This post is going to get updated all day, so check back here if you are interested in seeing how I fare throughout today’s Readathon. I’ll also be on twitter as @janicu.

8:00 am (Hour 0) – I am going to start off with Ben Loory’s Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day. I read until page 129 last night. This is a series of very short short stories which are a mix of the slightly horrific (because they end in a uncertain, but ominous way), or sweet, or just strange. I have hit a pocket of the stranger ones. And I have my coffee. Not really awake yet.

Introduction Meme
1)Where are you reading from today? Westchester County, NY
2)Three random facts about me…

• Since about 3 years ago, I watch the Tour de France every year because my husband is big into cycling (he’s working on his bike as we speak). My favorite cyclists are Thor Hushovd, Fabian Cancellara, and Jens Voight.
• I’ve never eaten a Twinkie. They look really unappealing. *makes face*.
• I first read Jane Austen after overhearing my (female) English teacher arguing  with my other (male) English teacher whether Austen was a great writer or not. I had to read this Austen myself and decide. Spoiler: Jane Austen is awesome, I don’t understand how Mr. Adams could say she isn’t!
  

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? A couple. I have a big TBR and the plan is to just stare at it and let my choice come to me.
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? Nope, winging it as usual.
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Take plenty of breaks and go outside at least once today. It will refresh you.

9:00 am (Hour 1) – now on page 170, but I really didn’t start reading till 8:45 since I was pottering with the blog and checking the readathon website. See how fast a read this is? Crazy fast.

11:00 am (Hour 3) – Finished Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day (last page – pg 210), spent some time figuring out what to read next and settled on A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn, which is a Sleeping Beauty retelling. I’m on page 66 of that. So in the past 2 hours I read 106 pages. Brings the running total up to 147.  Also – I took a break for food (2 samosas), but I think I’m still hungry. 🙂

1:00pm (Hour 5) – On page 212 of A Kiss In Time. Took a shower, and now in another pajama & T-shirt (Thundercats, FYI) outfit. And the awesome husband is bringing me food! A Kiss In Time is getting more interesting now that the story is past the set up stage and into the main characters spending time with one another. Running total this readathon is now @ 293 pages.

4:00pm (Hour 8 ) – Took an hour off for lunch. And just finished A Kiss in Time. Running total is now @ 453 pages.

7:00pm (Hour 11) – I have been taking a break for a bit – checking mail, doing dishes, eating dinner. So in the past three hours, I’ve started a new book but only gotten 50 pages into it. It’s straight fantasy but pretty fast moving.

9:00pm (Hour 13) – So I sort of spent more time reading Sword of Fire and Sea by Erin Hoffman, but my reading speed has sloooowwwed.  On page 88. So 30 pages in 2 hours. I don’t think it’s because I’m tired (I am a little, but not that much), but because this book has a smaller font, bigger pages, and I think that the writing is a little confusing. The world building in this one happens as you go along, and there’s a lot of me saying “what the hell does that mean?”. I also spent a bit of time just going to blogs to cheer.

11:00 pm (Hour 15) – I think I’ve entered official Procrastination Territory. I’ve watched tivo’ed shows (After the Runway) and just surfed the web. Tucked the Husband into bed (he’s waking up at 5am for a bike ride in MA). Read 26 pages. On page 114 of Sword of Fire and Sea. Maybe I need to switch books for a bit?

12:00 pm (Hour 16) – Ahhhhh!!! I’ve totally been procrastinating! Lollygagging on twitter.. staring at the TBR trying to figure out what book would be lighter fare. Also the kitty, who has slept for most of the day, has reached his peak awake time and has been .. well… bouncing off the walls and being a furry jackass. But I’ve chosen A Weekend with Mr Darcy by Victoria Connelly to read for the next bit.  It seems lighter reading that Sword of Fire and Sea at the moment, and the font is nice and big, and my eyes need big right now.

2:00 am (Hour 18) – Shockingly, I’m still awake. I’ve read another 106 pages. Switching to something lighter was a good idea. A Weekend with Mr. Darcy is set at a small Jane Austen convention, and there’s a lot of general Austen gushing amongst the characters. I think it would appeal to people who love being unabashed fans of Jane Austen (and of romance in general), because this book is very enthusiastic about defending these things. I’m digging the booknerdery. Running total = 673 pages.. Feeling tired though.

Pet Love mini-challenge

OK, I’m about to call it a night but then I saw the Pet Love minichallenge post on A Buckeye Girl reads. She asks if my pet has been a help or a hindrance. Um.. well most of the day, the cat has been sleeping next to me, but he has periodically woken up and wanted my attention and this required stabbing with claws and pulling things down and driving me slowly insane. So I can’t decide what to call this. Help? Hindrance? He’s a very complex.

He likes to get into my pictures when I try to take pictures of books. Also he HAS bitten my book covers. This does not please me.