Sunday, June 29, 2008

Hours 22-24 Update

Okay, I gave in at some point. I took an hour and a half long nap. And the other news is that thanks to church, I have to quit an hour early. :( But I will definately finish the hour when I get home. With reading, and blogging, and the whole thing. I do have a review or two to post. :)

Hours 19, 20, and the first half of 21 Update

Summary:
Book- The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Pages- 335 (1523 total)
Reading- 145 minutes (940 total)
Blogging- 5 minutes (240 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 6
Comments Left By Me- 10 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

Finally finished The Host. I'll get a review of it up as soon as I'm consious. :) The sun's up, and I'm surprised I actually lasted this long. So, yay, me! I think it's time for a nap, though. :)

Hour 18 Update

Summary:
Book- The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Pages- 0 (1188 total)
Reading- 55 minutes (795 total)
Blogging- 5 minutes (235 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 5
Comments Left By Me- 10 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

Still reading web comics. Way fun. Passes the time. Works out pretty well for me. :)

Hour 17 Update

I'm not even going to bother making updates. It's basically the same as last time. 4 more comments, though. Mum's still asleep, so I'm working REALLY hard to stay awake here. Therefore, I'm reading only the web comic. It seems to be working just fine. :)

Hour 16 Update

Summary:
Book- The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Pages- 79 (1188 total)
Reading- 50 minutes (690 total)
Blogging- 10 minutes (220 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 5
Comments Left By Me- 6 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

Electric Girl by Michael Brennan

160 pages

This is a cute little graphic novel. It worked well for me, as my brain is starting to shut down. Now I remember why I don't do so well on the homework that I do at 1 in the morning... But it was pretty funny, and it was a good break from the heavier reading I've been doing. I highly recommend it.

Hour 15 Update

Summary:
Book- The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Pages- 48 (1109 total)
Reading- 50 minutes (640 total)
Blogging- 10 minutes (210 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 5
Comments Left By Me- 6 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

So...sleepy... I'm still going, though. With a little help from some chocolate. ;)

Hour 14 Update

Summary:
Book- The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Pages- 66 (1061 total)
Reading- 50 minutes (590 total)
Blogging- 10 minutes (200 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 5
Comments Left By Me- 6 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

Really starting to get sleepy now, but the book's good enough that I'll probably at least be up long enough to finish it. :)

Hour 13 Update

Summary:
Book- Electric Girl by Michael Brennan
Pages- 160 (995 total)
Reading- 60 minutes (540 total)
Blogging- 0 minutes (190 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 5
Comments Left By Me- 5 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

I've officially reached my goal for the number of books to read. I think I probably should have set it higher, but I didn't know how fast I would be able to get through them.

Over this last hour, I've eaten dinner. And now I feel awfully sleepy. That's not good. I might end up having to take a short nap at some point.

And now back to The Host!

Hour 12 Update

Summary:
Book- The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Pages- 29 (835 total)
Reading- 40 minutes (480 total)
Blogging- 20 minutes (190 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 4
Comments Left By Me- 5 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

I'm still working away on The Host, but the pages have many more words on them than the other books I've been reading. We're getting dinner now (at 10 PM!), and so I'm switching to a short graphic novel for dinner, since it's too awkward to hold a huge book and eat.

Mid-Read-A-Thon Meme

This is the Hour 12 mini-challenge, so I'm doing it. :)

1. What are you reading right now?
I am currently reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer. A big book to tackle, but it's very interesting so far.

2. How many books have you read so far?
I've finished 4 books, and am working on my 5th. You can read my reviews on my blog.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Honestly, I think I'm most looking forward to Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw. It's a short, 220 page love story. Those are my favorites. And the plot line reminds me a bit of the Disney movie being filmed at my school earlier this year.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Nah, I don't really ever have too much to do on a Saturday. However, I did give up my usual all-Saturday nap. Hopefully that won't have repurcussions later...

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Not really. Brother and sister running around, and especially my brother trying to show me his DS game, but I deal with those everyday. :)

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
I'm surprised at how fast it's been going. I thought by now I'd be getting bored and wishing it was over.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Not really. I'm having a ton of fun with it right now. I just wish I had this much time to read every day.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
I would probably get more healthy food to eat; I'm worried about the crash I'm going to have from sugar.

9. Are you getting tired yet?
Surprisingly, not really. Except now that you ask, I'm starting to feel a bit sleepy...

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?
Uh... not really. Move around a bit. That way you won't get bored, and you're burning calories. And if you're like me, and eating lots of chocolate or other things to stay awake, it's probably good for you. :)

And that's the end of this meme! I can't believe we're almost halfway done!

Hour 11 Update

Summary:
Book- The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Pages- 62 (806 total)
Reading- 40 minutes (440 total)
Blogging- 20 minutes (170 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 4
Comments Left By Me- 5 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

The only reason I haven't started The Host until today was a fear that I'd get sucked into it and wouldn't be able to stop reading. It appears that that fear is a justified one. Mom had to tell me that the hour was up; I didn't even realize.

Samurai Girl: The Book of the Shadow by Carrie Asai

215 pages

This is the second book in the Samurai Girl series, and I'm really enjoying them. I can't wait until I get to go back to the library and pick up a couple new ones! :)

Hour 10 Update

Summary:
Book- Samurai Girl: The Book of the Shadow by Carrie Asai
Pages- 215 (744 total)
Reading- 60 minutes (390 total)
Blogging- 0 minutes (150 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 4
Comments Left By Me- 5 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

I totally forgot about blogging... oops. I'll do better.

Hour 9 Update

Summary:
Book- Samurai Girl: The Book of the Sword by Carrie Asai
Pages- 61 (529 total)
Reading- 45 minutes (330 total)
Blogging- 15 minutes (150 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 3
Comments Left By Me- 5 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

Samurai Girl: The Book of the Sword by Carrie Asai

218 pages

My sister had picked up this series from the library before, and I thought it looked interesting, but they had to go back before I got a chance to read them. So I picked up books 1 and 2 yesterday to read during the read-a-thon. I really liked this first one, and I'm interested to see what happens next.

Hour 8 Update

Summary:
Book- Samurai Girl: The Book of the Sword by Carrie Asai
Pages- 34 (468 total)
Reading- 55 minutes (285 total)
Blogging- 5 minutes (135 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 2
Comments Left By Me- 5 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

Wow, we're actually a third done now! Kind of sad, actually. That means there's only 16 hours left.

The hour 2 mini-challenge got me hooked on that web comic, so I was reading that for most of the hour this time. That's why I didn't get so many pages done. I'm going to do better this hour, really. :)

Hour 7 Update

Summary:
Book- Samurai Girl: The Book of the Sword by Carrie Asai
Pages- 50 (434 total)
Reading- 40 minutes (230 total)
Blogging- 20 minutes (130 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 2
Comments Left By Me- 6 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

And I'm totally hooked on that web comic... :S

Hour 6 Update

Wow! We're a fourth of the way through! That's pretty amazing! Now I just need to go find something to eat...

Summary:
Book- Samurai Girl: The Book of the Sword by Carrie Asai
Pages- 73 (384 total)
Reading- 30 minutes (190 total)
Blogging- 30 minutes (110 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 2
Comments Left By Me- 5 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

And that's how it's going so far! :D

Cheater by Michael Laser

231 pages

I'm not so good at writing summaries, because they always end up sounding awfully cheesy. Of course, sometimes the ones on book jackets do that, too. But I recommend that if you want to find a good summary, visit amazon.com or the library website or something.

I really liked this book. I'm finding that more and more I'm liking books that are realistic fiction. The last two I've read are. Of course, I still like fantasy and such, but these are pretty good.

Cheater, like Catalyst, talked about college. As a senior in high school, and someone who is going to be applying pretty soon, these books are sort of dampening my spirits. I'm planning on applying to Ivy League schools, and both of these books list things applicants have done. I've never delivered medicine to sick Eskimos by dogsled, played the oboe with the New York Philharmonic, patented genetic therapy on fruit flies, or written a translation program from Chinese into Somalian! I'd better get working, I guess...

Overall, I liked this book a lot. I like main characters who are smart and remind myself of me. :)

Hour 5 Update

Same thing!

Summary:
Book- Cheater by Michael Laser
Pages- 101 (311 total)
Reading- 55 minutes (160 total)
Blogging- 5 minutes (80 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 2
Comments Left By Me- 4 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

And that's how it's going so far! 2 books in 5 hours definitely isn't bad. I'm thinking something really light next, and then I'll probably tackle The Host.

Thanks to everyone who's left comments! Oh, and since I keep forgetting to mention this, I've opened up my comments so anyone can comment just for this 24 hours! :)

Hour 4 Update

Summary:
Book- Cheater by Michael Laser
Pages- 95 (210 total)
Reading- 45 minutes (105 total)
Blogging- 15 minutes (75 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 1
Comments Left By Me- 3 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

Right now, I just want to get back to reading...

Hour 3 Update

Wow, I can't believe it's been 3 hours already! Here's the new stats:

Summary:
Book- Cheater by Michael Laser
Pages- 35 (115 total)
Reading- 25 minutes (60 total)
Blogging- 35 minutes (60 total)
Goals:
Books Completed- 1
Comments Left By Me- 3 (I'm not counting ones for challenges, but I am counting ones for readers of the hour)

And that's my official update! Back to reading!

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

Pages: 231

I read Anderson's Speak not too long ago, and really liked it. So, when my mom got this one from the library, I decided to read it.

The main character in the book, Kate Malone, reminds me a lot of myself. She's smart, ambitious, an over-achiever, and a runner (except she's good at it, while I'm not). Now I know not to only apply to one college, because when they turn you down, it won't be fun.

This book was very sad. I do not recommend that you read it if you are already feeling depressed, because it will not help. It does have a slightly hopeful ending, though.

Overall, I really liked this book. It was a good way to start the read-a-thon.

Hour 2 Update

Wow, the hours have gone by fast! There's not enough time to do all of this!

Summary:
Book- Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson
Pages- 41 (80 total)
Reading- 35 minutes
Blogging- 25 minutes
Goals:
Books Completed- 1
Comments Left By Me- 1 (I'm not counting ones for challenges)

I actually finished a book! One down, four to go.

I participated in Hours 1 and 2 Mini-Challenges. Hour 1 is down a post or two, and Hour 2 was reading a web comic. I read "Questionable Content", which I found rather funny.

I was very surprised to find out that I had won the Hour 1 mini-challenge! Now I've got to go pick a book. :)

Thanks to nymeth, ccdpiper, kristi, bkclubcare, and alisonwonderland for commenting! This is the most comments I've ever gotten!

Hour 1 Update

Okay, I've been kinda crazy for this last little bit, but I'm finally getting a post written about hour 1.

Summary:
Book- Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson
Pages read- 39

Okay, that's pretty sad. I guess I also had a shower and started blogging. For the rest of the time, I'll be keeping up on the minutes I spend reading and blogging.

And that's all for now! I've been having lots of fun already!

Hour 1 Mini Challenge

First mini challenge! And then back to reading!

Where are you reading from today? Home; probably move around a bit. I think
mum is going to be basically in the family room the whole time. I'll be coming back to the computer to blog, since I'm not lucky enough to have a laptop.

3 facts about me …
-I'm not a very good blogger. My mom convinced me to start a blog a long time ago, but I've never kept up with it very well. So hopefully I'll do okay for the next 24 hours. I worry that with my slow blogging skills, I'll spend more time blogging than reading!
-I like music. A lot. Okay, that's an understatement. I play several instruments, although clarinet is the only one I play really well. I like to write music, as well.
-I'm participating in this Read-A-Thon with my mom! Kind of fun, really. She hopes that we'll be able to keep each other up at night. Might help. :)

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? I have 12 books (4 of which are audio) that we picked up from the library yesterday, plus 1 that I started yesterday, plus one signed copy of The Host. Some of them are rather short, and some of them are of an average length. Somehow, I don't think I'll run out of things to read any time soon...

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? I made an official goal in my last post to read 5 books. I'd actually not thought about a goal for blogging, so here it is: I'd also like to leave 25ish comments on others' blogs. This is probably going to be the hardest part for me.

Any advice for people doing this for the first time? I didn't do it last year, but mom did. From what I heard from her, it's better to start small at first and keep some short books for the end when you're too tired to focus on a long one.

I'm way excited for this!

...And They're Off!

Hey, everyone who's reading this!

This is my first official post of the Read-A-Thon! Just started reading, it'll get more interesting as time goes on. Right now, I'm starting with Catalyst, by Laurie Halse Anderson. I actually started it yesterday, so I hope that's not cheating...

Official goal for today- Read 5 books. Short or long, I don't care. :)

Saturday, June 28, 2008

24 Hour Read-A-Thon Starts Tomorrow!

Wow, I really haven't blogged in a long time... and no, that doesn't mean I haven't read anything since then. I've just been way too busy to blog. And I guess I really haven't read a ton, either. Well, we're gonna make up for that tomorrow!

My mom participated in this read-a-thon (hosted by Dewey) last year, and it seemed like a ton of fun. So I'm participating this year! I got a variety of books from the library today, and I'm totally excited for this! The hardest part will be keeping awake, so I'd better get to bed now.

Until tomorrow,
Aoi