Posted in Read-a-Thon

Read-a-Thon: Book 4. Do I hear 5?

Book 4: Completed! I went tearing through the latest Berger and Mitry mystery, The Blood Red Indian Summer by David Handler. I like that series, and this book was a quick thing to read.

Now I’m halfway through Steal the Show by Thomas Kaufman, the second in the Willis Gidney series. Given that it’s just about 3 a.m. here, I’m not sure I’m going to finish this one before I lose steam. These eyes are getting tired, and I haven’t drunk any coffee in 12 hours. But the book makes me want to stay awake to finish it, so I just might finish Book 5…
Usually it’s around this time of night (morning!) that I get to feeling like I’m the only awake human on earth. But this book’s characters are keeping me company, so that lonely feeling is greatly diminished this time around. 
What else I’ve been doing: checking The Face; visiting some blogs; eating a banana, some chocolate, and some crackers; drinking more water
Where I’ve been reading: reading room, kitchen
How long I’ve been reading: 13 hours
How many books I’ve finished reading: 4
Chairs I’ve sat in: comfy little chair, kitchen chair (I’m sticking with the kitchen chair for the rest of the night — those cushy chairs make me sleepy)

Read-a-Thon: Book 3

Wow. Just read a wonderful mystery novel in just over 2 hours. (Yeah, OK, so it was only 250 pages long.)

Book 3 was The Last Striptease by Michael Wiley. A rip-roaring good PI novel set in Chicago. I literally read it straight through from start to finish (without even any snack breaks!)

And the good news for me is that it’s the first book in a series. I think there are three books in the series thus far, so that’s happy times ahead. Wishing I had book 2 here because I would read that thing right now, but no.such.luck.

So — reading’s all I’ve been doing, except for sipping water and moving between the sofa and the cozy little reading chair. (That’s it there in the picture, with the ottoman that’s not really an ottoman because it’s really a storage bin with a floor pillow flumped on the top of it.)

So far today, there have been murders and more murders in every book I’ve read. And probably the next book up: more murders in there! The reason I think this is working so well for me today is that mysteries and thrillers make you want to go tearing through them at breakneck speed, and that’s Read-a-Thon style. Those introspective quiet novels about family relationships… on Read-a-Thon day, No.

Since it’s still hella early (only 10:20 p.m.!) I’m wondering if I might make it through 2 more books…? We Shall See.

Read-a-Thon: Mid-point

Hooray! I’ve finally finished Book 2!
Although I liked The Black Echo by Michael Connelly very much, by page 375, I was getting a little squirrelly. I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t have happened if I’d read it normally (rather than all in one big stretch). 
I just now read the descriptions of two of the books I checked out (a children’s book and a young adult book, each by an author that wrote another book I read and loved) and neither one of them sounds like my cuppa tea, plot-wise. 
So I’m staying in the mystery genre. I think. I’m only on page 3 of my next (possible) pick, so it’s still too early to declare a winner in the Book 3 sweepstakes. [This is the part of past Read-a-Thons when I’ve gotten hyper-finicky about books.]
What else I’ve been doing: went to a local cafe; visited the Read-a-Thon page; visited some blogs; ate dinner while watching a couple of TV shows on Hulu; drank some coffee in the afternoon; ate an apple, a chocolate toffee thing, and some pizza. Oh — and I had pasta for lunch. I’m a hungry thing. 
Where I’ve been reading: kitchen, reading room, living room, cafe
How long I’ve been reading: 7 hours
How many books I’ve finished reading: 2
  
Chairs I’ve sat in: all 4 kitchen chairs (one of which has a surprisingly pleasant view [I never sit in that chair]), the library table chair, the wingback chair, the west end of the sofa, and both living room chairs  (only 1 chair and 1 end of the sofa remain — and both have strategically placed reading lamps nearby, so they’re perfect for night reading)
Other stuff: Got terribly sleepy during the sofa phase. Also gave myself a weird shoulder cramp from how I was holding the book. This reading is dangerous work. 

Read-a-Thon: Mid-day check-in

All the president’s men jump the shark from time to time.

It’s Hour 9, and things are good.

First off, Midnight Book Girl is hosting a challenge: Use books you have on hand to form a sentence out of their titles. My contribution appears in that photo there.

After starting the book What It Is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes, I stopped reading on page 6. I determined that this was not a book to gulp down during a Read-a-Thon, so I’m saving it for another day soon.

Then I picked up The Black Echo by Michael Connelly, an author I’ve only been meaning to read for 15 years now. Darn good mystery — I’m liking it. I’m only halfway through — it’s a 475-page paperback. Big books are a silly choice for a Read-a-Thon, but it’s the first Harry Bosch novel, so I’m starting from the very beginning… a very good place to start…

I’ll be back with some stats either when I finish The Black Echo or when I decide to take a reading break.

(Chair-sitting update: I’ve sat in 2 additional chairs since last time. More ahead…
I know: The suspense is killing you.)