Readathon hour one meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Reading/cheering from Middle Earth
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Probably Keeper of the Keys by Janny Wurts
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Crispy M&Ms
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I started gaming recently and am now 100 per cent totally obsessed with Dragon Age Origins. I've never played any kind of computer game before and now I'm already trying to decide what to play next.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? I'll try and actually read more - lol If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? Chatting! I mean. Reading. Obviously. And cheering. Go #teamfrodo!

Readathon end of event meme

Once again, fashionably late!

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Uhm, waiting for it to start, I think, given that it starts at 1am my time - lol.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I was reading Agatha Christie, which are short, punchy detective novels, so those would be good.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Nope :-)
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Social media engagement. It's hard to strike that balance, but it's also fun to go hang out on twitter and find like-minded souls.
5. How many books did you read? 2/3 of one book.
6. What were the names of the books you read? Elephants Can Remember which I STILL  haven't finished.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? N/A
8. Which did you enjoy least? N/A
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Have fun!!! There's always boatloads of readers so don't get bogged down. Follow the excellent spreadsheet, stay positive and have fun! 
10.  How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Very. What role would you be likely to take next time? Little bit of both, like this year :-)

Lastly, a massive, massive shout out to Andi and Heather who keep the readathon going every year - it's a huge job and it seems to keep growing. You rock your socks, ladies. :-)

Readathon vlog - fourth time lucky!

Readathon - introductory meme

I'm cheering rather than reading, but won't be doing any actual cheering until tomorrow morning my time, as I live in the future.

(Yes. The future IS so bright you'll need to wear shades.)

Anyway, on to the readathon introductory meme:


1) What fine part of the world are you reading (cheering) from today? New Zealand :-)
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? No stack, but I'm hoping to get around all the blogs on #teambutler :-)
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Mid-afternoon cup of tea tomorrow.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I'm 42 years old, I think I've taken part in one way or another in every single readathon and uh ...... I like cats.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? Same as always - have fun! :D

Readathon and health thingies

*\o/* I've been derailed this week by health issues, more on that further down.

First up, it's readathon weekend again! http://24hourreadathon.com/

I'm just cheering this time around, and I'm just waiting to hear back about my team - I've been next to useless all week, so I'm trying to gain back some ground.

Now, what follows will be TMI for some, but I need to vent - lol.

I have had the period of doom for the past 16 days. It's been at least twice as long as any period I've ever had and consistently heavy. The one bright side is that I haven't really been in pain. And I know there are women out there who suffer far, far worse than me every month, but I've always been super-regular and extremely predictable, so this has thrown me.

And with Easter and Anzac Day happening all at once, I couldn't get in to see the doctor until Wednesday. That, and I kept hoping it would stop on its own. (spoiler: it didn't).

So the doc believes I have fibroids, and gave me pills that allegedly slow/stop the bleeding. They've sort of worked. It hasn't stopped and it's sort-of slowed down a little bit.

I had blood tests on Thursday and the doc did a smear, and I'm booked in for an ultrasound at the hospital. The doc - who was lovely and patient and accommodated my weirdness (I can't lie flat on my back without getting panicky) said she wasn't worried that it was anything that needed urgent attention, because going through the hospital for ultrasounds can take a while, and I have to go for a follow-up next week.

So for now I'm just waiting, spending  what feels like all of my money on ladies' sanitary items, trying not to throw myself off a building, and trying not to snap at J and Spawn because mood swings.

And, like I say, I realise that other people have it far worse than I do, but it's my little corner and therefore I will whinge about the endless period of doom. At this point, I may walk into the doctor's office and just shout JUST TAKE IT ALL OUT I'M NOT HAVING ANY MORE KIDS TAKE IT ALLLLLLLLL.

*sigh*

Anyway. See you at the readathon. I'll be cheering on twitter and visiting some blogs also. :-)

Readathon!

 It's getting near that time again, and if you're going "huh" then go

here: http://24hourreadathon.com/ and poke around.

Have a look here: http://24hourreadathon.com/history-of-deweys-24-hour-read-a-thon/ at the history, and then go back to the first page and sign up. Or, you know, sign up as a cheerleader, cheerleaders are awesome.

I always fail out as a reader, so I'm going back to my readathon roots with cheerleading. Every year there seems to be more and more readers signing up, which is great and I know Dewey would have got a kick out of that, but cheerleading is important too, and I think last year there were something like 38 cheerleaders to nearly 400 readers. (Four hundred readers. There were less than 40 when this started. That blows my mind.)

So. Anyway. This April's readathon is on April 26 and I will be shaking out my virtual pompoms once again. Join me!

*\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/**\o/*

Readathon and also stuff and maybe things

I'm about five hours early but I've only read about 120 pages total and I'm so distracted, ugh.

Next time, back to cheerleading. I like cheerleading, it's fun, and I get to "meet" new bloggers. I love meeting new bloggers.

My attention span is so short lately, and I blame the other love of my life, my iPad Mini. (Patrick being a given, my Mini is what I'd save in case of fire). I can play games on it that take little mental acuity at all, and it contains all of the social media.

I love social media. By which I pretty much mean twitter. Little bit of tumblr. I'm "eh" on facebook, but I have it so I know what my brothers and sisters are doing - lol.

Anyway. Cheering for next readathon, yes.

I have this week off before heading back into the wilds of the office, and my plans are pretty simple: Finally watch American Horror Story: Asylum because Coven, do some cross-stitching and revel in a bit of alone-time as Patrick goes back to school tomorrow.

I started Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin, so hopefully I might have that finished by the end of the week as well.

... let's not get too carried away though. There are still zombies that must be killed by plants  out there ...

Readathon!

It's that time of year again - readathon time.

I'm so very disorganised this time, I've only just thrown together a pile of books and some snacks.

And by "disorganised" I mean "spending too much time playing Plants v Zombies 2 and Candy Crush (damn you Candy Crush)".

But I have a pile now, and I have snacks, which will be more relevant tomorrow to me, because it's nearly midnight my time. I'm hoping/planning to  get a bit of reading done tonight, and then sleep and then more reading tomorrow. I won't be reading for a full 24 hours, but I will be here in spirit so

*\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/* *\o/*  here's a line of cheerleaders for you if you're taking part. Have fun! Read lots! Have more fun! :D

Anyway, here's the pile in question:



The books are, from top to bottom, Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, The World of Jeeves by P G Wodehouse, Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox, The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy and The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.

The snacks (mmm snacks) are smoked paprika chips, crunchy M&Ms and Schweppes Sparking Duet - all of which will be saved for tomorrow. The corner of the couch by the cat is my reading spot, and the cat, who will probably be keeping me company, is Lily.

My plan tonight is to read until the first hour meme goes up, do the meme, get some sleep and pick up again in the morning.

I'm not, of course, going to read all of those books, I just like having options. I'm going to start with Winter's Tale and then just go from there. If I get through that and a few Jeeves short stories, I'll consider it a win.

Are you doing the readathon? What's your plan? What are you reading? :D

The non-vlog readathon food porn post

Normally about this time, I assemble much random food and do a vlog, because it’s readathon and it’s my own little tradition.

However, this year, the whole thing snuck up on me a bit so instead of my face and voice, you just get a picture of the food ;p.

We have the usual – potato chips (the besssst potato chips ever but you can only get them here so good and crunchy and tasty om nom), dip, crackers … cheeeeese.

Okay I have to background/talk about the cheese for a moment.

Every Friday, the people in my part of the office (we’re not all in the same department) have what we’ve come to call cheesy Friday. Every Friday, someone brings in cheese, crackers, relish, etc. We all take turns and it’s good times.

So, in the spirit of cheesy Friday, I have brie (we always have a brie or a camembert – lol) and a reallllly tasty cheese called Port Nicholson which is a smoky cheese that we’ve had a couple of times and is really good, so I bought it for readathon.

The usual token grapes are there, and there’s also M&Ms, chocolate biscuits and coke, which I forgot to get out of the fridge – lol.

I’m just cheering again, which is always fun. I’m on #teamfalstaff this time around.

Be kind to your cheerleaders – turn off word verification, and read like the wind!!!

Readathon!

It seems to come around faster and faster each time doesn’t it?

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, hie ye to here: http://24hourreadathon.com/ and all your questions will be answered. And if you feel inspired to sign up, well don’t let me stop you :D

Readathon attracts more and more readers every turn which is fantastic. I considered being a reader this year but that never works out well for me, so I signed up again as a cheerleader because the readathon always needs cheerleaders and it’s fun.

Inevitably, as soon as I sign up, I completely forget how many hours I’ve signed up for but I try to get around everyone on my list at least once. I also buy an inordinate amount of food and do a vlog.

These are my readathon traditions – cheering and eating – lol.

This is a short post because I want it to be all readathon all the time. I’ll be back with my usual nonsensical ramblings later. J

*May the books be ever in your favour*

*May the books be with you*

*We're going to need a bigger book*

*Frankly my dear, I don’t give a book*

*We’re on a mission from book*

Nano and things

I'm nano-ing this year. For those of you going ... what? All is explained at the website: http://www.nanowrimo.org/


I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm there. Or something - lol.

I was reading The Honourable Schoolboy but started to get a bit bogged down and it was slow going, so I've abandoned it for now. I'm still picking at the Iliad, though.

So now I'm reading Kraken by China Mieville. It's another co-read with Jodie from http://bookgazing.dreamwidth.org/127713.html - we read Mieville's The City & The City (BREACH) together last year and had fun. Kraken is about a giant squid that goes missing, which - you can't really go wrong can you with a book like that. PLUS it has an awesome purple cover, and ... I haven't had enough sleep, clearly.

Anyways. Readathon was fun, yes? I'm thinking of maybe being a reader for the next one but then I get conflicted because Readathon is always short of cheerleaders but I'd love to do one where I just ... read, and eat. I shall ponder.

Readathon mini-challenge

*\o/*!!! I'm only cheering this year, and it's 1am here so I'll be leaving some comments on my readers' list and then going to bed - lol.

BUT I wanted to do the first meme anyway:

1)Where are you reading (cheering) from today? - My living room/Middle Earth :D
2)Three random facts about me… - I turned 40 this year, we have 10 cats  and I bloody hate getting caught in the rain.
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? - No books, but I have readers H-J to cheer for for Team Fruitloops #cheerfroot on twitter :-)
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)? I'd like to get around as many blogs as I can ... 
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Have fun! And switch off your word verification <3 :D *\o/*

*poke poke* Is this thing on?

Heee. I've already used that pic over on the #spbkchat blog (which is here by the way, let's not pass up the chance for a little bit of self-promotion: http://spbkchat.blogspot.com/)  But meerkats are funny and make me smile and I'm too lazy to find another pic, so here you are. ;p

Now, let's see ... since last time, I've finished three books - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John LeCarre (fantastic but slightly confusing); Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (preferred American Gods but it's still good. I mean. Gaiman) and Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Heard (loved. LOVED.)

I went to What's Your Number, which made me somewhat ragey with the slut-shaming and the prevalent 1950s attitude that's in ALL THE ROMANTIC COMEDIES RIGHT NOW but Martin Freeman was in it for five minutes for no good reason, so there was that.

Anyway.

What's good is this: http://24hourreadathon.com/ Readathon!! In a few short weeks! I've taken the sensible route this time (lol) and I've just signed up to be a cheerleader, not a reader as well. Cheerleading is fun, it helps you lose weight and helps old ladies across the road. Well. It's definitely the first thing, and you should sign up because there are always way more readers than cheerleaders and readathon readers need all the *\o/* they can get! :D http://24hourreadathon.com/2011/09/25/cheerleader-sign-ups-october-11-read-a-thon/

I will - probably - do a food porn vlog still because how could I not? It's readathon!

Readathon - final meme

It's over for another year!

Final meme:
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
From about 5pm-ish my time. I had a moment. For about three hours.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Um. H'm. I only read one book - lol. But twas a good one - The Sea-wreck Stranger by Anna Mackenzie. Short, too. I started on Chamber of Secrets, so I'll say Harry Potter because they're easy to read.


3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
The only thing is what I said earlier: to maybe put up the cheerleader sign-up post a bit earlier, in order for pimpage to happen. Otherwise, awesome as always :-)


4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
All of the things :D


5. How many books did you read?
One

6. What were the names of the books you read?
The Sea-wreck Stranger by Anna Mackenzie


7. Which book did you enjoy most?

The Sea-wreck Stranger by Anna Mackenzie

8. Which did you enjoy least?
N/A

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
Enjoy! It's meant to be fun for the Cheerleaders too. :-)  

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? 
Very likely but I think just as a cheerleader. It got a bit chaotic trying to do all the things :-)


Bring on October!!! *\o/*

Readathon mid-event meme:

1. What are you reading right now?
I'm about to start Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

2. How many books have you read so far?
One - The Sea-wreck Stranger by Anna McKenzie


3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
The Anansi Boys, if I make it that far


4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
I thought about it, but in the end, no


5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Nearly four-year-old son, so yes. I just try to let the hurricane wash over me - lol


6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Nothing so far, but there's 12 hours to go ...


7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
The only thing I would suggest is to maybe put the cheerleader sign-up post up a bit earlier. Readathon is always short of cheerleaders, and if the sign-up post is a little earlier - say, a couple of weeks out - then there's more time for pimpage! Otherwise, no. Loving it as always :D

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Nothing so far


9. Are you getting tired yet?
Not yet ...

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
Have fun!! And this little guy: *\o/* makes a great addition to a cheerleading comment :-)

Readathon - a little bit about me ...

Hour 1, officially. And ... I fell asleep on the couch - lol. Anyways, six things about me ...

1)Where are you reading from today? 
Invercargill, New Zealand

2)Three random facts about me…
Is there anything left you all don't already know about me ... I can't think of anything right now

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
Four

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. Finishing a book would be nice, considering I already fell asleep ...

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Relax, and have fun!

Readathon vlog

And we're off! I"m starting a little early because of my timezone, so here is a vlog for you all:

Readathon!

The 24 hour readathon is on April 9! Are you reading? Sign up here: http://24hourreadathon.com/ Are you cheerleading? Hosting a mini-challenge? (Sign-ups for those will be along soon, according to the blog). And if not ... why not?

If you don't already know - and if you do - the readathon is awesome. It's basically a weekend (24 hours, I know, but time zones) of reading and cheering and eating and flailing.

Way back in 2008, the late, great Dewey started the 24 hour readathon. Dewey was big on community-building in the books blogosphere - she also instigated the Weekly Geeks: http://www.weeklygeeks.com/ and many, many, many other things. Other bloggers knew her better but, for me, she was the one who drew me into the books blogging community and made me feel a part of it.

I always fail at the readathon. Always. I read maybe one chapter of  a book, but I sign up to read anyway. And to cheerlead, which I fail slightly less at, because readathon is about all of us getting together and making connections across the blogosphere as it is about reading.

You know you want to ... ;)

Readathon - final meme

It's over until next year!

End of Event Meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Um. Sigh. Probably between 2am-3am my time, when I had to argue myself into bed - lol.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Uhm ... nothing specific. Short novels; YA; and short stories?

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Nope :-)

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

Pretty much everything from what I could see in my sort of manic dipping in and out.

5. How many books did you read?!

See below ;)

6. What were the names of the books you read?

Uh ... one short story (Autopsy Room Four by Stephen King); 45 pages of The Passage by Justin Cronin and about 80 or so pages of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

Hrm. Not having finished one ... at the moment I'm really liking Clockwork Angel. :)

8. Which did you enjoy least?

Uhm ... Lol, I don't think I read enough to compare ...

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

I was a cheerleader, and I got around most blogs in my "section" about twice, but I had a slightly hectic weekend. The cheerleaders were super-organised and it was a lot of fun :-) My advice? Have fun!

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again?

Very, very likely.

What role would you be likely to take next time?

I shall be a fail!reader and a fail!cheerleader again! *\O/*

Readathon - mid-event meme

1. What are you reading right now?

Nothing right now, off to my mum's. But will be reading a bit of Clockwork Angel at work, and a bit more of The Passage after work

2. How many books have you read so far?

One short story and 45 pages of The Passage - lol

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

D: I'll be working D:

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

No. I should have asked for the day off work

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Yes. Family. Work. Stuff. Sigh.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

How many readers there are!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Nope. Loving it!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Take the day off work - lol

9. Are you getting tired yet?

I'm almost always tired - lol

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

Have fun!!!!