Tag: The Two Towers

#24in48: The Postgame

This past weekend, Saturday, Jan. 27, and Sunday, Jan. 28, I  participated in the 24 in 48 Readathon . On Friday, I told you about my preparation, “The Pregame,” for this weekend’s event; Saturday and Sunday, I told you about the event itself, “The Game,” with updates over the two days; and today, I’m giving you my reflections on the weekend, “The Postgame.”

The Postgame

If you are seeing this in a feed, you might not be able to see the embed above from Instagram, but what it said in the caption was that “I finished two, started two. I’ll take it.” It also shows that I read for 6 hours and 45 minutes over the two days, nowhere near the goal of 24 hours.

I started with a possibility of seven books:

  1. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
  2. The Big Book of The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett, edited by Richard Layman and Julie M. Rivett
  3. The Ghosts of Galway by Ken Bruen
  4. Life On Mars: Poems by Tracy K. Smith
  5. Never Get Angry Again: The Foolproof Way to Stay Calm and in Control in Any Conversation of Situation by David J. Lieberman, Ph. D
  6. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
  7. The Last Kashmiri Rose by Barbara Cleverly

I continued reading The Two Towers, finished Life on Mars and The Last Kashmiri Rose, both of which were good, and started Astrophysics for People in a Hurry on audiobook, which also was good even though I fell asleep while listening to it. I bailed on The Big Book of The Continental Op after seeing that the print was too small. Ironically, this isn’t the first time I’ve done that, only noticing that the print was too small after picking up a book for a readathon. Maybe next time I’ll look before checking out the book. I don’t know why I checked out Bruen’s book, because I’ve fallen out of love with the Jack Taylor series a few books back. That one will be going back to the library unread. The anger book, I might get to at another time.

Why didn’t I read for 24 hours? Looking back at both days, it was mainly one thing: friends. On Saturday, my neighbor Mike, whom I usually see only on weekends, invited me over to his “ManCave,” his garage that includes a large screen TV and projection screen. We ended up watching Baby Driver, which I have seen (and loved) and he had not. Then on Sunday, I remembered I was going to call my college roommate Joe for his birthday, which was on Friday, and also to check up on him because he has been going through a trying separation from his wife. He and I ended up talking up for two hours, which is not unusual for us since we only take every few months.

I also didn’t read as much because I ended up taking a couple of naps. While my job isn’t high pressure, working part-time at a small town library, I do get worried over little things and sometimes larger things, especially during the week. On the weekend, I try to let them go and also catch up mentally and physically from the lack of rest I have earlier in the week from thinking too much about work. It also is hard for me to unwind and read during the week, so usually I do most of my reading on the weekend when often I have larger stretches of time to devote to books, and not be thinking about work or trying to keep the thoughts at bay (which I usually do some when playing Solitaire and listening to music at night). I’m not one of those people that can sit down and read five to 10 minutes at a time, so all that said almost seven hours of reading in one- to two-hour blocks is more than good for me.

Do I regret not reading for 24 hours? Nope. I still had a good weekend: spending time with friends, resting, and reading. Like I said, I’ll take it.

How was this past weekend for you? Did you do any reading? If so, anything good? Or even over the last month, read anything good? Share in the comments.

#24in48: The Game

readathon1

Today, Saturday, Jan. 27, and Sunday, Jan. 28, I am joining the 24 in 48 Readathon (click on button at right to be taken to the site to learn more about the event). Yesterday, I told you about my preparation, “The Pregame,” for this weekend’s event; today and Sunday, I’ll tell you about the event itself, “The Game,” with updates over the two days; and on Monday, I’ll give you my reflections on the weekend, “The Postgame.”

The Game

Saturday

10:06 a.m.: First book done after a couple of missteps:

  1. I try The Big Book of The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett, but the print is too small. The print is small in the one I finally did pick, Life on Mars: Poems by Tracy K. Smith, but at least it is short. I also learn by reading the blurbs on the back of the book why the book is on the new shelf. The book was republished in honor of Smith being named the Poet Laureate of the United States last year.
  2. After starting to read, only three minutes in, I smell at poop. Our older cat, Seamus, occasionally poops on the floor and he did so this morning. I go clean it up.

The book, though, was very good: no poop.

1351044410:35 a.m.: I begin on my second book, which I already had started reading before the readathon: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien.

12:45 p.m. or thereabouts: I stop the stopwatch app on my phone at 2 hours and 15 minutes and six-tenths of a second. I am on my way to Isengard. I am not sure when I will get there as my neighbor Mike has invited me over to his “ManCave” for a little bit. I will try to extricate myself as politely as I can, probably within an hour. I think it is more than safe to say I will not be keeping to my original schedule and it is highly doubtful that I will be making 24 hours of reading within the allotted 48 hours, but I still hope to get some good reading in.

4:45 p.m.: I’m home after watching movie Baby Driver with Mike, and next will be having dinner with Kim. So yeah, about that game plan yesterday…er, not gonna happen, but plan to do some more reading tonight after Kim goes to work. And there is always tomorrow.

6:45 p.m.:  I pick up where I left off and read The Two Towers for a little bit. I am now with Frodo and Sam…and soon to be Gollum. When I stop the stopwatch, it reads 3 hours and 45 minutes. I reset my goal for 6 hours a day and 12 hours for the entire event.

8:25 p.m.: I take a nap.

12567027A little after 10 p.m.: I continue reading another book I already had started before the readathon, The Last Kashmiri Rose, the first in a series about Detective Joe Sandilands, by Barbara Cleverly. I also enjoy sea salt caramel gelato and am joined by Seamus on my lap as I sit in the recliner, which has been my place for today’s reading and will be again tomorrow.

Sunday

12:56 a.m.: I finish The Last Kashmiri Rose, which while not great was good enough for me to finish and want to pick up the next in the series sometime. After I am done, I try to look around for another book on The Free Library of Philadelphia Overdrive website, but the site seems to be down. Maybe they are doing maintenance, I will try tomorrow.

10:15 a.m. or thereabouts: I decide to switch it up and listen to an audiobook, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson as narrated by DeGrasse Tyson himself. I enjoy the book until I fall asleep in the recliner and go take a nap about 11:15 a.m.

2 p.m.: I get up and plan on reading but then remember that I was supposed to call my college roommate to wish him a happy belated birthday (his birthday was Friday). I end up talking to him for about two hours.

4 p.m.: I think that my readathon is over as I really don’t want to go back to listening to DeGrasse Tyson on astrophysics tonight or continuing with The Two Towers, I think I’d rather watch something on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.

So here is how long I read for:

Screenshot_20180128-111011

I’ll give you my full report in tomorrow’s post: “#24in48: The Postgame,” including how many books I read, which was my favorite, etc.