Social Distancing Readathon #82 - October 8 - 10

Welcome to another readathon!

We generally run from Friday at 5 p.m. to Sunday at midnight in whatever time zone you choose, but feel free to start earlier on Friday and wrap up overnight Sunday/Monday, if that's what you want to do.

Here are some things to track throughout the weekend, if you choose:

Books read from:
Books finished:
Time reading:
Time posting:
Snacks:
Thoughts:
Non-book activities:

Total books finished:
Total read from:
Total time reading:

Who is participating -

1. SilverWolf (SilverWolf28) -- Tennessee, USA
2. PawsforThought -- Sweden
3. Benita (benitastrnad) -- Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
4. Lynda (Carmenere) -- Cleveland, Ohio, USA
5. Chris (ChrisG1)

I’m going to do my best to not just say I’m in, but actually read.

I’m in Sweden, as always.

I will be reading this weekend but won't be online much. It will be another busy weekend for me, but I plan on checking in as often as I can do so. This has become a weekend "thing" for me.

I'm in. I'll be doing a re-read of Mexican Gothic for my library book group which meets this coming Monday among other books that I've not decided on at this point.

I'm in again. Just finished a couple of books and am about to start The Rosewood Casket by Sharyn McCrumb and Best American Short Stories 2012 , Tom Perrotta, Editor.

I'm in- I have a quiet weekend and can get some reading done!

I'm in.

Currently reading Correspondents by Tim Murphy for book club next week.

I will be reading some this weekend. I need to finish At Home on the Range for a book club meeting Sunday night. I'd also love to finish The Cutting Season so I can move onto another Overdrive checkout that I likely won't be able to renew when it expires.

Once again I have a pile-up of a dozen library books to finish and return . . Must read faster!
I'll be reading all weekend. Happily, no obligations! I have my niece's dog for the weekend but he's no trouble. And I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup yesterday so dinner is set!

I'll be back. To prevent me from going stir crazy.

Friday evening update

Books reading from: I have about 5 pages left in Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt, maybe this will be the weekend when I finish it. I am listening to Last Girls by Lee Smith. I started Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby by Candida R. Moss and am almost 100 pages into it for the nonfiction Heroes & Villain's challenge for October.

Books finished in the last week: Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe for one of my book discussion groups and because I had to get it through ILL and it is due back October 15. Throwaway Children was a chunkster and I have managed to read it in a week.

Time reading: I only managed 1/2 hour today during lunch.
Time posting:
Food: pasta salad, left-over hummus, and grapes.
Thoughts: I will be making a weekend trip so I should get two books listened to this weekend. This should help me catch up and stay current with my book discussion groups.

Non-book activities: work

Total books finished since the read-a-thon began: 164
Total time reading for the Read-A-Thon since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 443 hours since April 2020.

Count me in again.

Friday night in Seattle:

Books read from: Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound
Books finished: none
Time reading: 2 hours
Food: pretzels
Thoughts: I need to be somewhat productive this weekend, but I'll start tomorrow.
Non-book activities: Work, laundry, playing Wingspan on my iPad

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 2 hours

Saturday 8am - Friday night's update

Books read from:Mexican Gothic
Books finished: none
Time reading: 2 hours
Food: a donut
Thoughts: Thinking about Christmas shopping at a local craft show/winery on Sunday
Non-book activities: Watching Red Sox vs Rays

Total books finished: 0
Total read from: 1
Total time reading: 2 hours

>12 susanna.fraser: Susanna, how do you like WINGSPAN? I just sent it to my son for his BD. It was recommended by my sister and my nephew.

Sat noon.
Wrote postcards this morning; now I'm ready to read.

Books:
Finished listening to The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee. Hist fic, Chinese-Americans in Atlanta, early 1900s.
Must take a long walk today so I can start audio book Badlands by C.J. Box.
Hoping to finish Correspondents by Tim Murphy today. Liking it very much; timely novel about the Middle East, the Iraq war and Middle Eastern immigrants.

Breakfast: just coffee so far. I slept late and then got busy . . Ready for early lunch!

Cloudy, 70 F. (21 C.) in Charlotte NC just after noon.

First update, sigh. The last 24 hours, summary:

Books read from: Damascus Station by David McCloseky, a debut espionage thriller (audio), The Unknown Terrorist by Richard Flanagan and for comfort reading, One More Christmas at the Castle by Trisha Ashley. Also a bit of a re-read of Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz, and teh first chapter (on audio) of Wildland: The Making of America's Fury by Evan Osnos.
Books finished: 1, One More Christmas at the Castle
Time reading: 8 hours?
Time posting: none

Snacks: Ham sandwiches, strawberries
Thoughts: Too tired to think
Non-book activities: Helping my father sort out several dozen things. He's getting increasingly confused (Parkinson's) So much that he could do even a few months ago that he can't do now.

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 5
Total time reading: 8 hours

I am a little late but in, Silver.

Trying to finish three books today:

The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed
The Face of Battle by John Keegan
Desertion by Abdulrazak Gurnah

>14 nrmay: My husband and I both enjoy it a lot, both the tabletop game itself and the app on our tablets. It's a little complicated when you're first learning the rules, but it's a beautiful, well-designed game.

Saturday night:

Books read from: Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound, Bidding for the Bachelor
Books finished: Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound
Time reading: 4 hours
Food: tacos
Thoughts: It's good to learn more about the marine environment surrounding me. Since I didn't grow up here, I didn't pick up on this stuff from school or family lore.
Non-book activities: Picked up my new ice skates, watched the Auburn-Georgia game until it was clear it wasn't going to go well for my Tigers.

Total books finished: 1
Total read from: 2
Total time reading: 6 hours

I finished Granta 97 last night and it is a really good issue. The theme is "Best Young American Novelists". Although the book is a few years old, the choice of writers was excellent. I liked Karen Russell's short story about past American presidents reincarnated as horses.
Food- left over chicken over basmati rice, tomatoes and olives and apple cake.
Next up-Harlem Shuffle

Sunday morning update

Books read from: The Rosewood Casket by Sharyn McCrumb, Best American Short Stories 2012, about to start Lord Hornblower by C.S. Forester

Non-book activities: Lots of college football on Saturday - go Blue!

Sunday early afternoon:

Books read from: Damascus Station by David McCloseky, a debut espionage thriller (audio), The Dockland Murder by Mike Hollow and Wildland: The Making of America's Fury by Evan Osnos.
Books finished: 2, Damascus Station and The Dockland Murder

Time reading: 12 hours
Time posting: zero
Snacks: pasta for dinner, more berries

Thoughts: Exhaustion. I'm afraid that it's time for my father to find some kind of assisted living facility, which he will hate but he keeps getting confused. He had a fall when he returned home from Canadian Thanksgiving dinner last night. Thankfully, he didn't hurt himself and someone was there to help, and his Lifeline system worked (they followed up to see whether he needed help) but every day it seems as if there's a new crisis.
Non-book activities: Bringing in packages for my neighbors. Trying not to have a nervous breakdown.

Total books finished: 3, the above, plus One More Christmas at the Castle
Total read from: 6, the three finished, plus the Evan Osnos book (it seems as if he's echoing what I wrote a decade ago about fiduciary duty/shareholder primacy and the issues we face), a re-read of Magpie Murders and the bulk of The Unknown Terrorist. Want to read more of Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo, but my attention span resembles a stick insect.

Total time reading: 20 hours? (guesstimate...)

>20 Chatterbox: That's really rough. I hope you can find a place where your father will be comfortable and happy.

Sunday afternoon:

Books read from: Bidding for the Bachelor, The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay
Books finished: Bidding for the Bachelor
Time reading: 2 hours
Food: mandarin orange
Thoughts: I swear every time I look out the window today the weather has changed. Right now it's sunny, which I know won't last.
Non-book activities: PT exercises, planning out my week

Total books finished: 2
Total read from: 3
Total time reading: 8 hours

Sunday late night:

Books read from: The Unknown Terrorist by Richard Flanagan, The Convert by Stefan Hertmans, Wildland: The Making of America's Fury by Evan Osnos, Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo
Books finished: 2, The Unknown Terrorist and Sankofa

Time reading: 6 hours
Time posting: zero
Snacks: sandwiches, lemon/sugar crepe

Thoughts: So much sorting out/organizing of my life to do.
Non-book activities: Talked to my cousin on the phone.

Total books finished: 5, the above, plus One More Christmas at the Castle by Trisha Ashley, Damascus Station by David McCloskey, The Dockland Murder by Mike Hollow

Total read from: 8, the five finished, plus The Convert by Stefan Hertmans, Wildland: The Making of America's Fury by Evan Osnos, a re-read of Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Sunday night final update:

Books read from: The Rosewood Casket, The Best American Short Stories-2012, Lord Hornblower

Books finished: The Rosewood Casket

Non-reading activity today - dinner at my son's, with other son in attendance. They let me win 2 games of Ticket to Ride.

I am in the middle of readingCaste by Isabel Wilkerson- incredible book!
Sunday wrap-up- reading , watching the finals of the "The Great British Baking Show" and seeing a friend at an outside coffee place.
Dinner- last of the chicken and rice leftovers

Sorry, completely missed this one but only read a very small amount. I'm still not very well since we were all hit by COVID on 2 October.

Sorry to hear about you and your dad's problems, Suzanne.

Monday evening update done on Tuesday morning

Books reading from: Still reading Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt. I reading Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby by Candida R. Moss and am almost done with it. I am listened to Last Girls by Lee Smith and finished it, so started listening to Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck. I am surprised as how good Women in the Castle is. This one is for a book discussion group and it will make a great discussion book.

Books finished in the last week: Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe for one of my book discussion groups and because I had to get it through ILL and it is due back October 15. Throwaway Children was a chunkster and I have managed to read it in a week. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I finished Last Girls by Lee Smith.

Time reading: 1 hour on Saturday and 3 hours on Sunday and didn't bother to count the 12 hours of driving/listening time.
Time posting:
Food: I had an Onion Pie for the first time this weekend and it was delicious. I even asked for the recipe.
Thoughts: I think that reading about why we drive the way we do made me an infuriated driver this weekend. I hate driving in the eastern U. S. It is so crowded with cars and there are simply people everywhere. Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam and the skies can be seen. I do think that I managed to break every one of my new driving resolutions this weekend. I did start out with good intentions, but they lasted only until I got to Atlanta. I had lots of reading time on Sunday as Amy was busy and I spent the morning sitting in the sunshine reading. It was a wonderful break from my normal rat race routine.

Non-book activities: visiting with friends and acquaintances at the memorial service and the nice long weekend visit this my good friend who has retired and now lives in South Carolina.

Total books finished since the read-a-thon began: 166
Total time reading for the Read-A-Thon since the Social Distancing read-a-thon began: 447 hours since April 2020.

Holiday weekend wrap-up

I didn't even remember it was a holiday till I noted no mail delivery yesterday.
I favor honoring Indigenous People over Coumbus anyway.

Books:
Finished Correspondents by Tim Murphy last night for bookclub today. Timely insight on Iraq war and experience of Arab-Americans.
Next up - A Tale Dark and Grimm, Adam Gidwitz, to get in a Halloween mood!
Began listening to Badlands: a novel by C.J. Box.

Food: at morning bookclub, enjoyed fresh fruit and double chocolate/banana muffin!

Other activity:
watching ONE MILLION LITTLE THINGS. Husband complains it's a soap opera but I'm now invested in the charactors and their trials and joys.
still seeking sources and connections for my genealogy tree
still writing postcards on postcrossing.com
Planning a cousins reunion for next summer. 3 generations of cousins are spread from NC to WA state; we're hoping to meet up in the lake area north of Chicago.

Sunny, 79 F. (26 C.) just before 5p

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/335987