Sunday, October 19, 2014

RAT: This Is the End, My Friend

So I started falling asleep while reading in the midst of Hour 17, so I went to bed.  But, as I've been doing for the last few RAT's, I woke up before it was over, and finished up.  Here are my final stats...

 Title of book(s) read since last update: Food Network magazine; Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine; All You magazine; Hold the Dream by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Number of books read since you started: part of one magazines; two full magazines; part of one book.
Pages read since last update: 30
Running total of pages read since you started: 623
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  44 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 850 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme; Mid-Event Survey
Other participants you’ve visited: Nikki at DLRP Wonders, Fran at Nightjar's Jar of Books, Malin, Liz, courtney; Millie at Millie's Musing About Books, Sya, Keona at KeonaReads, Shadowhunter Frishta, Sam at The Little Munchkin; Kat, Ellie at Book Addicted Blonde, Ellie at Bookaneers with Ellie and Indah, Jamila Davis, Aubrey Negen; Tinkerbellswift, Maggie at Macaroons & Paperbacks, Julia, AmandaEmma at Little Miss Reader, Arya at Arya the Fangirl; Ally Dewing at Paris in the Rain, Gabryelle K., Mia, Michella Tora at Sort Tale, Maru; Amanda at A Patchwork of Books, Charlie at The Worm Hole, Rebekah Gordon, Romantic Reader, Paranormalsphere; Katelist, Katie at Katie Does Disney, Anna at HappenStancie, Terri Talks Books, Ashley; Mike, Emily, Caty, Juliana at My Carved Words, and Taylor.
What I've eaten/drunk: leftovers from last night's dinner at Carrabba's; some Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with Fruit Punch flavoring in it; fruit slices candy; Cheetos (I mainly eat junk during the RAT); Campbell's Chicken Mushroom Barley soup; plain water; more fruit slices candy; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with lime juice; more Cheetos; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; chicken chunks; a couple slices of pizza; some Pepsi, to chase away the sleepies; some salami for protein; some plain water; more Gobstoppers; more fruit slices; some Pringles; some green olives; KitKats; leftover pizza; more Pepsi; more plain water.

I read a lot, and made a huge dent in my newest book.  And I want to keep reading, but other duties call.  One of these days, I'll be one of those Read-a-Thon-ers who reads a gazillion books during the RAT, but in order to do that, I'll have to give up these chunksters I'm addicted to, and start reading shorter works.  Sigh.  What a dilemma.  Well, I'm off to finish up my chores, so I can get back to reading...

Saturday, October 18, 2014

RAT: Hours 15 and 16

Is that even right?  Hours 15 and 16?!  I'm starting to get tired and a little loopy, so it doesn't sound right.  I still have a little more steam, although I don't think I'm going to make it to my goal of 2 a.m.

 Title of book(s) read since last update: Food Network magazine; Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine; All You magazine; Hold the Dream by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Number of books read since you started: part of one magazines; two full magazines; part of one book.
Pages read since last update: 81
Running total of pages read since you started: 593
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  102 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 806 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme; Mid-Event Survey
Other participants you’ve visited: Nikki at DLRP Wonders, Fran at Nightjar's Jar of Books, Malin, Liz, courtney; Millie at Millie's Musing About Books, Sya, Keona at KeonaReads, Shadowhunter Frishta, Sam at The Little Munchkin; Kat, Ellie at Book Addicted Blonde, Ellie at Bookaneers with Ellie and Indah, Jamila Davis, Aubrey Negen; Tinkerbellswift, Maggie at Macaroons & Paperbacks, Julia, AmandaEmma at Little Miss Reader, Arya at Arya the Fangirl; Ally Dewing at Paris in the Rain, Gabryelle K., Mia, Michella Tora at Sort Tale, Maru; Amanda at A Patchwork of Books, Charlie at The Worm Hole, Rebekah Gordon, Romantic Reader, Paranormalsphere; Katelist, Katie at Katie Does Disney, Anna at HappenStancie, Terri Talks Books, Ashley.
What I've eaten/drunk: leftovers from last night's dinner at Carrabba's; some Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with Fruit Punch flavoring in it; fruit slices candy; Cheetos (I mainly eat junk during the RAT); Campbell's Chicken Mushroom Barley soup; plain water; more fruit slices candy; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with lime juice; more Cheetos; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; chicken chunks; a couple slices of pizza; some Pepsi, to chase away the sleepies; some salami for protein; some plain water; more Gobstoppers; more fruit slices; some Pringles; some green olives; KitKats; leftover pizza; more Pepsi; more plain water.

Anyone else starting to get tired, or is it just me?

RAT: Hours 13 and 14

I'm still doing well.  My Bulldogs won and I read in silence for a while.  Got a little distracted this hour by one of my guilty pleasures, Ghost Adventures, but that is coming to an end, and I will be back to full-time reading.

 Title of book(s) read since last update: Food Network magazine; Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine; All You magazine; Hold the Dream by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Number of books read since you started: part of one magazines; two full magazines; part of one book.
Pages read since last update: 53
Running total of pages read since you started: 512
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  103 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 704 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme; Mid-Event Survey
Other participants you’ve visited: Nikki at DLRP Wonders, Fran at Nightjar's Jar of Books, Malin, Liz, courtney; Millie at Millie's Musing About Books, Sya, Keona at KeonaReads, Shadowhunter Frishta, Sam at The Little Munchkin; Kat, Ellie at Book Addicted Blonde, Ellie at Bookaneers with Ellie and Indah, Jamila Davis, Aubrey Negen; Tinkerbellswift, Maggie at Macaroons & Paperbacks, Julia, AmandaEmma at Little Miss Reader, Arya at Arya the Fangirl; Ally Dewing at Paris in the Rain, Gabryelle K., Mia, Michella Tora at Sort Tale, Maru; Amanda at A Patchwork of Books, Charlie at The Worm Hole, Rebekah Gordon, Romantic Reader, Paranormalsphere.
What I've eaten/drunk: leftovers from last night's dinner at Carrabba's; some Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with Fruit Punch flavoring in it; fruit slices candy; Cheetos (I mainly eat junk during the RAT); Campbell's Chicken Mushroom Barley soup; plain water; more fruit slices candy; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with lime juice; more Cheetos; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; chicken chunks; a couple slices of pizza; some Pepsi, to chase away the sleepies; some salami for protein; some plain water; more Gobstoppers; more fruit slices; some Pringles; some green olives; KitKats.

Are you reading anything good?  Are you eating anything good?  Listening to music while you read?  Watching TV or doing other stuff to take a break?

RAT: Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?  I'm reading Hold the Dream, the second in the Emma Harte series by Barbara Taylor Bradford.

 2. How many books have you read so far? Two and a half magazines, and part of one book.

 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?  Continuing Hold the Dream.

 4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?  Just my football game, which was a planned interruption.  I read during the commercials.

 5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?  This time around, I think it's the number of people who signed up.  I remember when there were fewer than a hundred participants in the Read-a-Thon; now there are something like 700!!!

RAT: Hours 11 and 12

Halfway through!  Can't believe it!  My football game is over, and I am still feeling good, reading-wise.  I know I won't make it all the way through...I never have...but I would like to make it to 2 a.m.  Knowing me, that is a lofty goal, as I will probably fizzle out around 11 p.m., but we'll see.  I have caffeine and a good book on my side.

 Title of book(s) read since last update: Food Network magazine; Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine; All You magazine; Hold the Dream by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Number of books read since you started: part of one magazines; two full magazines; part of one book.
Pages read since last update: 49
Running total of pages read since you started: 459
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  100 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 601 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited: Nikki at DLRP Wonders, Fran at Nightjar's Jar of Books, Malin, Liz, courtney; Millie at Millie's Musing About Books, Sya, Keona at KeonaReads, Shadowhunter Frishta, Sam at The Little Munchkin; Kat, Ellie at Book Addicted Blonde, Ellie at Bookaneers with Ellie and Indah, Jamila Davis, Aubrey Negen; Tinkerbellswift, Maggie at Macaroons & Paperbacks, Julia, AmandaEmma at Little Miss Reader, Arya at Arya the Fangirl; Ally Dewing at Paris in the Rain, Gabryelle K., Mia, Michella Tora at Sort Tale, Maru.
What I've eaten/drunk: leftovers from last night's dinner at Carrabba's; some Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with Fruit Punch flavoring in it; fruit slices candy; Cheetos (I mainly eat junk during the RAT); Campbell's Chicken Mushroom Barley soup; plain water; more fruit slices candy; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with lime juice; more Cheetos; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; chicken chunks; a couple slices of pizza; some Pepsi, to chase away the sleepies; some salami for protein; some plain water.

How goes it with you, midway through this RAT?  How long do you think you can stay up tonight?

RAT: Hours 9 and 10

Slow going, as I anticipated, with all the football excitement going on around here.  There are still a couple of hours left in the game, so I expect Hours 11 and 12 will be just as slow.


 Title of book(s) read since last update: Food Network magazine; Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine; All You magazine; Hold the Dream by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Number of books read since you started: part of one magazines; two full magazines; part of one book.
Pages read since last update: 40
Running total of pages read since you started: 410
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  101 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 501 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited: Nikki at DLRP Wonders, Fran at Nightjar's Jar of Books, Malin, Liz, courtney; Millie at Millie's Musing About Books, Sya, Keona at KeonaReads, Shadowhunter Frishta, Sam at The Little Munchkin; Kat, Ellie at Book Addicted Blonde, Ellie at Bookaneers with Ellie and Indah, Jamila Davis, Aubrey Negen; Tinkerbellswift, Maggie at Macaroons & Paperbacks, Julia, AmandaEmma at Little Miss Reader, Arya at Arya the Fangirl.
What I've eaten/drunk: leftovers from last night's dinner at Carrabba's; some Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with Fruit Punch flavoring in it; fruit slices candy; Cheetos (I mainly eat junk during the RAT); Campbell's Chicken Mushroom Barley soup; plain water; more fruit slices candy; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with lime juice; more Cheetos; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; chicken chunks; a couple slices of pizza; some Pepsi, to chase away the sleepies.

RAT: Hours 7 and 8

Finished my last magazine, and now I'm into my first book of the RAT (and possibly my only, as it's a chunkster).  Still going strong.  The next few hours will see a slow-down, however, as I will be watching my Bulldogs play Arkansas, starting in a few minutes.  I'll still be reading, but probably just during the commercials...

Title of book(s) read since last update: Food Network magazine; Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine; All You magazine; Hold the Dream by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Number of books read since you started: part of one magazines; two full magazines; part of one book.
Pages read since last update: 84
Running total of pages read since you started: 370
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  100 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 400 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited: Nikki at DLRP Wonders, Fran at Nightjar's Jar of Books, Malin, Liz, courtney; Millie at Millie's Musing About Books, Sya, Keona at KeonaReads, Shadowhunter Frishta, Sam at The Little Munchkin; Kat, Ellie at Book Addicted Blonde, Ellie at Bookaneers with Ellie and Indah, Jamila Davis, Aubrey Negen.
What I've eaten/drunk: leftovers from last night's dinner at Carrabba's; some Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with Fruit Punch flavoring in it; fruit slices candy; Cheetos (I mainly eat junk during the RAT); Campbell's Chicken Mushroom Barley soup; plain water; more fruit slices candy; more Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with lime juice.

Hope everyone is hanging in there.  Don't throw in the towel - we're only a third of the way through!!!

RAT: Hours 5 and 6

Still going strong!  Finished my second magazine, and have started my third and last TBR magazine.  Ate lunch, and will be visiting a few more RAT enthusiasts soon.

Title of book(s) read since last update: Food Network magazine; Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine; All You magazine
Number of books read since you started: part of two magazines; one full magazine.
Pages read since last update: 91
Running total of pages read since you started: 286
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  100 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 300 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited: Nikki at DLRP Wonders, Fran at Nightjar's Jar of Books, Malin, Liz, courtney; Millie at Millie's Musing About Books, Sya, Keona at KeonaReads, Shadowhunter Frishta, Sam at The Little Munchkin Reader.
What I've eaten/drunk: leftovers from last night's dinner at Carrabba's; some Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with Fruit Punch flavoring in it; fruit slices candy; Cheetos (I mainly eat junk during the RAT); Campbell's Chicken Mushroom Barley soup; plain water.

Hope everyone else's reading is still on-track!

RAT: Hours 3 and 4

Started a new magazine in Hour 3, and I'm making good progress.  Should finish it up in the next hour or so, and go on to my third (and final) mag of the day.  Once I finish those, I'm on to a proper book, and I can't wait.  Is it wishful thinking that I'll finish that book and go on to another during the RAT?  We shall see...

Title of book(s) read since last update: Food Network magazine; Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine
Number of books read since you started: part of two magazines
Pages read since last update: 99
Running total of pages read since you started: 195
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  90 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 200 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited: Nikki at DLRP Wonders, Fran at Nightjar's Jar of Books, Malin, Liz, courtney
What I've eaten/drunk: leftovers from last night's dinner at Carrabba's; some Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with Fruit Punch flavoring in it; fruit slices candy; Cheetos (I mainly eat junk during the RAT)

How is your reading going?

RAT: Hours 1 and 2

I feel like I've gotten a good start on things.  Finished the magazine I started with, and I'm about to pick up another.  I'm going to visit some other blogs before I go on, too.

Title of book(s) read since last update: Food Network magazine
Number of books read since you started: part of one magazine
Pages read since last update: 96
Running total of pages read since you started: 96
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  110 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 110 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited: None yet
What I've eaten/drunk: leftovers from last night's dinner at Carrabba's; some Everlasting Gobstoppers; water with Fruit Punch flavoring in it.

Read-a-Thon Opening Meme

I'm back to RAT'ing once again!  I missed April's RAT, due to a previous commitment that couldn't be changed (Women in the Outdoors, a fabulous program to get women more interested and involved in outdoor activities - it was like grown-up Girl Scout camp, and it was worth missing a RAT for).  But I was sad about missing the action, so now I'm back.  As always, here is my opening meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?  Florida!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?  Probably Hold the Dream, the second in the series about Emma Harte, by Barbara Taylor Bradford.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?  Either ordering pizza for dinner, or my leftovers from last night, which I'm about to eat for breakfast.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!  I'm an attorney, I'm married, and my husband will be joining me a little later to do some RAT'ing himself, and I recently changed jobs at the beginning of the year, which made me endlessly happy.

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?  I probably won't do anything much differently today than I usually do.  One of my cats/reading buddies is now gone, so I think I'll miss cuddling with him while reading.  :(

Okay, off to the races!  I'm starting out with some magazines (a RAT secret weapon of mine) that I need to catch up on, but once I get through those, I will be starting Hold the Dream.  Ready...set...go!!!

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Review: Dance with Me by Luanne Rice

This book was one I received in a shopping bag full of books from my mother-in-law. It's not my typical fare (I've never been into "women's fiction" or whatever you might call this type of book), but I simply cannot let a book pass through my doors without reading it, so I held onto the book and am finally now getting around to reading it.  It was good, a quick read - one of those books that hold your attention while you read them, but forget the plot of almost as soon as you're done.

This book is all about damaged people - Jane Porter, who gave her daughter up for adoption and spent the rest of her life wishing she hadn't; Dylan Chadwick, who lost his wife and daughter in a shooting incident directly related to his job; Chloe Chadwick, who has spent her life wondering why her birth mother would have abandoned her; Sylvie Porter, who has put her life on hold to take care of a mother debilitated by diabetes and the beginning stages of Alzheimer's.  But, somehow, when all of these lives converge, they bring their broken owners into something resembling a family.

Jane, a baker who caters to New York's rich and famous, comes home to help care for her mother (and try to help her sister make the difficult decision to put their mother into a nursing home), but she has a hidden agenda.  The daughter she gave up at birth lives just down the road, and Jane is yearning to connect with her.  Dylan came home after the deaths of his wife and daughter, to operate the family orchard.  Chloe doesn't know that Jane is her real mother, but she has longed her entire life to know the woman who gave her up.  These three lives crash into each other in a small orchard in Rhode Island.  What will happen when Dylan and Chloe learn who Jane really is?  Will Jane and Dylan be able to forge a relationship?  What about Jane and Chloe?

I liked the book.  It was good.  It made me cry a lot.  But I feel like I'll forget about it next week.  It's just not one that will stick with me.  I give it three out of five Whatevers.  Worth a read to pass the time, but not the greatest literature on earth.  Recommended for those who like romances, who are in the market for a quick read, and those who like stories about apples or the Northeast.

2014-8