Thankfully Weekend Wrap-up and It's Monday - 9

I am very thankful to Jenn for hosting the Thankfully Reading Weekend. I'm glad I got to spend so much time reading, and enjoyed myself immensely! I read a bunch of graphic novels -

Kimmy66 by Aaron Alexovich
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg
The Guild by Felicia Day & Jim Rugg.
I also got caught up on my Guild watching. Looks like there are going to be some exciting changes in season 6. Fun!

On Saturday I went to see a local production of Hamlet and have been quoting it ever since.

I got some reviews posted, which was my real goal for the weekend -

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel

Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Amulet 3: The Cloud Searchers by Kazu Kibuishi

The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll 

And the final touch, Neil himself (Neil Gaiman) re-tweeted me - twice, so I got a few extra visits to my Land of Laughs review. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it.

Before Thanksgiving I participated in my first Shaken and Not Stirred group audiobook listen and movie watch of Dr. No. I liked the book much more than the movie. I even won an audio copy of the next book, Goldfinger, from Blackstone Audio! I'm looking forward to listening to that and watching the movie in Januaray. Thanks to Jen from Literate Housewife and Tanya from Blackstone.

This week I plan to finish my graphic novel holiday leftovers, Good as Lily by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Ham (update- finished!) and The Drops of God, the maga about wine, by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto. I'm listening to A Hat Full of Sky, the second Tiffany Aching book by Terry Pratchett (update - finished!).

This week I'm planning on participating in the Advent with Austen with Reading Fueled by Tea. The Sunday movie tweetfest is Bride and Prejudice. Since Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book, I'm sorry I missed out on the movie this Sunday. Can't wait to participate next week!

What are you reading?

Most thankful book

The book I'm most thankful for is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I will admit, I saw the Jennifer Ehle miniseries first, but it inspired me to read the source material. I find something new every time I read the book or watch one of the movie versions (even the horrid 1940's move with screenplay credit to Aldous Huxly that takes place in the Civil War-era South).

I love Mr. Bennet's humor and Miss Bingley's scheming. I've had long discussions over how exactly Lady Catherine received her gossip and if Mary would have been happy with Mr. Collins.

My favorite quote is from Miss Bingley about Elizabeth, "To walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever it is, above her ankles in dirt, and alone, quite alone! ... It seems to me to show an abominable sort of conceited independence,"

We should all show such conceited independence.

Thankfully Reading this weekend

Happy weekend everyone! Instead of shopping, today I will be reading along with Jenn and all the participants in the Thankfully Reading Weekend. If you want to join in, you can sign up and post your progress anytime through the 27th.

Today I am thankful for my local library. I was extra thankful last week when I found out I could have a card from the library the next county over. They have a much larger system with branches in several small towns. I took a ride to one town I'd never been to before and was able to pick up a bunch of graphic novels I've been wanting to read. The town also has a Goodwill where I got some more books, so it was a a great find.

Scores from the library included
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang,

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel, and
The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim.

From PaperbackSwap.com I was lucky to receive
Good as Lily by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm,
Kimmie 66 by Aaron Alexovich, and
The Guild by Felieca Day and Jimm Rugg.

Then I broke down and bought The Drops of God by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto. It's the only true manga on my pile that reads from right to left.

I've gotten a jump start on Thankfully Reading and already gone through some of these, so I plan to spend the weekend reading the rest and writing up reviews.

It's a beautiful day out, so I plan to take some walks while listening to Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett and maybe get one of the books on sale at Audible this weekend for $4.95.

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else is reading!

RIP, MX3 and October wrap-up

October was great! Since I was traveling, it's taken me awhile to get to my wrap-up post up, but now that I'm back, here it is.

RIP VI from Stainless Steel Droppings started in September, but I didn't sign up until October. I started MX3 from Jenn's Bookshelves at the same time. For these challenges I got through 10 spooky audiobooks and 2 graphic novels. 

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett

Children of Paranoia by Trevor Shane

The Passage by Justin Cronin

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Walking Dead Compendium One

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

A Discovery of Witches by Debra Harkness

Crossing Over by Anna Kendall

The Death Cure by James Dashner

I also reviewed two audiobooks in October outside of the challenges. 

The Pirate King by Laurie R King

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This month I participated in Leswamee's Literary Blog Hop Giveway and the fabulous Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon.  So much fun! Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting The Sci Fi Experience starting in January, and Jenn is doing a Thanksreading weekend over Thanksgiving. I can't wait! Let me know what cool challenges/events you're doing.

Read-a-thon midway quiz

Made it through 13 hours of reading, so I thought I'd do the mid-way quiz:

Mid-Even Survey

1. What are you reading right now?  The Ask and the Answer
2. How many books have you read so far? 3 + 5 short stories
3. What book are yo most looking forward to? Mr Punch Graphic Novel by Neil Gaiman
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements? Just make sure I had enough books and snacks
5. How did you deal with interruptions? I put my audiobook headphones on when I had to go outside or do the dishes. I'm loving Crossing Over read by Simon Vance
6. Read-a-thon surprises? That it's going so fast!
7. How to improve next year? Everyone's done such a great job. No improvement necessary!
8. Do differently? I ran out of my favorite tea, Throat Coat. I'll be sure to stock up next year.
9. Tired? No!
10. Tips? I really like reading graphic novels between chapter books. They're quick reads and the panels use my eye muscles differently. It's like an eye massage.


What works for you?

Ready for the 24-Hour Read-a-Thon

So, I'm ready. I have my books. I have my snacks. Now I just have to get to sleep so I can get up and read. I will be updating this post, but probably less than once an hour. I'll also be cheerleading for part, so I hope to see how some of the rest of you are doing on your blogs. Sleep well and happy reading. It's going to be fun!

Oct 22, 9am: hour 1 read 50 pages of The Haunting of Hill House. Ready for hour 2!

10am: Read 114 pages of Ghostgirl: Homecoming by Tonya Hurley. I had started that one before, so it's done! Hour 2 was great. Now that's it warmed up a bit, I'm going to move over to the sun porch where it's quieter. I'm also thinking a snack is in order. On to hour 3!

11am: Read 50 pages of Meg Cabot's 1-800-WHERE-R-You book Sanctuary. I think this is book 3 in the series. I'm reading them out of order. Maybe book 4. Anyway, it's really good and easy to read. This hour I'm cheerleading for Team Cocoa Puffs. Go puffs! See you on the other side.

12:45: I was cheering for the past 1 1/2 hours. Yeah team Cocoa Puffs! People are getting through a lot of good books. Now for some lunch and a walk outside. With audiobook, of course.

3:00 Wow, time flies. Since the last post I got 50 more pages into Sanctuary and finished 4 Richard Matheson short stories on audio: "Buried Talents," "The Near Departed," "Prey," "Witch War," and "Dance of the Dead." They were all really bad. I think I have to switch my audio selection. Now starts the serious reading.

4:45 Finished one book! Sanctuary by Meg Cabot. I got through 131 pages in that stretch. Now I need some aspirin for my headache. i think I'm going to go for another walk before the sun sets and then read some graphic novels. Now on my player: Crossing Over by Anna Kendall aka Nancy Dress. Read by Simon Vance. Simon will take all my pains away. Stay focused!

7:30 Finished another book! The graphic novel Amulet: Book 2 by Kazu Kibuishi. I liked this one better than the first in the series. There are a lot of good Star Wars references. I also wanted to add this photo of the graphic novels I have around and may or may not finish in the next 12 hours. Next up: some Philip K Dick short stories, Minority Report and Other Classics. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to cheer me on! It really is inspiring.