Showing posts with label Read-A-Thon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Read-A-Thon. Show all posts

10 October 2010

Read-A-Thon October 2010 Wrap Up

So, these are my status for this October's read-a-thon.

Books Finished: 4
Books Titles:
- Darkness Calls by Marjorie M Liu
- Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler
- Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler
- A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages by Kristin Chenoweth

Books Abandoned: 0
Pages total: 1621
Hours Reading: 18
:30
Challenges Completed: 15
Prizes Won: 0

So, I ended up reading much more than the last time and I also participated in a lot of mini-challenges. Sadly, I didn't win anything.
I'm going to try to review the books this week, but it's possible that I'll have to do a quick re-read to remember some stuff. Now I'm going to try to catch some sleep, I'm really tired!

09 October 2010

Read-A-Thon October 2010

I started to read in hour 5.

Progress:

Update 1

Time: 18:51 GMT +1
Current Book: Darkness Calls by Marjorie M. Liu
Books Finished: 0
Books Abandoned: 0
Pages this session: 110
Pages total: 110
Hours Reading: 1

Challenges Completed: 0
Prizes Won: 0

Update 2

Time: 20:44 GMT +1
Current Book: Darkness Calls by Marjorie M. Liu
Books Finished: 0
Books Abandoned: 0
Pages this session: 102
Pages total: 212
Hours Reading: 2:30

Challenges Completed: 3
Prizes Won: 0

Update 3

Time: 01:02 GMT +1
Current Book: Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler
Books Finished: 1
Books Abandoned: 0
Pages this session: 224
Pages total: 436
Hours Reading: 5:20

Challenges Completed: 6
Prizes Won: 0

Update 4

Time: 10:22 GMT +1
Current Book: A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages by Kristin Chenoweth
Books Finished: 3
Books Abandoned: 0
Pages this session: 844
Pages total: 1280
Hours Reading: 15:20

Challenges Completed: 12
Prizes Won: 0

Update 5

Time: 12:15 GMT +1
Current Book: A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages by Kristin Chenoweth
Books Finished: 3
Books Abandoned: 0
Pages this session: 173
Pages total: 1453
Hours Reading: 16:50

Challenges Completed: 14
Prizes Won: 0

Challenges:

Hour 6

Microfiction

As I walk by the street I see the reflection of a man in a storefront's mirror. He seems familiar but I can't quite place him so I decide to turn around to get a better look. Pale blonde hair hides most of his face but I can almost be sure that it's him, the one that got away, my one regret in life. My heart starts to pound and I start running toward him.
"Jack!" I shout, "You're back!"
But as the wind lifts the hair out of his face I realize that it's not him, and that I may never right the wrongs I once did.

Hour 7

Armchair Travelling

Right now I'm reading Darkness Calls and it's set in Seattle. It seems like an interesting city, seeing as how they have the mountains and the sea/lake nearby. I also finished yesterday the Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan and it was great hearing and learning about all these new places, especially Egypt.

Hour 8

Love To Hate

1. Reth - Paranormalcy by Kiersten White: He was one of the bad guys but there was something about him that I really like.

2. Roland - Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. He's the ultimate bad guy, powerful, clever and has penty of resources. Still, there is something about him that it's mysterious and makes him interesting.

3. Marsilia - Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs: She's an evil vampire that can kick mayor ass. What's not to love or hate?

4. Queen Mab - Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher: She's a faerie queen, powerful, manipulative, cold, intelligent ... I shouldn't like her but I do. She makes the books much more interesting.

5. Trent - The Hollows series by Kim Harrison: When I'm sure he's a bad guy he goes and does something nice. I don't really understand him, which is why he still is a bad guy to me.

Hour 9

Shake your Pom-Poms

Cheer with your heart,
Cheer what you feel,
That's when you know the book is real!

Hour 10

Pet Pics

The only book with a "pet" that I really liked was His Majesty's Dragon with the dragon Temeraire (not sure if a dragon counts).

Temeraire threatens to trash the tall trees.

Hour 12

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now? Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler
2. How many books have you read so far? 1
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Masques by Patricia Briggs.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? No.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I've had a few and I try really hard not to scream at people to stop interrupting me.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Apparently I'm reading less and slower than the one in April.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Not really.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? I would set some books aside to read them in the 24 hours period. I spend almost an hour trying to decide what to read.
9. Are you getting tired yet? Yes, I really want to go to sleep.
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? Haven't though of anything yet.

Hour 13

Title Word Scramble

1. Firefly Lane
2. East of Eden
3. Water for Elephants
4. To Kill A Mockingbird
5. The Great Gatsby
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain
8. The Time Traveler's Wife
9. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
10. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
11. A Wrinkle in Time
12. The Polar Express
13. Love Walked In
14. Where the Wild Things Are
15. The Shining
16. Goodnight Moon
17. Interview with a Vampire
18. The Secret Life of Bees
19. The Search
20. The Help

Hour 14

Under the Covers

The 2 books I've read that where different from their cover and/or blurb are:
- Second Hand Heart by Catherine Ryan Hyde: I though it was a romance but it turned out to be a story about growing up and maturing.
- Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder: I though it was a historical book but it turned out to be a fantasy. It was great anyway.


Hour 18

Pitch Your Book

Right now I'm reading Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler. This is an awesome follow up to the previous book Tempest Rising, that has a great cast of characters that have some great powers (this is an urban fantasy novel) and has plenty of humour in it.

Hour 19

Non-Fiction Readthon

The non fiction book I'm reading is A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages by Kristin Chenoweth. I'm just starting it, though.

Hour 20

Memoir/True Story

1. Have you ever read a memoir/true story (Or book 'based on true events'?) Yes

2. If so, what was the title/author? Open by Andre Agassi

3. What what it about? It was about the life of tennis player Andre Agassi.

4. Did you like it? Would you recommend it? I did like it and I would recommend it especially to tennis fans.

5. How many have you read? 2 or 3

6. Why or what made you want to read it? The story seemed interesting.

7. What was the saddest/scariest one you read? I read one about Marlon Brando and it was pretty sad at the end.

8. Did it have a 'happy ending'? It depends on what you think is a happy ending. Personally, the one about Brando didn't.

9. When choosing a memoir/true story, do you look for a certain kind? ( i.e. historical diary, inspirational like The Freedom Writer's Diary, Christian, non Christian) I have to be curious about the person and/or story.


10. Bonus question(s-it's in parts:) for my giveaway: Have you read 3 or more memoirs/true stories? Title/Author, would you recommend them?If you were to win the giveaway prize, would you want the book, (Sizzling 16 by Janet Evanovich) and would you prefer the coffee or tea? or both? I think I've read 3 (I'm reading the 3rd now): Open by Andre Agassi, A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages by Kristin Chenoweth and one about Marlon Brando (don't remember the title or author, I read it a long time ago). I'm a fan of Evanovich and I haven't read her last 2 books, so Sizzling 16 would be fine. I don't drink either coffee or tea, but if I had to choose I'll say tea.

Hour 21

Character Photo Challenge



This would be Maxine Kiss from Darkness Calls by Marjorie M. Liu. I know I'm supposed to take a picture, but my camera is broken.

12 April 2010

Read-A-Thon Wrap Up

Well, at the end I fell asleep. I was on the hour 21 and a half and I was so tired I decided to take a nap of an hour. The only thing is that I didn't wake up. Until now.
I did manage to finish His Majesty's Dragon. I think it was one of the slowest books I've ever read (I don't mean the pace of the story, I mean me). It was very entertaining, but it wasn't a light read. I had to read very carefully so I didn't miss anything, but it was worth it because Temeraire the dragon is awesome. You can't help to love him.

My final status were this:

Books Finished: 2/ The Lightning Thief and His Majesty's Dragon
Books Abandoned: 1
Pages total: 934
Hours reading: 16


I'll probably do the reviews of the two books I finished this week.
What were your status? Did you read the 24 hours?

10 April 2010

Read-A-Thon Progress

Update 1:

Well, this is my first update. Right now I'm in chapter 11 of The Lightning Thief. Percy Jackson gets in a lot of trouble, let's see how he resolves his problems.

Time: 17:00 GMT +1
Current Book: - The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Pages Read: 167
Books finished: 0
Hours reading: 3


Update 2:

Since my last update I finished The Lightning Thief. I absolutely loved the book. I don't know why I didn't read it sooner. Percy Jackson is a troublemaker kid that one day discovers monsters are after him. Before they can explain the truth to him, he is attacked, along with his mother, and she drives him to a place called Half-Blood Camp, where alongside his friend Grover, he finds out that his father is a god, and that all the weird things that are happening around him are his fault, because they are trying to kill him.
This book had a perfect balance of action, mystery and character growth. I can't wait to read the next one.

The book I've started is Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry. Looks interesting so far.

Time: 20:30 GMT +1
Current Book:
Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry
Pages Read: 406
Books finished: 1
Hours reading: 6


Update 3:

I started
Happy Hour of the Damned but then I had to stop reading it. For some kind of reason the novel didn't click, so I decided to start another one. Right now I'm at the beggining of His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik.

Time: 1:00 GMT +1
Current Book:
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik.
Books Finished: 1
Books Abandoned: 1
Pages this session: 176
Pages total: 582
Hours Reading: 8


Update 4:

I'm at the middle of
His Majesty's Dragon and I'm enjoying it.

Time: 05:10 GMT +1
Current Book: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik.
Books Finished: 1/ The Lightning Thief
Books Abandoned: 1

Pages this session: 113
Pages total: 695
Hours reading: 11


Update 5:

I've almost finished the book. It seems like I've been reading this book forever.

Time: 08:40 GMT +1
Current Book: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik.
Books Finished: 1/ The Lightning Thief
Books Abandoned: 1

Pages this session: 143
Pages total: 838
Hours reading: 13

Read-A-Thon Mini-Challenges

Hour 2:

What have you surrounded yourself with for these early hours of the challenge besides your books?
I have water, snacks, a pillow and my iPod.


Hour 5:

-
Feed Me Seymour Challenge:

While I was reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, there was a passage were Percy, the lead character, eats a cheeseburger.

Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes and XXL servings of french fries.
I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe.


-
Book, Score, Soundtrack Challenge:
On chapter 7 of the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Percy is trying to adjust to his new life and his new home at Camp Half-Blood. He meets a lot of new people who are like him, and he tries to find a sense of belonging. The song that I think fits this chapter is Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park.


Hour 7:


- Pantyworthy Challenge:


What makes an author pantyworthy? I think if a writer achieves the right balance between action, romance, mystery and fantasy, they would be pantyworthy. Also, authors who end their books with cliffhangers but at the same time make you feel satisfied with the story.
Favourite pantyworthy authors? Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher and Nalini Singh.


Hour 9:

-
Soundtrack Songs Challenge:

The song that I would pick for The Lightning Thief would be Time Is Running Out by Muse because in the book Percy has a limited time to fix everything so he can stop a war, and he has to fight temptation, pain and despair to win.



Hour 11:


- Get Up and Move Challenge:

What I did was dance a little, especially to the song I Want You To Want Me. I have it stuck in my head and I can't stop replaying it!


- If The Cover Fits Challenge:



Disturbing Cover




Vibrant Cover




Beautiful Cover



Scary Cover




Moving Cover






Hour 12:

Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now? His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
2. How many books have you read so far? 1 complete, another one that I didn't finish.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? The Lovely Bones
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? No
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Sometimes interruptions are needed.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? That there's a lot of participants.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? You should ask me that when my head is clear of dragons and magic.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? I would sleep better the night before.
9. Are you getting tired yet? Yes, but I'm going to try to make it.
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? I have been doing music breaks, so my mind stays fresh.


Hour 13:


- Romancing Your Friendship Challenge:

My favourite book in which friends realize that are in love with each other is Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This book is funny and romantic. Annabelle and Heath don't really like each other at the beginning, then they decide that they are going to have a business relationship and then they become friends. It was nice seeing all the stages of their relationship through the book.

Annabelle is tired of being the lone failure in a family of overachievers. She's endured dead-end jobs and a broken engagement. Even her hair's a mess! But that's going to change now that she's taken over her late grandmother's matchmaking business. All Annabelle has to do is land the Windy City's hottest bachelor as her client, and she'll be the most sought-after matchmaker in town. Nothing is going to stand in her way -- not the drunk lying comatose under her car, not her family's disapproval, and certainly not the lingering effects of a broken heart.

With his money green eyes and calculated charm, Heath Champion is the best sports agent in the country. He's wealthy, driven, and gorgeous, so why does he need a matchmaker, especially a red-haired screw-up like Annabelle Granger? True, she's entertaining, and she does have a certain quirky appeal. But Heath is searching for the ultimate symbol of his success -- the perfect wife. And to make an extraordinary match, he needs an extraordinary matchmaker, right?

Thin, rich, utterly fabulous Portia Powers has spent her career making matches for everyone but herself. Her take-no-prisoners attitude has built Power Matches into the top matchmaking agency in Chicago. So what if she has more enemies than friends and she's one breath away from a nervous breakdown? Neither an upstart like Annabelle Granger nor Heath Champion's menacing, but oddly intriguing, bodyguard, will keep her from getting what she wants -- a Power Match for Heath ... the city's very own Jerry Maguire.

Soon everyone in Chicago has a stake in the outcome, right down to Annabelle's overprotective book club. When the matchmaker promises she'll do anything to keep her star client happy ... does she mean anything? If Annabelle isn't careful, she just might find herself going heart-to-heart with the toughest negotiator in town -- a man who's beginning to ask himself: Exactly how perfect does perfect have to be?


Hour 14:


- Bookish Movies Challenge:

My favourite book right now is Moon Called by Patricia Briggs. 'm not sure if I would like it to be a movie, but if they made one, I would love to see Ryan Reynolds take the part of Samuel Cornick. Samuel is a werewolf doctor who wants to be with Mercy Thompson, the protagonist of the series, be he has competition on Adam Haupman, the Alpha of the territory in which Mercy lives. For me, he resembles Samuel physically, and as I said before, Sam is a werewolf, so there would be some scenes in which he would have to be shirtless, and who doesn't like Ryan Reynolds without a shirt?


Hour 16:


- Title Teasers Challenge:

1./ The Dark Divine
2./ An Irish Country Girl
3./ The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
4./ Necessary Heartbreak
5./ She's So Dead to Us
6./ Fireworks Over Toccoa
7./ Beautiful Dead
8./ Scones & Sensibility
9./ All Unquiet Things
10./ Beautiful Creatures
11./ Perchance to Dream
12./ The Dead-Tossed Waves
13./ I Kissed a Zombie and I liked It
14./ Prophecy of the Sisters
15./ Very LeFreak
16./ The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
17./ Marriage and Other Acts of Charity
18./ Making Toast
19./ White Cat
20./ Letters to My Father


Hour 17:


- Early Favourites Challenge:

The first book I remember loving is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. That book is the one that made me such an avid reader and is also the one that let me set loose my imagination.


- Get The Heck Out of Here Challenge:

1. I made sure nobody disturbed me (no cell phone, no twitter) and had a lot of snacks.
2. The most effective were the snacks. I could read while I ate!
3. I would sleep more the previous day.

Read-A-Thon Hour 1 Meme

I'm reading from Madrid, Spain. Last night I already posted the books I'm planning to read, maybe I'll add another one but it all depends on my mood and if I get tired of a genre. I have no expectations, this is the first time I do this so I'll read all I can while I can, but I have no goals in mind.

3 Facts about me:

1. I'm a tennis fan and player.
2. I'm a chocolate addict.
3. I love big dogs.


The book I started with is The Lighting Thief by Rick Riordan. It looks very good so far!

Read-A-Thon List

So I decided to participate in Dewey's 24 hour Read-A-Thon. I don't know if I'll be able to stay up 24 hours reading, but I'm going to try. I have a few books that I've wanted to start but didn't, so those are the book that I'm going to read now.




- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold


- His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik






- Happy Hour of the Dammed by Mark Henry


- Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep



- Midnight's Daughter by Karen Chance


- The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan


I'll probably update every 3 hours or so, depends on how fast I'm reading and if I'm taking a break. So, are you participating? You still have time to sign up if you want to.