Thankfully Reading 2025

I cannot believe this will be my 15th year participating in the Thankfully Reading Readathon. And for the first time it will officially be running the whole week. I usually start on Wednesday anyway but this week I am off the whole week. I am hoping to be able to relax and read a lot. I have projects around the house too but that’s what audiobooks are for! for more info or to join in visit https://www.jennsbookshelves.com/2025/11/17/2025-thankfully-reading-week-thankfullyreading/.

Monday 8:00 am

Good morning! Just wanted to do a quick check in before I dive into reading. I don’t have a planned TBR and I am currently in the midst of reading six books which feels very chaotic but they are all really good. I am really looking forward to the week off. I plan to relax, but also clean, organize and try to get things done. And as always looking forward to Thanksgiving with my family! Current reads below! Have you read any of these?

Monday

Great first day of Readathon. I tried to relax as much possible as this was the one day I had the whole day free. I did a lot of cleaning and audio too. I set up my cozy reading spot in the sunroom.

My dog has been showing early signs of dementia and he was really agitated all day so I spent a lot of time just trying to soothe him. I enjoyed the times he would calm down and snuggle with me.

I finished two books: An Emotion of Great Delight and The Future Saints. Both books were excellent! You can check out my Goodreads for reviews. Also, they will eventually be up on Instagram. Great reading today! Looking forward to tomorrow even with the chance of storms (low but not zero risk of tornados means an anxious Susan).

Pages Read: 543

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 44 minutes

Books Finished: 2

Tuesday

Today was a rough day. There were storms most of the day and my dog is terrified of storms. And I don’t love when there is a possibility of tornados so I spent most of the day soothing him. I did manage to go to the grocery store, get more cleaning done, and went to drop a book donation off. But the book bin was full 😩

I finished The Perfect Host audio book. It kept me guessing and was suspenseful and so enjoyable. The audiobook was fantastic. Lately I have been really enjoying thrillers on audio. I also finished The Long Game which is the last book in the Game Changers series. I am so excited for the Heated Rivalry TV show to premiere on Friday. I am glad I finished this one before.

I have been trying to catch up on my backlog of ARCs. My NetGalley feedback ratio is a horrifying 54%. I started reading It’s Not Her the upcoming Mary Kubica book and it’s very good so far. It is pretty shocking right from the beginning. I finally started Fallen City by Adrienne Young. It’s my book club book so I feel a little better about not getting to it before it was released. It’s almost Wednesday so I am going to attempt to go to bed without my dog noticing and crying for me. The storms have finally swept away so hopefully he will stay asleep.

Pages Read: 393

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 39 minutes

Books Finished: 2

Wednesday

Wednesday was a mostly relaxing day for the first part. I made my two dishes for Thanksgiving and did a lot of cleaning and organizing. It was mostly a productive day until I got a migraine and then had to shut everything down and go to bed. Hence why I am updating this the next day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Pages Read: 178

Audiobook Time: 6 hours 43 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Thursday

As usual as l didn’t have much time to read on Thanksgiving. Mostly it was audiobooks while driving to my Grandmas. We had a large group and a ton of food.

I finished one book and DNF’d another. Remember life is too short to read books you are not enjoying. My husband and I watched smother episode of Ken Burns’ The American Revolution and we put up the Christmas tree. All in all it was such a fun day with family, food, festivity, and a little bit of reading!

Pages Read: 129

Audiobook Time: 6 hours 9 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Friday

Ahhh the day after Thanksgiving veg! I didn’t even leave the house today. We live way too close to all the shopping areas so I stayed in my cozy house with my heated blanket reading and watching tv.

It was definitely a day for book to screen adaptions. I watched the last two episodes of Maxon Hall and the first two episodes of Heated Rivalry. The MH episodes were enraging. Cannot wait until next season 😂.Heated Rivalry was everything I hoped it would be. It’s an almost perfect and faithful adaption.

My reading felt a little chaotic today. I finished My Husband’s Wife, the upcoming Alice Feeney book. I highly recommend the audiobook. It was a sensory experience! And then I started three new books even though I am already reading two others. Hey, I am a mood reader and I never know what will hit. It was a very cozy day!

Pages Read: 360

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 27 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Saturday

Trying to soak in my last two days of vacation. I really did nothing but relax and read today. I finished two books and DNFd one. I LOVED Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston. Fantastic thriller!

Pages Read: 638

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 38 minutes

Books Finished: 2

Dewey's 24 Hour Reverse Readathon July 2025

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It is time for the Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon again! Since I started working full time 8 years ago this one is so much easier for me to do. It starts at 8 pm on Friday night and concludes at 8 pm on Saturday night thus leaving me all of Sunday to recover. I have stuff planned tomorrow though so I will not be able to do as many hours as usually do but I will try my best. I have a loose TBR but also trying to decide if I want to start fresh and pick up my current reads after the readathon. I will make a game time decision!

2:00 am

So I decided to pause the books I was currently reading and start fresh!

First off I read You Belong Here by Megan Miranda. This was a really thriller that I could not put down. I flew through it.

Then I started The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson and oh my goodness it is INTENSE. It is so, so good. I could probably stay up reading it all night but I feel a bit of a headache creeping up so I think I am going to try to sleep for a bit.

Total reading time: 6 hours 5 minutes

Pages read: 464 pages

Audiobook Time: 2 hours

Books finished: 1

9:00 am

Well I ended up sleeping from about 3 am to 7:30 pm but that’s ok because I am in my 40s now and have learned to listen to my body.

I finished The Scammer. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I was yelling and fussing at Jordyn the whole time! Highly recommend this book! It comes out on October 7th.

I am starting Incandescent by Emily Tesh next. I have the audio and print book so I will switch out reading those. I have a lot of errands and things to do for the next few hours so I probably won’t check in again until later today but you can follow me on Instagram @ReadingSusan for sooner updates. I hope everyone is enjoying the readathon!

Total reading time: 7 hours 38 minutes

Pages read: 137 pages

Audiobook Time: 15 minutes

Books finished: 1

4:30 pm

I went to the gym, got my hair done, went to dog sit my nephew pups for a few hours, and went to the grocery store. I tried to read as much as possible while doing these activities.

I started another book: What Happens After Midnight by K.L. Walther. I just read another book of hers and loved it so want to check out some of her backlist titles. I am enjoying it so far.

There are just a few more hours left in the Readathon so I will be curling up in bed with my books.

Total reading time: 13 hours 48 minutes

Pages read: 173 pages

Audiobook Time: 3 hours

Books finished: 0

Wrap Up

Well I didn’t participate as much as I wanted to but glad I prioritized sleep!

I finished What Happens After Midnight. It was so good! I love K.L. Walther’s books. They are always a satisfying experience.


I read for a total of 17 hours and 15 minutes and finished 4 books.

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon Spring 2025

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It is almost time for one of my favorite readathons: Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon! I have done this too many years to count but this year I won’t even attempt to get close to 24 hours. I am just going to read as much as I can and enjoy myself. Per the usual I have chosen a completely unrealistic TBR. These are the physical books.

And these are the ebooks I have picked out.

We will see what strikes my fancy in the morning. I will be updating on Instagram @ReadingSusan.

5:00 pm

I have been so busy reading that I haven’t had a chance to update blog so I decided to take a reading break and update. I finished the last 50% of Bold Moves by Emma Barry. I tried to start the Readathon fresh but just was unable to finish that one. I loved this second chance romance set where two people are writing and filming a TV show.

I also finished Heartwood by Amity Gaige. This was such a beautifully written book. It had me on the edge of my seat but also was very emotional.

I also forgot to put an audiobook on my TBR stack so I decided to finally listen to Song Below Water. It is so good so far. I also thought the below photo was funny because this is what Dewey’s Readathon looks like in your 40s 😂

It’s been a great day of reading. I had to take care of work stuff at one point but other than that have just been enjoying my day!

Total reading time: 9 hours 6 minutes

Pages read: 555 pages

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 52 minutes

Books finished: 2

1:00 am

Well I am getting pretty tired so I think it’s time for bed. We shall see if I wake up again or not.

It was a lovely evening of reading. I didn’t finish another book as I have been switching between three books.

Total reading time: 15 hours 46 minutes

Pages read: 380 pages

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Books finished: 0

March Readathon

Happy March 1st! I feel spring inching closer so I have decided to do a Spring Readathon this weekend. It’s been a very difficult week so I need a weekend to enjoy some good reading. I have been having a hard time reading this week so I have started way too many books so I want to settle down and enjoy them. If you would like to join me this weekend please do so! No rules! Just read! These are the books I am currently reading.

Saturday

I had a fantastic first day of reading for the Spring readathon! I started out reading Bloodmarked. I have been rereading the Legendborn books to get ready for the release of Oathbound on Tuesday. And let me tell you this series is even better the second time around. There isn’t one moment of the books that lag or get boring.

The day continued to warm up so I took advantage and set up my hammock and read outside until shockingly it got too hot. My dog also enjoyed frolicking around while I read.

I finished one book: While We’re Young by K.L. Walther. This was such a fun retelling of Ferris Bueller’s Day Out! I love a book that covers only one day! This one made me laugh and cheer. It also had done lovely emotional moments as week. I am so, so glad there are still authors writing meaningful young adult contemporaries!

I spent the rest of the day alternating between my different cozy reading spots and the six books I am reading.

I did accidentally doom scroll for almost two hours which impacted my reading AND my mental health. I am determined to go back to my everything but book Instagram social media ban tomorrow. The whole point of the readathon is to shut down and relax before Monday.

Saturday Totals

I am not tracking total reading time like I usually do but that’s just because I forgot to 😂 So I think that’s a sign that the Spring Readathon will not be a time tracker but just pages and audiobooks.

Pages read: 733 pages

Audiobook time: 55 minutes

Sunday

Happy Sunday and day two of my spring Readathon! The temperature today is ten degrees less than yesterday so I am actually hoping to be able to be outside more. Looking forward to a relaxing day. These are the books I am currently reading.

So as you can see I am reading a lot of books. But as I settled down and started reading there was a book calling my name that I really wanted to read. And finally I gave in. Do you ever have a book you are afraid to read because you don’t want it to one day to be over? This was me with Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan. But I decided it was time. Loving it so far. I am trying to savor it and not rush through.

It was a lovely and relaxing day reading and relaxing.

Sunday Totals

Pages read: 536 pages

Audiobook time: 44 minutes

This was a fun little Spring Readathon. It was a much needed break at the end of a bad week. We are in for a long and bumpy ride so make sure to take care of yourselves as much as possible.

Readathon Totals:

Pages—1,269

Audiobook Time—1 hour 39 minutes

Thankfully Reading 2024

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It’s time for one of my favorite reading events of the year: Thankfully Reading hosted by Jenn’s Bookshelves. It is a relaxing readathon to do during Thanksgiving week. I am off Tuesday-Sunday so that is when I will be doing my reading.

Kick off

These are the books I am currently reading. I know I read too many books at one time. I am enjoying all of these but especially Water Moon!

I also have a hopeful stack of physical books to read in case a different mood strikes (Yes, Age of Vice was also here last year).

I also have some new ARC’s (Advanced Reader Copies) to read so I am going to see if I can get to some of them as well.

I am listening to the audiobook of The Rewind and I don’t have another audiobook on deck so I think I will be listening to podcasts this week. Here are a few I want to catch up on or listen to.

Anyway I am going to get to reading! I will be happy to finish three books because I do have to cook and do other things.

Tuesday

I definitely didn’t read as much as I expected to today. I was really distracted and ended ip having to do a lot of other things. But I did get good pockets of reading time in. Fri-Sun will probably be better for relaxing and reading.

I finished Left of Forever by Terah DeWitt. Her books are usually five stars for me but this one fell a little short for me. By the end I was a little ready for it to be over. And I usually love second chance romances.

I also listened to half of the 1912 The Forsyth County Expulsion and Its Aftermath podcast from WABE. So there is this story I always heard growing up that there was city under the local lake and that it was an all Black town. This podcast explores this legend by telling the real story. It is enraging to read about this area of Georgia that became all white because they trumped up charges and used that to expel ALL Black people. I haven’t gotten to the part about why the town is under Lake Lanier though.

I also watched a little bit of Outlander because a new season has begun but I am doing a rewatch because it’s been so long and I missed the last season. But I forgot how…objectionable it can be.

Pages Read: 190

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 22 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Wednesday

So today I was able to read a little more in between doing stuff around the house and cooking.

I finished The Rewind which I listened to as an audiobook and also read as an ebook. I think I preferred the audiobook. This was also a second chance romance. But I was kind of hoping that couple would not end up together in the end.

I also finished Hello, Cruel Heart. I really enjoyed the 60s setting. And it made me sad to think about what Estella would become.

I also have been on hold for the Remarkably Bright Creatures ebook for months and that just popped up on Libby so I started that as well. I am really enjoying it so I went ahead and got the audiobook so I can read and listen.

I made cornbread and mac & cheese for tomorrow. I can’t wait to eat some delicious food!

Pages Read: 432

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 54 minutes

Books Finished: 2

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving! I spent the day with at my Grandmother’s and we have the best cooks in the family. I got a little bit of time to read.

Pages Read: 161

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Books Finished: 0

Friday

Finally a day just to relax! I did spend some time watching Outlander and I finished up the 1912 podcast. I also put up the Christmas tree! I did get some good reading in.

I finished Remarkably Bright Creatures. What a fantastic book! It lived up the hype. Definitely a five star read for me.

I started The Last Session the upcoming Julia Bartz book this evening info and it’s so good but I had to put it aside for the night because it was scaring me 😂

I also started The Wake Up Call which wasn’t on my list but I wanted to read it.

Pages Read: 276

Audiobook Time: 30 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Saturday

This was another relaxing day. I was so happy to just curl up under my heated blanket and read.

The Water Moon was so good! It was a beautifully written book. The world is so charming and the descriptions in this book so evocative.

Pages Read: 383

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 57 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Sunday

Today is the last day of the readathon. The time off has been really nice but back to reality tomorrow.

I finished This Will Be Fun. This WAS a fun and witty book. I liked how they took modern elements and twisted them to fit the medival theme. That’s exactly my style. I do think it was a little too long and I was not rushing to pick it back up. This cover is amazing!!

I also started two books today: A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young and Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone. Both of these books are highly anticipated reads and I am loving them so far.

Pages Read: 337

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 8 minutes

Books Finished: 2

Total Pages Read: 1,779

Total Audiobook Time: 11 hours 10 minutes

Total Books Finished: 7



Thankfully Reading 2023

It’s time for one of my favorite reading events of the year: Thankfully Reading! You can find out more at the link. This is my 13th year participating in this reading weekend. I cannot believe it has been that long. You can follow my blog to see my reading fun Weds-Sun!

Kick off time!

These are the books I am currently reading and hope to finish before Sunday.

I also have a stack of physical books I hope to get to.

I also have a ton of ARCs I really want to read. These are the ones I have picked out. But also I am a mood reader so I might read none of this planned TBR.

And of course I need audiobook options while cleaning and cooking.

I know this is an extremely long list. But also I am a mood reader so I might read none of this planned TBR. Let’s get reading!

Wednesday

It was a terrific day of reading. I had a lot of cleaning to do but other than that I spent most of the day relaxing and reading. I finished my first holiday book, A Very Merry Bromance and started the Never Whistle at Night audiobook.

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving y’all. I had a wonderful time hosting a small lunch at my house since half my family was sick. It was such a terrific day.

I ended up finishing Everyone On This Train is a Suspect (love this series!) and Wildfire.

Friday

Exciting that I still have three days off. I plan to sit on my couch most of the day under my heated blanket and read! I am so cold! I started two new books Bright Young Women and the upcoming Kennedy Ryan book, This Could Be Us.

Dewey’s Reverse Readathon July 2023

It’s time for another Dewey’s Readathon. This one is the July Reverse Readathon. It starts at 8 pm Friday night and goes until 8 pm Saturday night. Looking forward to this one! I got a whole bunch of yummy snacks. But realized I didn’t get much real food ha ha.

I have two different TBR piles. One is the books I am already reading and the other one is books I have not started yet. This is a VERY ambitious TBR and I probably won’t get through half of them. These are the books I have already started:

These are the books I want to read if I have time or DNF another book:

1:00 am

Well my body is telling me it is time to nap so I am going to listen! I finished my first book, The Housekeepers. It was a solid three star read. I also broke into my snacks. Ironically the popcorn was also three stars 🤣

I also got through about 60 pages of Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegmund-Broka. I am loving this book. I am a sucker for books set in a theatre setting whether they be YA or adult.

Total reading time: 4 hours 21 minutes

Pages read: 324

Audiobook Time: 0

Books finished: 1

11:00 am

Well I slept all night and woke up at 8 am which I probably needed so I won’t get close to 24 hours but that’s ok! I made my traditional Readathon cinnamon rolls and they were so good! Also, I totally GET the hype about this Lucy Score book. It is fantastic so far!

I am also reading a physical and audiobook of Lisa Scottoline’s new book, Loyalty. Lately I have been really enjoying reading books this way. Especially if I can get one or both of the versions from the library. When people ask me how I read so many books in a month this is a big reason why.

Total reading time: 7 hours 13 minutes

Pages read: 146

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Books finished: 0

5:00 pm

Well I took another nap. I am just so tired today but it’s ok.

Things We Never Got Over is so good. This is one of those books I have been putting off because I was afraid that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. But I am really enjoying it. It’s funny and has found family and the romance is so good. I love, love books set in a small town with a strong cast of side characters. I also ate the most amazing sea chocolate caramels. They are Target brand and wow they are amazing!

Total reading time: 10 hours 36 minutes

Pages read: 118

Audiobook Time: 0 hour 38 minutes

Books finished: 0

8:00 pm

Another successful Dewey’s in the books. It was a lovely day to read as it rained most of the day. I enjoyed it as I also got more sleep than usual!

I finished Always Never Yours and I loved this book so much. The Shakespeare theme was excellant in this one and I enjoyed the friendships and romance in this book as well.

Total reading time: 13 hours 14 minutes

Pages read: 177

Audiobook Time: 0 hour 58 minutes

Books finished: 1

Totals

Pages read: 765

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 56 minutes

Books finished: 2

Dewey’s Readathon April 2023

I wasn’t going to participate this time because I really feel like lack of sleep isn’t good for me these days. But I have decided to participate anyway with the knowledge that I won’t complete anywhere near the reading time I usually do. My goal is to finish up the (many) books I am currently reading and then start The Fourth Wing.

You can follow my journey on this blog. Also, just a side note I deleted my Twitter account so you can no longer find me there. I am on Instagram and BookTok as ReadingSusan.

12:00 PM

Four hours in! It’s been a lovely morning of reading. I am enjoying all the books I am reading. I am listening to and reading a print copy of Not the Witch You Wed. This is a funny supernatural tale about a witch and shifter and fake dating which is may favorite!

I am also reading the upcoming Riley Sager book The Only One Left. This one is creepy and atmospheric. Really enjoying it.

Total reading time: 4 hours 0 minutes

Pages read: 100

Audiobook Time: 2 hour 45 minutes

Books finished: 0

5:00 pm

I did take a nap at some point during this block of time because I was really, really tired. It’s been a long week!

I finished my first book, Lunar Love. This was a fun rivals to lovers book. I love the juxtaposition between traditional match making and a dating app. I do wish it hadn’t wrapped up so quickly.


It has been so wonderful having a relaxing Saturday reading and snuggling with my cat!

Total reading time: 7 hours 38 minutes

Pages read: 301

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Books finished: 1

10:30 pm

What a lovely evening of reading. I listened to classical music while it rained. It feels really peaceful and relaxing!

I finished The Only One Left by Riley Sager. This book was fantastic!! The atmosphere was so tense and the house was a character on its own. The multiple twists & turns were delightful! I really loved this one. This may be my favorite of his. This book will be released on June 20th.

I also finished Not the Witch You Wed by April Asher. I LOVED this witchy and supernatural tale! I really appreciate a book where all the magic is out in the open because magical secrecy can get kind of old. Violet and Linc are a delightful couple. I look forward to reading more books in this series! I may need to start the second one tonight.

Total reading time: 12 hours 54 minutes

Pages read: 330

Audiobook Time: 29 minutes

Books finished: 2

1:00 am

I think it is time I called it a night. My dog has been sick so I am sleep deprived this week so not able to try for the 24 hours this time.

My eyes got a little tired so I went and purchased the 1619 Project audiobook so I could switch it off with the print version I am reading.

I started the Fourth Wing ARC and wow it is fantastic. It comes out on Tuesday and I didn’t realize it was so soon. May 2nd is going to be a good day for new releases!

Total reading time: 15 hours 15 minutes

Pages read: 101

Audiobook Time: 35 minutes

Books finished: 0

6:00 am

It started storming really bad so I woke up to soothe my dog. And now I have two hours to read before the Readathon is over! I will check in and do a wrap up after it’s over!

Thankfully Reading 2022

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It’s one of my favorite times of the year! Thankfully Reading with Jenn’s Bookshelves and a bunch of readers. Instead of spending the weekend shopping or watching football it’s a time to relax and read. Although this year I plan to hit some local stores and especially the new bookstore in my small town!

Kick off time!

How will/did you celebrate Thanksgiving? This year my husband and I are hosting my mother-in-law at our house and I will run over to my parents to see my Grandma. Lots of food on the horizon!

  • What’s in your TBR pile for the weekend? I have a GIANT stack per usual.

These are the books I am currently reading plus I am reding an e-ARC of Alone with You in the Ether:

These are the books on my large TBR pile but per the usual this is subject to change based on mood. Plus I have a ton of romance ARCs I should start.

  • How much time do you think you’ll have for reading?

    I think this year I will have a lot of time to read. I didn’t schedule anything after Wednesday evening besides actual Thanksgiving.

  • Are you reading print, ebooks, or audio? Maybe a bit each?

    I am reading all formats!!

  • What books will you be talking about during Thanksgiving dinner? Probably talking about mysteries with my mother-in-law. And getting a list from her to take back to the library on Monday!

Happy reading y’all!

Wednesday

I was able to get some decent reading time in today. Not as much as I would have liked but I had a lot of photos to edit and I felt distracted most of the day.

I did finish The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks. This was a heartwarming and cozy book. Small town bookshop, MC searching for her purpose for the future, handsome love interest, and a town of quirky characters? Yes, please!

Wednesday Numbers

Pages Read: 301
Audiobook time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Books Finished: 1

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving. It was a great day full of food. My husband and I spent most of the day watching 1899 which I highly recommend.

Thursday Numbers

Pages Read: 142
Audiobook time: 2 hrs 12 mins
Books Finished: 0

Friday

Today was such a nice leisurely day! I edited photos, cleaned, ate left overs, snuggled with my fur babies, watched a movie but mostly read. It was one of those kind of days that you really need to rest and recharge.

I finished The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim. This book was SO good! It was filled with delightful characters. I really loved Zahra and her struggles between what she wanted and what her family wanted. This was a really heart tugging story but also funny!

I finally started Before I let Go by Kennedy Ryan. This is one of those books that I have been anticipating reading but didn’t want to start because I didn’t want it to be over. I read almost half the book today and it was so hard to put down. It is so good!

Friday Numbers

Pages Read: 515
Audiobook time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Books Finished: 1



Dewey's Readathon July 2022

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It’s time for another Dewey’s Readathon! This time it is the Reverse Readathon which starts Friday night at 8 PM and ends Saturday night at 8 PM. This works out so much better for me because of my job.

Here is my TBR pile!

11:50 PM

Well I am still going strong! I finished my first book, Poster Girl by Veronica Roth. I really enjoyed this dystopian thriller. It was so good. I would really like to read more set in this world.

My sweet dog is keeping me company while I read while the rest of the household sleeps.

I started an audiobook, The Couple at Number 9. And started another print book, Love & Other Disasters. Time for a cup of caffeinated tea. Earl Grey with blueberries!

Total reading time: 3 hours 50 minutes

Pages read: 300

Audiobook Time: 32 minutes 

Books finished: 1

2:30 am

I finished my second book, Love & Other Disasters. Well what a delightful book. I really enjoyed this one. Sometimes I don’t enjoy cooking show romances because they can focus too much on the boring aspects of the show instead of the romance. But this one worked really well. I enjoyed London and Dahlia’s story!

I think my dog is getting grumpy with me being downstairs when he is ready for bed. I am getting sleepy myself so I think I will try to sleep for a few hours.

Total reading time: 6 hours 29 minutes

Pages read: 196

Audiobook Time: 37 minutes

Books finished: 1

5:00 am

I slept for 2.5 hours. It was just the refreshing sleep I needed. Next up is Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin.

9:00 am

I had my traditional Readathon cinnamon rolls this morning for breakfast. Yum yum!

I am so glad I got a few hours of sleep because it has helped me concentrate today. I have enjoyed a morning of snuggling with my sweet cat.

I finished Wild is the Witch. And wow it was so good. I enjoyed Rachel Griffin’s first book but this one was even better! Definitely a five star read. I was on the edge of my seat reading Iris’ story. It was so adventurous and suspenseful.

Total reading time: 10 hours 28 minutes

Pages read: 275

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 29 minutes

Books finished: 1

2:00 pm

Having an enjoyable afternoon listening to my audiobook and reading the upcoming Jasmine Guillory book. I had a delicious charcuterie plate for lunch. Just plugging away but I sure could use a nap.

Total reading time: 15 hours 26 minutes

Pages read: 236

Audiobook Time: 2 hour 12 minutes

Books finished: 0

8:00 pm

And DONE! What a great Readathon. I had a great afternoon of snacks, animal snuggles and also my husband put together my new bookcase.

I finished Drunk on Love and it was delightful! It was 400 pages which is unusually long for a romance novel. But it really had some terrific character development. I started, but didn’t finish, Time of Our Lives by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka. I also didn't get a chance to finish my audiobook The Couple at Number 9 but I made it 455 through.

My dog with my new bookcase. All TBR books.

Total reading time: 20 hours 11 minutes

Pages read: 348

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 16 minutes

Books finished: 1

Wrap-Up

I really love the Reverse Readathon because it gets the night time hours which are the hardest for me out of the way early on. It’s much easier for me to stay up at the beginning. Plus it gives me Saturday night and all day Sunday to recover. Dewey’s was much easier when I was self employed and could make my own hours. I am happy that I managed to read for a little over 20 hours. I am glad I took my two naps. It was a good balance. I read four total books and read parts of two other books. All in all a very successful readathon. I am photographing my beloved cousins wedding in October so this is my last Readathon event of 2022! See you in 2023!

Total reading time: 20 hours 11 minutes

Pages read: 1,355

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 50 minutes

Books finished: 4

Bout of Books 32

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Bout of Books is almost here! What is Bout of Books?

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 16th and runs through Sunday, August 22nd in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 32 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

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I am in the middle of a bunch of books so I hope to get a lot of good reading time in. I need it after this truly difficult past week. I will check back in on Monday!

Monday

Good first day of reading! Mondays are usually depressing so it was nice to have something to be excited about. Of course I had to work but I read on my lunch break and when I got home.

I finished Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. It was so good. It was probably my favorite of her books so far.. I stayed up too late to finish it but I could not put it down. A tropical storm is headed this way so it’s supposed to pour tomorrow so I will be at work sad that I am not at home reading ha ha.

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Monday Numbers

Pages Read: 257

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 52 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Tuesday

What a day! I woke up at 3:30 to my phone saying there was a tornado watch and never went back to sleep. I drove to work in a monsoon tropical storm so it was quite an exhausting day.

I did get a little reading in even though I was pretty tired. I am listening to the an awesome podcast called Phoebe Reads a Mystery. She reads a chapter of a classic book per day. I am currently listening to The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I haven’t read this one before and I am really enjoying the mystery. Phoebe Judge has the best voice!

I am also reading When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles This is the sequel to where Dreams Descend which I really loved last year. This one comes out in October. I am not really enjoying it as much as the first one as it’s a little confusing but I suppose by the end it will all come together.

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Also, I just had to share a bookish purchase I received today. I am obsessed with tea of course and I get this monthly tea box called Communitea. You have one tea per day to open and enjoy. It’s a terrific way to try new teas but there is also a fun community aspect where you talk about tea and post photos of tea. So they had a pride and prejudice tea the other day that I enjoyed and I had to order a tin of it and look how gorgeous it is!!

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So altogether not a great reading day but hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Tuesday Numbers

Pages Read: 47

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 21 minutes

Books Finished: 0

Wednesday

Wow this has been quite a week. There is SO much going on and I feel so helpless to control any of it. I just can’t believe we are back in this mess. It feels like it is March 2020 all over again. Will it ever end? At least I have books to escape in. The only thing keeping me sane.

I am reading too many depressing books so I put them aside when I got home from work and started and finished Out of Left Field. It was a fun, light read.

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I just feel super discouraged and feel like life will never be the same again. My parents refuse to get vaccinated and I wonder what the future holds. My sweet dog snuggled with me tonight and I don't know how people who don’t have pets are functioning right now.

Wednesday Numbers

Pages Read: 412

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 33 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Thursday

Again I put all my other books aside and started reading what I thought would be a romance book. It Only Happens in the Movies was not a romance and it was sad in parts but I really enjoyed it.

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Thursday Numbers

Pages Read: 420

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 50 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Friday

Today was a tiring day. It was busy at work and I had to go out and get lunch so I didn’t have as much time to read. And when I got home I had to get ready for the wedding that I am photographing tomorrow so I mostly was able to get audiobook time in. I started a new book The Meet-Cute Project which I have been excited about reading. I also finally finished The Woman in White audiobook. Which I really enjoyed! I didn’t take any book photos today but here is a cute photo of my kitty. I probably won’t get very much reading done tomorrow because of the wedding but hopefully Sunday I will have more time.

Friday Numbers

Pages Read: 137

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 38 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Saturday

Just checking in really quick because it’s 11 pm and I am trying to recover from the wedding today. It was absolutely fabulous and I enjoyed it so much but I am exhausted! I didn’t have much of a chance to read since I was at the wedding most of the day but it was such spectacular day.

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Saturday Numbers

Pages Read: 85

Audiobook Time: 46 minutes

Books Finished: 0

Dewey's Reverse Readathon August 2021

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It’s time for the Dewey’s Reverse Readathon! With my job now this one is much easier to do this one than the regular one so I am super excited! I will be checking in throughout the evening. I did not pick out a TBR. I will go wherever the wind takes me!

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11:45 pm

It’s been a lovely day of reading. I just finished my first book, Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda. This was a wonderful thriller that kept me on my toes. I also enjoyed some delicious cookies & cream muddy buddies. Yum yum. Nice sugar rush!

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I also have had some good reading snuggles with my cat and dog. It’s a little cooler today so my dog actually laid in my lap while I read and petted him. I took my cat to the vet yesterday which was super dramatic so I will thrilled when she came out and cuddled with me.

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It’s nearing midnight and I am still pretty awake so I am going to start another book. I will check in later. I hope everyone is enjoying their readathon!

Total reading time: 3 hours 45 minutes

Pages read: 333

Audiobook Time: 23 minutes 

Books finished: 1

3:30 a.m.

I just finished Well Matched by Jen DeLuca. I really love this series and the acknowledgments made me tear up. It’s really emotional to read books that were written during 2020. I am hungry but I didn’t do a good job stocking snacks so I think I am going to head to bed. I had a nice cup of black tea at 1 a.m. but I don’t think that is going to keep me awake. I have also been listening to The Royal Correspondent audiobook and so I am going to let that send me to sleep.

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Total reading time: 7 hours 26 minutes

Total Pages read: 669

Total Audiobook Time: 41 minutes 

Books finished: 2

10:20 a.m

Well I woke back up at 7 after a nice nights sleep. I am sad that I forgot to get my traditional readathon cinnamon rolls so I had a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch instead.

I have had an enjoyable morning lazing around and reading. My bones were a little achy after reading all night so I had a nice long soak in the tub. I have a hair appointment this morning and then I am home for the rest of the day! Hopefully I will get more kitty snuggles!

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Total reading time: 10 hours 47 minutes

Total Pages read: 832

Total Audiobook Time: 2 hours 16 minutes 

Books finished: 2

4:30 p.m.

It’s been a terrific Saturday! I have to say the Reverse Readathon is so much more convenient to participate in. I went and got my hair done. I really wanted to read while she did my hair but I knew that would be rude ha ha. But I did read while my color was setting. I then walked around the Saturday market on the town square listening to my audiobook. It was lovely.

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I grabbed some sushi for lunch on the way home. It was so good.

So I finished The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins. Wow I hated this book. It was boring for 50% and then really ratcheted up and went into a very violent place. It left me with a really icky feeling. Luckily I have a very cute doggie to snuggle with.

Total reading time: 15 hours 23 minutes

Total Pages read: 1,032

Total Audiobook Time: 3 hours 4 minutes 

Books finished: 3

Wrap-Up

Well it was another great Readathon! The last four hours of my day were perfection. I actually went outside and read in the sun which was so nice as it has cooled down a little. I didn’t finish another book but I am almost done with The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley which I am really enjoying. I am happy with the amount of time I got to read! Already looking forward to the October readathon!

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Total reading time: 18 hours 46 minutes

Total Pages read: 1,207

Total Audiobook Time: 4 hours 48 minutes 

Books finished: 3

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon October 2020

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So excited it is time for Dewey’s Readathon again! There are over 640 people signed up so far! I am excited to read, eat and have an enjoyable Saturday/Sunday. I specifically blocked off this weekend months ago just so I wouldn’t plan anything else. HA HA HA just kidding we are in the middle of a pandemic and I am going only to work and home. Work and home. Work and home. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

What exactly is a 24 hour readathon you ask? Well basically I (because I am in the Eastern time zone) start reading at 8 am Saturday morning and finish at 8 am Sunday morning. You don’t actually have to read all 24 hours. You just read as much as you can. This is (I think) my ninth time participating in Dewey’s Readathon. To view all my other posts just click on the Dewey’s tag at the bottom of my post.

My goal during the readathon is to read as many hours as possible. I have a hard time staying up past 10 these days so it should be interesting. I have a ton of digital ARCs to read. I will probably have one print book, one Kindle book, and one audiobook going. This is such a stressful time right before the election. I have been spending my weekends text banking for Joe Biden so it was a real decision to make whether to give this time to Readathon. But I decided I needed it for self care.

So it’s the night before Readathon and I finally have my TBR picked out. Usually my TBR is ridiculously big and I pick and choose stuff in the moment. But it’s always too much. So this year I just picked a few different books and hope to finish at least one. The physical books are Dairy Queen, Anxious People, and Plain Bad Heroines. I am excited for all three books as they have been highly anticipated reads. I will be listening to The Ten Thousand Doors of January audiobook and my Kindle book is The Searcher. Hopefully all those will keep me occupied.

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I also got all my yummy snacks. I bought way too much per the usual but it’s nice to have options the day of! I am going to listen to some podcasts and then go to bed early. Talk to you all tomorrow!!

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7:50 a.m.

Almost time! I can’t wait! I am going to start off reading with Anxious People.

Opening Survey!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? The Dirty South!
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Dairy Queen. It’s an older book but I have heard so many good things about it so I have been anticipating reading it for months.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Really all of them but the garlic stuffed olives are really good!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I am a librarian, photographer and I live with my husband, cats and dogs in a very red part of the South which has been super difficult this year.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? I am planning on attempting to stay up all 24 hours this year. Usually I try to go for at least 21 but this year I will try for the whole thing.

I am also going to do the bingo board this year which I have never done before. Let’s go!

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11:30 a.m.

It’s been a good morning so far! I am little tired because I had a restless nights sleep and had weird nightmares.

So I am reading Anxious People by Fredrick Backman first. I am loving it so far. It’s funny, moving and I am enjoying all the different points of view and connecting threads.

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I made my traditional cinnamon rolls this morning. They were quite delicious even though I cooked them a little too long.

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I am also listening to the audiobook of Thousand Doors of January. This is an absolutely gorgeous book. The cover is stunning. When I am making breakfast and doing laundry I switch from my physical book to the audiobook so I can keep reading.

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I am currently reading in my cozy chair in our media room. It had the best lighting this morning. And I was so happy when my cat, Gherig came in and sat in my lap. He so very rarely sits in my lap anymore so it was a really special treat. It’s a little cool here today so I am just snuggled in my blanket reading. Very cozy!

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All right it’s time for lunch! I will check in later.

Total reading time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Pages read: 159

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes 

Books finished: 0

4:00 p.m.

My husband surprised me with sushi and cake for lunch! It was so delicious! I am reading The Searcher by Tana French. I love, love her books. I am enjoying this one so far.

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I finally finished my first book. Anxious People was so good! It was so beautifully written and a nice mesmerizing story.

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Are you able to read and listen to music at the same time? I have started doing that over the past seven months. I didn’t used to be able to do so. Today’s music is Eliot Bronson’s record, Empty Spaces.

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I am already deviating from my planned TBR. I have decided to read On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. I have had this book on my TBR pile for ages and I am already completely sucked in less than 100 pages in. I also am enjoying these amazing chocolate blueberries. They are so good!

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My little Trixie cat decided to join me for this portion of the readathon. She was being super cute so it was hard to concentrate on reading.

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Rawlings also wanted to get in some mommy time today. He doesn’t like readathons much because he really likes attention.

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Total reading time: 8 hours 0 minutes

Total pages read: 461

Total audiobook Time: 2 hours 54 minutes 

Books finished: 1

8:00 p.m.

Mid-Event Survey: 1. What are you reading right now? Listening to The Ten Thousand Doors of January, reading The Searcher and On the Come Up. 2. How many books have you read so far? 1. Anxious People. 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Dairy Queen 4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? No, my husband knows not to bother me today. He is watching movies while I read. 5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Not really anything.

10:00 p.m.

Well I am past the halfway point and still going strong. This is my normal bedtime so it may get rough soon but I have had three Cokes today :-)

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Still reading the same three books. On the Come Up is so enraging, I am fired up. It’s so good but also making me mad and frustrated. I am eating some Andes candies which are the perfect refreshing candy.

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I am almost at Bingo! I am realizing if you want to do the Bingo board you really have to plan out ahead of time. I guess I will have to find a non fiction book to read.

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Total reading time: 14 hours 0 minutes

Total pages read: 858

Total audiobook Time: 5 hours 32 minutes 

Books finished: 1

12:30 p.m.

I finished my second book, On the Come Up. Wow this is a must read book. Angie Thomas is such an amazing author and she always tugs at the heartstrings. Well, I am afraid that I am not going to be able to make it all 24 hours. I am so tired so I think I am going to have to go to bed/take a nap. Next Readathon I will take Monday off and then be able to stay up all 24 hours. Good night all!

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Total reading time: 16 hours 30 minutes

Total pages read: 1,014

Total audiobook Time: 6 hours 31 minutes 

Books finished: 2

6:20 a.m.

I had a wonderful nap/sleep from 12:30-4:00 a.m. I just couldn’t stay up all night and still enjoy my Sunday. All part of self care!

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I did take a long and relaxing lavender bath when I got up. I always enjoy my Readathon bath. It’s nice to soak after reading for hours. It helps keep away the stiffness. This readathon I tried to made sure I moved around a lot. I started Dairy Queen, which I have been looking forward to. I am having a little bit of trouble getting into it but with less than two hours left in Readathon looks like I won’t finish another book so I may start Plain Bad Heroines.

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Off to read some more. I will check in after Readathon ends. Happy reading!

Total reading time: 18 hours 57 minutes

Total pages read: 1,140

Total audiobook Time: 7 hours 20 minutes 

Books finished: 2

Wrap-Up

Well I didn’t quite make it to 24 hours but I am happy with my time and amount of reading and now my Sunday won’t be spent sleeping.

I didn’t finish another book but I did start reading Plan Bad Heroines. It is so good and I can’t wait to read more of it.

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I didn’t complete my Bingo Card but almost.

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All in all it was a great Pandemic Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon. Probably the best part about it was being surrounded by bookish people on social media. I loved seeing other stuff getting pushed off for just one day. Now back to it!

Total reading time: 20 hours 37 minutes

Total pages read: 1,241

Total audiobook Time: 7 hours 39 minutes 

Books finished: 2

24in48: The Social Distancing Edition

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Well things are just bizarre and out of body right now but honestly books are what will keep me sane. Thank goodness the crew at 24in48 Readathon have decided to remerge and host a Readathon this weekend. Read more here. I will also be posting on Listy and Instagram (Twitter is deleted from my phone so no updates there). My goal is to stay away from depressing and scary stuff and just tackle my TBR pile. I hope everyone is safe and socially distancing. I look forward to participating in this readathon.

Saturday

It has been a weird few weeks and so hard to concentrate on reading. So as a result I am a little behind in all my ARCs so my goal during this weekend is to catch up on all my ARCs that have already come out and get a week ahead. It really depends on how much I can read tomorrow. I didn’t get in as much reading today as I had planned but that’s because it is hard for me to concentrate. Other things keep grabbing my attention. That’s just the way of the world right now.

I am listening to Sense & Sensibilty on Auble. It is read by Rosamund Pike and I am really enjoying this version. I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I had read this book. I read Pride & Prejudice all the time.

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I am also listening to Take Me On by Katie McGarry. I have been working my way through the Pushing the Limits series on Audible Escape during my two month free trial. I am usually not the biggest fan of straight romance books but they are YA and usually have an interesting other element thrown in. She certainly likes her bad boys who have a secret soft side though. I do love that in fiction but not real life.

I finished The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian. It was a really good book. It dragged a little in the middle. Based on the synopsis you couldn’t really tell what it would end up being about and no spoilers but what unfortunate timing for it to be released last week. The cover is so gorgeous on this one.

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And then I finally started The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel. So let me tell you how much I loved Station Eleven. Until the end. Oh my god I was so upset when I got to the end. There was not the proper amount of closure, and she didn’t focus enough on the characters stories I loved. That book was on track to my favorite and the ending ruined it. So I went into this one clear eyed. I am really loving it. I love how she is able to write in so many different voices. I am truly sucked in. Let’s hope this one has a better ending.

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Saturday Totals

Pages read: 445

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 13 minutes

Books finished: 1

Hours read: 10 hours 40 minutes

Sunday

It was another good day for reading! I continued on listening to my two audiobook.

I finished The Glass Hotel. This book was so, so good. It was beautifully written. I could see all of this in my head as I read. She did such a wonderful job switching between all the characters. This was a book that swept me up in its world and made me forget it was a book. 

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Then I started and finished If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane. Never judge a book by its cover they say. Well I must admit I did judge this book by its cover. There has been a recent glut of these nicely illustrated romance books and I assumed that’s what I was getting. Which is fine. I enjoy those books and find them entertaining. But this book was so much more. It was heart wrenching and 20% in before you really even got to know one of the main love interests. I loved it. I love Laurie. I feel like I really emotionally suffered through this with her. I loved the feminism and diversity. This was a terrific book and I couldn’t put it down.

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Then I started When Panic Attacks: The New Drug-Free Anxiety Therapy That Can Change Your Life. My therapist recommended I read this book. The subtitle made me a little skeptical. I am usually wary of people who say drug-free or dismiss the use of medication. However, within the introduction he made it clear that education was a good thing and there are people who need it. So far I am reading and being like wow that’s me right there. It helps you feel less alone to know others feel the same way as you do.

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This was a wonderful reading day and a great end to the social distancing readathon.

Sunday Totals

Pages read: 581

Audiobook Time: 1 hour 24 minutes

Books finished: 2

Hours read: 9 hours 36 minutes

Wrap Up

This was a great little readathon. I couldn’t concentrate as much as I would have liked to. But I still read a lot of great books and enjoyed myself. I am looking forward to the next readathon hopefully in better circumstances.

Totals

Total Pages read: 1,026

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 37 minutes

Books finished: 3

Hours read: 20 hours 16 minutes