Weekly Review #16 & Giveaway

What a week this has been.  It’s almost hard to believe another is week is over already.  I got quite a bit of reading finished this week but my health has been on the decline.  And I’m attempting to find out what books have made you laugh.  So, there is so much that I could talk about today.

First, we had the 24 hour read-a-thon this past weekend.  I didn’t get through the full 24 hours and a lot of that has to do with my decline in health.  I really enjoyed the time that I could sit and read and actually got several things read.  You can see a good summary of how things went here.  There you’ll find out what I read and my general thoughts about how my time reading went.  Now I’m really looking forward to the next one, I hope to find others in Stratford that are interested in participating and getting together to read.

I’m hosting a giveaway of sorts.  I’m wanting to know what books you think are funny.  So until the end of April I want you to tell me what books you have found funny.  From that list I want to compile a list and then survey to find the top 10 funny books.  This isn’t exactly an original idea but the one being done on CBC will be dealing with a smaller group of people.  This one, I hope to have a list from the book blogging community.  Once all is said and done I will be giving away a book to one of the people that tell me what books have made them laugh.  You can go to the original post to tell me what makes you laugh.  Now for some added encouragement if you blog about this event, and send me the link to the post, I’ll give you five more entries.  The prize will also change, instead of getting the number one book you’ll get the books that place 1, 2 and 3.  

I hope this week brings you many great books and some wonderful time to read.

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Read-a-Thon One Last Look

Alright for you purists out there you may not want to read this post because I actually didn’t read the full 24 hours.  I became very tired and got the starts of a headache so I decided it was best, for my health, to make my way to bed.  I must say that I think it was a great decision, I really needed that rest.  But I must also say that I still feel tired as I think about it.

There is a meme on the Dewey’s Read-a-Thon site that I feel compelled to answer the questions.  

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?  
Well, I would have to say 1pm when I finally made my way to bed.  I just was too tired, if I would have gone to bed earlier the night before and didn’t have to get up early to work I probably would have made it longer.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I really don’t feel comfortable answering this.  There are books that I’ve taken recommendations and wondered afterwards why anyone would recommend such a book.  So I’d just say pick something light and short, make that a lot of short books that are light.  Have a few that are different to keep your interest throughout the day.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I really don’t know, if you’re looking for a short answer. If you’re looking for a longer one I think what I’d like to do is organize a local read-a-thon and have a group of people read together at the time. I enjoy reading with others around and if we’re together we could encourage each other to get through the day. And we could pass books back and fourth that we enjoy.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I think it was great to have several books sitting in front of me. They were all very different from each other which allowed me to read what I felt like when it was time to select a different book.

5. How many books did you read?
I got two and a bit read.

6. What were the names of the books you read?
I finished two books:
The Man Who Forgot How to Read by Howard Engel
La’s Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith
I also got a few books started:
A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
Bartholomew Fair by Ben Jonson

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
I really enjoyed Bartholomew Fair and La’s Orchestra Saves the World.

8. Which did you enjoy least?
I really couldn’t stand Howard Engel’s book. I finished it right away because I thought if I put it down there would no way I’d pick it up again and finish it at another time. It was reading it for the CBC Book Club.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I was not a Cheerleader but I think next time I would like to take the opportunity to be a Cheerleader for next year. I also want to take this time to thank all the Cheerleaders that came by to encourage me while I was reading. I truly appreciated all that you did. Three cheers for the Cheerleaders!
Hip hip Hurray!
Hip hip Hurray!
Hip hip Hurray!

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I would be inclined to participate in the read-a-thon again. I’d be a reader and I would also take the time to be a Cheerleader for an hour or two.

This was the first time I participated in the read-a-thon and I must say I had a lot of fun. Hopefully next time I won’t have to work that day and can spend the whole time reading. And I’ll also go to bed earlier the night before and hopefully make it through the full 24 hours. Thanks for a great time everyone!

Read-a-Thon Update 5

Well I think I have to call it a night.  I’m starting to get a headache and given the rash of migraines I’ve been getting lately I should hit the sac!  I must say I’ve enjoyed my time reading all day today.  And I may say that as the day progressed the reading got better.

The last while I read the first act of Ben Jonson’s play Bartholomew Fair.  I’ve been wanting to read this for while since it’s the first time a classical theatre company is performing this play in North America.  As you know I work for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and they’ll be doing this show this season.  It’s the show I’m most looking forward to seeing this year.  I hope you get a chance to come to Stratford and see it!

For those of you still hittin’ the books all the best.  Keep reading!

Read-a-Thon Update 4

Alright, I’m still a little tired but I got the second book completed.  La’s Orchestra Saves the World was a thousand times better than The Man Who Forgot How to Read.  It’s not your typical Alexander McCall Smith novel, it’s heavier reading than the other stuff I’ve read by him.  

I hope everyone else is keeping up.  Im sure people are starting to get tired, I know I am.  I think I just need to get up and walk about a bit.  And incase you’re wondering I did go to DQ and I had a Strawberry Banana Blizzard.  And it was fantastic!!

Keep up the reading everyone!

Read-a-Thon Update 3

Alright, what hour is this?  15 I think.  I’m starting to crash.  What I really need is a second wind so I can get back into the reading thing.  Things are going very slow right now.  We’ll see how far I can go tonight.

Thank you everyone for sending the comments.  It’s appreciated.

Everyone keep up the reading!

Read-a-Thon Mid-event Survey

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?

2. How many books have you read so far?

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Are you getting tired 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?

 

1. I’m currently taking a break from La’s Orchestra Saves the World as it’s heavier reading then anything else I’ve read by Alexander McCall Smith.  Rather than reading part of another book I’m going to a short story from A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami.
2. At this point I’ve read one and half books.  I would have had much more read if work didn’t get in the way this morning.  Ugh those were 4 very long hours.
3. I’m looking forward to finishing La’s Orchestra and getting more of Fool by Christopher Moore read.
4. The only thing I would have had to change would be my work schedule.  But given that I’m going to having several doctors appointments in the months to come (I’ve got a sinus infection that’s not going away and it’s causing some terrible migraines) I didn’t think it would be wise to take another day off work.
5. I had to migrate to another part of the house for a bit because my roommates decided to watch TV where I sitting and reading.  Aside from that no interruptions.  But I’m thinking I want to hit Dairy Queen up for a blizzard before I dive back into reading for the second half.
6. I generally have a short attention span (I’ve taken several ADD/ADHD tests online and they all tell me I should talk to a doctor about it) so I’m surprised that I’ve been focused the whole time.  Makes for more reading being completed.
7. This is my first time doing the Read-a-Thon and it seems to be great so far.  I’m not sure what would be better for next time. 
8. I think next time I’m find several collections of short stories.  I think this will give a great sense of accomplishment, which should in turn give more motivation.  And I don’t usually read short stories so it would be a different take on the whole project all together.
9. NO!!!!!!
10. I think I just picked some really great books which help to motivate.  Not really what else could be done.  It’s just difficult to give suggestions as a first timer.  I don’t know what’s normal and what isn’t.  

Before I go I must say I’m enjoying the comments that have been left here.  They are great motivation!  Thanks everyone!  

 

Keep Reading!

Read-a-Thon Update 1

So far so good!  Today started rather slowly, I couldn’t get much reading done at work (well, at least not as much as I wanted to) because it ended up being a busier day than expected.  But I got about 50 pages of La’s Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith read.  Once I got home I picked up and finished The Man Who Forgot How to Read.  

I’m enjoyed McCall Smith’s novel, I brought it home so I could get more of it read today from home.  It’s a great book and it’s a stand alone unlike many of his other books.  And just reading about La and the village she’s moved to has me craving a trip to England.  I’ve never been but have always wanted to go.  

My take on Howard Engel’s The Man Who Forgot How to Read, on the other hand, couldn’t be more opposite.  I found the book to be too repetitive.  And given that I haven’t read any of Engel’s novels his story couldn’t be less interesting.  Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for the guy for having a stroke but the story of his recovering isn’t very interesting.  

I’ll talk about these two books more in later reviews but I just wanted to touch base on what I’ve been reading.  I’m looking forward to more of La’s Orchestra Saves the World and getting more of Christopher Moore’s Fool read.

24 Hour Read-a-thon

So it’s been quite an internal struggle going on the last few weeks.  I could quite decide if I was going to participate in the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon.  I have to work tomorrow from 10-2 but I’ll be able to get some reading read in during that time.  After seeing so many of my fellow book bloggers talking about this event I couldn’t help but cave under the excitement on the web.  I have a number of books that I want to read during this time so I thought, hey why not read them?  

The book I’ll be reading at work is Alexander McCall Smith’s most recent book La’s Orchestra Saves the World.  Once I get home I have a couple of books that I’ll be reading 1) Fool by Christopher Moore, a novel I started already, 2) The book being read by the CBC Book club: The Man Who Forgot How to Read by Howard Engel.

The hardest part will be reading with my roommates around.  They tend to think that the television needs to be on all the time so I may have to hunker down into my bedroom to get all my reading done.  

Since this is my first time doing this it’s sure to be a great learning experience.  I’m not exactly sure what is all entailed in participating in this event but I’ll do what I want I guess.  I’ll post on here a couple of times to let everyone know how my reading experience is going.  If you have any tips for a first timer I’d like to hear them!  Have a great time reading!

As a side note, I’m looking for funny books.  If you have read any funny stop by my What Makes You Laugh post and by participating you can win one of the novels suggested as funny reads.