#24in48 Wrap-Up & What's Next

Ah, Monday, we meet again.  This weekend I participated in the 24in48 readathon hosted by Rachel @ Home Between Pages. She posted a set of follow-up questions so I'm gonna fill them out here.

1. How many hours did you read, if you were tracking?I capped out last night at 22 hours and 5 minutes.  SO CLOSE!
2. How many books did you read, if you were tracking?
   I read The last 2/3 of The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson, all of Blood Rites by Jim Butcher, all of Snowed In by Rachel Hawthorne, and the beginning 2/3 of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.
3. How many pages did you read, if you were tracking?
   Some rough addition: about 1,200
4. Favorite book of the ‘thon?I think it's going to be Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.  Of course that is hinged on the ending, and if I don't like the ending then it'll be Blood Rites.
5. Least favorite?
   The Amityville Horror.  I'll be reviewing this, but basically because it's (allegedly) a true story, it read more like a newspaper article or like a textbook sequence of events.  Rather than a proper novel.
6. Thing you learned from this ‘thon?
   • Don't forget that sometime in the 48 hours you should be sleeping.  
   • And that, if you work a traditional job, you gotta get up for work on Monday morning. 
   • And remember that wine makes you sleepy; usually I stay up late on Fridays, but I...drank too much wine and fell asleep at like 10:30.  So I didn't start until 9 Saturday morning
   • Switch books!  I have a weird mindset about books and I actually think the goodreads challenge exacerbates it because I keep thinking in terms of finishing books and not in the fact that I read for 22 hours (which is pretty amazing)!  When I felt meh about a book, I would be hesitant to switch books because then I would finish less books but read the same amount of time. So there were a few times near hours 18-20 where I felt like I was doing homework which was so annoying (I was mostly annoyed at myself).  
   • Make a tasty meal on Friday and eat the leftovers all weekend.  Because cooking takes away from precious reading time, but eating crappy food is depressing.

What's Next

Finishing up Miss Peregrine, likely tonight, and then I am going to attempt to get over my mental roadblock that screams "Back away!  You'll never finish!" when I look at A Clash of Kings and cower into a corner. This is my book for Once Upon a Time VIII (which I haven't started and ends on June21 which is growing closer and closer!). If that's unsuccessful tonight, I will probably spend 2 hours choosing my next book and then fall asleep before I can start.

I'll be reviewing The Amityville Horror, and I think Miss Peregrine and hope to have them posted by the end of the week(end).

How was your weekend?  Did you do #24in48?

#24in48 Check-In - Hour 12

Well it's technically hour 14, but, no matter!

I've completed 5 hours of reading and I always get frustrated when it takes me a long time to read a short book, so I have to keep reminding myself that this is simply based on the amount of time spent reading, not how many books I blaze through this weekend.

My Stats:

Books read: Finished The Amityville Horror  (and I haven't chosen my next book)

Pages read: 222

Time read: 4 hours & 45 minutes

I'm gonna make some popcorn for a snack while I mull over what to read next.  Turns out I'm not in the mood to read anything from my pre-selected stack. Ugh.

How's your readathon coming along?

#24in48 Kick-Off!

So, ahem, yes the readathon started 8 hours ago but...when you have a bottle of delicious wine and new bath bubbles...sometimes you fall asleep early, okay?

I'll be starting ASAP right after I brew my coffee.  This is hosted by Home Between Pages.  She posted a quick bunch of Qs on her kick-off post to be answered when readers start!


1. From what part of the world are you reading today?
Northwest New Jersey!

2. What book are you most looking forward to?
The conclusion of The Amityville Horror because I'm getting anxious waiting to see how it all pans out. I think I'll read that first since I'm limited to daylight hours with that one.

3. What’s your plan for the weekend, if you have one? 12 hours a day? 18 today, 6 tomorrow?
I thought I had a plan, but. I really don't. I'm just gonna read whenever I'm not doing something else. Most of my reading will be tomorrow, I think, as I have a prior commitment this evening.

4. Are you going to be tracking anything specific this weekend besides time, like page count, books read, snacks consumed?
When I started formulating my "plan" in my head, I was like ooh, I'll finish so many books! But I think I will just count time read, because when I try and finish books or read a certain amount of pages, I think I start to rush through books to get to the next one.

5. Is this your first readathon? If its not, leave our newbies your best readathon tip.
It IS my first readathon! I'm excited!

6. Where are you going to be updating this weekend? Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, a blog?
Mostly here and MAYBE on Twitter.


Onto the mass amount of reading!!!!

What are you book are you starting with?  (Or...what book did you start with?)

Finally Friday - Once Upon A Time VIII

Aw yeah, it's Friday, baby.

A few weeks ago I found out about Once Upon A Time VIII, a three month reading challenge hosted by Carl @ Stainless Steel Droppings.  And of course it's taken me this long to write up a post about it (aka make a commitment).  The challenge runs from March 21 through June 21, and it encompasses 4 broad categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology ("including the seemingly countless sub-genres and blending of genres that fall within this spectrum").

The challenge has multiple levels to which you can choose to commit.  I have elected to get started with the first option *cue movie announcer voice*: The Journey.  From the OUATVIII post:

This is really as simple as the name implies. It means you are participating, but not committing yourself to any specific number of books. By signing up for The Journey you are agreeing to read at least one book within one of the four categories during March 21st to June 21st period. Just one book. If you choose to read more, fantastic! If not, then we have still had the pleasure of your company during this three month reading journey and hopefully you have read a great book, met some interesting people, and enjoyed the various activities that occur during the challenge. It has always been of utmost importance to me that the challenges that I host be all about experiencing enjoyable literature and sharing it with others. I want you to participate. Hence, The Journey.

I went book shopping yesterday and by pure chance, bought two books that could easily fit into some of these categories. (Looks like I'll be Stacking the Shelves a little more frequently that once a month.) And, taking a look at my current TBR pile, I see a handful of contenders.  However, I think I will take this opportunity to read (and COMPLETE - hopefully) A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) by George R. R. Martin.

I'm currently reading The Amityville Horror, but I'll finish that soon (my reading is limited to daylight hours only - scary stuff!) and move on to the battle for the Iron Throne.  (That's what it's about, right?  I can't remember - it's been a year!)

Wishlist Wednesday #1

Wishlist Wednesday (hosted by Dani of Pen to Paper) is a book blog hop where we post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.

A Lot Like Love by Julie James

As the daughter of a billionaire and the owner of the city's top wine store, Jordan Rhodes is invited to the most exclusive parties in Chicago. But there's only one party the FBI wants to crash: the charity fundraiser of a famous restaurateur, who also happens to launder money for the mob. In exchange for her brother's release from prison, Jordan is going to be there—with a date supplied by the Bureau.

Agent McCall just wants her...

As the top undercover agent in Chicago, Nick McCall has one rule: never get personal. This "date" with Jordan Rhodes is merely an assignment—one they're both determined to pull off even if they can't be together for five minutes before the sarcasm and sparks begin to fly. But when Nick's investigation is compromised, he and Jordan have no choice but to pretend they're a couple, and what starts out as a simple assignment begins to feel a lot like something more. - As seen on Goodreads

I may have mentioned before how much I love Julie James and I am just dying to read this next book in her FBI/U.S. Attorney series.  AND this is actually the first time I'm reading the full description and, look at that they have to PRETEND TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP!!  "He and Jordan have no choice but to pretend they're a couple." This is by far one of my favorite tropes in romance.  Give me ALL the fake relationship and then we fall in love stuff!

Julie's books are funny and sexy and so perfect - I can't wait to start on another.

This must jump to the top of my to-buy list because I need this right now. What wishlist item do you need right now?

Top Ten Tuesday #2 | Gateway Books

Yay to me for keeping with something for two whole blog posts!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week, the topic is Top Ten Five "Gateway" Books/Authors In My Reading Journey.

1. Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel

This is the first book I can remember reading, and it's about, you guessed it, potty training.  Well, it's not exactly about potty training - it's about using a potty and it's for the kid to read (or the parent to read to the kid). I actually loved this book and I read it for a while after I learned to use the bathroom.  It was like my bathroom reading of choice.  I was a weird kid.  I am dubbing this my gateway book into reading.

2. Daughters of the Moon Series by Lynne Ewing - Gateway to new releases/YA supernatural/fantasy genreThis was the series of books that introduced me into the supernatural/fantasy genre. I read these as they were released - not that I tracked them or anything (was there even the internet in 2000?) it just so happened that I went to the bookstore (in the mall) super frequently and checked for new books.  I also think these were the first books I had as hardcovers and I felt super fancy with them all next to each other on my bookshelf.

3. The Dallas Women's Guide to Gold-Digging With Pride: A Novel by J.C. Conklin - Gateway to Jennifer Crusie

The image for this book is just not working! I borrowed this book from the library during the summer of 2010.  This was the summer I didn't work or intern so I just sat around and after a while I couldn't take it any more so I went to the library.  It was like going into a new world because, hello, it's FREE. I'd never really perused the library for non-academic purposes before.  Anyway, this was the first contemporary romance I'd ever read (I think) and...it was pretty much the gateway into it because when I returned it the next book I borrowed was by Jennifer Crusie and, well, we all know how that ends.  (Hint: it doesn't ever end.)

4. Author Jennifer Crusie - Gateway to Contemporary Romance genreThe above blurb provides a jump-off point for me to wax poetic about the Great Jennifer Crusie.  Bet Me is one of my favorite books of all time. My goal is to read all of Jennifer's books.  After I read Bet Me read all of the Crusie books in my local library. I've read Crazy About You twice. I really should make more of an effort to reach my "author expert" goal. Maybe the April readathon...

5. The Dresden Files Series by Jim Butcher - Gateway to adult supernatural/fantasy genreMy dad bought me the first book in this series because I "like that Harry Potter guy so much."  I put off reading it for a while because, well, my dad has never really given me a book that I enjoyed reading.  He must've researched this series or something because I can't imagine how he came across it.  The series follows the life and times of Harry Dresden, a wizard in the Chicago area who sometimes consults with the Chicago P.D. on "weird" occurrences (aka supernatural shit). It's a really great world and Jim Butcher does a fantastic job building it without boring the shit out of me...like some horror/supernatural specialists we know. The books are not particularly thought provoking or complicated, but they are really interesting.  And ALSO - I was very, very pleased that Jim didn't try to force a romance into the storyline.  Any romance (if you could call it that) happens so naturally and amazingly in the background of every book.  

Stacking the Shelves #1 (March 2014)

Time for my first Stacking the Shelves - woot woot!  I think I will do this monthly. Stacking the Shelves is a (technically) weekly blog hop hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I've been buying tons and tons of cheap books on my (brand new!) Kindle so this is gonna be a long ass list.  Normally I will include pictures of the covers but it would just be overwhelming for a list of this size.  Some I have already reviewed(*). The cheap books are basically smut/romance, so this is not a recommendation list.

Super Cheap (and free!) Books for Kindle:

• Cuddle Buddy by Nate Tanner*
• His Roommate's Pleasure by Lana McGregor*
• BTW I Love You by Nico Jaye
• Freshman Orientation by Brandon Reed*
• How to Discipline Your Vampire by Mina Vaughn
• The Hazards of a One Night Stand (which is the second books in a series and I didn't know so now I have to get the first one).
• Fate by Nikki Sex
• Late Night Snack by Lou Harper
• Summer Unplugged by Amy Sparkling
• Yes, Sir by Ellis Carrington
• Negotiation Skills (Boardroom Acts) by Laurel Crement
• His Need Her Desire (Dominating Billionaires Erotic Romance #1) by Malia Mallory
• The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman

Paper Books:

• One Week Girlfriend by Monica Murphy
• The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson (currently reading)
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• Never Have I Ever by Katie Heaney

*Takes breath* Okay, that's all of them.  Goodness gracious.  I bought all of these and I only read 3.  What the hell am I doing?  I frustrate myself because I know most of these are crappy books, why did I even get them?  

What did you stack your shelves with this month?  Anything you LOVED?