Readerly Rambles: 04/25/2012

Painting by Fragonard ‘A young woman reading 1776’

What I've Read / Readathon Update:  Saturday's Readathon was a success.  I finished Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking, took a chuck out of The Bronte Myth, started my re-read of Elizabeth Bowen's short stories, and completed two graphic novels (Blankets and The Death-Ray).  I managed to read over 900 pages (granted about 500 was graphic novels) and had the loveliest experience.

Readathon has always been a mixed-bag to me.  I always try to visit other blogs, update regularly, tweet, finish books with rapidity to get high number, fill out surveys, complete mini-challenges and the result is that I don't get very much reading done and the event feels frantic.  I think this just has to do with my "style" of reading.  I want to crawl into a book and not come out.  When I do need a break I much rather sit quietly, or go for a walk, or hang out with the kids.  My eyes need a break and hopping from book to computer stresses my vision and doesn't allow for my mind to take a rest.

From now on I'm going to approach Readathon in this manner.  I'm not saying that there is a wrong or a right way; I'm just emphasizing that the best approach for me is to ignore the computer and read.  

I want to write more about Quiet and about The Bronte Myth, but I'm still mulling over things.  Expect reviews in the near future!

What I'm Reading: Since I finished The Bronte Myth today the only thing I have going is the Bowen book.

What's Up Next:  Tomorrow I'm going to crack open Memento Mori.  So excited!  I also have This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel on the nightstand.  Sam and I are going on our weekend trip to Atlanta and even though we have several things lined up we've carved out time for him to draw and me to read.  That is one of my most favorite things about Sam -- we both have solitary pursuits we enjoy.  It is so nice to sit next to the person I love and be quiet for hours and yet feel so close because we are each engaged in doing something we love.

Readerly Rambles: 04/18/2012

What I've Read:  I finished The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and I think I have a lot to say about the read, but I'm waiting until I read Lucasta Miller's The Bronte Myth.  I enjoyed the book, until the last few chapters where everything ended nice and neatly.  I will say that of the sisters I think Anne isn't the most gifted writer, but she does seem a bit more realistic in her portrayal of male cruelty.  The protagonist, Helen, is married to a jerk and the man whom she loves later is a farmer and I wasn't too crazy about him.  There are no gloriously sexy brooding men.  Mr. Rochesters and Heathcliffs are not to be found and there is something refreshing about that.  I'm going to formulate my thoughts a bit more before I write about Tenant. 


What I'm Reading:  I'm still reading Quiet and I'm really enjoying it and learning quite a bit!  I haven't actually cracked open The Bronte Myth but that's the plan for tomorrow's downtime.  I've also picked up The Collected Stories of Elizabeth Bowen.  Elizabeth Bowen is my favorite short story author and it is time for a re-read.  It makes for great lunch break reading or something to read just before bed.

What's Up Next:  Readathon is this weekend!  Yay!  My goal is to read 500 pages.  In addition to The Bronte Myth and the Bowen Stories -- I'm planning on being done with Quiet by Saturday -- I have Memento Mori by Muriel Spark.  I'm supposed to save it for Muriel Spark reading next week, but.... I can't wait.  The cover is pretty cool too.  I'm also contemplating an audiobook and I've gotten a ton of good recommendations.

Alrighty!  I'll see you booknerds on Saturday for Readathon.  

TSS: April Reading Pile

I've decided that April -- my birthday month -- will be super-mega-reading month.  I'm dying for some time to read.  I have a half-day off on my birthday (April 27th) and it is Readathon time on April 21st.  I'm hoping that this will give me some time to really dig into some books.

I'm actually writing this post a few days ahead of time and at this point I'm looking to use the weekend to finish The Hunger Games and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.  We'll see how that goes.

I have most ambitiously stacked up my TBR pile for April with 12 books.  Hopefully I'll finish most of these as I'm not where I want to be with my various and sundry reading challenges (that, however, is a different post).

April To-Be-Read Pile

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The Bronte Myth by Lucasta Miller

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katherine Green

Zelda: A Life by Nancy Milford

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Richard the III by William Shakespeare

The War of the Roses by Alison Weir

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

This Rough Magic by Paul Alexander

Happy April Reading!

A Bookish Miscellany

Reading Plans:

The first day of momcation was a success:  a bit of tidying, watching DVDs, organizing embroidery floss, stitching, baking a loaf of pumpkin apple bread that ended up sucking, exercising, and -- of course -- reading.  I read the first hundred pages of Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.  Today I plan on tackling some more of the Charles Dicken's biography.  I'm having a difficult time reading it; for some reason, Atticus doesn't want me to read it.  Every time I crack it open something is broken, thrown, or there is a mighty tantrum.  Also, I'm enjoying it, but in small bites.  I find myself wanting to look other things up while reading (mainly historical events and people). 

What I've Read:

I haven't updated you all on my reading because I haven't finished anything.  Okay, I finished one book this month, The Dead Alive and A House to Let by Wilkie Collins and Friends. It sucked.  I read a rather slim book containing two stories (one short story and one novella).  The first story, "The Dead Alive", was by Wilkie Collins.  *YAWN*  A mystery story set in America.  It was dull and predictable.  Then I started "A House to Let" -- this is a short story written in turns by Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, and Adelaide Anne Procter.  I thought it would be a ghost story, but it isn't.  Each chapter was written by a different author and the result is a choppy story filled with choppy tales that ends in heights of ridiculousness.  I struggled through it -- after all Collins, Dickens, and Gaskell usually give me bookgasms.  There is even a chapter filled with abominable verse.  So I finished a book and then I was angry I wasted my time.  GRRRRRR.....

A Readathon:

Tomorrow is the last day in February and I've decided to do a Leap into Reading day.  I'll exercise, cook dinner, and spend some time with the kiddos in the evening, but the rest of the day will be devoted to reading.  I plan on taking a chunk out of the Dickens bio, finishing the Christie novel, and starting something new.  My goal is to spend twelve hours out of the day reading.  I'll probably check-in once or twice on Ye Olde Blog.  I'm going to clock my times and the number of pages read.  Here's hoping that March will be a better reading month.

The Woman in Black:

Did y'all see this movie?  I've seen it twice.  The first time I went with a friend and it SCARED THE LIVING BEJEEZUS OUT OF ME!!!  I saw it on a Thursday and managed to sleep fine that night because Sam was off work at the tattoo shop.  That Friday Sam was at work, Hope was at Grandma's house, and Atticus was asleep.  I was sitting at my dining room table reading and I happened to look up, across the room, and out of the sunroom.  I saw a ghostly white hand and a pale, scowling face.  I screamed.  Literally, screamed like a little girl.  Then I realized I need to clean the glass and get a tan.  I can't believe Atticus slept through that.  Speaking of Atticus, HE HAS A ROCKING CHAIR IN HIS ROOM.  Those of you who have seen the movie or read the book will understand the creepiness.  I've also banned winding up his owl music box and musical teddy bear at night for the time being. 

Sam decided to go with me to see the movie.  He is a horror movie fan and once he knew Hammar was involved and it wasn't "just a Victorian ghost story" he wanted to see it.  He promised to make jokes through the movie so I wouldn't be scared.  It wasn't as scary the second time around because I knew when there would be a "jump" scene and so I could hide my eyes at appropriate times.  I was still creeped out.  Then Sam told me whenever I get freaked out to just picture the Woman in Black as a muppet.  Try it.  Yup.  Not scary, just funny looking.

Hope wants to see the movie, but I think 12 is too young.  I showed her the trailer and I thought she'd be creeped out.  She was unimpressed.  Her only statement was, "why does the Woman in Black look like Darth Vader without his helmet?" 

Apparently I am the only wimp in the family.

I'm off to ponder a bookshelf quandary which I will ask you bookish folks about later and to assemble Readathon books. 

Readathon -- The Final Update

I think this has been my most successful Readathon yet.  I read (as in solid reading time) close to nine hours.  Reading is a pleasure for me and I've no desire to turn it into a chore, so I knew I certainly wouldn't be reading for 24 hours.  Within those 9 hours I managed to finish 2 books, put a dent in a classic, and zip half-way through a YA book.  My ultimate goal was to read at least 500 pages during Readathon, and that I did!

Here are my final stats:

Time Read:  8 hours, 40 minutes
Number of Pages Read:  530 
Challenges:  completed one challenge
Blogging and Tweets:  3 blog posts, 23 tweets

Next Readathon is April 21st, 2012!  Of course, I have to make Readathon my own so I'll be making these changes in the structure of my readathon:

• I'm going to make a theme for my Readathon next year.  It may be Viragos, or library books, or books I own, or graphic novels, or books for a challenge, etc......  I'll decided the first week of April and begin assembling my stack 'o' books.
• My goal will be to read 600 pages
• I'll do a pre-Readathon post and a Readathon wrap-up the next day, but other than that I'm taking Readathon totally on Twitter.  

Okey dokey, I'll see you Readathon cats next year!  

Readathon: 7:22pm

Update TOTALS:
Time Spent Reading:  6 hours
Number of Pages:  354

I haven't finished any books yet, but that's because I learned from my past readathons. Personally I do better when I dip into various books rather than reading a book straight through.  Right now I'm reading a Gothic Romance (Clermont), a Graphic Novel (Locke and Key), a Short Story Collection (Fragile Things), and a Young Adult novel (The Ruby in the Smoke). 

I'm about to go on a two-hour reading sprint and then write-up a post for a bit.  I'm at Starbucks and when I go home I'll shower and then try for a bit of sleep (maybe).

I hope everyone is enjoying readathon!

Readathon: 10:49am

Stats:
Time Spent Reading:  roughly 2.5 hours
Number of pages:  146 pages
What I read:  Clermont pages 127-179, Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft pages 1-60, Fragile Things: Fictions and Wonders pages 219-254


A Readathon Meme:

1)Where are you reading from today?  Gainesville, Georgia.  Or, to be more specific Inman Perk Coffee (see delicious pumpkin latte above)
2)Three random facts about me… Uhmmmmm 1- I like coffee, 2- I'm insanely OCD about book lists, 3-I hate it when people randomly use the word random about non-random things (aka, like when they mean peculiar)
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?  7, but I think I'll only finish 3 or so.  I just like to have variety. 
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)?  My main goal is to just read, read, read.  And have fun.
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?  Drink lots of water and not too much caffeine.  Get up and move around.  Try not to get too obsessed with numbers (books, pages, comments, etc....).

Readathon: 8am

Here we go Readathon!

My Vacation Readathon

This upcoming week I work Monday, Tuesday, and a half-day on Wednesday and then I'm taking some days off until next Tuesday.  That gives me 5 1/2 days off in a row.  Ah, bliss.

Atticus will still be going to daycare for the week (although I'll be picking him up early).  First off we paid for it and secondly I'm going to spend some time with Hope.  We have summer clothes shopping to do and a few awkward and necessary  discussions to have as she approaches middle school.  She is also having her future aunt spend the night (Hope is BFF with my brother's fiancée's younger sister) and that means hanging out with two very giggly little girls.  We've also decided to spend sometime having our own little readathon as part of our vacation.

My goal is to read 24 hours over the course of my vacation.  This means spending roughly 4-5 hours a day in readerly pursuits.  Of course, this has presented the perfect opportunity to grab a little notebook out of my stash for tracking this here readathon.  I'll be noting the time I start and end, my location, what I'm reading, and how much reading I've completed.  No promises, but I'll try to update my reading progress at least once a day.

This little challenge will help me in several ways:

1. I hope to whittle down my towering TBR pile and finish several library books
2. I hope to become more aware and appreciative of the time I have to read.  I do a lot of reading while nursing, waiting in line, cooking (much to the detriment of my cooking), and yes, even in the bathroom (mom's will understand that sometimes the bathroom excuse is the only way to be left alone).  I'm always lamenting that I don't get CHUNKS of reading time, if I was more aware that all of those little bits do add up, then I might feel a bit better about my reading.
3. I'll have an excuse to read!

I've assembled a little book pile to get me going:

• The Collected Sonnets of Edna St. Vincent Millay
• The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman
• The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
• Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
• Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford

Wish me luck!  Anyone else planning Memorial Day Weekend readathons?

Readathon in Review

My Read-a-Thon concluded, officially at 8am this morning, but I gave up way before then!  After my last update, I went home to take care of Atticus.  Then Shannon arrived and after Atticus went to sleep she grilled hotdogs and hamburgers.  We read while the burgers sizzled away, but afterwards we were too full and sleepy to concentrate.  Shannon left around 10pm and I had plans to read another solid 2 hours.  Then Atticus woke-up and he  decided to throw a full on teething temper tantrum.  So that was the last I read.

I did stay up after his 3:30am nursing session to cheerlead.  I cheered for an hour and I think made it through less than 20 blogs.  I've learned that I loathe blogs with ads, captchas, and too many doodads.  I went back to bed around 5am and Atticus was wide awake by 7am.

My final stats aren't wildly impressive.  I read a total of 351 pages.  That's pretty good, seeing as I usually only fit in 50 pages a day (maybe 100 on a weekend).

I love doing Readathon, but I'm beginning to think I don't fit into the "culture of Readathon."  I might try to do a few mini-weekend readathons that aren't all-nighters, but simply allow me to more consciously devote time to reading.  To give my Mommy and Wife selves time to step back and be nerdy all by myself.

Okay, so why do I feel like I don't fit in?  First a disclaimer, there is no "right way" to Readathon and these thoughts are just about me and not meant to criticize other readathoners.

• I'm a quality and not quantity kind of girl.  I don't understand people who blow through 15 crappy books, when one good book would be my choosing.


• I don't understand how one can read quality literature, blog thoughtfully, cheerlead, participate in mini-challenges, Tweet, and read other blogs, compete for prizes and have a quality reading experience.


• I think this all boils down to my introvert like behavior.  24-Hour Readathon is like a reading frat-party and I truly just want a reading retreat.  I want to read, reflect, and enjoy my time reading.

All this to say I might participate in October's readathon, but I'm probably going to do my own thing about four times a year (quite possibly in conjunction with long weekends).  I might even do themes (poetry, short story, library books, the Gothic, whatever tickles my fancy).

So, give me some feedback.  What do you think about Readathon?