Books read 1:
Current Progress: p.106 of Persepolis

Back to reading again as I basically did not do anything for two hours but talk to all the people who came online and watched a tv programme. I became really lethargic. I am making some tea now, chai. I should be drinking more caffeine, but I rather not. I want to see how many more hours I can stay up before sleeping.

Dewey has a mid-event survey. Good, my minor updates are really silly.

1. What are you reading right now? The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

2. How many books have you read so far? Including this one, 2.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? My Sister Life and other poems by Boris Pasternak. Also Promothea.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? No, I’m introverted enough to be at home most Saturdays. I did refuse invites to go out today.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Two phone calls. I take it in stride. I give them time. It’s cool.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? It’s going by fast. When you mark the hour and read for hours, it happens.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No, I like it the way it is. I just hope it’s not too stressful for any of the organisers.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? More light reading. That’s pretty much it.

9. Are you getting tired yet? Yes a bit though I usually don’t sleep for another hour, and I’m kind of sore.

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? Know when you need to take a break! Take it in stride.

Books Read: 1
Current Progress: p. 103 of Persepolis

Took a 15 minute walk, and now I am going to take a break this hour to watch some television programme. I’ll be back to reading next hour. I’m having a good time. I love the book I am reading.

Books Read: 1
Current Progress: 54p. of The Complete Persepolis

I am enjoying Persepolis immensely and going to take a walk soon as prompted by Dewey. It will be be dark in the next hour so this is my last chance to catch some natural yet clouded light. I made some tea, my second cup in the readathon. I am going to get sleepier; it’s been humid due to the rain. Rain does tend to make one drowsy.

Books Read: 1

I finished Beloved, ate dinner, and am now going to write a couple of reviews before starting Persepolis. The review for Beloved will be up Monday. 

Not much else. I feel sort of silly updating with little information. I may decide to take a walk soon, but it is still fairly wet and cloudy outside. 

Books Read: 0
Progress: p. 200 of Beloved (nearly done)

Another friend called during Hour and we talked into Hour 5. I became hungry as I usually am around this time of day. I had grapes and a
rice cake. I am still a bit hungry, but it’ll have to do.

I will need to make more tea soon and it will have to be caffeined. The rain is going to make me even more sleepy.

Lori has a challenge of covers of the books we have read. I have only read one book so far so I decided to make a tiny collage of different Beloved book covers. None of these covers are used in the edition I own and am reading.

EDIT: Dewey has announced that this challenge will be up all day. I’ll make another collage at the end of the challenge of all the books I’ve read. Check back to this post.

ETA 8:10PM:

Books Read: 0
Currently on: p. 100 of Beloved

Vasily has a mini challenge of selecting a favourite book and posting a favourite quote from it.

“If we lived for ever, what you say would be true. But we have to die, we have to leave life presently. Injustice and greed would be the real thing if we lived for ever. As it is, we must hold to other things, because Death is coming. I love Death–not morbidly, but because He explains. He shows me the emptiness of money. Death and Money are the eternal foes. Not Death and Life. Never mind what lies behind Death, Mr. Bast, but be sure that the poet and the musician and the tramp will be happier than the man who has never learnt to say ‘I am.'”
–E. M. Forester, Howards End

Reading Progress: p. 28 of Beloved, Chapter 3.

Not much has gone on, just reading and drinking tea. Will make more tea as I will need the caffeine. I have ten varieties of tea and at least three varieties of hot chocolate. I would like to take a walk, but the weather is a bit wet today. It has already rained and it may rain again. Maybe in the evening I’ll take a short walk around the neighborhood.

I own Beloved having bought it four years ago in China of all places. Apparently China doesn’t censor literary and dark novels about slavery, race and memory. This is also my last book for the Book Awards Challenge, and one book off my official TBR 2008 pile since it is one of those many books that I own but have not read. It has some interesting prose so far even if the story and characters are sad.