Dewey’s read-a-thon is my favourite reading challenge and it usually runs twice a year–in April and October. This year Andi and Heather have decided to surprise us all with a third round. Although it will still run for the full 24 hours, the starting time has been shifted 12 hours. This means the challenge begins at 10 AM on Saturday, 28 July 2018 for the east coast of Australia. It’s going to feel a little weird starting during daylight hours, but I’m looking forward to it!

In a happy coincidence, voting for the Hugo Awards closes on 1 August. This means I’ll be using the read-a-thon to make one last push through the voting material. Books still on the list to tackle include The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller, Summer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher and The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan.

As with last time, my goal is simply to get through as many as I can… which will probably be two at the most.

If you need to tame your own Mt TBR or are looking to connect with a great community of book bloggers, I do hope you’ll join me. It’s not too late! You can sign up, follow on Twitter, join the Goodreads group or any combination of the three. If you’ve already signed up, I’d love to hear about what you’ll be reading.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Dewey’s 24-hour Read-a-thon took place on Sunday, Australian time. For those who have somehow managed to miss my incessant posting about it, the event is basically a chance for book geeks across the world to get together and read as much as possible. It is also held in honour of its founder, a book blogger who went by the name Dewey, who passed away several years ago. I participated in my very first read-a-thon in April 2011 and haven’t looked back since.

The event kicked off on Saturday at 10PM, local time. Which was about the time I was getting to bed. Back pain had me up at 6 AM, though, so I got an early start. I’ve been very focussed on the Hugo Award nominees lately and had a few of them on loan from the library. My aim was to get through as many of them as possible.

I started out with City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. It’s the first book in The Divine Cities, which has been nominated for Best Series and came highly recommended by Sam Hawke. It’s a fantastic story with an Eastern European vibe, a complex political landscape and a protagonist who drinks as much tea as I do. Despite the great plot, I got off to a slow start as I tried to wrap my fatigued mind around all the different names.

I perked up a little after toast and tea at 9:30. However, I had to stop again at 11 AM to co-host the read-a-thon blog and Twitter account. This was my third time co-hosting and I felt a little underprepared this time around. The Read-a-thon had close to 2000 participants this round (it gets bigger every time) and the Twitter community is very active. It’s also very friendly and supportive, so I had a lovely time. But by the end my mouse arm was a bit sore and I was feeling the beginning of eyestrain. Lunch made a welcome break.

Earl Grey Editing, Dewey's Readathon, dogs, dogs and books

After that, I dug solidly into my reading. The weather was cool and wet, so my dogs took great delight in cuddling with me under a blanket on the couch. Fatigue continued to be a struggle. It was 8 PM by the time I finished City of Stairs. I read a few pages of My Favourite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris (nominated for Best Graphic Story), but eye strain continued to be a problem and I called it an early night.

All up, I read around 500 pages, which is significantly less than usual for me. However, I’m pleased with the progress I made towards conquering the Hugo shortlist.

Once again, a big thank you to Andi at Estella’s Revenge and Heather of Capricious Reader for the tireless effort they put into organising the read-a-thon. It is my favourite reading event of the year and they work so hard to make it happen.

The next read-a-thon will be taking place on 20-21 October 2018. Don’t forget to mark it on your calendar. It has a great sense of community that keeps me coming back. I do hope you’ll join us next October.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Dewey’s read-a-thon is my favourite reading challenge and runs twice a year–in April and October. It runs for 24 hours, but participation for the full length is optional. Which is a good thing, because this round will be kicking off at 10 PM on Saturday 28 April for the east coast of Australia. As usual, I plan to be going to bed around then, but will be up early to cram as much reading as possible into my waking hours.

I’m on top of my review reading at the moment, which leaves my schedule clear to continue powering through the shortlists of the Hugo Awards. I have quite a few of the nominated works out from the library, as you can see:

My goal is simply to get through as many as I can. Not sure how far I’m going to get, considering the size of some of them. It’s a shame I’ve already finished up the novella category–that would have been perfect for the read-a-thon. Fortunately, I still have plenty of back issues of Uncanny Magazine for shorter stuff.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

( The blow by blow )

The next read-a-thon will be taking place on 21-22 October 2017. Don’t forget to mark it on your calendar. It has a great sense of community that keeps me coming back. I do hope you’ll join us next October.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Dewey’sread-a-thon is my favourite reading challenge and runs twice a year–in April and October. It runs for 24 hours, but participation for the full length is optional. Which is a good thing, because this round will be kicking off at 10 PM on Saturday 29 April for the east coast of Australia. As usual, I plan to be going to bed around then, but will be up early to cram as much reading as possible into my waking hours.

When I signed up last round, my Mt TBR had just hit 300 books. It hasn’t been below that since. I’m hoping that this will be the push I need to help get it down again.

Of course, a read-a-thon requires books! Here’s a few things I’m thinking about tackling:

With the exception of Heart of the Mirage, these books are all on the Hugo Awards shortlists. I’m hoping to get through them before they’re due back at the library.

Each time I participate in Dewey’s I try to get a little more involved with volunteering. Last year, I hosted a mini-challenge for the first time.This year I’ll be one of the co-hosts, allowing the organisers to get some well-earned sleep. I’ll be hosting Hours 18-20, which correspond to 3-5 PM AEST.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

( Cut for length )

I finished with two books read and one DNF knocked off Mt TBR. Not as much progress as I’d like, but nevertheless I’m satisfied.

Before I sign off, there’s one more important thing I need to do.

The winner is…

The winner of the Books and Beverages mini challenge is Jerrika H! I’ve contacted Jerrika regarding her prize.

Thank you again to everyone who participated.

Also, a big thank-you to Andi of Estella’s Revenge and Heather of Capricious Reader for all the hard work they put into organising and running the event. Truly, these ladies are amazing. Wrangling thousands of readers is a huge task. Yet, Andi and Heather kept everything going smoothly.

The next read-a-thon will be taking place on 29-30 April 2016. Don’t forget to mark it on your calendar. It has a great sense of community that keeps me coming back. I do hope you’ll join us next April.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Mt TBR hit 300 books last week. That’s far and away the highest it has ever been and it’s freaking me out a little. Fortunately, my very favourite reading challenge is on this weekend.

Dewey’s read-a-thon runs twice a year–in April and October. It runs for 24 hours, but participation for the full length is optional. Which is a good thing, because this round will be kicking off at 11 PM on Saturday 22 October for the east coast of Australia. As usual, I plan to be asleep by then, but will be up early to cram as much reading as possible into my waking hours.

It will be interesting to see just how much reading I’ll accomplish. In addition to reading, I also plan to do some cheering and will be hosting a mini-challenge for the first time (eeek!). Plus I have a friend coming over for a read-in. I’ve always done read-a-thons solo, so I’ll be interested to see how this changes the experience.

Of course, a read-a-thon requires books! I find myself reluctant to commit to a particular list this time, but here’s a few things I’m thinking about tackling:

Surprising no one, there’s a ton of Australian YA speculative fiction involved.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Hey all, I couldn't get the formatting on this post to work without a lot of fussing around. If you're interested in how I went with the most recent read-a-thon, you can check it out over at Earl Grey Editing.

With my Mt To-Be-Read hitting record heights and my #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks figures looking sad, my reading stats could use a boost. Fortunately, my very favourite reading challenge is on this weekend.

Dewey’s read-a-thon runs twice a year–in April and October. It runs for 24 hours, but participation for the full length is optional. Which is a good thing, because this round will be kicking off at 10 PM on Saturday 23 April for the east coast of Australia. As usual, I plan to be going to sleep around then, but will be up early to cram as much reading as possible into my waking hours.

As with last year, I also plan to do some cheering. Cheerleaders help readers stay motivated by leaving comments on Twitter. There is always an incredible shortage of cheerleaders. Last October the read-a-thon saw 2008 participants, which is a lot of people to visit and motivate! I had a blast with it and am looking forward to doing it again.

Of course, a read-a-thon requires books! I find myself reluctant to commit to a particular list this time, but here’s a few things I’m thinking about tackling:

Before you freak out, I’ve previously read The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula LeGuin. It has just been a very long time.

If you need to tame your own Mt TBR or are looking to connect with a great community of book bloggers, it’s not too late to join! You can sign up, follow on Twitter, join the Goodreads group or any combination of the three. The read-a-thon website will be running warm-up posts containing great advice all the way up until the event. If you’ve already signed up, I’d love to hear about what you’ll be reading.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

The formatting for this post hasn't translated well, so if you want to see the blow-by-blow account (including photos), please head on over to where it's posted at EGE. Otherwise, the most important stuff is below.

Dewey’s 24-hour Read-a-thon took place on Sunday, Australian time. For those who have somehow managed to miss my incessant posting about it, the event is basically a chance for book geeks across the world to get together and read as much as possible. It is also held in honour of its founder, a book blogger who went by the name Dewey, who passed away several years ago. I participated in my very first read-a-thon in April 2011 and haven’t looked back since.

I posted last week about my reading plans. As expected, they were a bit ambitious.

However, overall I was pretty pleased with my read-a-thon progress. I managed to finish off 2 books and made it 20% of the way through a third. However, I am amused to find that during the read-a-thon I managed to acquire around twice the number of books I read–partly thanks to the Lucky Door Prize I won and partly thanks to two very shiny review books from Twelfth Planet Press landing in my inbox while the read-a-thon was happening.

A big thank-you to Andi of Estella’s Revenge and Heather of Capricious Reader for all the hard work they put into organising and running the event. Truly, these ladies are amazing. Here are some quick facts from the official site about Sunday’s readathon:

2,008 readers

132 cheerleaders

28 mini-challenges

1,102 entries in the Books Read Database (so far)

8 hourly co-hosts

1,495 Goodreads group members

120+ prizes awarded

Wrangling all that is a huge task. Yet, Andi and Heather kept everything going smoothly. They even have a call for volunteers up already for the next read-a-thon.

Which has a date! It will be taking place on 23-24 April 2016. Don’t forget to mark it on your calendar. I’ve already signed up to cheer again, having had a blast chatting with everyone on Twitter during the event. Even with so many readers, it has a great sense of community. I do hope you’ll join us in April.

My haul from Conflux 11 might have been modest, but I could always use a boost when it comes to keeping on top of Mt TBR. Fortunately, Dewey’s read-a-thon is taking place this weekend! For those unaware, the read-a-thon runs twice a year–in April and October. It runs for 24 hours, but participation for the full length is optional. Which is a good thing, because this round will be kicking off at 11 PM on Saturday 17 October for most of the east coast of Australia (10pm for Queensland). As usual, I plan to be asleep by then, but will be up early to cram as much reading as possible into my waking hours.

I will also be cheering for the very first time. Cheerleaders help readers stay motivated by leaving comments on blogs, Twitter and Instagram. There is always an incredible shortage of cheerleaders. Last April the read-a-thon saw 1830 participants, which is a lot of people to visit and motivate! In previous read-a-thons I’ve cheered unofficially with Team Rogue, headed up by Terri of Terri Talks Books. However, this year I thought I’d sign on officially and save the organisers some stress. I’ll be interested to see if officially cheering changes my experience of the read-a-thon at all.

Of course, a read-a-thon requires books! I’ve been having some difficulty settling on a strategy. Back in April, I thought I’d try tackling Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery but got distracted from the chunkster by the first of the Malifaux manuals from Wyrd Games. I said back then that I’d probably still be working on Vanity Fair by the time the next read-a-thon rolled around… and I don’t think I’ve read any of the book since then. I’ve been tempted to pick it up again for this read-a-thon, but I do rather like the satisfaction of managing to finish at least one book during the event. With that in mind, here’s a photo of my physical reading stack:

Included are Raging Heat by Richard Castle, Fireborn by Keri Arthur and issues 49-51 of Andromeda Spacesways Inflight Magazine.

In electronic format I have A Trifle Dead by Livia Day and Loving the Prince by Nicole Murphy on my Kindle. I may also tackle a few chapters of Game Theory by Pia Foxhall.

Of course, I don’t expect to get through all of it. But it is nice to have options.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

( Warning: long post! )

So my final thoughts on this read-a-thon? I was surprised the rulebook slowed me up as much as it did, but in retrospect the reasons why are obvious. It was somewhat technical and had me thinking a lot about application and strategy. If I hadn’t wanted to finish it off so much, I probably would have set it aside.

The read-a-thon certainly helped me sink my teeth into Vanity Fair, as I had intended. However, I missed the satisfaction of finishing books like I did in previous read-a-thons, so I’ll be keeping that in mind for the future.

Speaking of which, the date for the next read-a-thon has not yet been set but will take place in October. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on that front or you can keep an eye on the website.

A big thank-you to Andi of Estella’s Revenge and Heather of Capricious Reader for all the hard work they put into organising and running the event. Truly, you ladies are amazing. I’m already looking forward to the next one.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

With Conflux now well and truly over, I’ve been preparing for the next event on my calendar: Dewey’s 24-hour read-a-thon. I mentioned this event in my September signal boosts, but wanted to give it a bit more attention now that it is drawing closer. The read-a-thon is one of the few things that keeps Mt TBR in check (my willpower being as weak as it is when it comes to books). It runs twice a year, in April and October. The next one takes place this weekend and will be starting around 11 PM on Saturday 18 October for most of the east coast of Australia (10pm for Queensland).

I won’t be participating for the full 24 hours. The organisers always emphasise the event is intended to be fun and are happy for people to participate in whatever way works best. Since I don’t function well without sleep, I’ll be snoozing away the first seven or eight hours. I also have a family commitment in the morning, but the rest of my time will be devoted to reading as much as possible. And maybe hanging out on Twitter, where I’ll be updating regularly using the the hashtags #Dewey and #readathon.

You can see my mini Mt TBR in the photo at the top of the post. I don’t expect to get through all of it but I hope to make a bit of a dent. At the top of the pile (you might be able to make out my Kindle up there) is an electronic copy of Phantazein edited by Tehani Wessely. I’m already partway through it, so will concentrate on finishing it first. Next on the list is Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (known as The Brides of Rollrock Island in other parts of the world). This ordinarily wouldn’t make it onto my read-a-thon pile, as I find Margo’s work to be very emotionally draining. However, the book is due back at the library soon.

After that, I shall see how I’m faring. If I’m not completely traumatised by the end of Sea Hearts, I’ve got an e-book of a related short story called Flower and Weed. Otherwise, I have plenty of back issues of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine to catch up on. I’m way behind and I find ASIM perfect for read-a-thons because the stories are short and varied. The further into the day I get, the more I need that.

Read-a-thoners love to discuss their snacks but I never really prepare any. My one requirement is to make sure there’s plenty of tea on hand… which is not that difficult around here. I tend to gravitate more towards green tea than black during a read-a-thon unless I’m in dire need of some caffeine.

If you need to tame your own Mt TBR or are looking to connect with a great community of book bloggers, it’s not too late to join! You can sign up, follow on Twitter, join the Goodreads group or any combination of the three. The read-a-thon website will be running warm-up posts containing great advice for beginners all the way up until the event. If you’ve already signed up, I’d love you to leave me a comment about what you’ll be reading.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

There are a lot of great events happening in the next few weeks. Below are a few I’m keeping on my radar.

Dewey’s Read-a-thon

As I’m sure you’ve gathered by now, I love books and may in fact be a bit of an addict. One of the very few things that stops my Mount To-Be-Read from reaching the atmosphere is Dewey’s 24 hour read-a-thon.

Don’t let the name fool you. Reading for the full 24 hours is not in any way mandatory, though you certainly can if you wish. I simply use it as an excuse to cram as much reading as I can into my waking hours.

The read-a-thon runs twice a year (in April and October). For the east coast of Australia, this read-a-thon should be starting around 11 PM on Saturday, 18 October (though I make no promises as to the accuracy of this calculation).

If you are looking to connect with fellow book bloggers, or are simply trying to get Mt TBR back under control, please feel free to join in the fun by signing up or by following #Dewey and #Readathon on Twitter. I’ll be participating, so you can expect to see me report in here about how I go or you can catch me on Twitter.

Hachette’s Next Big Thing

If you’re more interested in writing, and in Young Adult fiction in particular, Hachette Australia wants to hear from you.

Hachette Australia wants your manuscript!

Hachette Australia is proud to publish amazing YA authors from Australia and around the world, including Jessica Shirvington, John Marsden, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, Ally Carter and James Phelan – and we’d love to add your name to that list. Throughout October, we will be accepting submissions of YA novels in all genres. If we fall in love with your manuscript, you will receive editorial feedback, and you may be offered a contract for publication.

We love stories that keep us hooked, new worlds we can disappear into, and characters that can become our new friends. If that sounds like your manuscript, we can’t wait to read it!

Be sure to read the guidelines carefully before submitting.

Conflux Workshops

Perhaps you don’t have a completed manuscript lying around or you don’t feel it’s ready to submit to a publisher. There are a number of workshops being held at Conflux that might help. I’ve already mentioned I’ll be discussing how to make the most of working with an editor. Some fellow members of the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild will also be on hand. If you already have a completed manuscript, Nicole Murphy and Russell Kirkpatrick will be running Countdown Six, an epic six-hour workshop that will help you prepare a synopsis, query letter and the first chapter of your story for publication.

Writers who are still in the process of drafting may be more interested in Chris Andrews‘ workshop on structuring a novel. Chris ran the CSFG’s novel writing circle before stepping down this year and is now offering his experience to a broader audience. This will be the only workshop to run on Monday 6 October.

All other workshops will be running on Friday 3 October. Registration is required, so please visit Conflux to sign up.

Anime for Cancer Research

Cancer has hit the Australian SF community hard in recent years. Anime reviewer John Samuel has come up with his own unique way of contributing to the battle against this disease: once a month, he auctions off his review copies.

The Rules

Once a month I’ll post a list of titles for the monthly donations.

Australian residents can then leave a comment indicating how much they are prepared to donate to a cancer charity to win a particular disc (don’t forget to tell me which disc you want).

The minimum pledge is 1/3 retail price

The highest pledge will win the disc

I will close the comments after about two weeks with a final comment identifying the winners.

Winners will forward a receipt for their donations to me.

I will then privately email the winners to obtain snail mail details (again within Australia only), and send them the disc(s).

I will pay for the postage.

I will match all winning pledges up to 2x retail per disc.

My default charity is the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, but I will match the cancer research charity of the winner’s choice.

I am willing to re-open bids on titles offered in previous months. Leave a comment and I’ll add them to the list.

The current auction closes in just a few days, so if you are an Australian anime fan please check out the offerings for September and make a bid.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Hour 23 begins (8PM)
Books read: 5

On the downhill run now. I continue to power through my collection of romance novellas. I just finished Love Letters for Bess by Kalliope Bell and am about to start on Sing to Me by Becca Lusher... and which I previously beta read. I'm not quite sure what I'll tackle after that, as I am starting to run out of shorter things.

Hour 24 begins (9PM)
Books read: 5

I'm starting to feel tired now but should be able to make it to the end without any problems. I'm about halfway through Sing to Me and am finding it just as sweet as when I first read it. I hope to be able to finish it off before the end of the readathon. I think there'll be a cup of herbal tea in the near future, though I haven't quite decided on exactly which one.

Hour 24 ends (10PM)
Books read: 6

Managed to finish off Sing to Me and saw my name in the dedication. Now thoroughly ready for sleep. This has quite possibly been my most successful readathon.

Hour 16 begins (1 PM)
Books finished: 1

I took half an hour break for lunch and to watch part of an episode of Falling Skies and now I'm back to it. My shoulder is aching a bit, but otherwise I am feeling a bit more alert. I continue to read Shadowfell which has well and truly sucked me in now. I believe it is the first in the series, so I'm probably going to have to track down the rest... if they have been released yet.

Hour 17 begins (2 PM)
Books finished: 1

Starting to hit the home stretch on Shadowfell. My shoulder is still aching but I'm still reasonably alert. I think I should be able to squeeze in one more read after this book before the readathon finishes... and depending on what I pick. I shall have to see what I have lined up.

It is relatively quiet on Twitter--most of the northern hemisphere must be asleep or something.

Hour 19 begins (4 PM)
Books finished: 2

I just finished Shadowfell. Juliet Marillier continues to impress me with her deft touch. I will definitely be tracking down the rest of the series. Pressing on to Stormfront by M.C.A Hogarth, who has been recommended to me by a number of people.

Hour 20 begins (5 PM)
Books finished: 3

I managed to get through Stormfront much quicker than expected and am now on to Dawn of Avalon by Anna Elliott. I'm not enjoying it quite as much as Stormfront. It was written as a prequel to a trilogy and is a little bit shaky as a standalone piece. I'm not finding it to have a whole lot of emotion to it, either, perhaps being more concerned with balancing historical veracity with the legends surrounding Merlin and Morgan. I'm only a third of the way through, though, so perhaps it will pick up.

Hour 21 begins (6 PM)
Books finished: 4

Dinner is in the oven and I've just finished Dawn of Avalon which warmed up into a better story than it started. Contemplating what to tackle next and haven't quite decided. I'll probably take a bit of a break once dinner is ready.

Hour 10 begins (7 AM)
I've been up just long enough to have breakfast. Tea is brewing and I'm about to settle on the couch. I've decided I'll start with Emyr's Smile, a M/M romance by Amy Rae Durreson who impressed me with her novella The Lodestar of Ys. Really looking forward to this one.

Hour 11 begins (8 AM)
Books finished: 1

Hour 11 is actually almost half over now, but I wanted to finish off Emyr's Smile. Such a thoroughly charming story that it made me cry a little.

I'm still contemplating what to read next, but I am leaning towards Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier. I've only read a few of Juliet Marillier's previous works but I've been a big fan of what I've read so far and I want to be alert enough to do this book justice--so best to read it early on.

Hour 12 begins (9 AM)
Books finished: 1

I ended up going with Shadowfell, though I'm not yet very far into it. I sometimes find it difficult to adjust when I move straight from one book to another and it takes me some time to settle into the new style and rhythm.

Today is the perfect weather for a readathon--grey and a little bit chilly. I'm still in my pyjamas and have been wrapped in a blanket on the couch.

Hour 13 begins (10 AM)
Books finished: 1

I'm further into Shadowfell now and have properly settled into the book. Hannah has been helping by curling up on my lap to keep us both warm, with Chippa sitting close by. Time for some toast and tea.

Hour 14 begins (11 AM)
Books finished: 1

Feeling rather sleepy, so it must be time to get up and get dressed. Chippa continues to keep me company while Hannah is now keeping an eye on Sahaquiel who is playing computer games. As for the story, it is slowly morphing from simple struggle for survival into an adventure to awaken dormant powers.

Things have been a bit flat out lately, so it looks like I've actually neglected to mention that I'll be participating in Dewey's 24-hour readathon. This is an event held twice a year (in April and October) in memory of a book-blogger who went by the name of Dewey.

The readathon runs for 24 hours but it is not mandatory to participate for the whole time. Since it starts at today 10pm local time, I'll likely sleep through the first eight hours. After all, I'm doing this for fun (and in the hopes of reducing Mt TBR) so there is no point in torturing myself.

Once I wake up, I shall gather my pile of books to read and camp out on the couch for pretty much the entire day. I'll be updating on my progress here and on Twitter. As I did last year, I will likely bunch together several hours worth of check-ins here so as to avoid spamming you all.

I'm really looking forward to this readathon. I spent last October's reading submissions and missed last April's because I was at the Australian Science Fiction Convention. Finally, I can get back to Mt TBR! I shudder to think how monsterous the pile would grow if I didn't have Dewey's readathon to keep it in check twice a year. Just missing last year's has made it bad enough!

Speaking of which...

Here's my paper pile. It includes issues 48-51 of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier, A World of My Own by Catriona Annis and The Care and Feeding of Your Lunatic Mage by Douglas van Belle.

On my Kindle (and therefore not shown in the photo) are issues 53-58 of ASIM, Emyr's Smile by Amy Rae Durreson, Nor Iron Bars A Cage by Kaje Harper, Freedom Spiced and Drunk, For the Love of Mortals and Stormfront by MCA Hogarth, Dawn of Avalon and Susanna and the Spy by Anna Elliot, Shadow Unit 1 by Emma Bull and a number of others I have probably forgotten about.

I don't expect to get through all of that. In fact, I'll likely only make it through about half a dozen of them at best. But I look forward to trying :D

Current Mood: excited

Hour 22 begins (8 PM)
As expected, I took a break for most of hour 20 and got back to it for hour 21. I'm taking a brief break at the moment to make some chai, which I hope will carry me through to the end. I'm feeling rather tired but have been enjoying my reading. I'm about halfway through The Last Wish and am not likely to finish it off tonight. However, it should be quick work to wrap it up in the next day or two.

Hour 23 begins (9 PM)
The chai was super tasty and has carried me through a bit longer. I plan to read for another hour and then call it a night. I'm enjoying the structure of this book--lots of little tales framed by a larger one. It has been an effective way of recounting the protagonist's history.

Hour 24 begins (10 PM)
I'm calling it a night. I made great progress today--far, far better than I expected. I have about a quarter of The Last Wish left and will easily be able to finish it off tomorrow. Participating in the readathon has been a delight, once more. I look forward to doing it again in April.

Current Mood: tired

Hour 15 begins (1 PM)
I skipped most of Hour 14 to have lunch and watch an episode of Person of Interest. I'm feeling much better for the break and am looking forward to diving back into it. I have about 8.5 stories left to read. I think I should be able to get through them before bed time.

Hour 16 begins (2 PM)
I have made quicker progress than expected and now have only 4 stories left to read. I should easily make it through these today, which means I shall have to decide on a decent book to read once I'm done. Not another collection of short stories, though--I'll have had enough of those for one day.

Hour 17 begins (3 PM)
I've made it through all the short stories and have moved onto books. Most of the books I'd picked out for the readathon are all short story collections, so I have ditched them in favour of reading The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. This is one of the books that The Witcher computer games are based off. I thought an epic adventure would make a nice change of pace. I had thought that I might read out in the hammock, but the wind has come up and the sky is grey. I expect we may get a brief shower or two.

Hour 18 begins (4 PM)
Hilariously, I discover that The Last Wish is actually a series of short stories. Having the same protagonist is helping, however. I'm also enjoying the fight sequences and will have to have a closer look at them later. I wrote some of my own fight sequences recently for Children of the Crown Wars and felt incredibly rusty. I'm feeling pretty tired at the moment and am contemplating making some green tea.

Hour 19 begins (5 PM)
The green tea has helped and I am feeling a little more awake. I'll likely stop for dinner in an hour. I continue to enjoy The Last Wish and am amused to find it contains a kind of retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Today feels like it has flown past.

Hour 20 begins (6 PM)
Dinner is still cooking, but will be ready shortly. I'll probably take a break while eating and watch another episode of Person of Interest. There are some similarities between the protagonist in the show and the protagonist in the book I'm reading. I'm also amused to discover that I've gone from a retelling of Beauty and the Beast into a retelling of Snow White. I'm sensing a theme.

Current Mood: tired

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Calissa

September 2022

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Dewey’s Read-a-thon sign-up, July 2018
Dewey’s Read-a-thon, April 2018
Preparation for Dewey’s Read-a-thon, April 2018
Deweys Read-a-thon, April 2017
Preparation for Dewey’s read-a-thon, April 2017
Dewey’s read-a-thon: October 2016
Preparation for Dewey’s read-a-thon: October 2016
Dewey's read-a-thon, April 2016
Preparation for Dewey’s Read-a-thon, April 2016
Dewey’s read-a-thon report: October 2015
Preparation for Dewey’s Read-a-thon, October 2015
Dewey’s Read-a-thon: April 2015
Dewey’s Read-a-thon preparation
September signal boosting
Dewey's Readathon, April 2014: Part 3
Dewey's Readathon, April 2014: Part 2
Dewey's Readathon, April 2014: Part 1
Dewey's Readathon, April 2014: Intro
Dewey's readathon, October 2013, Part III
Dewey's readathon, October 2013, Part II

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Calissa

Entries tagged with reading: dewey's readathon

Dewey’s Read-a-thon sign-up, July 2018

Dewey’s Read-a-thon, April 2018

Preparation for Dewey’s Read-a-thon, April 2018

Deweys Read-a-thon, April 2017

Preparation for Dewey’s read-a-thon, April 2017

Dewey’s read-a-thon: October 2016

The winner is…

Preparation for Dewey’s read-a-thon: October 2016

Dewey's read-a-thon, April 2016

Preparation for Dewey’s Read-a-thon, April 2016

Dewey’s read-a-thon report: October 2015

Preparation for Dewey’s Read-a-thon, October 2015

Dewey’s Read-a-thon: April 2015

Dewey’s Read-a-thon preparation

September signal boosting

Dewey’s Read-a-thon

Hachette’s Next Big Thing

Hachette Australia wants your manuscript!

Conflux Workshops

Anime for Cancer Research

The Rules

Dewey's Readathon, April 2014: Part 3

Dewey's Readathon, April 2014: Part 2

Dewey's Readathon, April 2014: Part 1

Dewey's Readathon, April 2014: Intro

Dewey's readathon, October 2013, Part III

Dewey's readathon, October 2013, Part II

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September 2022

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