Social Distancing Readathon #83 - October 15 - 17

Welcome to another readathon!

We generally run from Friday at 5 p.m. to Sunday at midnight in whatever time zone you choose, but feel free to start earlier on Friday and wrap up overnight Sunday/Monday, if that's what you want to do.

Here are some things to track throughout the weekend, if you choose:

Books read from:
Books finished:
Time reading:
Time posting:
Snacks:
Thoughts:
Non-book activities:

Total books finished:
Total read from:
Total time reading:

Who is participating -

1. SilverWolf (SilverWolf28) -- Tennessee, USA

Put me down this weekend, Silver. I can clear the decks from Saturday lunchtime. 1000 pages planned by close of play Sunday.

I'm in too:
Ameise1 (Barbara) - Zürich, Switzerland

I'll be reading this weekend!

I'm in again - about to start the final installment in the Hornblower series. Also reading Best American Short Stories - 2012

I am in again this weekend. I should have more time to read this weekend than last.

Yup, whottheheck...

I will try again this weekend. I have plans tonight, but I know I'll get some reading time during my hair appointment in the morning. Last weekend I had some unexpected things come up and didn't get much reading done at all.

Now that the renovations are done on my house I hope to be able to relax and read this weekend.
Deedledee - Nova Scotia

I was away last weekend but ready to do some reading this weekend.

Friday afternoon update

Books reading from: I am reading Color of the Sea by John Hamamura and Thieves of Baghdad by Matthew Bogdanos. I am listening to Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck.

Books finished in the last week: Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt. Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby by Candida R. Moss. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar.

Time reading: 1 hour this morning
Time posting:
Food: I had an egg sandwich for breakfast and fruit for lunch.
Thoughts: I bet people on this group thought that I was never going to finish Traffic - that it would sit there forever and ever. I finally managed to get it done and even I cheered myself! It was a very interesting book and while I was driving back from my weekend excursion I found myself breaking most of the very simple rules that were suggested in the book. Even though I had started out with the best of intentions.

Non-book activities: none so far today.

Total books finished since the read-a-thon began: 169
Total time reading for the Read-A-Thon since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 448 hours since April 2020.

Friday evening update:

Books read from: The Devil's Cave
Books finished:
Time reading: ?
Time posting: ?
Snacks: hot chocolate
Thoughts: It doesn't feel like the middle of October
Non-book activities: dinner with family, long walk with the dog, balancing my checkbook, practicing piano

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: ?

I'd like to finish The Devil's Cave this weekend, as well as At Home on the Range. I have Magpie Murders lined up to start next.

I'm in again.

Friday evening update:

Books read from: The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay
Books finished: The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay
Time reading: 2 hours
Snacks: Shawarma for dinner
Thoughts: I wish this book on an American family in Iran had contained a bit less politics and more daily life.
Non-book activities: Work, laundry

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 2 hours

I'm reading again.

Friday, midnight. Yes, I'm a night owl.

Books:
Finished Chance: Escape from the Holocaust: Memories of a Refugee Childhood by Uri Shulevitz yesterday.
Listening to Badlands by C.J. Box.

dinner: pizza, salad
bedtime snack: one cookie and milk

Other activity:
Left ailing old cat at the vet yesterday. I was afraid I'd be saying goodby to her today but she rallied. After fluids and shots for nausea, she's home and doing well for now. Needs fluids twice a week from now on.

Late night Friday update:

Books read from since last update: 3, Beyond the River: The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground Railroad by Ann Hagedorn, Hold Your Breath, China by Qiu Xiaolong and The Last Correspondent: Dispatches from the Frontline of Xi’s New China by Michael Smith
Books finished: None yet
Time reading: About 3.5 hours
Time posting: none

Snacks: sandwiches for dinner, raspberries
Thoughts: Too tired to think. It would be fun to get more than two hours' sleep in a row. It's surprisingly warm (still high 60s outside at night.)
Non-book activities: talking to my father, talking to people about my father, trying to develop solutions for my father. Hunting for my kindle. Hunting for my glasses. You get the picture... Specifically, trying to find a way for my father to listen to audiobooks. Trying to solve one problem has simply created more. ho hum.

Total books finished: none yet
Total read from: 3. Two of them about today's china; one a journalist's narrative and a mystery novel.
Total time reading: abt 3.5 hours

Got home from work and now it is all systems go with:

Great Circle
The Wreck of the Mary Deare &
The Fortune Men

Friday update:

Books read from: Der Bote the 2nd from Fredrik Beier serie
Time reading: 1½h
Time posting: Saturday 0.20pm
dinner: Ghackets mit Hörnli

Thoughts:
Very addicting thriller. Again it is about released smallpox viruses and the originators still seem to have not been discovered.

Non-book activities:
Since I came back from my wellness vacation on Friday afternoon, I had to unpack, wash and talk to my husband a lot, as he had to work for the past week and couldn't come with me.

Joining in, recovering after being ill with COVID, getting back to some reading after a few days feeling quite ill/tired

12.30 pm Saturday afternoon

Books read from: 6
Amor Towles, The Lincoln Highway
Willy Vlautin, The Night Always Comes - FINISHED 15.10.21
Maggie Shipstead, Great Circle
Christopher Duggan, Fascist Voices: An Intimate History of Mussolini's Italy
Taylor Jenkins Reid, Malibu Rising
Frances Brody, A Snapshot of Murder

Pages read: 148
Books finished: 1
Non-book activities: Radio, TV, Social media, Bejeweled Blitz, resting

Total pages read: 148
Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 6

>16 PaulCranswick: Paul, links for Great Circle still don't seem to be coming up properly - for a while I got links to Family Circle Magazine and various associated publications like cookery books. Now I keep getting that Ted Dekker book I've not otherwise heard of.

Saturday, early afternoon

Books:
Just started Forgotten City by Michael Ford. Dystopia/survival for middle grade readers.
I've been looking for books for my 11yr old nephew.

Breakfast: granola and blueberries

Other activity:
At the farmer's market this morning I bought quiche for dinner tonight, yellow summer squash to make 'Aunt Fannie's Baked Squash', and beets for Russian borscht; also tomatoes and cucumbers.
We should be good for the week!
Pampering the ancient cat.

Partly sunny, 82 F. (28 C.) in North Carolina.

It's about 1:30 p.m. in Rhode Island

Books read from since last update: 3, Beyond the River: The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground Railroad by Ann Hagedorn, Hold Your Breath, China by Qiu Xiaolong and The Last Correspondent: Dispatches from the Frontline of Xi’s New China by Michael Smith, Queens of the Crusades by Alison Weir and Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger
Books finished: 1, Beyond the River by Ann Hagedorn
Time reading: 5 hours
Time posting: none

Snacks: nothing to eat yet
Thoughts: Why isn't teleportation a real thing? On a tangential note, I'm v. pleased that the latest Jodi Taylor novel just appeared on my Kindle.
Non-book activities: Still trying to resolve the audiobook problem for my father. Spent "quality time" long distance with his local library folks (who are great). Also trying to figure out how to place his weekly grocery order.

Total books finished: Beyond the River -- about the group of active abolitionists in Ripley, Ohio -- turns out that one of their rescues was the real story behind Uncle Tom's Cabin. Go figure...
Total read from: 5; all listed above
Total time reading: abt 8.5 hours

Saturday update, 6 pm.

Books read from: Beowulf, Shuggie Bain, Henry and Clara
Books finished: 1 (Beowulf)
Time reading: no idea
Pages read: 143
Snacks: grape leaves
Thoughts: I passed up unexpected tickets to a hockey game because I wanted to stay home and read. It's been a long week.
Non-book activities: farmers market, yoga, clean out refrigerator, newspaper

Total books finished: 1 (Beowulf)
Total read from: Beowulf, Shuggie Bain, Henry and Clara
Total time reading:
Total pages read: 143

I finished Harlem Shuffle- and am now onto the next book Rodham

1.30 am Sunday morning

Books read from: 7
Amor Towles, The Lincoln Highway
Maggie Shipstead, Great Circle
Christopher Duggan, Fascist Voices: An Intimate History of Mussolini's Italy - FINISHED 16.10.21
Taylor Jenkins Reid, Malibu Rising
Frances Brody, A Snapshot of Murder
Sinead Gleeson (editor), The Glass Shore
Philip Pullman, Lyra's Oxford - FINISHED 16.10.21

Pages read: 130
Books finished: 2
Non-book activities: Radio, TV, Social media, Bejeweled Blitz, resting

Total pages read: 278
Total books finished: 3
Total read from: 8

Saturday evening report in

Books reading from: I read nothing so far today in Color of the Sea by John Hamamura and read a small amount in Thieves of Baghdad by Matthew Bogdanos which is turning out to be surprisingly readable. This evening a picked up House on Mango Street and read half of it while I ate supper. I had it laying around because it was one of the books I pulled off my shelves last summer as part of my short books project. I also asked myself why haven't I read this already since it is on so many book lists? I am listening to Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck.

Books finished in the last week: Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt. Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby by Candida R. Moss. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar.

Time reading: 1 hour this evening during supper
Time posting:
Food: I had tacos
Thoughts: See above comments about the books I am reading. I am very tired this evening and will probably put some laundry in the washer and go to bed. It cooled off last night and today was a perfect fall day. It was perfect for walking around and I am still hurting from my twisted knee and so didn't enjoy it as much as I should have.
Non-book activities: I spent most of the day at the annual crafts fair and got several Christmas presents there. I wish I could go back tomorrow as there is another gift I would like to get but I have other obligations tomorrow so what I purchased today will have to do.

Total books finished since the read-a-thon began: 169
Total time reading for the Read-A-Thon since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 450 hours since April 2020.

>16 PaulCranswick: I'm reading The Wreck of the Mary Deare, am about halfway through and enjoying it.

It's about 2 a.m. and I'm hoping to be able to get back to sleep sometime. A big party at the house next door woke me up at midnight (after an hour's sleep) They have stopped partying (prob because of heavy rain) but I'm not sleeping yet...

Books read from since last update: 3, Hold Your Breath, China by Qiu Xiaolong, The Last Correspondent: Dispatches from the Frontline of Xi’s New China by Michael Smith, Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger, Saving Time by Jodi Taylor and a few of the short stories in One Point Two Billion by Mahesh Rao
Books finished: 2 audio of The Last Correspondent: Dispatches from the Frontline of Xi’s New China by Michael Smith (underwhelming and predictable for anyone who has been following China stuff, and poor narration by author, Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger, surprisingly good for a formulaic 'woman in peril' thriller
Time reading: 7.5 hours
Time posting: none

Snacks: grilled cheese sandwich with tomato and bacon. Some fruit is waiting for me now.
Thoughts: So much to do and so little energy.
Non-book activities: Small victory: my father is less stressed after picking up some audiobooks at the library (he can only use the 'playaway' format so the choice is VERY limited in his city, but the good news is that we should be able to pull in stuff from across Ontario via ILL). I, meanwhile, have done pretty much nothing. Listening to some classical music on streaming radio station.

Total books finished: Beyond the River: The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground Railroad by Ann Hagedorn, The Last Correspondent: Dispatches from the Frontline of Xi’s New China by Michael Smith, and Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger
Total read from: 7; the three finished plus Queens of the Crusades by Alison Weir, Hold Your Breath, China by Qiu Xiaolong, One Point Two Billion by Mahesh Rao and Saving Time by Jodi Taylor
Total time reading: abt 8.5 hours

BOOKS READ FROM : TWO Great Circle & The Wreck of the Mary Deare
BOOKS COMPLETED : Not Yet!
Food : Baked potato & tuna; coffee; Indo-chinese meal last night
Other Activity : An hour in the gym on the stationary bike (my first time in 3 years)

Almost done with the Maggie Shipstead. Good but a chunkster.

Saturday update:

Books read from: Der Bote the 2nd from Fredrik Beier serie & Teufelskälte by Gard Sveen
Books finished: 1 Der Bote
Time reading: on and off
Time posting: Sunday 11.50am
dinner: Roe liver with noodles

Thoughts:
The second volume of Fredrik Beier was also very captivating.

Non-book activities:
After breakfast we went to the farmers' market and bought everything for the weekend, especially vegetables, fruits and cheese. I bought the meat from the local hunt on Friday.
Read the newspaper, chatted and discussed a lot, in the evening I saw the Wallander crime thriller 'Missing'

Books read/completed so far: 2

Miss Meow
Kitten and the Night Watchman

Books currently reading: 1

The Wreck of the Mary Deare - about 2/3 completed

Sunday morning report

Books reading from: Pretty much the same as yesterday. I read nothing so far today in Color of the Sea by John Hamamura and read a small amount in Thieves of Baghdad by Matthew Bogdanos which is turning out to be surprisingly readable. I am more than half done with House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. I should finish it today. I also asked myself why haven't I read this already since it is on so many book lists? I am about to finish listening to Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck.

Books finished in the last week: Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt. Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby by Candida R. Moss. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar.

Time reading: 1 hour this evening before I went to sleep
Time posting:
Food: I had tacos
Thoughts: I was exhausted after a day of Christmas present purchases but I still managed to go to Barnes & Noble and purchase the newest Longmire book - for a Christmas present. Daughter of the Morning Star.
Non-book activities: Does reading the Sunday paper count as a non-book activity?

Total books finished since the read-a-thon began: 169
Total time reading for the Read-A-Thon since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 451 hours since April 2020.

update from Saturday night, (9 am Sunday)

Books read from: Shuggie Bain, Bluebird, Bluebird, Krakatoa
Books finished: none
Time reading: still no idea
Pages read: 108
Dinner: salmon, farro salad
Thoughts: This hasn't felt like a very productive day, and I can't think of any particular reason for that.
Non-book activities: Great British baking show episode, trying to figure out how to stream a recording of a cancelled theater performance (and failing)

Total books finished: 1 (Beowulf)
Total read from: 5 Beowulf, Shuggie Bain, Henry and Clara, Bluebird, Bluebird, Krakatoa
Total time reading:
Total pages read: 251

Sunday 11 AM:

Books read from: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
Books finished: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
Time reading: 6 hours
Snacks: cereal for breakfast
Thoughts: This examination of five lives that started out with at least some stability and hope before falling into desperation made me think long and hard about the poverty and homelessness in my own wealthy modern city.
Non-book activities: Watched football, went to church

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 8 hours

Sunday evening update:

Books read from: The Devil's Cave
Books finished:
Time reading: ?
Time posting: ?
Snacks: settling in to read now with a mug of tea
Thoughts: It's been a beautiful fall weekend!
Non-book activities: church, lunch with friends (Chinese takeaway), ice cream run, shopping for fall mums for the entrance to our subdivision, laundry

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: ?

It has been a busier than usual weekend, but the fun kind of busy. I'm sorry I haven't had more time to read, but I've enjoyed my weekend.

12.10 am Sunday night

Books read from: 10
Amor Towles, The Lincoln Highway
Maggie Shipstead, Great Circle - FINISHED 17.10.21
Taylor Jenkins Reid, Malibu Rising
Sinead Gleeson (editor), The Glass Shore
Frances Brody, A Snapshot of Murder
Mary Lawson, A Town Called Solace
Julia Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies
Elaine di Rollo, A Proper Education for Girls - STARTED 17.10.21
Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You - STARTED 17.10.21
Charlotte Gordon, Romantic Outlaws - STARTED 17.10.21

Pages read: 179
Books finished: 1
Non-book activities: Radio, TV, Social media, Bejeweled Blitz, resting

Total pages read: 457
Total books finished: 4
Total read from: 13

Sunday 8:30 PM

Books read from: Paladin's Hope
Books finished: Paladin's Hope
Time reading: 3 hours
Snacks: chicken marsala
Thoughts: Now that was a lovely escapist read
Non-book activities: housework, listened to a podcast

Total books finished: 3
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 11 hours

Sunday evening update

Books reading from: I read nothing so far today in Color of the Sea by John Hamamura and read a great deal in Thieves of Baghdad by Matthew Bogdanos which is turning out to be surprisingly readable. I started Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep and started listening to An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard

Books finished in the last week: House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt. Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby by Candida R. Moss. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar.

Time reading: 2 hours today - in between zoom meetings
Time posting:
Food: Indian food
Thoughts: I am feeling much better after a restful day at home and think I am ready to start the week.
Non-book activities: Nothing - today was all about books. Reading them, discussing them, and writing about them

Total books finished since the read-a-thon began: 171
Total time reading for the Read-A-Thon since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 453 hours since April 2020.

Monday morning summary:

Books read from: Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies, Best American Short Stories - 2012
Books completed: Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies

Pages read: 420
Thoughts: A quiet, rainy Oregon weekend. As they say, we've needed it.
Non-book activities: Watched football, The Great British Baking Show

Finished The Wreck of the Mary Deare last night, total of three books for the weekend.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/336136