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

24in48 Winter 2017 Readathon

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I love the 24in48 Readathon! The premise of it is to read for at least 24 hours of a weekend. I enjoyed doing this last year. I thought I wasn't going to be able to do it this year due to other commitments but they all fell through so suddenly with one day before it starts I get to sign up! I have one photo session Saturday morning but other than that I plan to read, read, read. It is perfect timing as I want to escape from all coverage of the Darkest Day. I doubt I will be able to do 24 hours because of my photo session and I can't stay up all nigh but I will read as much as I can. I will keep this post updated throughout the readathon and I will also be updating on Litsy and Instagram at ReadingSusan. Not sure if I will venture back into Twitter but will definitely be on the other two. Happy reading everybody!

These are the books I am planning on choosing from during the readathon

These are the books I am planning on choosing from during the readathon

Saturday

2:30 pm

Wow it has been a great day of reading so far. I sadly ended up having to cancel my photo session because of really bad weather. We were under a tornado watch but luckily didn't get any tornados. But that left me plenty of time to read as the wind and rain howled outside.

I finally finished Carve the Mark which I started reading before the readathon began and I know that there was some controversy about the book but I really enjoyed it. I definitely liked it better than the last Divergent book. 

I am also listening to the audiobook Shrill by Lindy West. Such a great book! And a perfect book to read today thinking about feminism and empowering women. 

I also started The Comeback Season by one of my favorite young adult authors. It's also about baseball so that is awesome! I have pretty much been reading the whole day only taking occasional breaks to go on Twitter and enjoy all the Women's March posts. Today is the most hope I have felt since the morning of November 8th! 

Totals for this time block

Reading time: 6 hours 17 minutes

Pages read: 243

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes 

Books finished: 1

10:30 pm

I have been reading interspersed with breaks to check in on the different women's marches. So inspiring! It makes me so happy! I wish I could have participated. 

I finished The Comeback Season. It was good and I enjoyed it. I loved reading about the Cubs and the sadness of them never winning a World Series when they finally won last year. 

I started Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica. I always enjoy her books and this one seems like it is going to be another suspenseful one. I just wish the blurb on the front cover didn't give some of it away! I had a great evening reading and drinking a delicious rose while my husband made me dinner. I love weekends!

I also started reading Mandie and Holiday Surprise. As I said in My Bout of Books post a few weeks ago I have been rereading these holiday classics. It is amazing how I can remember whole passages from these books. I read them over and over as a child as they were one of the few series I owned. My cat Trixie (yes named after Trixie Belden!) has been extra snuggly today because she was so scared of the storm earlier. Looks like we will get more storms in the middle of the night and possible tornados. I hate this kind of weather.

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 5 hours 2 minutes

Pages read: 271

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes 

Books finished: 1

Just before midnight 

Well this is a quick update and Saturday wrap up. Since the last time I checked in  I finished my Mandie book and am close to finishing up the Shrill audiobook. I am also really starting to get into Don't You Cry although I feel like it took awhile to get the story going.  

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Pages read: 82

Audiobook Time: 19 minutes

Books finished: 1

I am pretty tired so I am not sure how much more I will read. We have strong storms on the way so if they fire up I may not be able to sleep. But hoping to get some sleep in before then. I was hoping to get at least 12 hours of reading in today and I got really close! I will check in tomorrow. 

Saturday Totals

Reading time: 11 hour 38 minutes

Pages read: 596

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 43 minutes

Books finished: 3

Sunday

10:30 am

I didn't sleep great last night as violent storms kept coming through so I listened to a little of my audiobook throughout the night when I would wake up. I finished Shrill. Wow what an excellent book. The online harassment Lindy West has had to put up with is ridiculous. I hate the whole oh it's the internet what do you expect argument. When did we stop being concerned about being decent people?

This morning I started the audiobook Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac about a 16 year old girl who hits her head and can't remember her life past age 12. I am really enjoying it so far. My husband made me biscuits for breakfast this morning which were so good. I am also still reading Don't You Cry. I am losing interest in it a little. My audiobook is far more interesting at this point. I hope to get at least 13 reading hours in today. I also want to spend some time with my husband so I don't know if that will happen. We shall see. Off to read more! 

 

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 3 hours 1 minute

Pages read: 62

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 11 minutes

Books finished: 1

3:30 pm

I have had a terrific and relaxing afternoon reading! It is so great just to be able to push everything else aside and read. 

I finished Don't You Cry. It was such a disappointment. I feel like nothing happened until the very end and I had already figured out most of the plot twists. And it felt like it took me forever to finish those last 200 or so pages.

I am really loving the Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac audiobook. It is so good. I think I need to go do some yoga while listening because my back is starting to get sore from too much reading. I had to take a long hot bath this afternoon. I also started Boy Erased A Memoir. I have been wanting to read this book for a long time.

We are under a tornado watch right now which stinks. I have huge tornado paranoia and anxiety about them so I am hoping to use books to distract me until 8 when it expires. But I am sure I will be watching the radar the whole time.

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Pages read: 149

Audiobook Time: 52 minutes

Books finished: 1

11:30 pm

Well it has been such an awesome day of reading! I started and finished the graphic novel Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Freefall. It was a great issue in that series. I really need the next one ASAP!

I also finished Folly's Bride #4 in the Brides of Montclair series. I love this series of books. I have been reading and rereading it since I was a teen. I made a delicious dinner of cracked pepper pork tenderloin and garlic green beans. 

Erased is a really hard book to read. It is terrible to read about gay conversion therapy. I thought I grew up in a really restrictive environment but the one in the book is way more extreme. I think this is a really important book to read.

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 5 hours 44 minutes

Pages read: 493

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 43 minutes

Books finished: 2

Sunday Totals

Reading time:  12 hours  25 minutes

Pages read: 704

Audiobook Time:  5 hours  46 minutes

Books finished: 4

Wrap Up! 

I had a terrific weekend reading. I am so happy I was able to do this readathon at the last minute, I also really enjoyed interacting with the wonderful bookish community on Litsy. I just made it to 24 hours. I can't wait until the next readathon. 

Readathon Totals

Reading time:  24 hours   3 minutes

Pages read: 1,300

Audiobook Time:   10 hours  29 minutes

Books finished: 7

24 in 48 Readathon

This was the first year I have done the 24 in 48 Readathon. The reason why I never did it before was because I thought it was 24 books read in 48 hours. Ha ha. Anyway the Readathon was July 24 & 25th. It was a really busy weekend for me of course. The weekend before and after I had nothing to do but that weekend was busy with photo shoots, movies with friends, plus Stranger Things 😃

I ended up reading 19 hours which was way more than I thought I would be able to when I signed up. I listened to 8 hours 24 minutes of audiobook and read 945 pages. I finished six books: The Walls Around Us, Unbreakable, The Mystery of 99 Steps, Champion, The Clue in the Crossword Ciper and Open Road Summer.

I had fun participating in this Readathon and will definitely do the next one. You can see photos I posted during the Readathon on my Instagram account.