Regular readers will already know that if there's one thing I just can't resist, it's a good read-a-thon. Well, and kittens. And book shopping. And Easter eggs. But read-a-thons are right up there, okay! And this one's a whole week long and has its own blog, Twitter account and hashtag and everything...
So, I'm saying YES to the read-a-thonny goodness. I'm going to be at work for six days out of the seven, but I'm going to make every moment count. I can read on the counter at the shop - the quieter the town, the more I'll get read - as well as before and after work, and right through my day off on Tuesday. I might not finish a book a day, but anything that encourages me to stop playing online/article hopping/watching catch-up TV/staring at the wall/snoozing and pushes me gently back to my reading has to be a good thing, right?!
My Reading Goals
If I haven't already, I definitely want to finish The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists by Gideon Defoe. I'd also like to finish Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk, and on my day off I'll be attempting to read Alan Moore's V for Vendetta in its entirety. After that I have any number of books to choose from, both library books and books from my own TBR pile, so we'll just have to see what happens! If I could finish these three titles and at least make some headway into a fourth, I'll be a happy reader.
My Other Goals
I'd like to get at least ONE review written and posted during the week. Reviewing Time very much eats into Reading Time, but if I can squeeze in just one it'll at least stop me getting too far behind. I want to get my bookish wishlist in some sort of order, because it's all over the place and totally out of control right now! I'd also like to commit to catching up with the last two episodes of Open Book on BBC iPlayer (that's only an hour total and it'll give my eyes a rest!), and make some progress with FINALLY writing my bookshop profile for Jen Campbell's series over at her blog.
My Progress
I'll be updating as I go along, both on this post and on Twitter. Do follow along and feel free to cheer, congratulate or corral as the need arises!
DAY 1: Monday (14th)
What I've been reading: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists by Gideon Defoe (FINISHED); Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk
Pages read today: 59
Running total: 1 book; 59 pages
Challenge: Blog post - What I Love About Read-a-Thons
Non-reading progress: I looked vaguely in the direction of a review post this morning, then changed my mind. :)
General notes: Busy day today. Work, errands, chores, then a documentary on Chatsworth that I just couldn't miss. I was a bakery girl in the farm shop, once hid from the Dowager Duchess in the walk-in fridge (I was starstruck!), and our bookshop is LITERALLY on the other side of the hill from the house. Happily I've managed to squeeze in a few more pages before bed, and tomorrow's my day off so I can read for hours!
Today #insixwords: The day I stalked everybody else!
DAY 2: Tuesday (15th)
What I've been reading: V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd; Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk
Pages read today: 96
Running total: 1 book; 155 pages
Challenge: Blog post - Reading Confessions/This or That
Non-reading progress: Not a bean. On my day off?! Preposterous suggestion... *wanders off in search of more coffee* ;)
General notes: Dammit, that page total looks so tiny! Hmmm, well, I've not done as much reading as I'd expected, to be honest. Maybe because from what I'd heard, graphic novels are fairly quick to read, so I was expecting to be turning those pages faster. But now I've started I don't WANT to rush V for Vendetta, because so far it's taking every possible thought I had about it and about graphic novels in general, and blowing it all out of the water. It's AMAZING! I've enjoyed creating a second fun challenge post today as well, and visiting more participating blogs to say hi. Oh, and I finally ate my custard Danish this afternoon. It was yummy and sticky and delicious, and made up for the crap Sainsbury's pizza I ended up throwing away in disgust.
Today #insixwords: Really awesome book; REALLY bad pizza.
DAY 3: Wednesday (16th)
What I've been reading: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk; V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Pages read today: 95
Running total: 1 book; 250 pages
Challenge: Blog post - Old cover, new title!
Non-reading progress: I opened my review template for The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists. I stared at it for a few minutes. Then I went on Twitter instead. *facepalm*
General notes: Actually, today hasn't been a bad day, all things considered. I spent a fair amount of time stalking the #boutofbooks feed on Twitter, a little time chatting to my sister on MSN, and there were a lot of unusually chatty customers in the shop too, but I still managed a pretty decent page count! Partially because today's challenge was quicker, I suspect. I read before work, at work, and part of the evening, and managed to tot up a page count only one less than my day off yesterday!
Today #insixwords: Smaller challenge makes for bigger reading!
DAY 4: Thursday (17th)
What I've been reading: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk
Pages read today: 39
Running total: 1 book; 289 pages
Non-reading progress: Yes! I finally wrote a review, for The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists, by Gideon Defoe. I also, aside from my original goals, set up a new page on the blog to list all my TBR books and (hopefully) encourage me to actually read them. I've only got as far as the 'D' authors on my LT catalogue but the list is already huge!
General notes: It's not been a good reading day today. I woke up with a hayfevery headache this morning that steadily increased as the hours went by, which put paid to reading for a while; the shop was quiet, but Mum decided we should reshuffle all of our fiction shelves during the lull; and my stepbrother has just arrived home from a round-the-world trip and is staying with us for a few days, so I spent a while downstairs chatting with everyone after work. I did make an effort to at least read a bit though, while I had tea. Maybe tomorrow will be better!
Today #insixwords: The readathon-killing headache strikes again.
DAY 5: Friday (18th)
What I've been reading: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk
Pages read today: 28
Running total: 1 book; 317 pages
Challenge: Blog post - Matching your shoes to your... book?
Non-reading progress: I went a little off-goals and added more books to my Mount TBR page. I'm up to the end of authors beginning with 'D' and the list is already horrifying, oops!
General notes: Another duff day. *sigh* Oh well. I was convinced I was going to read in the morning - then I was really tired and ended up staring into space for quite a while. I was sure I was going to read through the day at work - then we got lots of chatty customers and finished our shelf reshuffle instead. I was POSITIVE that after work would be one long reading delight - then I made tea, did the Twitter chat (so much fun!) and ended up staying on the internet until bedtime. *deeper sigh* TOMORROW! TOMORROW WILL BE THE DAY! Maybe I'll just not go near Twitter too often. Yeah. Yeah, that'll work... :)
Today #insixwords: Manic Twitter chat; EPIC reading fail.
DAY 6: Saturday (19th)
What I've been reading: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk
Pages read today: 76
Running total: 1 book; 393 pages
Non-reading progress: I've edited ten pages of books and five pages of DVDs on my Amazon wishlist. It's where I keep my kind of 'master list' for when I go shopping or to the library, so I like to go through every now and again and sort the wheat from the chaff! I've also done a bit more of my new Mount TBR page - I'm onto 'G' authors now!
General notes: A much better reading day, finally! I made an extra effort to keep returning to my book between customers at the shop, and read for most of the evening as well (though I did stop for a dose of 8 out of 10 Cats right before bed). I reckon I'll finish Rant tomorrow, at any rate, so that's one step closer to actually COMPLETELY those seemingly-tame goals I set for myself a week ago! I still can't believe quite how little I've managed to read this week though. In a 24-hour read-a-thon I can normally manage 2-3 books, no problem - so what went wrong this time?!
Today #insixwords: One day to go - what happened?!
DAY 7: Sunday (20th)
What I've been reading: Rant: An Oral History of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk (FINISHED); V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Pages read today: 70
Running total: 2 books; 463 pages
Non-reading progress: I pretty much got my bookish wishlist sorted, which is good. I also worked for an hour on that new Mount TBR page, but the internet threw a tantrum at the last minute and lost it all! Oh well, I'll carry on tomorrow...
General notes: Well, it's all over! I can't believe how quickly it's gone - and how slowly my pages have mounted up... I'm quite pleased with today's progress though, I don't usually get so much read during a busy weekend at the shop! If I'd not been so sleepy this evening (read: lazy) the tally would probably have been higher, but I ended up watching Grandma's House and yawning instead.
Today #insixwords: How fast did this week go?!
Thanks to everyone who ran Bout of Books, and everyone who's read and commented throughout the week. My Wrap Up Post will be up soon!
Enjoy your books :) I like the way you set up your updates... I may have to copy you.
ReplyDeleteCopy away - and good luck! :)
DeleteI've pretty much written this all over the internet but I really am happy that you're doing this too!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely interested to see what the novel of V for Vendetta is like - the film is fantastic so I've always been curious about how it would work in book form! And I know that it's not mature but the cover of Rant really freaks me out - I'm such a wimp when it comes to dogs! Cats, YES, dogs, ARGH!
Good luck read-a-thoning! :-)
(ALSO, the mention of kittens reminds me that there's a Cat's Protection League centre opening up just around the corner from my house - how am I supposed to resist that?!)
Hello Miss Charlotte! Yes, I couldn't resist signing up when I read your post. There's something very LUXURIOUS about a reada-a-thon, even if you're working.
DeleteI've never read a graphic novel before but I've heard only good things about V for Vendetta. I'll be able to tick off 'graphic novels' on my Mixing It Up challenge, stop scouring the library for it on every visit, AND I'll finally be able to watch the DVD. Hooray!
Yes, the cover of Rant is horrendous. Thankfully my nose is currently buried INSIDE it so I don't have to look at it too often! And no, you won't be able to resist the Cat's Protection League. We didn't. :P
Go, get ready for the read-a-thon while I practise my cheers! Rah rah rah! :D
Hello! New follower here (all you had to do was mention Bernard Black haha). I've been meaning to read some Chuck Palahniuk so I look forward to hearing what you think of Rant. Good luck with your goals!
ReplyDeleteHooray, another Bernard fan! Yes, my inner Bernard is strong most days at the bookshop. I guess it follows: Watch Black Books - Want a bookshop - Open a bookshop - Become Bernard, only healthier. :)
DeleteThis is my first Palahniuk - I've been meaning to read him for a while, he's got such a huge cult following. So far it's... strange. So much energy fizzing off every page, it's like electricity. A grotesque fascination with bodily functions, which put me off my breakfast a bit. Dark humour, a fascinating premise... I have a feeling it's one of those books that will slowly get under my skin and refuse to let go!
Have heard good things about V for Vendetta! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI love Palahniuk!! :) And I just got V for Vendetta (plus the mask) for my husband's birthday - it is pretty thick for a graphic novel, but I do want to read it eventually :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your goals this week!
V for Vendetta update: AWESOME so far. You should definitely nick it for a read once a suitable amount of post-birthday time has elapsed... ;)
DeleteGreat list of books and awesome covers. Have fun and good luck!
ReplyDeleteThey all sound like great books. I've read most Palahniuk but not that one and I think we have V for Vendetta around here somewhere but again I've not read it. I'll keep a lookout for your reviews.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your goals and have fun!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic idea, a week long readathon. Good luck with your goals!
ReplyDeleteRant...creepy cover! Good luck with your goals this week!
ReplyDeleteTotally creepy! We have a noticeboard at work where we pin up pictures of the books we're reading and I just couldn't bring myself to use this one - so I found a pic of the American cover instead. *shudders*
DeleteFunnily enough I was thinking this morning about how today was your day off and you should get some reading done :)
ReplyDeleteI love Chatsworth House - I have ever since I knew Mary Queen of Scots stayed there during her imprisonment.
Reading some, eating some, snoozing some... just an average day off for me, haha! V for Vendetta isn't a 'quick' read as I was expecting, but it's amazing! Maybe I'll be a graphic novel convert after this, it's completely blowing me away so far.
DeleteI grew up visiting Chatsworth - including a very rainy school trip where I bought a squeaky cuddly duck and we ate honey cake in a bee-themed craft and food tent - and worked in the bakery at the farm shop for over a year. The Duke died while I was there and we were all a part of the funeral procession, it was very sad. Let's just say the estate got under my skin a LONG time ago and I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon! :)
I've actually seen the film of V for Vendetta without ever having read the book - that is a thing I NEVER do. I only saw it recently and wanted to know WHY HAD I NEVER SEEN THIS FILM BEFORE? Looking out for the book in the library.
ReplyDeleteI have the movie ready and waiting - I can't WAIT to watch it when I've finished reading! Maybe on my day off on Tuesday? Wheee, movie afternoon! :)
DeleteStalking is good... actually it should be a Bout-of-Books requirement. ;) Happy reading!
ReplyDeletehey there, i'm the official cheerleader so here's your cheer!
ReplyDeleteYou can do it, just put your mind to it and Girly you are doing it!! Read! Read! R-E-A-D! just READ!! (shaking pom poms) lol! happy reading to you.
http://sidnereading.blogspot.com/p/bout-of-books-read-thon.html
Wow! *shakes book-shaped confetti out of her hair* You are GOOD at that... ;)
DeleteYou are doing really well, especially with graphic novels because i find it takes so much longer to read, to take it all in and digest the storyline. I love the way you are doing your updates :) Hsppy reading on day 3-are you working and busy? You will met your goal xx
ReplyDeleteThree days to go! The graphic novel is definitely taking longer than I expected, but I'm loving every minute so I don't mind! Hoping for a good afternoon of reading, plus a quiet evening too, so hopefully by the end of Sunday I'll be pleased! :)
DeleteI think you are doing pretty well on day 3. All those 'distractions' and working and you managed all that reading...well done :) You should be proud of yourself. It sounds like a lot of chatting haha x Twitter and #boutofbooks is just a major distraction. I feel like i'm doing nothing at mo but the read-a-thon lol. When it finishes, i am not reading for 4days at least to catch up on life haha xx
ReplyDeleteOh good grief yes, #boutofbooks is deeply addictive! Normally after a 24-hour read-a-thon I have a day of movies, sleep and internet afterwards to recover, but I haven't actually read that much this week really! It's frustrating working so much through it - I wake up feeling motivated and desperate to read, then I end up reshuffling shelves or something instead! :)
DeleteSounds like you did well on Wednesday - that's an awesome page count when you consider all those distractions. And there's nothing wrong with going on Twitter - I was Tweeting you on the train on the way home instead of trying to read my god-awful book, so it made me happy!
ReplyDeleteYesterday was even more distracting, oops! But now that Michael's installed in the spare room and the reshuffling of all the shelves at the shop is DONE (as of about 11:30am this morning!) I can HOPEFULLY get back to my book now! *sighs*
Delete*cheerleads Ellie along* I keep popping back to look at this every day to see how your doing, keep reading and keep having fun with it!
ReplyDeleteThanks sweetness! I think I need all the cheerleading I can get right now, I'm doing rubbish so far! Maybe if the weekend's busy at the shop, I can just bury myself in a book and get loads read while I studiously avoid everyone? ;)
DeleteYou are doing well here Ellie. I am on my second new book of this challenge and my third overall which is a lot more than I would normally read, but could be the way I read from now on as it has been a lot of fun
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the best things about a read-a-thon I reckon - it gets you back into the reading swing! For me, at least, it gets me into the habit of slipping a few pages into an idle moment, or thinking twice about turning on the laptop in the evening and reading instead. Which can only be a GOOD thing... :D
DeleteHope the headache goes away. Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteThere's always the weekend ;)
ReplyDeleteI love your InSixWords for Wed! That was my plan! Have a quick but fun challenge so the reading does not suffer!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely worked! I tend to get so caught up when I'm writing a blog post, so having a quick, fun challenge instead of one I wanted to write REAMS for was a big help! :)
DeleteLast day! Whew! Happy reading ;)
ReplyDelete