Winter Wishes Read-a-Thon 2014

The Summer Lovin’ Read-a-Thon was a tonne of fun. Really: a week of reading. How could that not be fun?

But add in lots of enthusiasm, eager participants, and a good plan (they are one organized group!) and an event like this is even more fun.

When I was thinking of the reading possibilities for Winter Wishes, some themes came to mind and particular books in the new arrivals stack beckoned.

But, ultimately, I am making one practical choice. And setting a small stack of alternatives alongside.

The Luminaries has been in my “soon” stack (you have “soon”, “sooner” and “soonest” stacks, too, right?) for months.

Then, last weekend, I started to read: finally. But I knew, even as I was turning the pages, that I wasn’t paying close enough attention.

There are enough characters to justify a cast list, the first chapter is more than 300 pages long, and the author apparently still has nightmares about having left a plot thread unsewn, months after the book was published and after it has won the Booker Prize.

So. I know this is not a book that I can wander though.

I’m going to need to get serious, re-read the 100 pages I read (or, at least, turned) last weekend, and make notes.

But I’ve tried the whole one-big-book approach to read-a-thons before, and it wasn’t successful.

So I have a small stack of respite stacked alongside: two children’s books (Baum’s The Wizard of Oz and George’s There’s an Owl in My Shower), two poetry books (Mockler’s Onion Man and Bloom’s Cloudy with a Fire in the Basement) and two graphic works (Gladstone’s The Influencing Machine and Knisley’s Relish).

My goal is to finish The Luminaries, at the bottom of the stack below, or read the rest of the stack instead.

Or, failing both, to fall somewhere between but have 1,000 pages to show for it. I’ll update this page twice a day during the event.

First Day, in Numbers:
Pages Read, TODAY: 0
(Including Fresh reads 0; Books already begun 67; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Pages Read, TOTAL: 67
(Including Fresh reads 0; Books already begun 67; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Books Read, TODAY: 0
(Fresh reads 0; Books already begun 0; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Books Read, TOTAL: 0
(Fresh reads 0; Books already begun 0; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Participation Activities, TOTAL: 1 Challenges, TOTAL: 0

First Day, in Notes: 
What worked? Having the date marked in my calendar well in advance; I almost forgot!
What didn’t? I read two short stories in two anthologies that I had previously started, and managed to avoid not only The Luminaries, but my entire stack, then hardly read a thing.
What was tasty? Snack plate, perfect for munching from while reading, thanks to Mr. BIP, but unfortunately I watched the first episode of “True Detective” instead.
Hopefully I am more focussed tomorrow!

Second Day
There’s an activity and a give-away here to celebrate the read-a-thon. Here’s my attempt below, but I’m not an experienced bookspine poet.

Second Day, in Numbers:
Pages Read, TODAY: 212
(Including Fresh reads 0; Books already begun 0; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Pages Read, TOTAL: 289
(Including Fresh reads 212; Books already begun 67; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Books Read, TODAY: 0
(Fresh reads 0; Books already begun 0; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Books Read, TOTAL: 0
(Fresh reads 0; Books already begun 0; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Participation Activities, TOTAL: 2

Second Day, in Notes: 
What worked? Re-reading the first chunk of The Luminaries was definitely a good idea (I’d missed a lot of details).
What didn’t? Maybe I took too many notes because it felt like it took forever to read a single page, or maybe simply sticking with a single book is too tiring (see absence of snacks below).
What was tasty?Thai dumplings for breakfast were tasty, but I neglected to read-a-thon shop, so snacks were sparse overall.
Now that I’m really into The Luminaries, I think Sunday will contain more pages; this is a puzzle-book, and I do enjoy a good puzzle.

Last Day, in Numbers: 
Pages Read, TODAY: 233
(Including Fresh reads 233; Books already begun 0; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Pages Read, TOTAL: 522
(Including Fresh reads ; Books already begun 67; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Books Read, TODAY: 0
(Fresh reads 0; Books already begun 0; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Books Read, TOTAL: 0
(Fresh reads 0; Books already begun 0; Kidlit/YA 0; Re-reads 0; Graphic novels 0.)
Participation Activities, TOTAL: 2

Last Day, in Notes: 
What worked? Sticking with this single book, I’m now completely invested in the characters and story: if I hadn’t stayed with it so long, I might have left it un-finished where I’d stalled before re-reading.
What didn’t? This is one big book, and I felt like it was physically attached to me by the end of the weekend; for a week-long read-a-thon choice, this would have been a good one, as I could have indulged in some shorter reads alongside.
What was tasty? Mini pizzas, some mushroom and some cherry tomato: yum.