The Read-a-thon begins!

For those of you who haven't heard, I'm participating in a 24-hour reading marathon from 5 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. on Sunday. It begins now!!

If you would like to join or see what all the literary fuss is about, hop on over to the website here


Here's a questionnaire to get going on all the fun and festivities.

• Where are you reading from today? Glendora, California!
• 3 facts about me … 1. Most days I wear pink sparkly eyeshadow; I can’t help myself. 2. I am a Ph.D. student in English literature...so part of this read-a-thon is my normal homework routine of reading every minute of every day, haha. 3. This is my first read-a-thon!
• How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? About 14, but I am rooting for finishing about 4 or 5.
• 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)? 4-5 books, probably 15 hours or so (hopefully more!), and I want to cheer others on when I get a chance.
• If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time? It’s my first, but I would love advice!

listies

I have finally compiled my read-a-thon list, which is so exciting that I think I might have to do a little dance before typing any more...

*long pause*

Allllrighty then. Back to business!

My read-a-thon list is quite awesome. Starting at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning, I will be reading...

"Non-negotiable…" selections

Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare—for my Shakespeare class

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare—for my Shakespeare class

The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England by Richard Godbeer—for my American History course (I'll probably add this to my non-fiction five challenge list)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie—for the Intro to Lit course that I teach. My students start discussing this book on Tuesday…

Henry V by William Shakespeare—for my big ‘ole paper due in a month (blah)

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins—I have to write a paper on this novel before school is out to finish my incomplete in my last nineteenth-cent. British lit course. I should re-read it or at least get a good chunk re-read this weekend.

Just for me, but still academic-y.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne—because it’s soooo good.

Hard Times by Charles Dickens—for my Classics Challenge J

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens—because Dickens is my homeboy

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen—because I’m the only one (and by “one” I mean mushy book-crazy girl) I know who hasn’t read it.

For fun, for ME!!!

All Cooked Up Elvis Cookbook—to make the read-a-thon hip shakin’ good (for Non-fiction five challenge)

Being Perfect by Anna Quindlen

The Messenger by Lois Lowry

Dr. Dredd’s Wagon of Wonders by Bill Brittain

Does my list make you happy too? Enough to dance?

Here's another list. It's things I've done in the past 24 hours. Lots of numbers.

I have...

1. graded 39 essays, 4-7 pages each
2. slept 2 hours
3. taught 2 classes
4. caused 2 students to cry
5. written about 15 emails for the transdisciplinary Text course
6. received my big Amazon box in the mail with 7 new books!
7. danced 1 happy dance
8. spent about 1 hour w/ hubby
9. eaten 1/2 of an enchilada that I brought home from El Ranchero a few nights ago. YUM.
10. compiled my weekend's read-a-thon list
11. danced 1 more happy dance
12. made a list on my blog with 12 items

And the answer is "yes" if you have asked, "is she going nuts?"

bookmarks

I've been mulling over my books for about two weeks now trying to decide what I have to read for school during the read-a-thon and what I get to read for myself. Since this is my last semester of coursework for my Ph.D. in English Literature, I'm working my rear end off trying to complete all of my assignments and finish what I start, which is a very hard thing for me to do when it comes to books. I LOVE books. I love, love, love them. But I have problems, too.

I have an entire house full of books that are only partially read. I did a quick head count of my shelves, and just glancing at one of my "novel" shelves, I saw around thirty books with bookmarks sticking out of them. I am pretty diligent about marking my place when I stop reading them, but I am very bad at ever getting around to finishing the books. I have very good intentions. In fact, I try all the time to go back to books that I never finished. The problem, of course, is that I want to start over from the beginning again, and then I usually get busy right around the time I stopped the last time, so the book mark goes in again and I never make it to the end.

Grad school has been brutal to my bookmark problem. In fact, the number of bookmarks I've lost to some really good books has probably quadrupled in the past four years. There is never enough time to finish one 800 page Victorian novel before it's time to read the next one, or the next one, or the one after that...and the tumultuous cycle continues. (That said, I've probably read *and finished* hundreds of books in the past four years...but I've stopped short too often due to the time constraints of school.)

Does anyone else have this problem? Am I the only one with book-marky bookshelves??

...I have made a vow to myself that I am going to finish before summer is over at least the books that I claim are my favorites. Then, once I finish my dissertation in 2011, I can revisit my bookmarks one by one.

Chocolate Cake; or, what I did last night instead of grading papers

Last night, Scott and I made a delicious chocolate cake from my All Cooked Up Elvis cookbook. All I can say is YUM. I'll post the recipe later. :)

I am doing a ton of reading for my history course, so I don't have much time to blog, but I wanted to say that I'm formulating a tentative list of books for my readathon! I'm going to have one for each of my classes, and then maybe a little one just for me. I'm two-thirds of the way through Lois Lowry's Giver series, which has The Giver, Gathering Blue, and The Messenger. I'll probably read the last book during my 'thon. The others will have to be school books, but I'm going to try to make some little goals for myself to spice it up. Any suggestions?

Love to the fam, KB

Marathon

24 hour read-a-thon? Of course I've heard of it...it's called every day in grad school!

But in all seriousness...

I've been playing around with the idea of joining the 24 hour reading marathon on April 18-19th. What do y'all think? I know I definitely have plenty to keep me occupied. The question is, can I stay awake the whole time??

The cool thing about the marathon is that you can use it to work on other reading challenges (again, in the real world it's called "homework"!). I would just need to make sure that I get all my grading done before the weekend. :) Would anyone want to join me? I think it sounds like fun.

Of course, I am a big nerd and admit this in public venues. But books are awesome, and I like making lists and then crossing things off. It may be a sickness. More details later.

Non-Fiction Five Challenge

Non-Fiction Five Challenge
May 1 - September 30, 2009

My friend and fellow book-lover Trish has taken on a new challenge and has invited us to join here.

The Rules (unchanged from previous years)

1. Read 5 non-fiction books during the months of May - September, 2009 (please link your reviews on Mister Linky each month; Mister Linky can be found each month on this blog)

2. Read at least one non-fiction book that is different from your other choices (i.e.: 4 memoirs and 1 self-help)

(all choices do not need to be posted and may change at any time)

My tentative list:

1. All Cooked Up: Recipes and Memories from Elvis' Family and Friends
2. Jill Lepore's New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in 18th Century Manhattan
3. Julian Symons' Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel: A History
4. Christopher Booker's The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories
5. Harry Mount's Carpe Diem: Put a Little Latin in Your Life