Thursday, April 1, 2010

Couldn't Resist Another Read-a-Thon!

The Girl and I are ready for our third Read-a-Thon, and this time, Serena will be making her way to our house for the event.  We try our hardest to stay focused on our books, but we also do a lot of chatting, which helps as the hours tick by.  Dewey's Read-a-Thon will be held on Saturday, April 10, beginning at 8 a.m. in my neck of the woods.

So far, I haven't managed to stay up for the whole Read-a-Thon, and the amount of reading I accomplish during the events is pathetic (I finished one fairly short book during my first Read-a-Thon and read about 100 pages of one book during my second Read-a-Thon), but it's always great fun.

I've already pulled a few books off the shelf in preparation, but since the Read-a-Thon is still several days away, this list could change.  I plan to focus on the Vietnam War Reading Challenge and hope to make a dent in the last few books in the Betsy-Tacy series.  Here's my list:

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Dien Cai Dau by Yusef Komunyakaa
Song of Napalm by Bruce Weigl
Betsy Was a Junior/Betsy and Joe by Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy and the Great World/Betsy's Wedding by Maud Hart Lovelace

The Girl and I also agreed on a book to read together if we need a change of pace:

Behind Enemy Lines: True Stories of Amazing Courage by Bill Doyle

The Girl also set aside a stack of books, some of which she's already started and wants to finish:

Holes by Louis Sachar
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Bone: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith
The Prom Queen (Fear Street) by R.L. Stine
Santa Paws, Come Home by Nicholas Edwards
Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies From Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds) by Dav Pilkey

Ambitious lists, we know, but we like to keep our options open.

Are you participating in the Read-a-Thon?

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© 2010, Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or reproduce content without permission.

20 comments:

Bybee said...

I'll be there, most definitely...glad to see you'll be working on the Betsy series. I would love to read Betsy and The Great World again.

Ruth King said...

Sadly I'm not participating this time around. I had a blast back in October but this month is going to be absolutely insane for me. Fall seems to work better for me -- I missed last year's spring read-a-thon as well. I'll be cheering from the sidelines, though! Good luck to you and your daughter!

Lenore Appelhans said...

I really want to...let's see!

And Holes is awesome!

Serena said...

wow, I think your list is even more ambitious than mine!

Sandy Nawrot said...

Yes! Emma and I are participting. She has yet to come up with her list, and of course mine keeps changing. The Things They Carried is on the list though. It should be fun!

bermudaonion said...

I'd do the read-a-thon if I could come hang out with y'all too!

Helen's Book Blog said...

I am looking forward to this read-a-thon as well! "See" you then!

Carrie said...

One day, when my children are older, I would love to participate in a Read-A-Thon.

For now I just live vicariously through people like you!=) HAVE FUN!

Anna said...

Bybee: Great! I read the first 5 Betsy Tacy books last year, and I can't wait to finish up the series. I only wish I'd discovered it a long time ago.

Ruth: Thanks! I look forward to you cheering me on. Believe me, it helps! I tend to do better with the spring Read-a-Thons. I feel so blah in the fall.

Lenore: The Girl is enjoying Holes so far. I'll have to borrow it when she's done. I hope you can participate!

Serena: Well, I like to keep my options open. At least I'm realistic in that I know I'll be lucky to finish one thing on my list. LOL

Sandy: Can't wait to see your lists. I'm sure you and your daughter will have a great time together.

bermudaonion: You're always welcome at my house! Too bad you don't live closer...

Helen: Glad to hear you're participating, too!

Carrie: Thanks! It would be hard if The Girl was a lot younger.

Anonymous said...

I hope you guys have a lot of fun! I haven't decided yet whether or not to join in.

Anna said...

carolsnotebook: You should participate! You don't have to read the full 24 hours... ;)

Lisa said...

What fun that you and The Girl are doing the readathon together! I tried to stay awake the whole 24 hours last time but I was just fighting to stay awake after 22 hours and really didn't even enjoy the last book I read. That seems kind of pointless to me. So this time I'm really going to work harder to read more during the day and shoot for no more than 20 hours.

Anna said...

Lisa: 20 hours!?! I think 15 or 16 is the best I've ever done. We don't fight sleep; when we've had enough, we just crash. LOL Hope you have a fun time!

Iliana said...

Oh what fun you girls are going to have! I am still not sure if I'll be participating or not. I'd love to but I think I have a friend visiting that day and sadly, she's a non-reader! gasp! haha...

Anna said...

Iliana: I don't think the Read-a-Thon is a way to convert non-reader friends, unfortunately. LOL

Kathy (mommysreading) said...

I will be participating also and am sooo excited. It will be my first time. I don't know exactly what to expect, so I don't have a huge list of books to tackle. I have a bunch of arcs that need to be reviewed, but I think I may break down and buy my FIRST book of 2010 for the event. I thinking Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

Dawn @ sheIsTooFondOfBooks said...

I hope you all have a great time! It's great that The Girl will be readathon-ing again, too :)

Anna said...

Kathy: I really liked Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. It's pretty short, so it could make a good Read-a-Thon selection.

Dawn: I'm sure we'll have loads of fun, even if we chat more than expected. :)

Shelley said...

Have fun with the readathon. I have been postponing joining the Vietnam challenge until I know I can commit. It's been hard resisiting! I have a copy of The Things They Carried and might read a story or two on Saturday!

Anna said...

Shelley: Thanks! I hope you do, too. I know how hard it can be juggling reading challenges, but we'd love to have you join us. :)