I am hopelessly addicted to YouTube and recently I’ve been watching jessethereader and PeruseProject. They both did a 24 Hour Read-A-Thon which sparked an idea. Basically they chose some books they wanted to read over a 24 hour period to see what they could accomplish. Now they did NOT read for 24 hours straight, that’s not the point. Rather it’s setting a goal, spending time reading and enjoying yourself. They did record their read-a-thon for YouTube, obviously, but I decided to do it via my blog so we’ll see how this goes.
So, here’s the plan.
I’m going to start my read-a-thon on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 2:00pm EST. The books I plan to read are “The Darker Side of Magic, “A Gathering of Shadows” and “A Conjuring of Light” all by V.E. Schwab. These are books in a trilogy that I checked out of the library this past Tuesday. I’m already reading “The Darker Side of Magic” so I’ll be starting on page 71. Just being honest. I’m also going to listen to “A Curse So Dark and Lonely” by Brigid Kemmerer via audiobook which I started a couple days ago. I have 9 hours and 44 minutes left. Again, being honest.
Now, I DO plan on sleeping, eating and walking my dog so the audiobook will come in handy during meals and walks. Sleeping..no I will not be reading. I’m going to shoot for finishing the first two books in the trilogy, the audiobook and see how far I can get in the third. It depends on how much attention Libby, my dog, wants during that 24 hours. Priorities.
Let’s Begin
It’s Saturday 2:00pm I’m all settled into my favorite chair, comfy blanket in place, Libby is sleeping on the couch and I’m going to start reading. I’ll check in throughout the next 24 hours.
Here we go.
Hi! It’s Saturday at 5:30pm and I’ve been reading “A Darker Shade of Magic” this afternoon. At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like the book. I had read a little yesterday before I decided to do this read-a-thon and thought it was interesting but now I know it is really a great story. So different from what I thought it was going to be. Basically there are multiple Londons and the main male character, Kell, has magic to travel between them. One London has magic, another does not, a third has magic but has warped it so that they are basically evil and the last one the magic has destroyed so it’s dead. He meets Lila who is human and is from the London that doesn’t have any magic. Things get very intense when they meet and that’s where I am right now. So good! I’m on page 177 of 400 so almost half way. I still have a few more hours to read tonight. I will check in before bed. Back to the story! What will happen? Exciting!
Well it’s bedtime. Things got pretty intense in the book. I wondered about Kell’s future. I was actually so engrossed in the story I didn’t hear Libby whining to go outside. Oops. I’m at the halfway point now. I was hoping to finish tonight but that just didn’t happen. I usually listen to audiobooks because when I read on my Kindle my eyes blur but I’ve recently discovered that paper books don’t do that so I can actually read again. It feels so good! I think I’m out of practice and read a little slower but I’m hoping with time I’ll read a little faster. Ok, off to bed I go. I’ll pick things up tomorrow morning. Night!
Good Morning! I’ve been up for a few hours, had coffee, set up my planner (paper) for the day while listening to my audiobook and have been reading for a couple hours. So much has happened. Basically Kell and Lila are now together on the run from someone who is trying to kill them. I don’t want to give away a lot of the book but magic is used, blood is spilled and lines have been crossed. Such a good story and I can’t quite figure out how this will all end. Right now I’m going to have some cereal and then walk Libby while I continue with my audiobook. It’s also getting pretty good. It’s a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but from a much darker perspective. I’ve listened to about two hours since I started and am using that as reading time when I’m not physically reading a book. All in all I’m really enjoying myself. I’ll check in at lunch time.
Good afternoon! I just finished “A Darker Shade of Magic” and it is a great book. Lots of action, magic and wit. The characters of Kell, Lila and Rhy are so interesting and the story was so intense. Lila is a strong female character who accepts herself for who she is and doesn’t make any excuses or apologies. I’m so glad I chose this as my first book to read. I’m also making good progress on the audiobook “A Curse So Dark and Lonely”. I have a little under 3 hours left and things just got interesting. The beast has just appeared!
So onto the next book in the series, “A Gathering of Shadows” (509 pages) but first I have to take Libby out. She’s been so patient and I think she likes the fireplace app on my cable box. It’s been quiet and cozy. I’ll check in after the read-a-thon is done for a final update. Time to read!
Well it’s 2pm and the read-a-thon is done. I had to do a load of laundry and also start editing audio for a podcast I work on so I only read 48 pages into the second book and it’s really good so far. Lila seems to be the main character in this one which is great. I also have about 2 hours left in my audiobook. I think we’re heading to the part in the story where beauty and the beast come together to save the village. I’m not sure because this is a totally different story than the Disney movie.
The challenge has been a great experience. I read so much and taking the time away from watching tv was definitely a plus. I guess the question I’m left with is, would I do it again. And the answer is a definite yes. Spending 24 hours reading was relaxing, calming and just the escape I needed from my everyday life. Is Libby really happy with me right now? Probably not but all in all she’s been very good. She’s slept though most of it and as long as she got her beef jerky she was satisfied.
Thanks so much for reading this far. I definitely didn’t read as much as I thought I would but that’s ok. I also didn’t intend for this post to be so long but I want to inspire some of my reader friends to give this a try. I hope you enjoyed this blog as much as I enjoyed the read-a-thon.
Until next time!
Therese M Woolley 