"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Blog-n-Readathon, the wrap up

Today I spent 12 hours reading and blogging on my own personal Blog-n-Readathon. I set myself some pretty lofty goals. How did I do? The red ink is today's progress. I feel pretty great about the day. See what you think.

What I hope to read (all or some):
  • Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass by Tonya Bolden...I am currently 60% finished with the book and hope to complete it. Completed this book.
  • Devotions by Mary Oliver...This is a tome of a poetry book. I will be happy to read a few more pages. I am currently at 32% and would be happy if I get to 40% or so. I read quite a few poems and am now at 44% in the book.
  • Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan...I just started this audiobook yesterday and I have over 14 hours of listening ahead of me on this one. I will listen to this while I exercise and my goal is to complete at least an hour of it. I went for a long walk, getting more than 4000 steps on my fitbit, and listened to over an hour of the book bringing me to 25%.
  • Chasing King's Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Assassin by James Swanson...this week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of MLK. Tomorrow I hope to read the whole thing. I did it! I finished it.
  • The Land of Permanent Goodbyes  by Atia Abawi...another library book I have in my possession which I haven't started. Will I have time to start it tomorrow? No, though I hope to read the first chapter before bed tonight.
  • Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump by Michael Isikoff and David Corn... I'll pick the book up today and hope to at least peek at it tomorrow, but I have to pick it up from the library first. I did get the book picked up from the library and read the first chapter.
  • The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin...I hope to at least get this one downloaded to my Kindle. Whether I start it is doubtful looking at the list of books ahead of it. I did download it onto the Kindle and then read the first chapter. In the future I will have to read this during the day while my hubby is at work, since he has hijacked my Kindle at night to read a book that I purchased.
Blogging goals:
  • There are six books I haven't reviewed that I still hope/want to. 
    • Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng---we just had our book club discussion on this book on Wednesday and I want to review it before my thoughts fade. This is my prime blogging objective tomorrow. No.
    • Ready Player One by Ernest Cline---I just finished re-listening to this audiobook. I want to dig up my original review and add a few notes based on my current thoughts and republish it. Yes and it is posted already.
    • Emma: A Modern Retelling and Pride and Prejudice: a Modern Retelling---both books were part of the Austen Project, written by modern authors. I think I'd like to explore the project's goals and plans and write about that, while including a few notes of review about the two books I have read from it. Yes and this will post on Wednesday.
    • Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence---I listened to this audiobook and decided I needed to wait to get my hands on the print edition before I could write my review. I am currently 25th in line at the library. Don't expect anything about this book from my efforts tomorrow. I still don't have the book, so no.
    • Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks---I have fairly complicated feelings about this book and find myself at a loss for where I would start on a review of it. With enough time, perhaps tomorrow will give me a chance to start the process of putting those thoughts down in words. I read three different reviews by the NYT, NPR, and The Washington Post. I am ready to start my own review.
    • I actually got some additional blogging done and have several posts started, though not completed.
What I will and won't do tomorrow:
  • I will read and blog.
  • I won't update you on my progress throughout the day. ✔, in fact I mostly avoided the Internet all day unless I was updating my progress on Goodreads, doing research for my blog or this post.
  • I will do a final blog post which highlights my progress on my goals. 
  • I won't feel guilty if I don't get as much done as I have outlined here. I recognize I have an impossibly high list of goals to accomplish. ✔, I actually feel very satisfied. I got a lot done and feel unstuck on my blogging.
  • I will congratulate myself on what I do get done. ✔, the irony, of course, with reading and blogging days is the more one reads then more one has to blog. Now I'm behind again.  Ha!
  • In addition, during the day I paid attention to my physical needs and would spend at least ten minutes of every hour doing some sort of physical activity whether it was doing WiiFit activities, dancing around the room to oldies, dusting, making the bed, whatever it was I just wanted movement. AND I got my 10,000 steps for the day! Bonus.
Want to do your own Blog-n-readathon?
  • Want to spend a day reading and blogging for yourself, no one else?
  • It's easy. Pick a day, any day. Make an original blog post, like mine. Let me know the date you pick by leaving a note in the comments below and I will hop over and give you a word of encouragement.

5 comments:

  1. You did get a lot done! I bet listening to a book makes a walk more pleasant.

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    1. I hate wearing headphones so I ust hold my iPod and listen to the tinny sound through the little speakers as I walk outside. When cars past I can't hear it. Ha!

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  2. Great recap and it sounds like you had a super fun and productive day! I've been home and on antibiotics so am catching up on reading other people's blogs. Not much productive reading of my own though.

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    1. Oh dear, I hope you feel better soon. When you are out and about again look for the CHASING KING'S KILLER book by Swanson. I am sure it will be a Cybils Nonfiction selection this year.

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  3. This sounds like such a great day! I've been in a little bit of a slump myself, so I find out particularly inspiring that you were able to get do much done and are feeling unstuck afterwards :)

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