Updates ~ on the 24-hour readathon (first 12 hours)

Here's where I'll post updates for the 24-Hour Read-a-Thon, which I told you about on Thursday.  The latest update will always be up above, and I'll "store" the older updates below every time I post a new update. I'm all set now to start reading in 7 hours and 15 minutes. That's 8:00 a.m. my time here in the Eastern time zone.  (Ready, set, read!)

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Hour 1 mini-challenge (Intro Meme, 8:00 a.m.)
"Answer some questions."

Where are you reading from today?

• Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

Three facts about me?

1. Before I could read, I "read" books to my baby brother by memorizing the entire book, turning the pages at the right spots.
2. I've always been fascinated with words.
3. Today I'm reading books to satisfy the two reading challenges I've joined: Women Unbound and World Religions Challenge.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

1. The Writing on My Forehead ~ by Nafisa Haji (fiction)
2. Patriarchal Attitudes: Women in Society ~ by Eva Figes (women's studies)
3. Keeping Corner ~ by Kashmira Sheth (fiction)
4. The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity ~ by Thomas Sheehan (religion)
5. Change Baby ~ by June Spence (fiction)
6. Mrs Man ~ by Una Stannard (women's studies)
7. Ming: A Novel of Seventeenth-Century China (fiction)
8. The Vagina Monologues ~ by Eve Ensler (women's studies)
9. The Summer Before the Dark ~ by Doris Lessing (fiction)
10. The Feminine Mystique ~ by Betty Friedan (women's studies)

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)?

1. finish two or three books
2. do updates at least six times (every four hours or oftener)

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?

1. take regular breaks
2. keep track of how many minutes/hours you read
3. record how many pages you read 
4. vary your reading (I have half fiction, half nonfiction)

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Hour 2 mini-challenge (The Kick Off of Champions, 9:00 a.m.)

"What have I surrounded myself with?"

Ten books (shown here and listed below), a mug for hot tea, my lap desk with a pen for making notes, and a good lamp beside my sofa so I can read on into the night.  During parts of the day, I also plan to stretch out and read on my bed where my cat is already curled up asleep.  I don't want to sit in one spot for too long.

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Hour 3 mini-challenge (And the Nominees Are, 10:00 a.m.)
"List your favorites."  (These are all subject to change as I have time to think about them.)

• Favorite Female Character in a Book:  Lily Owens in The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
• Favorite Male Character in a Book: Simon Morley in Time and Again by Jack Finney
• Favorite Sidekick in a Book:  Hermione Granger, in the Harry Potter series
• Favorite Couple in a Book:  Charles and Emma Darwin in Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligman
• Favorite Book Series:  Junie B Jones books for children
• Favorite Author:  Gail Godwin, who wrote the novel Evensong
• Favorite Book Cover:  Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
• Favorite Book of 2009:  The Help by Kathryn Stockett

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Hour 4 mini-challenge (Book Title Sentence, 11:00 a.m.)
"Take a photograph of three or four books from my bookshelves that form a sentence."

"Writing on my forehead ~ having our say in a different voice!"

1. Writing on My Forehead ~ by Nafisa Haji (which I'm reading first today)
2. Having Our Say ~ by Sarah and Elizabeth Delany
3. In a Different Voice ~ by Carol Gilligan

I really must make myself read for a long stretch before I report on number of pages read. It's embarrassingly low so far because all I seem to be doing is mini-challenges and reading what others have posted. The first book I'm reading is The Writing on My Forehead, a novel by Nafisa Haji (2009).

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Hour 5 mini-challenge (Feed Me Seymour Challenge, 12:00 noon)

"Share a picture and a passage about some food I've encountered in my reading today."

This is a pani-puri cart in India.  Pani-puris are popular snacks sold by the side of the road.  In the quote below, Nanima is the grandmother of the girl narrating the story and Big Nanima is the grandmother's sister (fromThe Writing on My Forehead by Nafisa Haji, p. 22):

"Nanima disapproved of dining out in general and of Karachi street cuisine in particular.  She insisted, with good reason, that the food made on the streets of Karachi was dirty and not fit for consumption.  Big Nanima scoffed at such caution.  Food, as her figure could attest, was her friend, and the cheap and spicy fare sold in the stalls at every corner in Karachi was what she thrived on.  Bun kababs, a hybrid hamburger made mostly of potatoes smothered with sweet and sour tamarind chutney and chili paste, were among her favorites.  And pani puris, deep-fried, crispy, and puffed up little flatbreads dripping with a spice-flavored water that had never known the process of boiling, which was mandatory among people respectable enough to afford the luxury of having a kitchen.  She introduced me to these delicacies, among others."

Hmpf, now I'm hungry.  Well, it is noon here, which means lunch time, right?  I don't have any pani puris or chutney, but I do have English muffins and cream cheese.  (Big difference, huh?)

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Hour 6 mini-challenge (Lights, Camera Read!, 1:00 p.m.)

"While you are reading and posting this day, acquire some pictures of yourself reading.  When you have a few (six is a good minimum), assemble them into a slideshow using Animoto or anything else you want to use.  It must include music.  Post a link to your digital creation in the comments section."

I may not be able to combine photos and music using an unknown program, but in the meantime I'll start taking photos to add here.  Since I'm reading books for the Women Unbound challenge, an appropriate song may be "I Am Woman," but the music is probably not available.

Here I am at the piano, trying to pick out the tune to "I Am Woman."  What am I thinking!?  My hands should be holding a book, not making music for a slideshow.  Forget it and pick up that book facing the camera on the shelf beyond my face.  It seems my stack of books followed me there, probably just to make me feel guilty. The one facing forward is "the book I'm not reading."

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Hour 7 (2:00 p.m.)
I'm skipping this mini-challenge ~ in order to READ.  See?  I'm reading, I'm reading!  And "the book I'm not reading" has become once again "the book I am reading."

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Hour 8 mini-challenge (Drabble Time, 3:00 p.m.)
"A drabble is an extremely short work of fiction exactly one hundred words in length.  Your mini-challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a drabble based on a book OR you can do a drabble based on your Readathon experience. Your drabble does not have to be true to the book.  It's all about being creative, but it must be a complete story in 100 words.  I'm willing to give you a 10 word leeway so make your drabble 90-110 words long, but shoot for 100!"

Reading in Dribs and Drabs

The Readathon begins.  First challenge:  write a meme.  Done!  Second hour:  photograph books I hope to read.  Posted that.  Third challenge:  think about books previously read.  Did that.  Fourth hour:  use book titles to make a sentence.  Been there, got the picture to prove it.  Fifth challenge: need a food photo.  Googled that.  Sixth challenge:  animate a slideshow.  Pecked at the piano making music before ditching the deal.  Seventh hour:  I finally read.  Got to page 38, in only eight hours!

Sorry, I'm busy reading ... FINALLY.

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Hour 9 mini-challenge (Soundtrack Song, 4:00 p.m.)
Here’s how to play:
* Pick up a book that you’ve read today, or are currently reading.
* Choose a song that goes with the book – could be that it fits the overall feel of it or even a certain scene.
* Create a blog post answering the following:  book title, soundtrack song, why you chose that song.
* If possible, include a clip of the song (ie, youtube video).

Book title: The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan.
Soundtrack song:  "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy
Why I chose this song:  The book marks the beginning of the second wave of feminism when women of the 1960s and 1970s struggled to get equal rights, especially in the workplace.  The song was chosen as the theme song for International Women's Year (1975).

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 Hey!  I'm one of 15 finalists in the Hour 4 Mini-Challenge!  Here are the photos chosen:

In no particular order here are my favourite 15 entries, it’s now over to you to pick the winner!
Just a reminder the idea was to create a readable sentence using book titles alone.
The voting booth is at the bottom of the post, I’ll keep voting open until the end of hour #10 and you can vote for up to three entries!

The Silent Governess, treasured the truth about forever. by Eliza Osborn	The Outsiders lost White Fang by Kristen	Writing on my forehead; having our say in a different voice. by Bonnie
Gods behaving badly after dark, in my father’s den. by Rachael	Run liar, because of Anya, the cat ate my gymsuit. by Helen	Jayne Eyre, whispers, I’d kill for that. by Lissa
Bonk the last madam, if you want to write sexuality today. by Rayna	The clouds roll away, when turtles fly, bending toward the sun. by Kristi	On Chesil Beach The Savage Detectives Waltz with Bashir In Search of a Distant Voice by Gnoe
Crazy, beautiful, breathless, boys that bite need Jessica’s guide to dating on the dark side. by Elie	Dangerous Angels Catching Fire, In The Bleak Midwinter. by Bitsy	Beautiful Creatures Lament The Hidden Dawn. by Heather
The King of Attolia kidnapped one corpse too many. by Jenn	Darkly dreaming Dexter; Sinner, monster, an echo in the darkness… by Angela	Learning to lose, by fire, by water; a small place. by Vasily

Remember voting is open until the end of hour #10 and you can vote for up to three entries!

Here's how the votes went:

Which of the following sentences is your winner? (Poll Closed)

The Silent Governess, treasured the truth about forever. 2%

The Outsiders lost White Fang 6%

Writing on my forehead; having our say in a different voice. 4%

Gods behaving badly after dark, in my father’s den. 9%

Run liar, because of Anya, the cat ate my gymsuit. 6%

Jayne Eyre, whispers, I’d kill for that. 18%

Bonk the last madam, if you want to write sexuality today. 9%

The clouds roll away, when turtles fly, bending toward the sun. 4%

On Chesil Beach The Savage Detectives Waltz with Bashir In Search of a Distant Voice. 5%

Crazy, beautiful, breathless, boys that bite need Jessica's guide to dating on the dark side. 8%

Dangerous Angels Catching Fire, In The Bleak Midwinter. 3%

Beautiful Creatures Lament The Hidden Dawn. 7%

The King of Attolia kidnapped one corpse too many. 15%

Darkly dreaming Dexter; Sinner, monster, an echo in the darkness... 2%

Learning to lose, by fire, by water; a small place. 2%

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Joy Renee's Hour 10 mini-challenge (Reading Is Fundamental, 5:00 p.m.)
"The challenge is to create a post celebrating the reading child and to link to the Reading is Fundamental webpage.  Suggestions for content:  post a picture or video of a child or children reading or being read to."

The very first suggestions works for me.  I have a photo of my granddaughter Cady reading one of the books we reviewed together, And Tango Makes Three.  Click on the book's title to read her review.

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Hour 10 has TWO mini-challenges (Where in the World Have You Read Today?, 5:00 p.m.)
"Click on a Google map.  Zoom until you find the location you want to click.  Enter the book(s) you're reading or have read today. Include the title and author."

I'm reading in Karachi, Pakistan, during part of the novel The Writing on My Forehead by Nafisa Haji.  One other person is in Pakistan, but s/he is way up north in Lahore.  Other parts of the story take place in London and in America, but I marked only Karachi for this mini-challenge.  See the map itself.

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Hour 11 mini-challenge (Get Up and Move Challenge, 6:00 p.m.)

Bye, I'm going for a walk.  I'll take out my garbage, pick up the mail on my walk back, and enjoy a bit of sunshine along the way.  It's a beautiful day, with the temperature currently at 71F.

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Hour 12 mini-challenge (Mid-Event Survey, 7:00 p.m.)

1. What are you reading right now?

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

2. How many books have you read so far?

Parts of three adult books, plus three children's books.

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

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, for the Women Unbound reading challenge.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

No, I'm retired and make my own days, which means I usually get more read than I have today!

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

My only "interruption" was before I started.  I invited my friend in to discuss tomorrow's class that I'll be teaching, but she left about the time the Read-a-Thon began.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

No surprises.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

I like the main thing that keeps me from reading, the mini-challenges.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Nothing, I'd still "waste" my time on the mini-challenges and read when I feel like it.  I read every day of the year and will always do that as long as I'm able.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Oh, yeah, my back aches.  But walking helped.  So does occasionally stretching out to read.

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?

Enjoy whatever rocks your boat.  If you are having fun with the mini-challenges, as I am, don't worry about how many pages or books you read or how much time you spend actually reading.