Fall Into Reading 2010

It's that time of year... again. I really need Callapidder Days' reading challenge to motivate me to read faster and to stick with a book. I've been doing a lot of "book dating" recently. Mainly, I get so tied down with school and teaching, I come home in a zombified state, and reading is the last thing I want to do. Sleeping is the first.


My participation in the Spring Reading Thing 2010 was practically non-existent. I just looked and I had one post for SRT2010, and I ended up reading only two of the books on that list. I am willing myself to do a better job this year.
Here's the deal: I have from now until December 20th to read as many books as I can, using the list below for direction. I will post how my reading is going along the way, and then on December 21st, I will write a final entry on how I did.
Forget grading and lesson plans; this is now my #1 priority. Har har!
The List:
1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, adapted by Sarah L. Thomson
2. Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen
3. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
4. First Light by Rebecca Stead
5. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
6. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
8. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
9. The Messenger by Lois Lowry
10. Splendor by Anna Godbersen

Break

1:30 - 2:30 spent enjoying lime-salted chips and guacamole, wine, and blog interactions. Good break, but time to get back to it.

Progress

Yesterday, I began reading at 1:00 pm. I've been jumping back and forth between reading and listening to Chelsea Handler's My Horizontal Life.

I ended my marathon at about 5:30 last night and picked up again at 7:00 this morning. I took a half hour break to shower. That leaves my total reading/listening time at 10 hours and 30 minutes. Total pages read are as follows:

Breaking Dawn pp. 625-754 (finished) 129 pages read
The Red Pyramid pp. 70-104 34 pages read
Breakfast of Champions pp. 67-303 (finished) 236 pages read

TOTAL: My Horizontal Life (4 cds, 1.2 hours each) 4.8 hours
399 pages in 5.7 hours


As Jay-Z says, "On to the next one..."

Checking In

It's 7:00 and I'm starting up again!

48 HBC Update #1

It's 6:30 and I'm taking a break. I'm having a hard time getting into this marathon of reading today. I think it's partly because I just finished post planning this week, and I'm so exhausted, I'm ready for a mental vacation.

I finished Breaking Dawn. It was bleh.

I've been listening to Chelsea Handler's audiobook My Horizontal Life, and while it started off making me feel uncomfortable to hear a first grader cuss, I have had a few chuckles listening to it. I am also reading The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. I'm 100+ pages in, but I'm not fully digging it yet.

I wish I could share more enthusiasm, but I think what I need is a good jog on the eliptical.

Later.

Oh, and if you're wondering about Unwind, I finished that this morning before my trip to the library so it doesn't count toward the challenge.

48 Hour Book Challenge

I'm starting at 1:00 pm est.

Just Snuck Up on Me

Okay, MotherReader's 48 Hour Book Challenge officially begins in about two minutes. I completely forgot it was this weekend. I have a 9:30 meeting this morning, so unless I can't get to the library before, I will begin after that. What do I plan to read?



Well, first I need to finish Unwind, Breaking Dawn, and perhaps Red Pyramid. I have some books on hold from the library, but I also have stacks here at home. I plan to do more reading than blogging, but I know already I will not go a complete 48 hours reading non-stop. I'm not even sure anyone can. There were four last year who claimed they did, but I don't believe them.

Last year, I read a total of just over 21 hours. This year, I'll be sure to have an audiobook queued and ready for bathroom and snack breaks.

Wish me luck!