nomadreader

Happy Fall Read-a-thon! It's a day to take 24 hours (or if you're like me, no more than 12-18 are physically possible) to read, participate in mini-challenges and win prizes. I'll be in and out this morning, but I hope to spend my afternoon reading. To the left are my stack of possible books. I have three guidelines for picking readathon books: variety, brevity, and variety. My stack has a mix of nonfiction, graphic narratives, historical fiction, short stories, novellas, contemporary fiction, and science fiction. I also have all four in Lois Lowry's   Giver  series on my Kindle and am currently devouring Tracy Chevalier's forthcoming novel about the Underground Railroad, The Last Runaway ,  which won't be out until February. If you want to see what I'm up to during the read-a-thon, please visit my tumblr . I'll be back with a Sunday Salon post tomorrow to catch you up on my day and what's to come next week. As an affiliate, I receive a small c...

Happy morning after read-a-thon, everyone! I had a wonderful time reading and tweeting yesterday. Of my giant pile of 26 books , I managed to read three of them. I started with Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel Lost at Sea . I tend to begin a read-a-thon with a graphic novel because it brings such joy and accomplishment early on. When I finished it, I also noticed #readathon was trending on Twitter, which is awesome. Before the second hour, I was onto book number two: I Was Amelia Earhart  by Jane Mendelsohn. I spent about three hours reading it, and it was fascinating. Plus, it brought me my favorite moment of the read-a-thon: Cheer Bear as Amelia Earhart The mini-challenge was to take a photograph of something that represents a character in the book you're reading. Yes, in only hour two, I was loopy enough to make flying goggles out of an index card (why an index card? I'm still not sure) for a Cheer Bear and  stand on my dining room table to get maximum clou...

Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned I was already stocking up on books for the read-a-thon ? Well last night when I sat down to collect them all in one place, I realized I had gone overboard. Way, way overboard. Counting only the print books I've amassed from the libraries and my shelves, I discovered I had 26 books . More books than hours? Seriously, Carrie. Still, as I looked at the shelf, I really liked the variety. I have a couple of non-fiction options (one a graphic novel and one a teen photo-heavy option), a few other graphic novels, a Newbery medal book, a couple of short story collections, a plethora of novellas, a couple of mysteries, and a veritable grip of short novels. The novels are mostly literary fiction, but there's a nice mix of authors, locations and time periods. Two check in over 300 pages, but only barely (316 and 322 respectively.) And I haven't even gotten to the choices on my Kindle ( Zone One , I'm staring most longingly at you...) ...

Happy Sunday! Despite the unseasonably hot weather (I am not a fan of having the air conditioning on in October!), I am starting to feel the anticipation of fall I adore so much. Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming in a few months, and I adore both holidays. But first, the next two weeks are filled  with literary excitement.  1. The Marriage Plot  comes out Tuesday, October 11. Since I read The Virgin Suicides  in high school, I've been a fan of Jeffrey Eugenides. Somehow I've never gotten around to reading Middlesex  (I know, I know), but I'm eagerly awaiting The Marriage Plot . I've pre-ordered it for my Kindle , and I'm planning to wake up early Tuesday and get a head start on it before work. I'm fascinated with stories of academia and marriage, so the plot of this book coupled with its author makes it one of the fall releases I'm most excited to read. I'm carefully planning my reading to coincide with its release, so I'll be spending thi...

I'm not able to participate in this year's Dewey's Read-a-thon tomorrow, as Saturdays are a working day for me, but I will be reading Meg Wolitzer's The Uncoupling  a bit this morning before I go to work. I do, however, have some helpful tips (and book suggestions) for those of you who are. Tips: 1. Start small. Start with a short book. I highly recommend a graphic novel or middle grade title. I began my first read-a-thon with the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid  book, which was perfect. Especially if you're not a morning person. Finishing a book in the first two hours is exhilarating. 2. Finish one.  I never manage to finish a book before the read-a-thon, so I'm usually in the middle of one. When you pick it up next, it's a lovely sense of accomplishment to finish a second book (even though you didn't start it during the read-a-thon.) 3. Aim big in the early afternoon. Around this time, I start getting excited and wonder how many books it's ...

Hello, everyone! I hope you're enjoying your day of reading. I'm having a great time at the Empire State Book Festival, but I'm looking forward to reading soon too! Welcome to this hour's mini-challenge! I loved Trish's mini-challenge at the last read-a-thon showing where we all were actually reading, and it gave me the idea to make a map challenge showing where the book(s) we're reading today take place. To enter this mini-challenge, you'll need to do two things: 1. Go to this map .  (You must be signed into a Google account to post on Google maps. You can create a Google account if you don't have one.) Zoom until you find the location you want to click Click edit, which will give you the ability to add a pin mark.  Enter the book(s) you're reading or have read today. Include the title and author. If you're reading in the past or future, feel free to include the year too! If you want to include your blog address (if you have one), ple...

It's time for Dewey's Read-a-thon again! The spring read-a-thon will be Saturday, April 10. It begins at 8 a.m. Eastern time. For all of the details, visit the read-a-thon's blog and sign up! I had a lot of fun with my first read-a-thon in October, and I'm looking forward to participating again. I won't be reading most of the day this time, however, as the read-a-thon is the same day as the Empire State Book Festival . It's the first ever Empire State Book Festival, and I'm thrilled to have such a fantastic collection of authors and events right here in Albany. The festival will be 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but I'll try to read a little before I go and read until I fall asleep when I get home. Have you done the read-a-thon before? Are you doing it this spring? Are you going to the Empire State Book Festival?

Although it's not an official Dewey's read-a- thon , Dreadlock Girl Reads is throwing another read-a- thon for those who couldn't participate yesterday and those of us who can't get enough. I'm in favor of having read-a- thons four times a year rather than two, so I'm thrilled to join this one too! It comes at the perfect time for me: two days after my last final, and what better way to embrace the holiday season and my break from classes than doing one of my favorite things: reading. I have plenty of books left over from yesterday, and now I know what strategy works for me. Will you join us for the December 5 th read-a- thon ?

I'll do a final wrap-up post tomorrow, but faced with the option of starting a new book less than an hour before my goal finish time or going to bed, I'm choosing bed! I had so much fun, and I read three books: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rescuing Seneca Crane & The Hunger Games . I'll tally the pages for tomorrow's wrap-up post. I didn't decide what or how to donate to charity before the read-a- thon , but it came to me during my second book: I'm donating to one of my favorite organizations: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in honor of my two favorite (fictional) teenage detectives, Kari and Lucas, and direct the gift to family and children's programming. I can't say enough great things about this series, and if you've read The Mystery of the Third Lucretia , you'll understand why this donation is indeed perfect. I like the idea so much, I hope to donate to an organization important to a character of a book I read each read-a- thon . Read it forwar...

The Read-a-thon is half-way over, and I'm having a great time so far! Mid-Event Survey: 1. What are you reading right now? The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (on page 60) 2. How many books have you read so far? The Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney & Rescuing Seneca Crane by Susan Runholt 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I am absolutely loving The Hunger Games , but I'm looking forward to my next book too. Perhaps I'm most looking forward to reading two more books after The Hunger Games (it's a long shot given my usual reading pace!) 4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Nope. Saturdays are my day off, but I won't be able to read until 8 a.m. because I work Sundays. 5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I've given myself several interrutpions: cooking meals and watching football! 6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so ...

After a late start, I seem to more relaxed than I thought I'd be. I absolutely adored Diary of Wimpy Kid , and I wish I'd gotten the next three in the series from the library too! Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to leave comments, I really appreciate it! Now I'm reading Rescuing Seneca Crane by Susan Runholt . It's the second Kari & Lucas mystery, and I absolutely adored The Mystery of the Third Lucretia . I'm really enjoying it so far, but I don't want it to end because the third book doesn't have a publication date yet. Also, I'm not getting the KU - OU football game, so I'll be reading during the game and following the score online. Happy reading!

Readathon is a trending topic on Twitter! How is my day going so far you ask? Well, I just woke up after accidentally setting my phone to vibrate; I didn't hear my alarm. The good news is now I'm well rested, and to lighten my guilt, I'm starting with Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. Happy reading!

In case you haven't heard, there's a 24-hour Read-a- thon going on this weekend. If you don't care about the read-a- thon , please feel free to ignore this blog until Monday. I'll post a few times while I'm reading Saturday, then I'll post a wrap-up post on Sunday. Come back Monday for a review a day! It's finally here! I'm excited and nervous to embark on my first 24-hour Read-a- thon . I'm not even going to attempt to read for the entire 24 hours for two reasons: one, it's the Kansas-Oklahoma game, and my beloved Jayhawks might actually have a chance to win this year, so I'm breaking for the game at 3:30 p.m; two, I work all day on Sundays, and I don't think I'd be a very good reference librarian if I stayed up all night reading. My goals: 1. Read from 8 a.m. (start time!) until 2 a.m. (except for the KU - OU game). 2. Read 800 pages: I typically read about 60 pages/hour (or a page/minute). I'm giving myself 70 minutes off to...

I've decided to join Dewey's read-a- thon this year. It's on a date that's pretty good for me, and I've had so much fun observing the blogs of those who have enjoyed it in the past. My plan: I will aim to read for almost 24 hours, but I am not sure my body is capable. The read-a- thon starts on October 24 at 8 a.m. my time, which is perfect. I'm taking a break at noon to watch the KU -Oklahoma football game. I'll still read during commercial breaks, and if Oklahoma goes up by more than 28 points, I'll abandon the game and go back to reading. I hope to read from 8 a.m - 2 a.m., with a three-hour football-watching break. I will update twitter and my blog whenever I need a reading break. What I'll read: I plan to do a little catching up on my Read Every Word list, a list of authors whose books I want to read all of; a little catching up on my "books I've been meaning to read for far too long pile"; and I plan to read books other bloggers...