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? Definitely not my first, but this time I have decided in advance I’m not going to stay up. Maybe I’m getting old…

15.12: And now I’ve finished Emma! Not sure what next… I’m feeling kind of sick, annoyingly.

17.02: Still feel sick, but at least in the meantime I’m done with The Boys from Brazil and nearly halfway through The Man Everyone Was Afraid Of.

Tags: , ,

Divider

Bout of Books

Posted April 27, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

Bout of Books

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, May 9th and runs through Sunday, May 15th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

This is much lower-pressure than the 24-hour readathon, while still offering the social aspects and even some chances of prizes. I’m looking forward to participating again!

Time each day: 30 minutes minimum.
Number of books: 7 books.
What to read: At least four of the books should be books I’ve owned since before 2016, fulfilling the ShelfLove challenge too!

Tags: ,

Divider

Readathon!

Posted April 23, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

Yep, it’s that time again — the 24-hour readathon! Today, there won’t be a review post, to keep down the volume of posts, and this will be the only readathon post — I’ll update it with all my progress, rambling, etc. I’m being joined by my sister, so between us, I have high hopes of a) lots of reading and b) actually staying up the whole time, for the first time in a few years. Still, no pressure; I’ll read as long as it’s fun and healthy and sleep if I have to!

So what’s on my pile? Hmmm…

In Progress:

  • The Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie. A reread I’ve been meaning to finish for a while.
  • Murder on a Midsummer Night, Kerry Greenwood. I love this series to bits.
  • All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders. I was reading this last weekend, and then moving got in the way!

Monthly TBR:

  • Demon Road, Derek Landy. A review copy, and one I’ve been meaning to read for a while!
  • Knight’s Shadow, Sebastien de Castell. Ditto.
  • Passenger, Alexandra Bracken. Technically this is also in progress, though I haven’t read much yet.

Quick reads:

  • Rat Queens vol. III: Demons, Kurtis J. Wiebe. This just arrived in the past couple of days, and it should be a quick/fun read.
  • Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Power, Ryan North & Erica Henderson. Ditto. Comics make a good palate cleanser for the readathon, in my experience!
  • Bryony and Roses, T. Kingfisher. Because I’ve been meaning to read it for a while.

And who knows what else, given my grasshopper-mindedness?

12.49: Almost time to start, and here is the opening meme!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Britain, and I’m not sure it’s fine.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Uhhhhh. Bryony and Roses? I’ve heard good things lately.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Lightly salty popcorn from Graze. If I can find it. I can only see the “slightly sweet” variety…
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I just found my lightly salted popcorn!
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’ve participated a bunch of times. This time, I’m actually doing it with my sister, so we might be able to keep each other awake properly. Normally, I end up needing to sleep because I’m cold and ick. But with my sister to compete with… I mean, support…

13.40: Started with Murder on a Midsummer Night, by Kerry Greenwood. Love Phryne. <3

14.47: Finished my first book! Onto Rat Queens now, I think…

15.31: And now I’ve finished Rat Queens. Bit of a mess of a volume, though. Not sure what next — maybe something not from my list…

17.02: Read Bryony and Roses. I loved it! People do such a good job with the Beast’s character.

18.02: Now reading a book not on my original list, Lady of Mallow, by Dorothy Eden. I’m enjoying it! Very Heyer/Stewart-ish.

19.43: Just finished Lady of Mallow. Not sure what next — maybe a little break?

20.53: And now I’ve finished All the Birds in the Sky! This readathon is going better than I expected, really.

22.07: Yikes, it’s been ages since I finished my last book, and I haven’t even picked my next one yet. I think I’m going to go and lie in bed and read for a bit, and then sleep when I’m tired. I always talk about maybe staying up for the whole thing, but apparently I’m just not 22 any more! (I’m 26, so clearly past it.)

12.05: While I was offline, I read Forensics by Val McDermid and The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin. Seven books total now! Almost my record.

Tags: ,

Divider

Bout of Books

Posted December 27, 2015 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

I’ve never managed to participate in the Bout of Books readathon before, because I always seem to realise it’s going on too late. But here I am, ready for this round!
Bout of Books Readathon
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, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 15 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Readathon Goals!

I’m not going to be too ambitious about this. I’d like to have one book finished per day, but life happens and I’ll be travelling during the readathon. So we’ll just have to see! I know I can read a lot if pushed, but 9th-10th will be the first couple of days spent with my partner for a while, and it’s a weekend too, so she won’t be working. On the other hand, maybe I’ll read a lot on the Eurostar… (I’m not holding out too much hope for reading on the train to London to catch the Eurostar, though. That train is always busy, and noisy too. The Eurostar is usually peaceful, though!)

If I were to be super super ambitious, I might hope for about ten books finished during the readathon, counting ones I was already partway through. If I beat that, I’ll be over the moon!

Anyway, look out for an update post at the start of the readathon — I’ll set it up on the 4th, and use it for all updates through the end of the event.

Tags: , ,

Divider

Readathon Progress Post

Posted October 17, 2015 by Nicky in General / 16 Comments

Good afternoon, everyone! It’s almost time for the readathon, so I thought I’d get my progress post up and running. All my updates will be in here, unless the post starts getting ridiculously long, in which case I might start a new one. Let’s start by showing off my stack (or, you know, some of it).

Readathon Stack!

Of course, who knows whether I’ll stick to that, because I am a contrary creature…

Here’s the introductory meme!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Cardiff, UK. And since I’m Welsh, you can expect some squealing about the rugby as well, I’m afraid.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I don’t know, I’m quite looking forward to rereading Old Man’s War. Or maybe Magic Slays; Ilona Andrews’ work is always fun.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Salted caramel chocolate Cadbury fingers. Mmmm.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I’m a ghostwriter and will be looking with interest to see if anybody’s reading books I’ve had anything to do with… not that I can tell you if you are.
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 pretty in the swing of it, now. I’ll sleep if I have to and read joyously if not, and not beat myself up too much about either outcome.

13.31: Well, I’ve started with Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates. I actually tried to read this before and did not get on with it, so I’m a little surprised to find myself enjoying it.

14.24: Just did the Cover Escape challenge, and now it’s back to curling up with Phryne. Yeesh, it’s cold here in Wales!

15.26: I’m strangely slow at reading, today! I thought I’d easily get Phryne polished off in two hours. Ah well, enjoying it.

16.34: Now finished my first book! Not sure what’s next, being social a little bit first.

17.44: Have started reading Hollow City. Accidentally spoilered myself about the end, oops. About 1/4 of the way through.

18.27: More than halfway through Hollow City now. Break for dinner! Wales lost in the rugby, sigh.

21.02: Whoops, where is the time going? (Cue some Sandy Denny!) Listening to music to liven me up again and taking a break to chat. I’m 1/3 of the way through Murder Past Due, and 3/4 of the way through Hollow City — I was flagging a bit, so I changed it up for a while.

22.07: Finished Hollow City! I think I’m going to see if I can have a bath… books to go in with me: The Moonspinners (Mary Stewart) and Murder Past Due (Miranda James).

01.07: Well, I read The Moonspinners in the bath, completing my third book. But now I feel a bit sick, and I have work and book club tomorrow, so I’m going to get some sleep now. Back in the morning!

09.39: I’m back! I actually ended up reading over half of another book till I could fall asleep, so I’m now halfway through Dark Entries (Robert Aickman).

10.59: Finished Dark Entries. Now I’m going to settle back down with Murder Past Due, and see if I can finish a fifth book this readathon.

12.19: Now I’ve finished Murder Past Due. I’m wrapping up with some organisational stuff rather than reading more.

Tags:

Divider