This page contains enriched content visible when JavaScript is enabled or by clicking here. FolioFiles
 

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon, Fall 2019

Written by Kirsten on October 26th, 2019

Well that’s one way to spend a chunk of readathon: tracking down and fixing a malicious redirect, wheeeee! Now, on to the intro post I started in Hour 1 :)

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? South Portland, Maine
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I just picked up Markus Zusak’s latest, bridge of clay, and I’m certain it’s going to be exquisite.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I had a dozen oysters from my CSA delivered, so those will be a treat later today sometime.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I’m a Frances Perkins scholar, which is the program for non-traditional students at Mount Holyoke College, and I’m going to school full-time for the first time in my adult life. It’s pretty wild!
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’m going to use the energy of readathon to hopefully propel me through a significant chunk of the 235 page book I need to have read by next week’s medical anthropology classes rather than solely indulging in pleasure reading, which is what I typically do.

Hope everyone’s reading is off to a great start!

 

10 books/10 years

Written by Kirsten on October 22nd, 2017

Lets see if I can bang this out in 15 minutes, shall we??

2007: Water for Elephants

2008: The Mysterious Benedict Society

2009: Soulless

2010: Room

2011: Ready Player One

2012: The Song of Achilles

2013: The Scorpio Races

2014: Texts From Jane Eyre

2015: Uprooted

2016: When the Moon Was Ours

2017: The Stolen Child

And DONE!

 

 

 

Readathon, October 2017

Written by Kirsten on October 21st, 2017

And here we are again, readathoners. My weekend is quite full so I won’t be participating at my usual level, but I’ll be listening to audiobooks from now until around 5p, so 1/3 of the day is better than none, right??

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I’m starting out at home in Portland, Maine, and will be driving to Stoughton, Massachusetts (Ikea run!) and then Wellesley, MA this afternoon/evening.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I haven’t even made a stack for this RAT, I’m just going to keep at books I’m currently reading. I’m really into The Hate U Give on audio right now.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I didn’t RAT grocery shop, either! Who even AM I?!? But, I made homemade sauce and fresh pasta this week and will probably have some for breakfast in a minute here because why not?
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I’m 37, live with my 19yo brother and two spoiled cats, am a part-time student, volunteer for multiple LGBTQ+ organizations, work for LibraryThing (it’s the best!), and this is my NINTH year participating in Dewey’s Readathon, holy shit. Here’s my first RAT post from back in 2009.
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’m not going to be as present as usual, nor as stationary, so I’ll probably be mostly engaged on Litsy @GlitterFemme), Instagram (@GlitterFem), and Twitter (@Glitter_Fem) and probably won’t get to many, if any, challenges.

Happy reading, everyone, and best of luck in reaching your goals!

 

Readathon, April 2017

Written by Kirsten on April 29th, 2017

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Portland, ME, USA
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

I didn’t really make a book stack since I was away for most of the week and basically had time to either do that or get snacks. I do have Alif the Unseen which I’ve heard great things about, and a few comics I’ve been wanting to get to for ages: Paper Girls 1&2, Bitch Planet, and March.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

They’re all pretty standard fare around here since I work from home and am more of a grazer than a meal person. But, I did whip up some pasta alfredo last night and got some shrimp for today, so that’s going to be yummy 😊
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I’m 36, a full-time employee of LibraryThing, a part-time student, and sister-mom to my 19 year old brother. I read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy and YA lit, particularly anything LGBTQIA. I’m joined today by my two spoiled cats, who are extra needy after me being gone for a few days!
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’ve gotten to a point where I pretty much know how this is gonna go, and I’m happy with it. I read as much as I can, sleep at least 3-5 hours (got in half of that this morning, oops!), and enjoy getting to know some new folks on social media.

Happy reading, all!

 

Baby shower!

Written by Kirsten on April 12th, 2017

 

Readathon October 2016, mid-point meme

Written by Kirsten on October 22nd, 2016

dewey day and night

As I anticipated, Readathon happening during midterms (besides the whole having two jobs thing) has meant less reading than I would like, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

1. What are you reading right now? The Invoice by Jonas Karlsson and listening to The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
2. How many books have you read so far? Completed one, Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? It’s probably between Nimona and The Illuminae.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I’ve put in about 3.5 hours of work, half an hour of homework, and two hour-long naps. Due to aforementioned midterms, I got 2-4 hours of sleep each of Thursday and Friday nights, so I’m really asking a lot of my brain to stay engaged. But, my brain is obviously as excited as I am to read for fun, so we’re getting by.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Despite the addition of Litsy to my RAT social media rotation, I’ve spent much less time checking out what others have shared than I have reading, probably for the first time. I think this too is related to the fact that I have been looking forward to this with so much anticipation since I can’t justify pleasure reading when there are things I really need to be doing instead.

That said, time to get back to work while attempting to continue my listen!

 

Readathon October 2016, opening meme

Written by Kirsten on October 22nd, 2016

introductionmeme

Opening Meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Portland, Maine
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I’ve had The Invoice stuck in my head ever since I read the first chapter before it was released; I think it’s going to be a good one.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I didn’t meal/snack prep as well as I usually do, but I made a fish chowder a few days ago that is gonna be delish when I warm it up later, especially on this grey, rainy day.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I’m a part-time student again as of this fall, so I am REALLY excited to be reading for pleasure today!
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? Differently: I’m pretty sure I’m going to sleep more. I’m most looking forward to not doing any homework 😊

Happy readathon-ing, everyone!

 

Wrap it up

Written by Kirsten on April 24th, 2016

dewey day and night

  1. Which hour was most daunting for you? The first one! I had an impromptu night out with a friend I’d not seen in far too long, and it turned into quite the revel. Oops.
  2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I love a quick and fun middle reader/YA title to start things off, and also to give me a little boost toward the middle-end. A few I’ve been able to blaze through during RAT are From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler; The Little Prince; A Wrinkle in Time series; and anything by Jerry Spinelli.
  3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season? I think the organizers do a great job, especially considering how much RAT grows each time around. It would be great if the internet would come up with some way of aggregating #readatahon posts across platforms, but that’s not on the readathon team :)
  4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The facebook group was a huge hit! I also was glad of an opportunity to connect with more folks on Litsy.
  5. How many books did you read? I finished one I’d already been reading, listened to two (complete but short) audiobooks, finished two comic collections, and got 150 pages into another book.
  6. What were the names of the books you read? The Dream Thieves, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew, Saga Vol 1, Saga Vol 2, and Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer.
  7. Which book did you enjoy most? I ran out at 10:30pm to purchase Saga vols 2-5 when I’d gotten 3/4 of the way through vol 1, so I’d say that wins.
  8. Which did you enjoy least? None of them, actually – it was a good bunch :)
  9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Oh I’ll participate for as long as it happens. I’ll be in school this fall so I’ll probably stick with just being a reader, but I do try to do a bit of unofficially cheering throughout the event.

Thank you to our organizers, co-hosts, mini-challenge hosts, and cheerleaders, and I hope our new folks had a wonderful experience and will join us again in October. Happy reading, all!

 

Mid-readathon check-in

Written by Kirsten on April 23rd, 2016

dewey day and night

1. What are you reading right now? Listening to The Magician’s Nephew and reading Saga Vol 1
2. How many books have you read so far? 1 full book finished, one partial book completed
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Nimona still!
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Not really, since I listen to audiobooks when I can’t read
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Nothing really, pretty standard (awesome) readathon day here!

Haven’t been following social media too terribly much, not sure why? but am enjoying the reading and general quiet of the day.

 

Opening meme: April 2016 Readathon

Written by Kirsten on April 23rd, 2016

introductionmeme

I’m late to the party because I’ve been listening to an audiobook all morning and only just came to the computer for the first time today, but here we go catching up on mini-challenges and such.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Portland, Maine
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I can never answer this! Maybe Nimona?
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I made fresh pico last night and that smelled divine when I opened the fridge just now, so that’s top of the list
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I just found out this week that I’ve been selected to receive a scholarship from a local LGBT business association: I’m going back to school in the Fall!
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? Today I will… not blog until hour 6? That wasn’t on purpose, though…

Almost through my first book, The Horse and His Boy on audio. After that, I think I’ll probably finish The Dream Thieves. Happy reading, all!