Daily Archives: October 18, 2008

Read-A-Thon: Hour 18

No mini-challenges this hour…but I DID win a prize (see below). And I spent some time responding to all the great comments people have left on my blog and updating my Google Spreadsheet which had gotten somewhat behind.

Update since my last post (or see it in a Google spreadsheet)

  • Book I’m reading: Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek
  • Number of books read since I started: 1- Testimony, by Anita Shreve (read my review)
  • Pages Read since my last post: 26
  • Total pages read in the challenge: 504
  • Amount of time spent reading since my last post: 30 minutes
  • Total amount of time spent reading in the challenge: 540 minutes (9.0 hours)
  • Mini-Challenges completed:
    1. Intro during Hour 1
    2. Free-Rice.com with donation of 500 grains
    3. Thanking hosts (not sure this is a mini-challenge … but I’m counting it!)
    4. Meryl’s quote
    5. Freerice.com with donation of 1000 grains
    6. Name that Book Cover
    7. Walkin’ and Snappin’
    8. Mid-Event Survey
    9. The Very Mini-Library Cat Challenge
    10. Top Ten List
    11. Photo Caption
  • Total amount of time spent blogging: 335 minutes (5.6 hours)
  • Blogs visited since I last posted: 1
  • Time spent visiting other people’s blogs (and number of comments left): 100 minutes (1.7 hour) and 24 comments
  • Down Time: 105 minutes (1.75 hours)
  • Amount of Participation Time (less down time): 16.25 hours
  • Prizes I’ve won: I won a book for the Walkin’ and Snappin’ Challenge!
**********************************
The 24 Hour Read-A-Thon is also a CHARITY EVENT … and it is NOT TOO LATE to sponsor me and help support Triple Creek Ranch Inc!! You can also enter to WIN A FREE BOOK!

Read my posts about:

Read-A-Thon: Hour 17

For Hour 17 there is a mini-challenge hosted by Tracy at Bookroom Reviews. She has posted a photo to which we must give a caption. My creative juices are waning, so don’t hold this against me!

“Mam, I’m a representative from America’s Next Top Model, and Tyra Banks thinks you’d be perfect for our show. Could you come with me please?”

Update since my last post (or see it in a Google spreadsheet)

  • Book I’m reading: Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek
  • Number of books read since I started: 1- Testimony, by Anita Shreve (read my review)
  • Pages Read since my last post: 40
  • Total pages read in the challenge: 478
  • Amount of time spent reading since my last post: 40 minutes
  • Total amount of time spent reading in the challenge: 5100 minutes (8.5 hours)
  • Mini-Challenges completed:
    1. Intro during Hour 1
    2. Free-Rice.com with donation of 500 grains
    3. Thanking hosts (not sure this is a mini-challenge … but I’m counting it!)
    4. Meryl’s quote
    5. Freerice.com with donation of 1000 grains
    6. Name that Book Cover
    7. Walkin’ and Snappin’
    8. Mid-Event Survey
    9. The Very Mini-Library Cat Challenge
    10. Top Ten List
    11. Photo Caption
  • Total amount of time spent blogging: 310 minutes (5.2 hours)
  • Blogs visited since I last posted: 1 –  Tracy at Bookroom Reviews
  • Time spent visiting other people’s blogs (and number of comments left): 95 minutes (1.6 hour) and 23 comments
  • Down Time: 105 minutes (1.75 hours)
  • Amount of Participation Time (less down time): 15.25 hours
  • Prizes I’ve won: none yet
**********************************
The 24 Hour Read-A-Thon is also a CHARITY EVENT … and it is NOT TOO LATE to sponsor me and help support Triple Creek Ranch Inc!! You can also enter to WIN A FREE BOOK!

Read my posts about:

Read-A-Thon: Hour 16

I have had a little bit of an energy spurt and made some good reading progress this hour.

Update since my last post (or see it in a Google spreadsheet)

  • Book I’m reading: Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek
  • Number of books read since I started: 1- Testimony, by Anita Shreve (read my review)
  • Pages Read since my last post:38
  • Total pages read in the challenge: 438
  • Amount of time spent reading since my last post: 40 minutes
  • Total amount of time spent reading in the challenge: 470 minutes (7.8 hours)
  • Mini-Challenges completed:
    1. Intro during Hour 1
    2. Free-Rice.com with donation of 500 grains
    3. Thanking hosts (not sure this is a mini-challenge … but I’m counting it!)
    4. Meryl’s quote
    5. Freerice.com with donation of 1000 grains
    6. Name that Book Cover
    7. Walkin’ and Snappin’
    8. Mid-Event Survey
    9. The Very Mini-Library Cat Challenge
    10. Top Ten List
  • Total amount of time spent blogging: 295 minutes (4.9 hours)
  • Blogs visited since I last posted: 2
  • Time spent visiting other people’s blogs (and number of comments left): 90 minutes (1.5 hour) and 22 comments
  • Down Time: 105 minutes (1.75 hours)
  • Amount of Participation Time (less down time): 14.25 hours
  • Prizes I’ve won: none yet
**********************************
The 24 Hour Read-A-Thon is also a CHARITY EVENT … and it is NOT TOO LATE to sponsor me and help support Triple Creek Ranch Inc!! You can also enter to WIN A FREE BOOK!

Read my posts about:

Read-A-Thon: Hour 15

The mini-challenge for this hour was sponsored by Softdrink at Fizzy Thoughts…here it is:

The Top Ten Reasons Why You Are Participating In the  Read-A-Thon

  1. It is the Internet event of the year.
  2. You need an excuse to drink all those cases of caffeinated beverages in your garage.
  3. Your husband snores so you can’t sleep anyway.
  4. People already think you’re nuts, so why not?
  5. The German Shepherd needs someone to step in on guard duty at 2AM.
  6. You’re an obsessive-compulsive, reading challenge addict.
  7. What? You don’t get up at 5:00Am to read?
  8. It is better than running a marathon.
  9. You needed to make a dent in your massive mountain of Advance Readers Editions.
  10. No one can ever accuse you of being one of THOSE people who only average two books a year (who are those people anyway?)

Update since my last post (or see it in a Google spreadsheet)

  • Book I’m reading: Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek
  • Number of books read since I started: 1- Testimony, by Anita Shreve (read my review)
  • Pages Read since my last post:19
  • Total pages read in the challenge: 400
  • Amount of time spent reading since my last post: 25 minutes
  • Total amount of time spent reading in the challenge: 430 minutes (7.2 hours)
  • Mini-Challenges completed:
    1. Intro during Hour 1
    2. Free-Rice.com with donation of 500 grains
    3. Thanking hosts (not sure this is a mini-challenge … but I’m counting it!)
    4. Meryl’s quote
    5. Freerice.com with donation of 1000 grains
    6. Name that Book Cover
    7. Walkin’ and Snappin’
    8. Mid-Event Survey
    9. The Very Mini-Library Cat Challenge
    10. Top Ten List
  • Total amount of time spent blogging: 280 minutes (4.7 hours)
  • Blogs visited since I last posted:2
  • Time spent visiting other people’s blogs (and number of comments left): 85 minutes (1.4 hour) and 20 comments
  • Down Time: 105 minutes (1.75 hours)
  • Amount of Participation Time (less down time): 13.25 hours
  • Prizes I’ve won: none yet
**********************************
The 24 Hour Read-A-Thon is also a CHARITY EVENT … and it is NOT TOO LATE to sponsor me and help support Triple Creek Ranch Inc!! You can also enter to WIN A FREE BOOK!

Read my posts about:

Read-A-Thon: Hour 14

I took a big break this hour to have dinner and watch a little television – just to clear my head. So you won’t see much of a change in my stats!

Update since my last post (or see it in a Google spreadsheet)

  • Book I’m reading: Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek
  • Number of books read since I started: 1- Testimony, by Anita Shreve (read my review)
  • Pages Read since my last post: 0
  • Total pages read in the challenge: 381
  • Amount of time spent reading since my last post: 0 minutes
  • Total amount of time spent reading in the challenge: 405 minutes (6.75 hours)
  • Mini-Challenges completed:
    1. Intro during Hour 1
    2. Free-Rice.com with donation of 500 grains
    3. Thanking hosts (not sure this is a mini-challenge … but I’m counting it!)
    4. Meryl’s quote
    5. Freerice.com with donation of 1000 grains
    6. Name that Book Cover
    7. Walkin’ and Snappin’
    8. Mid-Event Survey
    9. The Very Mini-Library Cat Challenge
  • Total amount of time spent blogging: 255 minutes (4.25 hours)
  • Blogs visited since I last posted: 0
  • Time spent visiting other people’s blogs (and number of comments left): 75 minutes (1.25 hour) and 18 comments
  • Down Time: 105 minutes (1.75 hours)
  • Amount of Participation Time (less down time): 12.25 hours
  • Prizes I’ve won: none yet
**********************************
The 24 Hour Read-A-Thon is also a CHARITY EVENT … and it is NOT TOO LATE to sponsor me and help support Triple Creek Ranch Inc!! You can also enter to WIN A FREE BOOK!

Read my posts about:

Read-A-Thon: Hour 13

Hour 13 and I’m hoping for a second wind – I think I’m going to have to eat dinner soon and take a break during hour 14. Anyway, this hours mini-challenge comes from Sharon at Sharon Loves Books and Cats. It is The Very Mini-Library Cat Challenge:

1. Go to this website. Find on the map a library cat that lives/lived closest to you (there are library cats in Canada). What is the cats name? What library is/was it located in? I discovered Dewey at the Butte County Library in Chico, California (which is about 90 minutes from me). Sadly, it looks like Dewey has moved on to the big sandbox in the sky as of 2000.

2.  Which library does Dewey live in? The Dewey in the book lives in The Spencer Public Library in Spencer, Iowa.

3. What is the name of the library cat documentary film that Dewey was in? Puss In Boots: Adventures of the Library Cat

4. What is Dewey’s full name? Dewey Readmore Books

Update since my last post (or see it in a Google spreadsheet)

  • Book I’m reading: Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek
  • Number of books read since I started: 1- Testimony, by Anita Shreve (read my review)
  • Pages Read since my last post: 26
  • Total pages read in the challenge: 381
  • Amount of time spent reading since my last post: 30 minutes
  • Total amount of time spent reading in the challenge: 405 minutes (6.75 hours)
  • Mini-Challenges completed:
    1. Intro during Hour 1
    2. Free-Rice.com with donation of 500 grains
    3. Thanking hosts (not sure this is a mini-challenge … but I’m counting it!)
    4. Meryl’s quote
    5. Freerice.com with donation of 1000 grains
    6. Name that Book Cover
    7. Walkin’ and Snappin’
    8. Mid-Event Survey
    9. The Very Mini-Library Cat Challenge
  • Total amount of time spent blogging: 240 minutes (4.0 hours)
  • Blogs visited since I last posted: 4
  • Time spent visiting other people’s blogs (and number of comments left): 75 minutes (1.25 hour) and 18 comments
  • Down Time: 60 minutes (1 hour)
  • Amount of Participation Time (less down time): 12 hours
  • Prizes I’ve won: none yet
**********************************
The 24 Hour Read-A-Thon is also a CHARITY EVENT … and it is NOT TOO LATE to sponsor me and help support Triple Creek Ranch Inc!! You can also enter to WIN A FREE BOOK!

Read my posts about:

Read-A-Thon: Hour 12

We’re at hour 12 – the HALF WAY point! Yahoo!! This hour’s mini challenge is the mid-event survey:

1. What are you reading right now? I’m early on in Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek – a story of an 11 year old girl who is being raised by her mentally ill mother. Yes, it is a bit “dark!”

2. How many books have you read so far? I’ve finished one book (Testimony by Anita Shreve which I reviewed here), and am 50 pages into my second book.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I’m actually looking forward to finished Tomato Girl and then reading some short stories from Months and Seasons, by Christopher Meeks.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? No, not really. I did prepare food ahead so I would not have to cook meals.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I had one phone call from my sister which was a small interruption. Otherwise, my husband has been happily working in his workshop and I’ve been blissfully left alone!

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I am always so surprised at how tiring it is to read for hours at a time.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I think this is one of the best run events on the Internet. It is fantastic. I am really happy that everything is being posted from Dewey’s blog this time around. It makes it easier to keep track of things.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? I think I’ve more or less figured this out now. I prepared a spreadsheet ahead of time which has been very helpful in keeping track of my “stats” and I also created a draft post which I could just tweak each hour. That has saved me a lot of time.

9. Are you getting tired yet? YES! I’ve been struggling to keep my brain unmuddled for what seems like forever now.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? See #8 above!

Update since my last post (or see it in a Google spreadsheet)

  • Book I’m reading: Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek
  • Number of books read since I started: 1- Testimony, by Anita Shreve (read my review)
  • Pages Read since my last post: 31
  • Total pages read in the challenge: 355
  • Amount of time spent reading since my last post: 35 minutes
  • Total amount of time spent reading in the challenge: 375 minutes (6.25 hours)
  • Mini-Challenges completed:
    1. Intro during Hour 1
    2. Free-Rice.com with donation of 500 grains
    3. Thanking hosts (not sure this is a mini-challenge … but I’m counting it!)
    4. Meryl’s quote
    5. Freerice.com with donation of 1000 grains
    6. Name that Book Cover
    7. Walkin’ and Snappin’
    8. Mid-Event Survey
  • Total amount of time spent blogging: 225 minutes (3.75 hours)
  • Blogs visited since I last posted: 1 – Dewey
  • Time spent visiting other people’s blogs (and number of comments left): 60 minutes (1 hour) and 14 comments
  • Down Time: 60 minutes (1 hour)
  • Amount of Participation Time (less down time): 11 hours
  • Prizes I’ve won: none yet
**********************************
The 24 Hour Read-A-Thon is also a CHARITY EVENT … and it is NOT TOO LATE to sponsor me and help support Triple Creek Ranch Inc!! You can also enter to WIN A FREE BOOK!

Read my posts about:

Read-A-Thon: Hour 11

Another new mini-challenge this hour! This one’s hosted by Kim at  Page After Page: Walkin’ and Snappin’ challenges us to go take a stretch break outside and snap a photo. Here’s what I saw outside my house:

*Click on Photos to Enlarge

The photo on the left is our house with the long shadows of late afternoon; the photo on the right is the recent delivery of firewood dumped in our driveway. My husband is planning on building a shed…and then we have to move it all to the shed!

I also reviewed a book this hour: Testimony by Anita Shreve (rated 4/5; read my review)

I’m posting this early so that I can be in time for the book drawing…then I’ll spend the rest of the time reading. I’ll come back and edit this post at 4:00pm with my latest numbers.

Update since my last post (or see it in a Google spreadsheet)

  • Book I’m reading: Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek
  • Number of books read since I started: 1- Testimony, by Anita Shreve (read my review)
  • Pages Read since my last post: 4
  • Total pages read in the challenge: 324
  • Amount of time spent reading since my last post: 10 minutes
  • Total amount of time spent reading in the challenge: 340 minutes (5.7 hours)
  • Mini-Challenges completed:
    1. Intro during Hour 1
    2. Free-Rice.com with donation of 500 grains
    3. Thanking hosts (not sure this is a mini-challenge … but I’m counting it!)
    4. Meryl’s quote
    5. Freerice.com with donation of 1000 grains
    6. Name that Book Cover
    7. Walkin’ and Snappin’
  • Total amount of time spent blogging: 205 minutes (3.4 hours)
  • Blogs visited since I last posted: 1 (Kim)
  • Time spent visiting other people’s blogs (and number of comments left): 55 minutes (13 comments)
  • Down Time: 60 minutes (1 hour)
  • Amount of Participation Time (less down time): 10 hours
  • Prizes I’ve won: none yet
**********************************
The 24 Hour Read-A-Thon is also a CHARITY EVENT … and it is NOT TOO LATE to sponsor me and help support Triple Creek Ranch Inc!! You can also enter to WIN A FREE BOOK!

Read my posts about:

Testimony – Book Review

Mike got up off the floor and sat on the sofa while he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, as if increasing the blog flow to the brain might help solve his problem. And it was then that the word containment entered his mind. And with that word, moral, ethical, and political choices were made, though Mike would realize the implications of these only later, when it occurred to him that he might have chosen at that moment another word, such as revelation, say, or help. -From Testimony, page 12-

Anita Shreve’s newest novel Testimony (due for release by Little, Brown and Company on October 21st) is a riveting story. The book is set in Vermont at a small, private school and told from multiple view points. Mike Bordwin, the headmaster of Avery Academy, is shocked when he views a tape which shows a 14 year old girl at the school engaging in a drunken orgy with three male students – all of whom are 18 years old or older. He recognizes the young men as stars of the school basketball team and is faced with a dilemma. Should he keep the “problem” contained to the school disciplinary committee, or is this a criminal act that should involve law enforcement?

As the novel unfolds, the reader discovers each character’s unique perspective of the event and the consequences of their behaviors. There is no one who is left unscathed as each character “tells” their side of the story, including the parents and children directly involved and those seemingly minor characters such as the guy who sells alcohol to minors and the cafeteria lady at the school.

Taut, gripping and impossible to put down, Shreve’s novel explores the devastating aftermath of this one event. Nothing is as it seems and each character’s decisions will have an impact impossible to predict. Thematically the novel explores the tenuous relationships between parent and child, and looks at how expectations can be shattered in the course of a night. This is a book which I predict will make the book club circuit and become a favorite to discuss.

I recommend this provocative novel to those readers who are not offended by graphic sexual scenes and difficult subject matter.

Read-A-Thon: Hour 10

Here are my answers for the Mini Challenge from Hour 9 found on Reading in Appalachia:

#3 Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

#7 The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters, by Lorraine López

#11 Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

#12 Anne of Windy Poplars, byL.M. Montgomery

#13 Testimony, by Anita Shreve

#15 The Secret River, by Kate Grenville

I feel like I should know more of these – but, my brain is getting mushy!

Update since my last post (or see it in a Google spreadsheet)

  • Book I’m reading: Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek
  • Number of books read since I started: 1
  • Pages Read since my last post: 15
  • Total pages read in the challenge: 320
  • Amount of time spent reading since my last post: 15 minutes
  • Total amount of time spent reading in the challenge: 330 minutes (5.5 hours)
  • Mini-Challenges completed:
    1. Intro during Hour 1
    2. Free-Rice.com with donation of 500 grains
    3. Thanking hosts (not sure this is a mini-challenge … but I’m counting it!)
    4. Meryl’s quote
    5. Freerice.com with donation of 1000 grains
    6. Name that Book Cover
  • Total amount of time spent blogging: 160 minutes (2.7 hours)
  • Blogs visited since I last posted: multiple blogs to do the last mini-challenge
  • Time spent visiting other people’s blogs (and number of comments left): 50 minutes (13 comments)
  • Down Time: 60 minutes (1 hour)
  • TOTAL TIME PARTICIPATED (less down time): 9 hours
  • Prizes I’ve won: None yet
**********************************
The 24 Hour Read-A-Thon is also a CHARITY EVENT … and it is NOT TOO LATE to sponsor me and help support Triple Creek Ranch Inc!! You can also enter to WIN A FREE BOOK!

Read my posts about: