Mid-Event Survey

1. I'm about to start reading, This World we live in, by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
2. I've finished one book, Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. Boy, it was a good one!
3. I'm looking forward to the book named in #1.
4. I tried to make arrangements to free the whole day, but alas, they fell through and I had to work this morning.
5. I haven't had many interruptions now that I'm home from work.
6. Not surprised by much....I am a veteran.
7. Nope. I love it as it is!
8. I would finally, for the first time in two years, clear the entire day and night!
9. Me, tired? No way.
10. I save large print books for the wee hours when my eyes are tired!

R.A.T. Hour 6

I'm finally back home reading after a frustrating morning at work.

For the Book/Score/Soundtrack challenge: I'm reading Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. It's a memoir about a woman who thoughtlessly breaks the law as a young, new college graduate and ends up paying the price for it 10 years later by being sentenced to 15 months in a federal prison. My mental soundtrack has been Johnny Cash singing, "Folsom Prison Blues." I think I might actually have to dial this up on my ipod soon.

So far, I have read 62 pages of this book and I am loving it.

24 Hour Read-a-Thon 2010

I was all geared up to finally be able to participate in a Read-a-Thon with no other commitments in the way. I had my stack of books, plenty of snacks and a quiet house. Then I got roped into taking a training for work from 9-12 tomorrow. I am cranky, oh, so very cranky! I'm going to hide a book in my work papers and try to read anyway. I haven't yet been able to participate in a Read-a-Thon without some kind of random event popping up. I'm going to start planning now for October.



Here's the pile I plan to choose from tomorrow:



This World We live in------Susan Beth Pfeffer I read the first two books in this series and

loved them. Can't wait to read this!



The Girl Who Chased the Moon--Sarah Addison Allen Always a good author for a R.A.T.



The Tricking of Freya----Christina Sunley Review copy



Orange is the New Black----Piper Kerman Review copy



Burma Chronicles----Guy Delisle Graphic novel for when the eyes get tired.



The Killer's Cousin---Nancy Werlin I read Impossible by this author and could not put

it down to sleep. I have high hopes for this one.





Only a few hours left before the fun starts! I'm going to bed early and I'll see you all in the morning.

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!

15 Books

I read a meme that I wanted to try and then promptly forgot where I read it. The gist was to name 15 books that will always stay with you. This shouldn't take a lot of thought, just name the first 15 that come into your head. Here's mine:

1. Gone With the Wind~ Margaret Mitchell
2. Midnight is a Place~ Joan Aiken
3. Harriet the Spy~ Louise Fitzhugh
4. We Need to Talk about Kevin~ Lionel Shriver
5. Expecting Adam~ Martha Beck
6. The Secret History~ Donna Tartt
7. A Little Princess~ Frances Hodgeson Burnett
8. The Graveyard Book~ Neil Gaiman
9. Fun Home~ Alison Bechdel
10. Three Junes~ Julia Glass
11. The Stolen Child~ Keith Donohue
12. Life as We Knew It ~ Susan Beth Pfeffer
13. The Whispering Mountain~ Joan Aiken
14. A Ring of Endless Light~ Madeleine L'Engle
15. An Old Magic~ Ruth M. Arthur