Gooooood Morning Readathon!

I’ve slept in, made a pot of coffee and officially welcomed all participants of da house to Dewey’s fall 2020 24RaT (being hubs, and Kuki, Sumi & Effie our feline supporters). Now I just want to put up a short start-of message and GO READ!!!

Are you read-a-thonning this weekend as well? If you’re from a different time zone you’ll notice I’m ahead of the official kick-off. That’s because it’s so much more exciting to awake to the event and get going right away — how it started with our founder Dewey. So I’m not cheating (it’s not even a contest LOL); just making the most of it :-) I feel I can as this is my 11th (?) year participating.

So, it 10:45am and I am picking up Petite.

Dewey’s Fall 2020 24 Hour Readathon

Hooray! Only two more nights till Dewey’s fall 2020 24 hour readathon (24RaT for short)! Although officially starting at 2PM in my time zone, I’ll probably begin right after waking up as I’ve kept the weekend free and Mr Gnoe and I love to start our Sats & Suns with coffee, cats and books smartphones books in bed.

I’m confident I’ll be able to finish my current read: Petite (Little), by Edward Carey; an historical novel about the life of Madame Tussaud. Right now I’m at chapter 27 of 72 so I have quite a bit to go.

I saw a friend posting enthusiastically about this book and decided to pick it up with my recently renewed library subscription. So far it’s an ejoyable read.

Of course I’ll also be playing Book Bingo — and Petite will help me smoothly cross off “read a book with with illustrations” and “with a person on the cover”.

I will probably mostly be updating on Instagram (@gnoe) and I hope to see you there!

My readathon update post

This post consists of quick updates on my reading and socialising in the 24 Hour Readathon. New updates will be posted on top during the day.

Hour 24 – THE END

This last hour I spent reading two more stories in Ghostly:

• Click-Clack the Rattlebag ~ Neil Gaiman (2013)
• They ~ Rudyard Kipling (1904)

I *almost* finished the latter; having only five more pages to go.

Total pages read: 173
Total amount of time read: 4.55 hrs
Hours listened: 1
Hours watched: 2
Books finished: 1
Stories read/listened to: 6
Total amount of time spent relevantly socialising: 5.35 hrs

I will need to double check my numbers though ;)

Hour 22-23

Uh-oh, after reading P.G. Wodehouse’s Honeysuckle Cottage (which unexpectedly made me chuckle and read out parts aloud to Mr Gnoe), I just spent 70 minutes on selecting five nominations for my book group. Well, just shows you I take these things seriously.

These are the ones I suggested:

1. The Golden Legend ~ Nadeem Aslam (latest novel from one of my all-time favourite authors)
2. Dear White People ~ Justin Simien (must-read, recommended by my friend @rehanu)
3. My Cousin Rachel ~ Daphne du Maurier (classic haunting tale that I haven’t read yet and seems appropriate for this time of year)
4. Portrait of a Turkish Family ~ Irfan Ogra (highly recommended 1950 autobiography that I’m curious about but can’t remember who mentioned this)
5. The Keeper of Lost Things ~ Ruth Hogan (something light that speaks to my love for objects (a museum girl at heart))

Next Saturday we’re choosing one as our next read. Any of them that you want to plug to my fellow book club members???

Hour 21

Been updating this post and doing some socialising on the web/IG/Litsy. I love how so many of us are reading haunted haunting tales; I don’t recall that from previous autumn editions but it may very well be that I’m more sensitive to it now because I’m reading ghost stories myself this time. Neither the spooky genre nor short story collections appear much on my nightstand.

Hour 13-20

Oops. I went to bed for what was intended to be a 4 hour nap… and awoke at nine. Half an hour to make coffee, brekkie, feed the critters etc. and now I gathered everything and everyone on the bed to continue for the last stretch. It’s awesome fall weather outside mmmmmm real cosy! Next ghost story up is P.G. Wodehouse’s Honeysuckle Cottage (1925).

How are you all doing???

12th Hour

I read the 1904 ghost story The Mezzotint by M.R. James in Ghostly.

Total pages read: 100
Total amount of time read: 2.55 hrs
Hours listened: 1
Hours watched: 2
Books finished: 1
Total amount of time socialised: 3.30 hrs

Hour 6-11

How can it be hour 11 already? I haven’t gotten that much reading done yet! Time flies when you’re having fun and I was out with my film club friends watching Gone Baby Gone, an adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel directed by Ben Affleck. It’s a captivating and intelligent mystery that I can definitely recommend – though not to the tender-hearted. I’m putting Lehane on my list of authors to read! The film itself took two hours but of course we had lots to talk about afterwards and I know all these ladies from the book community. All in all I was away from home for a full four hours.

It’s almost 1AM over here and I’m starting the next story in Ghostly but I’ll probably won’t be able to finish it before my eyes get too heavy and I need to go sleep for a bit…zzz

See you later! Read on!

Hour 3-5

I finished “Donkey Basics“, reading 35 pages in 50 minutes. Surprisingly enough the chapter about breeding was much more interesting than expected.

I finally got to listen to the 15 minute story Memento Mori by Stephanie Victoire aka @weepingwillow84 on instagram; a perfect September tale nominated for the BBC National Short Story Award 2017!

As I wasn’t done cooking and doing housework in a quarter of an hour (lol) I continued with Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn on Audible for about 45 minutes. Now I’m writing this update while having dinner: a chill-veggie kind of stew with spinach and avocado & olives on the side. Don’t worry, Mr Gnoe isn’t here so I’m not being rude ;)

Next up is my film club… Will share later what adaptation we watched!

Total pages read: 80
Total amount of time read: 2.20 hrs
Hours listened: 1
Books finished: 1
Total amount of time socialised: 1.15 hrs

Hour 1-2

I have read for one and a half hour and in that time I finished the 1911 ghost story The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions. I hadn’t expected it to affect me so much! I really need a break now and am glad to have selected books to alternate with this collection. Like… donkeys! Those always make my heart smile. But first I’ll stop by some other participants!
(Pages read: 45)

Hour 0 Opening meme

I answered most of the questions for the traditional opening meme in my intro post but here’s a summary.

1. I’m reading from Utrecht, the Netherlands, Europe (mostly at home).
2. The books in my stack that I’m mostly looking forward are my two current reads that I hope to finish: Ghostly (Audrey Niffenegger) and “Donkey Basics” (Margret Keijzer).
3. Strangely enough I’m not looking forward to any specific snack… but to eating healthy today!
4. J-Lit (Japanese literature) is a favourite genre and I’m a sucker for donkeys and (other) rescue animals – the older the better ;)
5. I intend to take healthy snacks and drinks and get as little distracted as possible…

24 Hour Readathon ~ Autumn 2017

WOW, I’ve been so much looking forward to this October 2017 edition of Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon! It’s my favourite fall event :) I’ve done a minimum of prepping and will be participating low key as my main goal is to just read at long(-ish) stretches of time. I slowly seem to crawl out of a reading slump that’s been going on for years and I’ll do anything it takes to keep going forward!!

But the fact that so many people across the globe are reading and interacting about it at the same time is of course a big part of the thrill so you’ll also find me hopping a few blogs, and mainly post as @gnoe on Instagram, Litsy and now and then Twitter (@graasland). Join me there?!

My plans

Part-time participant

I’m never able to read for the full 24 hours so I’m not going to try. Just as much as I can! Next to that I will try to make my other activities book related. My film club is gathering tonight and it’s my turn to choose a movie. So I suggested a few adaptions of literature. I had hoped to watch Red Sorghum from Zhang Yimou again (one of my all-time favourites), but I wasn’t able to get a copy in time. Now my bet is on either Ben Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone (based on a story by Dennis Lehane), or Alan Parker’s Midnight Express (Billy Hayes) – both available on Netflix. Which one would you pick if you could join us?

Nominating the next read for my book club is also up to me this month. I have a long list of options ready in Goodreads but I can only suggest five… Picking and sending out those is on my chore list for today as well.

Books

During the RaT I’ll definitely be reading the following two books:

• Ghostly, A Collection of Ghost Stories ~ Audrey Niffenegger
  Thoroughly enjoying this selection of haunting fiction for the month of Spooktober. I’m currently at page 137 in Oliver Onions’ 1911 tale The Beckoning Fair One. Since I don’t read a lot of short story collections I will alternate this with other books.
• Ezel-basics (Donkey Basics) ~ Margret Keijzer
  A while ago I stranded at chapter 8 of 12 in this nonfiction book about donkeys; probably because I don’t care about the subject of breeding. I’m really into rescue animals and know there’s a surplus of animals looking for a home without needing to add to that amount. Besides, as a volunteer at the Ezelsociëteit donkey sanctuary my interest goes out to the wellbeing of and caring for these wonderful creatures.
• A novel from Mount TBR, to be chosen at the moment I’ll be starting it.

Optional reads

During household tasks and such I hope to listen to @weepingwillow84’s short story Memento Mori, broadcasted on BBC Radio4 on September 22nd. Chances are I won’t be allowed access though as I’m not an inhabitant of the Commonwealth…

I have plenty of books on my shelf that I’m looking forward to. Don’t you just love picking a new read that fits your mood? A few titles to choose from:

• The Marriage Plot ~ Jeffrey Eugenides
• The Sisters Brothers ~ Patrick De Witt
• De wijnrepubliek (The Republic of Wine) ~ Mo Yan
• Lord of the Flies ~ William Golding
• Here I Am ~ Jonathan Safran Foer
• Monica, mijn vader (Monica, My Father) ~ Maaike Sips
• De offers (The Sacrifices) ~ Kees van Beijnum
• The Lives of Others ~ Neel Mukherjee
• The Master and Margarita ~ Mikhail Bulgarov
• Ghana Must Go ~ Taiye Selasi

Plus several J-lits. I’ve been neglecting my favourite genre and decided to join in Dolce Bellezza’s 11th Japanese Literature Challenge, running through January 2018 (sign-up post to be written later).

• The Book of Tea ~ Okakura Kakuzo
• Kokoro ~ Natsume Sōseki
• The Unconsoled ~ Kazuo Ishiguro

Then there’s also that DNF that’s been bugging me: The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel that I would still like to give another chance. It -literally- drove me crazy with its (so far) 87 pages of one Tomás driving a car on a quest to I’m-not-sure-what-yet.
These days I usually quit when the narrative still doesn’t grab me around page 80, but I’ve had trouble getting into Martel’s books before and they were totally worth pushing through the hard part.

Any of these you want to recommend? Or advise against? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Local starting time: 14.00 o’clock.
Reading from Utrecht, the Netherlands, Europe

Time Is Up: End of the Event Meme (TSS 26-04-2015)

Alas, Dewey’s 24 hour readathon has ended. Even though my ‘numbers’ (which I’ll add later) may not show it, things went very well this time! I rediscovered my love of reading; so much that I wish the event could continue for another day! Maybe it’s a good thing my Lynley mysteries didn’t arrive in time for the weekend — when I’ve finished my current book they’ll probably be here to help me keep my mojo. Without the help of a RaT. And anyway, the community –YOU– will be still around for motivation!

End of the Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
   None in particular: all of them due to the pull of social media and mini challenges. Of course I went to bed at three to sleep for a few hours.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
   A sequel in a series you like and acknowledged page turners in a favourite genre.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
   Nope. It’s perfect!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
   The possibility to pick a medium of choice for updating; not just blogs AND the warm-up tip to use Storify to keep everything in one place! Here’s my story.
   
5. How many books did you read?
   Four (not all finished yet).
6. What were the names of the books you read?
   Oorlog en terpentijn (finished)
   Timothy’s Book: Notes of an English Country Tortoise (finished, after three years on hold!)
   Housekeeping – on audio
   Ik kom terug
   Handleiding voor poetsvrouwen
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
   The book I’m currently reading: Ik kom terug. Loving it and I want to own a copy after I give it back to the friend who lend it to me.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
   Maybe Housekeeping, just because audio isn’t as intense as reading a book yourself. That I enjoyed this one least of all four does NOT mean I don’t like it!
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
   Be strict about the amount of time allotted to cheering… I found myself spending way too much time in cyberspace instead of in a story. Make a choice — and stick to it.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
    YESH! I can’t wait! I’ll sign up as reader-cheerleader again and hope to keep a better balance. ;)

A big THANK YOU to Mr Gnoe, my Instagram and blog followers, all readers, organisers, cheerleaders, challenge-hosts (and anyone I may forget) for making this event such a success. WOOT!

Opening Meme: What the Readathon Means to Me

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

1. I’m from Utrecht, The Netherlands.
2. Looking forward to The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro and reconnecting with The Best of Mutts.
3. Can’t wait to devour my homegrown veggies (wrote about them in my kick-off post)!
4. I like to snailmail: sending old-fashioned letters with small gifts enclosed in pretty envelopes. It’s relaxing and addicting at the same time.
5. The previous time I participated (last autumn) I hardly read. But I’m mega motivated now! Also, I signed up to be a cheerleader for the first time. :))

Remember, I’m not really updating on the blog during the event. Follow my progress on Storify or Instagram!

Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon Springtime Edition

YESH! It’s that time of year again: Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is on. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend awfully much because I desperately want to get my reading mojo back. And the prospect of it actually made me pick up a book and read, read, read already in the past week. :) Let me show you my readathon stack.

I desperately hoped my order from Bookdepository would arrive in time because I’m dying to start a new Inspector Lynley mystery. But I just saw the parcel delivery van pass my home without stopping. :'( Not that I haven’t enough to choose from… ;)

I’m currently reading the award-winning Oorlog en terpentijn by Stefan Hertmans, which I’ll probably finish in one and a half hour. I know this because of the Readmore app I use to keep track of my reading. :) On audio I’m listening to Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping.

My next read will either be Adriaan van Dis’ Ik kom terug or Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant, alternated by Lucia Berlin’s collection of short stories Handleiding voor poetsvrouwen (A Manual for Cleaning Women), translated by my talented friend Maaike (and co’s). The Best of Mutts comics and Timothy’s Book will provide yet another change of palate.

The greens in the background are there for a reason: they’ll provide healthy snacks. Homegrown radishes (did you know you can eat the leaves as well?), corn lettuce and baby spinach. I’ll have to share though because Mr Gnoe is joining me in the readathon for the very first time! Yay, love having a buddy. :D

I don’t plan on reading for the full stretch. I’m not feeling too well today and I never manage twenty-four hours anyway (remember, I’ve been up for half a day already!) Luckily staying at home, taking a rest and read is just what the doctor ordered. ;) I’m just cheating a little by starting a bit early… Local starting time is 2PM and since I’ll be officially cheerleading that first hour I’m kicking-off reading at the nice round number of 1 o’clock. Shoot me if you don’t approve. ;)

Wishing all participants a blast!!!

You can follow my updates during the event on Instagram via @gnoe!

Or see it all collected in one story on Storify.

What are you reading?

So, the readathon… How Did It Go?

While the weather is turning rather nasty as if to mourn, the fall edition of Dewey’s 24 hour readathon has ended. And I’m SO glad I participated! It remembered me of ‘old times’… making me all warm and glowy inside. ;)

What I read

As planned I immersed myself in The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell and got some 20% down. Love it! I’m glad it’s a tome and I still have the majority to go. :) I’m sorry I can’t give you a short summary of this magical realist novel yet – I’ll have to see where it’s going first! The birthday party that broke up this RaT was of family I hadn’t seen in a long time. Of course I was very eager to see and speak to everyone, but it didn’t take long or I longed to be back in ‘Mitchell-verse‘.

During some housework I also listened to a short story on audio by Esther Verhoef, called Nouveau Riche. I hadn’t read anything from her yet and I now don’t think I will again. The account of expats in France reluctantly receiving friends from the past was largely predictable and not at all exciting. It was… just okay I guess.

The numbers

To help me keep track of time I used the Timelytics Time Log app on my phone. Handy!

• Total of time read: 6:55
• Of which the audiobook took: 0.55

This surprised me as it feels like I read for more than a scant seven hours. I could have gotten in another one at the end but I was hungry and got distracted by making lunch. Before I knew the readathon was over! :( But I’m not going to let that spoil my mood: it was fun and I haven’t read this much in twenty-four hours for a long time!

Already planning next time!

In my start-up post I didn’t know yet where I’d pop up in cyberspace. It happened to be on twitter (where I hadn’t been for a long time either; it’s becoming a theme! ;) Twitter is quick and dirty easy, which makes it perfect if you want to feel connected but spend not too much time at your computer or mobile device. And socializing, I realized, is something I really love about Dewey’s readathon and missed some of the previous times I participated. A big thank you to Cautious‘ Katja B. (@eeyorenyk) whom made me aware of it (ánd was a faithful cheerleader).

Jotting down my plans for next time here so that I’ll know where to find them in six months time.

• I’ll try to completely clear my schedule so I can devote the full 24 hours to the readathon.
• I’ll reserve some time for socializing — and to keep me to it I may even sign up as a cheerleader!
• I’ll return to pre-readathon planning:

1. think about food & snacks; prepare some meals in advance (including a lentil-, pasta – or couscous salad and possibly lasagne or casserole),
2. line up some audio books for when I can’t read a physical copy and make an actual schedule for when to use these,
3. revive my ‘readathon update post’ template,
4. get some drafts set up.

Edited to add after listening to other participants’ experiences:

• read successive books from a (familiar) series – for example the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger (I’m up to #3 Blameless);
• go read in a library for a while.

Last but never least

I really enjoyed seeing familiar faces names in my time-line – old times relived! My IRL readathon buddies were Mr Gnoe and da kittehs Nina and Kuki, one on each lap (from me and hubs that is). A fun fact is that Mr Gnoe and I are both reading the same book; he’s got the paper -limited edition- copy and I have my Kobo e-book. Can you imagine anything more cosy? :D

I’d like to thank all cheerleaders, hosts and participants whom made this readathon a success. And I salute the memory of Dewey, without whom we never would’ve had this marvellous event. I wonder if it’s a (perfect) coincidence that there was a cameo of Professor Dewey in The Bone Clocks today???

Dewey’s 24 Hour Fall Readathon 2014

Wow, two blogposts in one week? Sure, why not! It will probably be even more because tomorrow I’m participating in the biannual 24 hour readathon. I’m playing by my own rules and adjusted the time element because my cousin is hosting a “Just sixty” birthday party and I don”t want to miss that (either)!

My plan

The official times for my region are 2PM Saturday – 2PM Sunday. As I have to leave for the party around 3:30 ánd need to get dressed for the occasion -you all watch Downton Abbey and know how it works, right?- that doesn’t leave much room for reading. So I’ll be brave and set my alarm clock at 7:30 PM to start RaT-ing early!

We’ll get to the party venue by bus on which I hope to be able to do some unofficial cheerleading. If I don’t get carsick that is… >.< Once home again I’ll probably go to bed and get up indecently early next day.

Book(s)

I plan on immersing myself in just the one book: The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell. *happy dance* Mitchell is my favourite author and I’ve been looking forward to this novel SO much! I wonder which old acquaintances will I meet?

The book is 600+ pages and I want to finish it before a book club meetup on November 15th. That won’t be an easy feat in my current reading pace. So I have started already and am currently on page 15. My progress can be followed on Goodreads and I may occasionally post here too.

In case I really need a change of palate I will be reading short stories from Haruki Murakami’s The Elephant Vanishes. Can’t wait to get comfy and read-read-read!

The rest

I probably won’t be participating in (m)any mini challenges because I know they just distract me from reading. The same goes for blogging and spending time on social media. But you never know where you’ll meet me in cyberspace during the RaT! Where can I find you?

BoBRaT Need-a-thon

This week I’m playing BoBRaT again: participating in the Bout of Books readathon. Unofficially, because I was too late to sign up. But I so desperately need some pressure to tackle the books on my Mt TBR that I’m just ignoring that fact. Don’t need to win any prizes anyway, as long as I’ll achieve my goal. Which is..?

Readathon Goal

I want to read every day this week for at least 30 minutes, preferably in one sitting. It can be anything: from the pile of magazine clippings and leaflets that’s been bugging me to one of the three books I should be reading right now…

De kleurloze Tsukuru Tazaki en zijn pelgrimsjaren / The Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. I’ve joined the August 12th – September 12th readalong of Master Murakami’s most recent book, which is part of Dolce Bellezza’s Japanese Literature Challenge #8

Rayuela: een hinkelspel / Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar. This notorious Latin American literary experiment of 500+ pages was picked by my IRL bookgroup to be read before September 7th. Oomph.

Op de vleugels van de draak (‘On the dragon’s wings’) was chosen as one of two books to be read in August by the Boekgrrls, a Dutch mailing list and on-line book group. And though reading along is always voluntary, I was the one to nominate Lieve Joris’ newest nonfiction. So I can’t drop out now, can I?!

It’s not that I don’t WANT to read these books, I just can’t get myself to do it :( Can you help?