Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Hour 10

Hour: Hour 10
Currently Reading: 
                                                  
Pages Read Since Last Update: 60
Total Pages Read: 168
Time Read Since Last Update: 44 minutes
Total Time Read: 2 hours, 48 minutes
Comments: It's been a few hours since my last update! I ended up visiting/commenting on a few other Readathonners blogs, and then my family and I got outside and took our dog for a walk. My younger brothers and I ended up stopping by our Grandparents house to play some card games and eat some ice cream, so that was nice. I've started my second book of the Readathon -- a reread of The Penderwicks in Spring! Because it's Middle Grade, it's a bit faster and easier to read so hopefully I'll be able to read it all today! That would be nice!

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Hour 6

Hour: A bit past Hour 6
Currently Reading Just Finished:

                                   
Pages Read Since Last Update: 56
Total Pages Read: 164
Time Read Since Last Update: 38 minutes
Total Time Read: 2 hours, 03 minutes
Comments: It's been a good morning so far! I just finished my first book of the Readathon -- One Dark Throne. Granted, I had started reading it before the Readathon began, but the conclusion was hooking and I had difficulty setting it down -- even for my breakfast (which was waffles with syrup, yum!) (Also, for those interested, I finally figured out the scholarship thing so looks like I'm keeping it after all. Phew!) I'm going to write up a quick review on Goodreads and then dive into my second book of the Readathon. 

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Hour 5

Hour: Hour 5
Currently Reading:

                                   
Pages Read Since Last Update: 72
Total Pages Read: 108
Time Read Since Last Update: 53 minutes
Total Time Read: 1 hour, 24 minutes
Comments: I'm so happy with my progress for the Readathon so far! The book is so engaging and I'm almost at the end. It's too bad the next book in the series isn't out yet, because I would be perfectly willing to marathon all of them! I've been curled up in my blankets this morning, very cozy as I read this, but I'm rather hungry and I think I hear breakfast cooking downstairs so I'm going to go eat a bit (and maybe figure out my scholarship) before I come back to finish this novel!

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Hour 3

I woke up earlier than I have in past years, at least (about 6:45am-ish, to be precise). I've gotten some reading done already, so I feel like I'm off to a good start?

Hour: Three-quarters past Hour 3.
Currently Reading:

                                   
Pages Read Since Last Update: 36
Total Pages Read: 36
Time Read Since Last Update: 31 minutes
Total Time Read: 31 minutes
Comments: I actually wasn't expecting to wake up so early -- I didn't set an alarm or anything, but hey, I'll take the extra reading hour or so! It's nice to get some reading done before my family wakes up, when it's still the quiet hours of dawn. I'd already started One Dark Throne -- I was on Page 286 when I began, so I've only got about 100 pages of it left. Maybe I'll even finish it this morning? We'll have to see. Either way, things are really picking up in this book and I'm excited to launch myself back into this world of Queens, betrayal, love, and murder!

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Opening Meme

Hello, hello everyone! It is currently Hour 3 of the biannual Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon. I've participated in every April Readathon since 2015, and I'm excited to carry on this tradition today!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I'm in Oregon, the United States.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?I'm actually really excited to finish my current book -- One Dark Throne, by Kendare Blake. Though I also have a reread of The Penderwicks in Spring and a first read of Into The Dim that I'm planning on as well!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?I don't really have any snacks planned out ahead of time, so I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!I don't really have very much to say! (Although I will mention that I'm currently very stressed about a certain scholarship that I might be losing... #yikes.) 

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?Last time, I just read one big book the whole time. Today I'm planning on reading a couple of different books, which is exciting.

That's it for this little opening post! I'm very excited to continue reading, since I have (surprisingly) already gotten a little done this morning.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Readathon!

Life, Reading, Writing, Learning

Hey, everyone! I haven't really caught up on things for the last... several months now. But here I am, back again! I'm actually going to split this post into four separate parts because I just want to catch up on what I've been up to in all sorts of areas!

LIFE

• I don't actually have many life updates what life? :P but my most exciting news is that I'm going to see Hamilton with my best friend tomorrow! This is something we've been looking forward to for a very long while, and I never stop being obsessed with this musical. It's going to be so great to see it live on it's national tour!

READING

• I recently finished Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mendel. And... I actually really liked it? I'm always a bit wary going into post-apoctyliptic style books, just because they sometimes end up making me a bit anxious (whoops) or a bit exasperated (also whoops), but this one felt so realistic, and I loved the structure a lot. 
• Currently, I'm reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I've been wanting to read this for awhile, and so far I'm really liking it! The writing is really nice and witty, and there have been points that made me stop just to think: wow, that was smart. 

WRITING

• ...Hasn't been happening much lately. I won November's NaNoWriMo but didn't finish my book. I'm going to hopefully finish it this April... hopefully. I'm such a procrastinator, and these characters are so close to my heart that getting even close to halfway through the series is sad dfghjk. 

LEARNING

• I've been learning some languages recently! I've been learning Spanish for four years now through school, French through three also through school, and then I recently picked up Italian using the Duolingo app. 

I know it's not much of an update, but just wanted to let anyone who still reads this blog know that I'm still alive and well! (Also stay tuned for future updates... specifically, a "What I'm Watching Pt. 2" and of course, my annual Dewey's 24-Hour-Readathon updates!!)

Until next time, happy reading!

September & October | Reading Wrap Ups

Okay, this is a bit late, but here are my wrap ups for the books I read in September and October! I read 10 books between these two months, which is quite a lot for me, honestly.

SEPTEMBER

1. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park - This was a Historical Fiction that took place in 12th Century, South Korea, which is a time period (and honestly I think a place?) I haven't read about before, so that was really cool. I actually liked the simplicity of the writing style, it made the story seem like a fable, almost? I liked the characters and their development, and the relationships between them. 
2. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway - My mom was a big fan of Hemingway. I, however... am not. Apparently. I'M SORRY. I didn't really feel a connection to any of the characters or anything. It wasn't my least favorite classic, but it was very far from being my favorite. Maybe I actually would have enjoyed it more if I had read it for school? Cool title, though. 
3. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige - I really enjoyed the setting of this book. It was creepy, eerie, and positively dripping with the horror promised by many a reviewed. The Wizard of Oz is one of my all-time favorite movies, so seeing Danielle Paige's twist on it was fascinating. There was something very cinematic about this book. The writing style wasn't my favorite (I'm not sure why exactly, it just didn't click with me) but I did grow fond of the characters and plot enough to make up for what I felt the writing style lacked?
4. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall - I try to reread this book every year. It's a middle grade book about four sisters and their single father and their dog named Hound and just. Reading it makes me so happy. This was my seventh re-read of it, and it was just as pleasant as always.
5. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall - Another reread. I had some different feelings on this one than I have had before, but they're kind of difficult to put into words. Before, this had been my second favorite and I think I still stand by that? 
6. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - This is a thriller with an unreliable narrarator. It was quite popular a couple of years back, but like always I'm hopping on the train (*finger guns*) later than everyone else. The first half was rather slow, but the last third of the book was so gripping and intense that I couldn't put the book down! To me, it was worth sticking with it. 

OCTOBER

1. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall - The Penderwicks reread continues! This is usually my least favorite, but I liked it more than I remember liking it. (Though, to be fair, I doubt I could ever dislike a Penderwicks book. They're too precious for me to dislike them.)
2. Esta Noche en el Titanic by Mary Pope Osborne - Yes, a reread of Magic Tree House. But this time, in Spanish! 
3. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - ...Okay, here we go. Unpopular opinion time, but I didn't really enjoy this book at all? It was another cool title, but another case of can't-connect-with-the-characters. I felt like this had been marketed as a creepy, horror, thriller case, but it ended up being a romance. Which is fine if you like romance! But... I just didn't like this one. Some of it felt kind of cliché, as well, which is also fine but in this case I wasn't a fan.
4. Lair of Dreams (The Diviners #2) by Libba Bray - My Goodreads review (linked) is very long and has very in depth thoughts/gushing but WOW I LOVED THIS. It was such a worthy sequel to the Diviners. It had everything I love in it, too? Diverse and wonderful characters, 1920s setting, romances that didn't feel forced (my ship sailed yes), a fascinating and thrilling mystery, and a writing style that kept me turning pages long into the night. (It was 4am and I kept telling myself "just one more chapter...")

TOP THREE

My top three favorite books of these ten (only counting one Penderwicks book, hehe) were... 

• The Penderwicks
• The Girl on the Train
• Lair of Dreams 

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Closing Survey

I'm actually posting this before I retire to sleep! The questions are changed up a bit from last year, which is fun. Without further ado, here is my 'closing survey'!

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
I was visiting family for six hours in the middle there, so those were probably the 'most daunting' just because I didn't get much reading done then. Nor did I get much reading done around the Hours 15-17 range, since I was watching movies with my family. But as for tiredness, I think Hour 22 was when it hit me the hardest.

2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read!
Not a very impressive list as I didn't even make it through one book. I did however read a good chunk of Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray!

3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners?
I have a Goodreads shelf dedicated to books I just couldn't put down -- here it is!

4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you smile?I can't think of anything off the top of my head. I always am really impressed by the organization of the event and the mini-challenges hosted every hour.

5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep?
I'm very likely to participate again! It's become something of a tradition for me. I hosted one hour of discussion on Goodreads, if that counts, but I'm not sure how much I'd actually be able to help with!

And, as always, my final stats...
Total Pages Read: 455

Total Time Read: 7 hours, 10 minutes

Total Blog Posts: 10

Total Mini-Challenges Participated In: 2

Thank you to everyone who helped put on this event! It's so amazing that this is the ten year anniversary. Despite my distractions throughout the day, I'm really pleased with my progress and I had a really fun time. Here's to another ten years! 

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Hour 24

Hour: Hour 24.
Currently Reading: 

Pages Read Since Last Update: 173

Total Pages Read: 455

Time Read Since Last Update: 2 hours, 32 minutes

Total Time Read: 7 hours, 10 minutes

Comments: And... that's a wrap for me, honestly. I technically still have about 45 minutes to read, but it's 4:15am in my time zone, and I'm just impressed I've managed to stay up this late! I participated in two mini-challenges, but other than that, I've just been reading, reading, reading! I'm about two-thirds of the way through Lair of Dreams and I'm pretty content with that. I've greatly enjoyed the characters, setting, and the ambiance of the novel so far and I'm sure I'll continue to do so! I hope everyone had a great Readathon and got plenty read! I know I had a good time.

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Hour 21

Hour: Hour 21.
Currently Reading: 

Pages Read Since Last Update: 65

Total Pages Read: 282

Time Read Since Last Update: 1 hour, 01 minutes

Total Time Read: 4 hours, 38 minutes

Comments: I participated in an hour-long reading sprint on Goodreads, which was good! And I really am enjoying the book, even if I'm beginning to feel progressively more sleepy as the hours go on... I'm going to try to power through this hour at least, and then perhaps I'll go to sleep. We'll just have to see! It's 1:00am over here in my time, so I think I'd deserve a bit of rest, hehe.