The Relentless Weekly Wrap-Up 04/27/14

~ Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader ~ 16 Comments

Reviews:
My 14 year old kiddo reviewed A Wrinkle in Time
The Promise by Ann Weisgarber
Read:
I can’t find my reading mojo even though I’m reading a few great things right now. Boo. I ended up reading issues 1-20 of The Walking Dead series. I’ve been meaning to get to those forever and I thought they’d be just the thing for the nonexistent attention span thing I’ve going going on lately.
Currently Reading:
I normally don’t read more than one book at a time, but one of these is a short story collection (The Heaven of Animals) and the other is nonfiction (Toms River). I’m dabbling here and there in an attempt to shake up my brain and find my book love.
Around the Blogosphere:

Katie, at Words for Worms, has selected the next book for The Fellowship of the Worms readalong! Do you read well with others? You ought to join this awesome lady in reading Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.

Are you looking forward to the summer reading season? Rory put together a fab list of books that will be coming our way shortly. Ahhh, beach reading!
Other Business:

The above post doesn’t include any of the craziness of Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon that happened yesterday. (I read books, ya’ll!) I’ll update about that at another time. You can see my master post here. I had a GREAT day.

Have a fantastic week, you brilliant readers! 

It’s the Most WONDERFUL Dayyyyy of the YEAR!

~ Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader ~ 30 Comments

Kick off questions:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I’m in Wisconsin, USA (Way up north…it’s snowing this morning)

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
I’m doing mostly classics this time around and I’m really jazzed to read some Salinger short stories!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I whipped up a fruit dip that is mighty tasty.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I have clinodactyly. Google it!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? 
Last time I didn’t take time to do many (any?) of the hourly challenges. I might try to do that today. 

I’ll be updating this post throughout the day. Have a great readathon!

11:00 A.M.

So I read my first book and it was The Time Machine by H.G. Wells: 

Such a groovy cover!
I was reading along and thinking about how simplistic the language was. The book ended abruptly as well. Then I realized that this is a kid version that was serialized. Oh silly me. Those 46 pages still count. Right? 
I moved on to the FANTASTIC Animal Farm by George Orwell. Holy smokes, you guys. Why did it take me so long to read this? I think I’m hitting some Salinger short stories next. I’m all about the classics this time around.
I spent some time cheering on Twitter. Fun times! Goooooo #TeamShakespeare!
Last, but nowhere near least is the food! I made a yummy, and easy, fruit dip. Here’s the recipe!
I’ll check in again after an hour or two or three. Muah!

2:30 P.M.


Mmm. Yes.

Since I last checked in I read The Perfect Day for Bananafish. It’s a short story that was first published in The New Yorker in 1948. I picked up a copy of J.D. Salinger’s Nine Stories because it contains that very story. Want to read a story that packs a rip your heart out & stomp on it kind of punch? Look no further.

When I woke up this morning I threw lunch in the crockpot. Blessings upon you, shredded crockpot chicken! (<~~Recipe that you totally want) The chicken can be used for nachos, or tacos, or for whatever your hungry little heart dreams up. Today's lunch was a big 'ol plate of nachos. They were scrumptious!

You’ll be very happy to learn that I bathed. Finally.
I’m currently digging into another short (163 pages) classic: The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers.
Are you eating some great food, reading some great books, and meeting some great people? I sure hope so!
We’ll chat again soon. Go read!

6:00 P.M.

Since my last update I finished The Member of the Wedding and have read a bunch of issues of The Walking Dead comics.

The classics I chose for today are super but they are heavy in tone. I needed a palate cleanser. (Wait, is it weird that I consider zombie killing light fare?)

I’ve also been drinking a LOT of coffee. I felt my eyes getting a bit droopy earlier. There’s no shame in napping (which I will probably end up doing later) but I don’t want to yet.

I was able to participate in a few mini-challenges in the last couple of hours as well. I’ve seen some really great ideas and fun challenges. (In anticipation of today I finally got my poop in a group and joined Instagram. I’m a cool kid now!)

When my brain feels ready I’m going to read another slim classic. For now, it’s back to the zombies!

9:00 P.M.

Is it just me or did the last 3 hours just zoom on by?

I started, and finished, The Stranger by Albert Camus. Yet another serious literary work (said in an extra snooty tone). It was good, ya’ll. Real good. 
Now I’ll answer the mid-event survey…even though I should have done it an hour or two ago. 

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?
I just finished The Stranger and plan on hitting The Walking Dead comics again

2. How many books have you read so far?
Five+

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I’m pretty sure I’m going to read We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. I’m pretty jazzed up about that.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Not really. My kids are teens. They aren’t usually clamoring to hang out with their nerdy mother. 

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
I haven’t really had any.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
That it’s more fun every single time I participate!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Can we make it 48 hours? Ha ha ha!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Hmm, can’t think of anything. We needed more cheerleaders and people really stepped up this time. Yay!

9. Are you getting tired yet?I had a stretch of time when my eyelids were droopy but I feel pretty alert right now.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
I prepared my chicken last night before bed and put it in the crockpot as soon as I woke up this morning so I didn’t have to fuss with my food much today. That was kinda awesome.

Stay awake, kittens! We have hours to go!
1:00 A.M.
Goooood morning! Or good evening? It depends where you’re from doesn’t it? 
So. I just realized that I’ve been cheering for the wrong team all day. I’m Team Shakespeare but I was cheering for Team Austen. What a doofus. Ah well, I was spreading the love so all is well I suppose.
I read some more comics and I’ve made some good progress on We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. 
The tired is creeping up on me. I had a moment of weakness while reading in bed. I closed my eyes…gasp! But before I fell asleep I flew out of bed and begged for help on Twitter. The gang came through and cheered me up and on. Thanks!
How much longer will I last? Time will tell.
3:00 A.M.
Because I can hardly see straight to type this I know I won’t be lasting much longer. I’m going to snuggle up in bed and read until I physically can’t anymore. I’ll also probably send out a tweet or two before I completely zonk out.
Before I sign off for the night (day?) I have to thank all of the wonderful co-hosts, cheerleaders, and participants. You have made this my favorite reading/blogging event. THANKS!