In which Yours Truly wraps up her Read-a-thon thoughts and decorates them in jungle print with a pretty cat

I was going to steal the Readathon End of Event Meme from Amanda the Zen, but then I decided . . . nah. I'm too much of a free spirit to use a standard old form. Instead, I'll just chatter the way I usually do. This time, I'll chatter in list form.

So . . . Bookfool's Ending Summary of 24-hour Readathon Experience:

1. It was cool.

2. Finished - 3 books already in progress:

Why Our Decisions Don't Matter, ed. by Simon Van Booy

The Making of a Gentleman by Shana Galen

Dewey's Nine Lives by Myron & Witter

3. Read from cover to cover:

Fables: Legends in Exile

4. New reads started:

Why We Need Love, ed. by Simon Van Booy

Detectives Don't Wear Seat Belts by Cici McNair

The Puzzle King by Betsy Carter

5. It would have been helpful to read the instructions a little more thoroughly; I didn't have a clue what the mini-challenges were about because I threw myself in so last-minute that I didn't bother to read about them. Silly Bookfool.

6. I am seriously ADD.

7. Cats are the bestest best reading companions, ever.

8. Next time, I'm stocking up on healthy snacks in advance.

9. There will be a next time.

10. I had as much fun taking cat photos as I did reading, but that's par for the course.

11. The reading was awesome. My goal was pretty much to finish those 3 books and start some new ones. I didn't care about page count.

12. If you pressed me, I'd estimate my page count was somewhere in the 4-500 range, but that's really just a S.W.A.G. (Scientific Wild-A**ed Guess).

13. Cave-in time: Approximately 01:00 Hours

Cat proximity at time of horizontalness: Fiona nearby; Isabel in her room for the night

Sense of satisfaction upon collapse: 10/10

Easily satisfied? Well, yes. But, I did meet my mental goal.

14. Because you can't end with 13 or certain people will get freaked out.

14 1/2. Next time I'll give something away and keep track of pages for donation purposes. I forgot about both and I always have plenty to share. Since I had no specific plan, the ASPCA is getting a donation because my cats have me thinking about the work they do to save animals.

I might just keep a single, running update post like Amanda did, next time, also. I'll ponder that for a few months. Hope everyone's having a super weekend! I do believe I'm going back to bed, now.

9:03 PM or it would have been if my stupid computer wasn't freaking out

<---Laziest cat on the planet.

<---Also, I finished Fables: Legends in Exile.

I don't read that slowly. But, I am certainly discovering that I'm not the type to sit and read all day long. It's amazing how many things there are to distract a gal who doesn't like to sit still.

Also, I like to study the illustrations in a graphic novel. I don't just read, glance and flip. But, geez, it was only 119 pages.

How are you doing?

6:16 PM Avoidance Technique Report

Avoidance: My specialty (at least, after 8 hours of attempting to read on a somewhat continuous basis).

I actually spent nearly two hours not reading, during which I:

1. Cooked and ate something decidedly low in nutrition, high in fat and very tasty

2. Opened the window and waved a plastic bag beneath the smoke detector to get it to shut up because apparently the oven is in desperate need of a cleaning.
3. Fed the kitties some Kitty Crack, aka "Fancy Feast".
4. Played laser tag with both furballs.
5. Danced to the On the Rocks (University of Oregon's a cappella all-male choir) rendition of "Bad Romance".
6. Replied to several email and Facebook messages.
7. Collected on my Mafia Wars properties (it's an illness).
8. Visited a few blogs to see who is Read-a-thon-ing because I neglected to put a link in my sidebar.
9. Watched a video of Kiddo and Girlfriend on a ride at the state fair (I'm guessing Girlfriend's scream is soprano).
10. Dashed out to say, "Hello!" to Kiddo and Husband upon their arrival.

I'm sure there's more. I did, however, manage to finish reading Why Our Decisions Don't Matter, edited by the delightful and dapper Simon Van Booy, once I finally became aware of the clock thingie and how it had continued to tick on without my knowledge.

And, then I played "Stuff On My Cat," as you can see. What's next? Hmm, think, think. I only have one book remaining that is in progress: Nightshade by Andrea Kremer. If it doesn't beg me to read it, when I return to my pillowy reading throne, I shall lop off its head. I mean, I'll decide what to read next when I get there. I'll eventually let you know. Obviously, I'm addicted to updating. And, possibly becoming even weirder than normal. Scary.

2:39 PM - Two down and where's the food replicator when you need it?

I'm not actually counting hours or minutes of reading, eating, goofing off playing Mafia Wars (blush), etc., but the last few hours were definitely rougher than the first few because I went all ADD and did a lot of jumping up and down to do other things, got diverted by crazed cats and stopped briefly to eat some salmon with capers that my lovely husband cooked for me.

When I finally resumed reading, the kitten marched right in and hopped back onto the bed. Fiona really wanted a playmate but finally ended up curled up near a sunny window on Kiddo's bed after nobody cooperated. We had some interesting moments during which Izzy played "feet attack" and chewed on the blanket but then, wham, she ran out of gas and fell asleep. Apart from squirrels scampering across the roof and a bird climbing on the window screen, it's been pretty darned quiet around here - very conducive to reading (or napping, but fortunately I haven't felt sleepy since the salmon).

I've just finally finished my second book, Dewey's Nine Lives -- a very fun read about cats who have made a difference in the lives of their humans. What's next? Umm, a little scrounging in the kitchen? Why does reading all day make a girl so hungry? After I dig up a snack, I'll start in on whatever grabs me. I think probably Simon's book, Why Our Decisions Don't Matter. I've been dragging out the reading of that one because I love it so much, but I still have Why We Need Love waiting, so it'll be good to move on.

This is so much more fun than housework or cleaning a garage. ;)

10:55 and I feel like a slug . . .

. . . but I'm having fun read-a-thoning. A literal pain in the neck convinced me it was time to get up and stretch. I've been reading Dewey's Nine Lives by Vicki Myron for the past couple of hours. I've got at least another 100 pages to go and I was yawning and aching, so I got dressed and whined at my husband, who promptly offered to fix me a coffee. Aww, how sweet is he?

Isabel has continued to keep me company, lolling around on the bed after a good 5 minutes of tail chasing that probably did some serious damage to the blanket. You can tell I don't care. It's just a blanket. We only use them for about 3 months a year, anyway. Fiona returned to my desk chair after we all had our morning snack (Me: cheese & onion sandwich; Cats; Iams chunky stinky stuff). The kitty girls are playing chase, now.

I'm enjoying Dewey's Nine Lives immensely and excited at the thought that the read-a-thon may free me up to start an entirely new set of books. I think the coffee is working. Was just a little worried that we might be headed toward nap-a-thon territory. Also, I think my seriously introverted husband is really, really enjoying the lack of chatter. He'd already warned me he was going to be in need of some recharging time, so this is great for both of us.

Back to reading!

8:44 AM and all's well

It's 8:45 (time just keeps on ticking into the future) and I have finished reading The Making of a Gentleman by Shana Galen. I hope I wasn't supposed to keep track of pages because that didn't occur to me, although I'd guess there were about 75 or so. Very sexy book, adventurous and with a satisfying ending.

Next up . . . not sure, but something from the sidebar or Fables. I'll figure that out after I have a snack, if I can find anything. I came into this so late that I didn't think to go shopping but those Mini Wheats just didn't do it for me.

Little Isabel, whom I often call "Tiny" (although she's up to a whopping 3.5 pounds) has joined me in the bedroom and Fiona is hogging my computer chair, so I'm perched uncomfortably on the edge for this update. She doesn't seem to mind sharing the chair. Told you she's a sweetie pie. Off to forage in the kitchen.

Good morning!

I completely forgot Fiona Friday, so here you go. A quick shot. I may post another pic, later, but there's nothing like a cat by a kimchi pot in the morning to get you fired up.

It's 6:42 am and dark as night in my home territory. I've fed the cats, eaten my Frosted Mini Wheats (dry - I confess, I am too shattered to pour water into a bowl to make oatmeal) and I'm preparing to start reading in approximately 17 minutes. I'll be starting with The Making of a Gentleman by Shana Galen because I'm enjoying it so much that I want to finish it!

More later! Happy reading to all!!

24-hour Read-a-thon - I'm signed up!

Would you believe that in over 4 years of blogging I've never signed up for a Read-a-thon? They've always appealed to me, since way back when our beloved Dewey came up with the concept -- and I've participated casually (without signing up) in the past. But, till last spring I had swim meets and other events that interfered.

This year: Kiddo's coming home for the weekend and hubby wants to clean the garage "while it's cool". However, it shot up to 88 degrees, today, so maybe I can get away with hiding in the bedroom to read. We'll see.

I don't have any books specifically set aside. My goal is to finish the three four books I'm currently reading and I also hope to read Fables: Legends in Exile, the first of the Fables graphic novels. After that . . . whatever grabs me, if I find the time. I will not go without sleep, so it'll probably be more like a 12-hour read-a-thon, at best. I've got hints of a sinus infection that's making my eyes puffy and sore, so I just can't do without the sleep. But, I'll keep you posted on what I manage to read.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to the Canadians!!