Coffeespoons

End of readathon ! I didn't even finish half of the book I was reading, but I had fun trying. 1. Which hour was most daunting for you? The 2nd to 3rd hour. Only because I was expecting to concentrate on reading, but I had to attend to a phone call which I could not put down, even if I badly wanted to. 2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? The book I'm reading, Pillars of the Earth, turns out to be a very fast-paced read. At least, I found it engaging. Thing is, I don't think many people would take it on for the readathon, given the thickness. 3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I would love to have a countdown widget to the start of the Readathon, and another countdown widget for the full 24 hours of the Readathon. 4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I think the number of people who signed up for this readathon is amazing. First time...

Alas, I think I'm failing miserably in the Read-a-thon right now. My plan to stay up until 4AM, Manila time, kaput. Fell asleep at 1:30, woke up at 8:30AM and had to rush to my tutoring gig. Now, it's half past noon, Sunday, Manila time. And how am I doing? See for yourself...  1. What are you reading right now? Still Pillars of the Earth. 2. How many books have you read so far? Still reading that one. But I'm enjoying it, though.:) 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? The rest of the pages of Pillars of the Earth? 4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Unfortunately, I couldn't. I tutor on Sundays and, of course, we go to church as a family. Plus, we  usually go out for family time on Sundays. I think we'll forego the going out today, though.:) 5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Oh, many interruptions, aside from me ...

It's 12 midnight where I am, and four hours have passed since the Readathon started. My children and my husband are asleep, while I am here, struggling not to fall in with them. Although I started reading exactly at 8, which is when the Readathon started, I lost an hour and a half in between due to a long personal phone call. Goes to show that, no matter how well you plan things, life gets in the way. Ah well. So, how am I doing? Here are my stats, so far... Title of book read since last update: Still Pillars of the Earth (I'm only reading the one book, but I'm trying to finish it.) Pages read since last update: 90 pages of extremely tiny font Running total of pages read since you started: 90 pp. Amount of time spent reading since last update: 2 1/2 hrs. Mini-challenges completed: None. Not really planning to do any. Other participants you’ve visited: 10 Prize you’ve won: None yet, but if you give me one, then I can place something here.:) H...

I'm being good! I prepared this early on! Yay! That means I know what to do this time. And it only took two previous readathons.:D Where are you reading from today? As always, I'm reading from my house, here in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. 3 facts about me … I eat like a horse. I always cry at the end of Dead Poets Society, no matter how many times I've seen it. I'm a sucker for cake. How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? Like I mentioned in my previous post , I'd be happy just to finish the 900+ page Pillars of the Earth. But, for form's sake, I placed two other books. So that's a grand total of three! Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? Primary goal: to finish the first book on my list. Other goals: reconnect with blogs I used to comment on, meet interesting new bloggers. But basically, I just want a...

In the rush of everything--job, family, even the NYRB reading week , I almost forgot: I'm joining Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon this Oct. 9! I've joined this particular read-a-thon twice before . Both times, I think my performance was pathetic. Two and a half short books the first time ; three books the second . Well, at least there was some improvement. But I keep joining because hope springs eternal. That is, I hope I can actually get a lot of reading done. And because Dewey's Read-a-thon was the first blogging event that made me feel part of the Great Book Blogging Community (notice the capitalized letters. heehee.) This time, I join again as a reader. I leave the cheerleading to the eternally energetic ones. And I'm changing my strategy. Whereas before, I wanted to get as many books finished as I possibly could, this time, I shall not pressure myself with such lofty goals. Instead, I think I'll view this read-a-thon as an opportunity for me to final...

I finished! Albeit a few minutes after zero hour, but I finished, in between all the interruptions of life.:) 1. Which hour was most daunting for you? I'd say the last. Only because I was rushing reading my third book. Granted, my third book is very thin.:) 2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Among the three I read, I'd suggest Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. But in general, I'd strongly suggest the following: the Sookie Stackhouse series the Hunger Games series the Hitchhiker's Guide series the Mortal Instruments Trilogy series 3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Televise it? Just kidding.:) Then again... 4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Well, as usual, I loved the Cheerleaders. Oh, and this time, I was keeping track of all the #readathon tweets. It was highly encouraging to read them. 5. How many books did you read? Three!...

My apologies for doing the Hour 13 survey at Hour 16. My only excuse is I was reading!:) 1. What are you reading right now? Still Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. After posting my review of Vampire Knight last night, I curled up in bed with my book and promptly fell asleep! Oh well, sleep is a good thing to have. 2. How many books have you read so far? One and a half. I think I'll make my goal of reading more than two and a half books this time, though.:D 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Death of a Salesman. Because it's short and because I've been waiting for an excuse to read it for a while now. 4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Ah, I wish. But Sundays are partly workdays for me since I do some tutoring on the side. Plus, it's when I usually have play time with my kids. So, I grab reading time whenever I can. 5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those...

Read: 25 Oct 2009 My first book for the Readathon ! Vampire Knight is about the only manga I read and buy. I just bought this third volume not three hours ago, and now I've read it. Pretty quick, eh. But then again, it's manga. I wrote about the first and second volumes of Vampire Knight previously. My fascination for the series has even led me to buying the DVDs. I've seen the whole first season, which was why, when I read volume 3, I had a feeling that I'd read it before. Turns out I haven't; I'd only seen it on DVD. In this volume, more is revealed about the backstory of Yuki, Kaname, and Zero. It's not surprising that Yuki's fascination for the pure-blood vampire Kaname stems back from her childhood. What is surprising is that Kaname seems to have been equally entranced by her, even when she was a child. And Zero--well, it's also predictable that Zero's aggression towards Kaname existed from the moment Zero starts living in Yuki's hous...

It's Readathon day! And guess what? I'm only starting now and it's already Hour 4. Darn it. I was actually out with book club friends, including Blooey , who's also participating in the readathon. The difference is, while we were at the restaurant and later, in a coffeeshop, Blooey just kept on reading and making headway with her books, while I was just chatting with our other friends. So, no reading done yet, but here I am, raring to get into the thick of things. Oh, here's my first hour meme: Where are you reading from today? From Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. So, right now, hour 4 actually translates to 1AM.:) 3 facts about me … I have two beautiful children, a five-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl who has Down syndrome. I adore both of them that it breaks my heart.:) I am about to undergo a career change. I do not peek at the endings of books I read. How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? I had 7 books, but I just bough...

So, I signed up again for Dewey's Read-a-thon , to be held this October 24. And I find my inner critic saying "No, you'll barely have enough time to read one book." My inner critic is probably saying this because I only finished 2 and a half books last Read-a-thon, one of them a really short middle-reader. Nevertheless, I am choosing to ignore my pesky inner critic and am determined to join this Read-a-thon. I think my thoughts after last April's read-a-thon aptly explain why. More than the reading of several books, I loved the sense of community the read-a-thon creates--imagine, book bloggers everywhere reading and cheering each other on. There's nothing more enjoyable than having a bunch of like-minded people engaging in the thing they love at the same time AND being supportive with each other about it. :) And so, in preparation for October 24, I'm coming up with my reading list. From experience, I think I will just stick to the shorter reads. That way,...

I am a relatively new blogger. I only started last January. Why? Because apart from having a set of people I could talk to books about, I wanted to write about books I'd read, both as a practice for writing and as a way to reach more people who might share my interests, too. Book blogging, then, has turned into such an addiction for me, not so much because I get to write again, but because I get to meet people who do share the same interests--who love reading and books as much as I do and perhaps even more. Moreover, I get wonderful reading ideas and suggestion, essential for someone who so loves to promote reading among family, friends, colleagues and students. Enter Dewey's Read-a-thon. Being a new blogger, this is my first time to hear of and join the read-a-thon. For those not familiar with it, the 24-hour Read-a-thon is exactly what its name implies--24 hours to read any number of books. It was begun in October 2007 by Dewey of Hidden Side of a Leaf . Unfortunately, Dewey ...

A few more minutes to go, so time to get this done.:) 1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hard to say, considering that all hours had me distracted. But since I came into the read-a-thon with a laid back approach, I'd say none of it was really daunting. 2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I'd go with any Jasper Fforde book, Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells , and most books by Charlaine Harris. If you like more serious reads, I highly recommend Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin or Alias Grace , Ian McEwan's Atonement , and anything by Neil Gaiman. 3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? None particularly come to mind. Though I am inspired to think up of a similar local event here to promote reading. All in all, it was such a pleasure to be part of this. 4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I really loved the supportive c...

I know this was supposed to be mid-read-a-thon, but I figured it'd be fun to answer anyway...:) 1. What are you reading right now? I'm just starting The Uglies by Scott Westerfield just now. 2. How many books have you read so far? Well, I have a grand total of...2! One of them young adult, and the other middle reader! Yeah, some reader for the read-a-thon I'm turning out.:) 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? At the rate I'm going right now, I'd be glad to finish The Uglies. 4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Unfortunately, I did not get to free up my whole day. My day was like most weekends of a mom with two kids aged 5 and 3. 5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Oh, yes! From attending soccer practice, kindermusik classes, family dinners. How did I deal with these? I figured i'd just sneak in some reading whenever I could a...

Well, better late than never...:) Just got back from, of all things, book shopping! Where are you reading from today? Here in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. 3 facts about me … My favorite author's Jane Austen. I teach as a passion and with a passion. I don't eat innards.:) How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? I want to be flexible. I'm not setting a number of books to accomplish. I just want to see how many I can read.:) Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? No specific goal, really. If anything, I'd like to meet new people and read more great blogs. If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time? This is my first time. Any advice for me, veteran read-a-thoners?:)