UPDATE for HOUR 21
I'm awake and reading! What about you?
Reading: The Complete Short Stories by Muriel Spark; just finished 'Bang Bang You're Dead'
On page: 94 (43 pages read so far)
Favorite bit: 'Am I a woman, she thought calmly, or an intellectual monster?' (94)
Eating: A cough drop.
Listening to: Snot dripping down the back of my throat.
Distracted by: Not much yet. Sweetie is going on a bike ride so I'll be in peace and quiet.
The Plan: Sleep was great, and now I think I'll be able to read more in the next few hours than I have so far in the read-a-thon!
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UPDATE for HOUR 23
Reading: Maurice by E.M. Forster
On page: 650 (125 pages read so far)
Favorite bit: "'You and I are outlaws. All this' -- he pointed to the middle-class comfort of the room -- 'would be taken from us if people knew.'" (639)
Eating: Valencia orange West Country yogurt
Listening to: Kids screaming and a dog barking
Distracted by: Staying pretty well focused right now.
The Plan: Keep reading and try to finish Maurice.
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IT'S ALL OVER
Books finished:
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (233 pages)
Books partly read:
Maurice by E.M. Forster (175 pages)
The Complete Short Stories by Muriel Spark (44 pages)
Total pages read: 452 pages
The snacks: Tomato, basil and mozzarella salad, a ham sandwich, tablet (this is a Scottish thing), sliced apples, squash stew, risotto, strawberry cheesecake, and orange yogurt. Lots of cups of tea.
The Rundown: I wish I could have completed Maurice, since I'm only 60 pages from the end. A bit less talking and more reading in the first half of the read-a-thon would have made this possible. Why is it that I seem to do much LESS reading on a day when I've specifically set the day aside for it?
Also, I was surprised at how slow going the Muriel Spark stories were. I think I was getting through about 10 pages an hour. They were more difficult than I had expected. This was my first experience of Muriel Spark and I'm not sure that it's been entirely successful. Sinister, colonial, and disturbingly racist is how I have found the 3 stories I've read so far.
American Born Chinese was fantastic! It feels like cheating to read a graphic novel and have it go so quickly, but like my brother said, there is a lot of depth in this story and it will deserve a re-read. It's a moving story of growing up between cultures and confronting forces of assimilation. This was a perfect read-a-thon book.
It was fun, and thanks to all the organisers and cheerleaders for keeping the energy up. See you all again in April.
Although the sun has gone to bed
ReplyDeleteThere's still a lot that needs be read
You're doing fine, you're doing great
Did you think you could stay up this late?
And I gotta say--the snot doesn't sound pleasant! :)
You did fine! I also read less than expected. I also had a book that's not far from finished. It would have been nice to count the whole book for the read-a-thon accomplishments, wouldn't it.
ReplyDeleteI love your list of foods! Very yummy!
Aaaaaaah, the SNACKS!
ReplyDelete(O boy, this is about books of course, why do I begin about the food ;)
Congrats on finishing the readathon! Sounds like you had fun (I know I did!) and didn't get distracted as much any more in the end! 'When the end is nigh...' :)
I've found that the community part is what makes the readathon fun (hey, you could go sit and read for 24 hrs by yourself and you would get a lot more done, right? ;) so I've resigned myself to reading not as much as I would expect. So for me, this time around the 24 Hour RaT was picture perfect!
See you next time around?
Wow, I was on vacation marginally away from the internet, and missed the whole read-a-thon madness this time around! Seems like you had a great time; I'll be interested in your thoughts on the Forster when you finish those final 60 pages. :-)
ReplyDeleteI have been reading good things about "American Born Chinese". I'm keeping my eye out for it!
ReplyDeleteThe read-a-thon was fun, and thanks for cheering me on during it!
Thanks for all your comments! I think I'm still recovering from the frenzy that was the weekend. I'm strangely already looking forward to the next one in April...
ReplyDeleteThanks guys!
Congratulations on lasting 24 hours!! Woohoo! I couldn't get past 18!
ReplyDelete