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Currently | Rejuvenated by Reading

currently october 19 2014

Time and Place | Just after 1 p.m. on my couch with the Vikings game on the background. I’ve been awake for awhile, but spent the morning chilling out with Gilmore Girls.

Eating and Drinking | I’ve got lots of Readathon snacks left for today — gummi bears, peanut butter cups, and cheese rice cakes. Yum.

Reading | There was so much reading this week! Before yesterday’s Readathon I finished two books, The Lost Tribe of Coney Island by Claire Prentice and Live in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson (Nov. 11 from Harper). And then during the Readathon I finished three more books, Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep? by Timothy Verstynen and Bradley Voytek, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and Ask the Passengers by A.S. King. It was a really good week for books.

Listening | During some non-reading time yesterday I started Love Life by Rob Lowe, his second memoir. It’s more like a series of essays than a straight memoir, but so far it’s got all of the qualities I liked in Stories I Only Tell My Friends.

Cooking | I’ve still got apples left from a batch I got from a coworker, so I think I’m going to make a pie today. We’ll see how that goes — I haven’t made a pie in awhile.

Blogging | This week the blog was all Readathon. Check out this post to see how my day went yesterday.

Feeling | I’m so grateful that I was able to participate in the Readathon yesterday. With the election coming up, work has really gotten busy and stressful. Not necessarily because there’s more to do, but because there’s more to do that challenges my natural introversion. By the time I get home I just need to be alone or be quiet, but I’ve been getting home late and not had that time to recharge. I needed an entire day of just getting lost in books to feel feel energized again.

And with that, I’m going to switch up the currently format a little bit to answer some questions from the end of the event meme. Happy Sunday, everyone!

End of Event Meme

Which hour was most daunting for you?

I usually get tired around Hours 18, but I managed to stay up a bit later than that without feeling too hungover today.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Station Eleven ended up being a great Readathon book. I was pulled into the story form the first page.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Readathon next year?

Nope, I think it runs great. I wish people would be less uptight about whether cheerleaders are visiting them or not… if you want people to interact with, get on Twitter or Goodreads and interact, don’t just sit alone and expect people to find you. Whew, glad to get that off my chest!

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Readathon?

I liked using Storify to collect all of my updates — I’m going to keep that up for my next Readathon.

How many books did you read?

Finished three, made some progress in two others.

What were the names of the books you read?

Do Zombies Dream of Electric Sheep? by Timothy Verstynen and Bradley Voytek, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, Ask the Passengers by A.S. King, Love Life by Rob Lowe and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel.

Which book did you enjoy most?

I loved Station Eleven so much. It was incredibly book.

Which did you enjoy least?

I don’t have a least favorite — they were all good in their own way. I’m glad I went with my gut and chose books I was really excited to read, even if they may have been longer than most people go with for the Readathon.

How likely are you to participate in the Readathon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I’ll absolutely participate again, probably just as a reader. I like getting to interact with people in my own time and my own ways.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Heidi'sbooks October 19, 2014, 2:37 pm

    I was so happy with everything with the read-a-thon! I thought the cheerleaders did a great job! You read a ton. Congratulations!

    • Kim October 21, 2014, 9:26 pm

      I thought it went really smoothly too. All of the organizers are just great.

  • Leah @ Books Speak Volumes October 19, 2014, 3:15 pm

    I spent my morning (and most of the afternoon) watching Gilmore Girls and cross-stitching today, too. After spending all day reading yesterday, it was nice to veg in front of the TV.

    Station Eleven sounds like an excellent read-a-thon book!

  • Sandy October 19, 2014, 4:13 pm

    Station Eleven is amazing. She is amazing…such a talent. The readathon is always such a fun event. I hope I’m able to participate in the spring. I enjoyed Love Life, although it was a little scattered compared to his first.

    • Kim October 21, 2014, 9:27 pm

      I’m only a few chapters into Love Life and I agree — it’s still a good listen, but feels scattered (especially on audio when you can sometimes miss the connections between anecdotes). But I like it 🙂

  • Anita October 19, 2014, 6:57 pm

    You had a great event!! I also would like to continue as a reader, but I saw so much whining this year I think I’ll be more involved next year. I can mix up my reading with some support next year!!

    • Kim October 21, 2014, 9:27 pm

      I tried to do a little cheering, but mostly just with people I knew and people I saw on Twitter. And I felt like I got back about as much support as I put out there, so I was ok with it. But yes, they do always need more cheerleaders.

  • bermudaonion (Kathy) October 19, 2014, 7:28 pm

    I’ve got to get my hands on a copy of Station Eleven!

  • Shannon @ River City Reading October 19, 2014, 8:39 pm

    I can’t wait to get to Station Eleven at some point – it sounds so great! Glad you were able to take some time to yourself and cozy up with some great books!

  • Kelly from Readlately.com October 19, 2014, 10:40 pm

    You totally convinced me to make Station Eleven my next read! (after the new Jodi Picoult I’m reading). I’m glad the readathon has such a great effect on you!

    • Kim October 21, 2014, 9:28 pm

      It was so great! I started reading and immediately knew that I wasn’t going to put it down until I was finished.

  • Codi October 20, 2014, 6:44 am

    I’m definitely doing the Readathon next year and thanks for the recommendations, as always!

    Twice you referenced “Do Zombies Dream of Electric Sheep” instead of “Undead” – I wonder what’s going on in your subconscious lol!

    • Kim October 21, 2014, 9:29 pm

      That’s great! I hope you will join.

      And yeah, clearly my brain is elsewhere! I’ve got a copy of that Philip K dick book on my shelves somewhere 🙂

  • Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader October 20, 2014, 10:09 am

    Your love for Station Eleven has inspired me to jot it onto my wish list. 😀

    How did the pie baking go? I’ve never braved an absolute homemade pie. I’m a fan of pre-made crusts 😉 (Because I’m a chicken!)

  • Sarah @ Sarah's Book Shelves October 20, 2014, 11:03 am

    I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Station Eleven…I’ve been seeing mixed reviews on it.

  • Ikebukuro October 20, 2014, 12:26 pm

    Hard to resist to Station Eleven with all the buzz around this book… So it’s going to be on my wish-list too. I’ve got a lot of fun with the RAT and it was nice to share with all the readers.

  • Athira October 20, 2014, 2:12 pm

    I totally missed the readathon this time. I didn’t even know it was yesterday until I saw some early weekend posts. Oh well, I may not have been able to do it anyways but glad it was a lot of fun!

  • Jessica @ Quirky Bookworm October 20, 2014, 4:03 pm

    I REALLY want to do the Readathon sometime! But the fall one is always the weekend close to Juliet’s birthday, and the spring one is the weekend close to Eleanor’s… sigh. Pretty sure kid birthday celebrations may mean I’ll never quite get to participate! 😛