Dewey Read-a-thon Progress

Ok, it's just after 8am est and Dewey has officially started!  I'm going to edit this post with reading updates and mini-challenges. Come on back to check it out.

Hour 1: Introduction Questions
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Philly suburbs, Pennsylvania
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Suzanne Collins' Gregor The Overlander. I don't have any reading plans set. I just pulled some of the shorter looking books from my shelf.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I'm visiting one of my BookCrossing friends later tonight.  Hopefully we can participate in a mini-challenge together! Anyway, she made some cinnamon noodle kugel that I'm dying to try.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I'm almost finished my Master of Library Science degree, so I'm looking for librarian positions. Yay! Can't wait to land the perfect job! Hopefully...
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 not going to stress about finding time to read.  I'm just gonna have fun and enjoy the ride. Whatever happens, happens.   

Hour 23: Mad Lib
I used words from that book I'm reading called Stuff We All Get by K. L. Denman.

This nostril is old school! Zach has never pawed so much.
The stuff I'm currently walking is foggy and restless.
When this is over, I will shrug for 3 months. 

Hour 24: End of Event

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?  I started to fall asleep in Hour 19.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?  I recommend Alice Hoffman books. I read Indigo this time around. I've read Green Angel and Green Witch. They are short, memorizing reads.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Do not make plans during the read-a-thon.  It will take up more time than you intend to spend away from reading.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
5. How many books did you read?  1 complete book and parts of 2 other books.
6. What were the names of the books you read?  I completed Indigo by Alice Hoffman. I read parts of Stuff We All Get by K. L. Denman and Gregor The Overlander by Suzanne Collins. I have free time today, so I'm going to finish them. It will be read-a-thon part 2 for me.  :)
7. Which book did you enjoy most?  I have to say Indigo since I'm not finished the others.
8. Which did you enjoy least?  None...can I say that?  It might be Stuff We All Get because it's more realistic fiction and I'm a sucker for fantasy.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Not a cheerleader this year.  I'll try to cheer more next 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?  Of course!  Dewey 24 Hour Read-a-thon is a tradition for me. Til we meet again in October...happy reading!  :)

Great moments of the Read-a-thon:
 - Favorite videos: Hour 17's Gimme Gimme Gimme Jane Austen Men video (so great! I love these guys), Hour 15's Rock n' Rock Readers (I'm making an appearance at the library)
- Hour 9's Do the Dumbledore...it works so well when you're listening to music in the video clips.  Thanks for the laugh.
- I need to remember the first lines of the books I read....I can't believe I didn't recognize Tuck Everlasting.
-  My friend's noodle kugel (my read-a-thon snack) was AMAZING! 
-  I really enjoyed Alice Hoffman's Indigo.  Ok, I've only read like three other Alice Hoffman books, but she is officially on my list of favorite authors.

Some Wrap-Up Read-a-thon Stats:  7 hours participation, that includes about 5 hours reading and 2 hours blogging, catching up on the hourly updates and participating in challenges.  Read about 154 pages....really that seems very low. Oh, well...things to work on next time.  As I mentioned before, I don't have anything on the schedule today so I'm going to continue reading and look at any read-a-thon content I missed.  Thanks to all the Dewey volunteers for hosting awesome challenges and keeping us inspired (and awake).  

Dewey (and I) are back!

I dropped the ball once again with my posting.  I could list all my excuses why I've been a bad blogger but I don't want to waste your time. Instead I want to tell you why I'm back....today is the semi-annual Dewey 24 Hour Read-a-thon!  I love this event.  It's always so much fun and really great people come out to cheer you on.  If you have any time to spare today, join up and read....or at least show some love as a cheerleader.

My goals are small since I have other plans for part of the day.  I'll shoot for 8 hours of reading and say 300 pages.  I'll check in periodically and participate in some of the awesome mini-challenges. 

Happy readings!

Monthly Wrap Up - January 2012

Hello February! You arrived so quickly. My online class started back up last night and now I have to hunker down into student mode. I enjoyed the winter break and miss it already.

I write an annual wrap up at the end of the end, so I decided to add monthly wrap ups to the blog.  Other bloggers do it and I'll definitely give them props after I find their posts among my 700+ Google Reader backlog.

January 2012 stats:

Books completed: 8 

1. Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
2. Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian
3. Obsidian (A Lux Novel, Bk.1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
4. The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
6. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
7. Crossed (Matched, Bk.2) by Ally Condie
8. Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Books unfinished (which I'll hopefully finish in Feb): 2

1. Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
2. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Library Fines: $2.30
I put a ton of holds on new YA releases in November and December. All the books arrived for me at the same time, which meant attempting to juggle and prioritize 15+ books.  Needless to say, it was an epic fail.  I read a few books I was dying to get my hands on (i.e. Crossed and The Night Circus) but I didn't get to all of them (i.e. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, Blood Red Road by Moira Young, and Legend by Marie Lu).

Book Reviews: 1
Ok, that's another disappointment. I need to step up my reviewing.
Obsidian (A Lux Novel, Bk.1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

BookCrossing Books Released: 0
The January meeting of the Audubon BookCrossers was a bust. Not many people showed up. I brought three books with me, but decided to save them for February's meeting instead. I'm not sure if I'm going to the February meeting since it's on Superbowl Sunday.  Hubby and I have cleaning to do since we've invited a few friends over.

Pages Read Challenge: 2,861 pages = 19% of goal
It's a great start to my Pages Read goal of 18,000.  If I keep this reading pace, I'll have to increase my goal.

Read Ten "1001-books": 0
None so far. I'll make an effort in February.

February Goals:

• Review more (maybe 2 or 3 at least).
• Release more (attempt to wild release?).
• Post my tentative reading lists this week for the Mount TBR and other challenges.
• Try not to rack up any more library fines!
• Visit more blogs and comment (instead of my usual stalking).

My Lost Week

Photo cred

I hate being sick. Unfortunately, I have a gross cough that I can't shake off.  I took a few sick days, but I had to go back to work today still coughing up a storm. I read a little bit this week. I finished The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern but I haven't been able to write a review yet.  Hopefully, I'll get that to you next week. 

Until then, enjoy these random bookish links!

20 heroic librarians who save the world from io9.  It's an awesome list!

Supercut: Libraries on TV and in the movies (Funny Library Montage) from BuzzFeed.

SNL, Daniel Radcliffe do Harry Potter ten years later from The Huffington Post. LOL! How did I miss this?

Should Authors and Agents Weigh In on Citizen Reviews?  from Publishers Weekly.

ALA Midwinter Meeting 2012 Coverage from American Libraries.
-- I wish I were in Dallas this weekend. So many great programs and speakers (John Green)...sigh!  I really want to go to ALA Annual this summer in Anaheim, CA.  Hey, a girl can dream! 

In Which I Gush About Downton Abbey

I finally joined the ranks of obsessed Downton Abbey fans this weekend.

I had the Downton Abbey season 1 DVD set sitting around collecting dust.  I heard so much wonderful praise about the show, but I never got around to watching it. Yesterday, I decided to watch an episode and I ended up watching the whole season.  It is so addicting! 

My favorite characters are Anna and Mr. Bates.  I can't stand Mary. She doesn't deserve to be with Matthew Crawley. The back and forth between Violet and Isobel Crawley is wonderful! 

There are so many familiar faces in the series including Maggie Smith (Prof. McGonagall, of course), Hugh Bonneville (from Lost in Austen, Miss Austen Regrets, and Daniel Deronda), Penelope Wilton (Harriet Jones from Doctor Who and Mrs. Hamley from Wives and Daughters) and Brendan Coyle (Nicholas Higgins from North & South).

You can explore Downton further in the companion book, The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes.  I haven't read it yet, but I'll try to track it down in my public library system.

Watch some of the episodes online. If you're a fan of Upstairs, Downstairs, then you'll love Downton!

My husband watched the entire first series with me too. Our Downton binge reminds me of this hilarious Portlandia Battlestar Galactica sketch. One more episode!

Waiting on Wednesday: Timepiece (Hourglass, Bk.2)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
My pick this week is...

Timepiece (Hourglass, Bk.2)
by Myra McEntire
Releases on June 12, 2012

Goodreads description:

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.


I LOVED Hourglass so I'm eager to read the next book. From the description above, it sounds like book 2 will be from Kaleb's point of view.  I would prefer Michael's personally, but this should be interesting, especially since we'll see what Kaleb really thinks (and feels) about Emerson.

Learn more on Goodreads, Amazon, Myra McEntire's blog, and Murphy's Law Hourglass fan page.

What book are you waiting on?