R.A.T. Hour 8

Well. I just figured out that I somehow signed up for the post about what is in your Read-a-Thon stack and not the actual Read-a-Thon. Brilliant. That seems to fit the way things are going this year. I ended up with the 8 yr. old niece as well as the toddler today. Not a lot of reading going on here.

So far, I've managed to read 6 pages of Evermore, about 20 pages of Mort and 20 pages of Her Fearful Symmetry which I was unable to leave at home this morning. What I have done instead:

1. Played with Polly Pocket dolls
2. Chased a toddler for 10 minutes so I could change his diaper
3. Made lunch for the children (mac and cheese)
4. Located Midnight the hamster after he was given his freedom by the toddler
5. Banned all Kids Bop CD's for the day

I hope everyone else is enjoying the uninterrupted reading. Next year I am going to a motel!

Read-a-Thon Books

I have been combing the shelves for weeks, making piles of books, shifting them around and muttering to myself. I'm trying to read more from my own huge pile of TBR books. The end result is the semi-final Read-a-Thon stack! (There is no final stack because I reserve the right to pick up anything that looks good once the day arrives.) I'm not sure which books will make the drive to New York with me in the morning for the baby wrangling committment. I may have to haul the entire thing because; worst case scenario...I end up staying overnight...and gasp...RUN OUT OF BOOKS in the middle of R.A.T.! Oh...the horror!

Here's the list:

1. Evermore- Alyson Noel YA book. Vampires or some such, library copy

2. A little more about me- Pam Houston Non-fiction about one of my favorite authors, my book

3. If I stay- Gayle Forman YA book about a girl in a coma. Library copy

4. Secret Lives-Berthe Amoss YA book I read about in Shelf Life and just had to try. Library Copy

5. Mort- Terry Pratchett- I'm halfway through this one since I dipped in early. My book

6. The Lightning Thief- Rick Riordan, my book

7. Beautiful Boy-Dave Sheff Non-fiction read about a family coping with a son's addiction. My book

8. Fables Vol. 1- Bill Willingham I have never tried this series and ordered this book for the R.A.T. in April. It finally showed up in June.

9. Delicate Edible Birds- Lauren Groff, Short Stories, my book

I can't wait to start! It's going to drive me crazy to have to get in the car at 10:00a.m. and drive two hours to N.Y.

Dewey's Read-a-Thon

I have to say that I have mixed feelings about this year's Read-a-Thon. Normally, I am so excited by this time I can barely sleep. My mind is filled with dancing images of books, snacks, places to read and plans to put life on hold for a blissful 24 hours. And then there is this year...

I promised to babysit my two-year old nephew, (a.k.a. Suspicious Baby) for the day so that my sister can take his six-year old brother to be the ring-bearer in a friend's wedding. No way to gracefully get out of this one! To make matters even more interesting, Suspicious Baby has some sort of virus, is teething and according to his mother is meaner than 10,000 hornets. I know that there will not be a lot of reading time on S. Baby's agenda, which generally includes a lot of random screaming, setting his sister's hamsters free, trying to flush random objects down the toilet and throwing himself on the floor in full-on hissy fits. Did I mention that he's two?

I thought about letting this Read-a-Thon go and just pretending it was any other day. I tried to talk myself into waiting for April because, of course, that would make sense. And then I quickly signed up anyway. Even if I only read for an hour, at least I can still be part of something wonderful; a community of readers taking a day off to do what they love and connect with each other. I'll be cheering all of you on silently as a wrangle the grumpy toddler. And who knows...there is always the possibility of a long nap!