Sixteenth hour (3:00-4:00 a.m. EDT) ~ REPORT and MINI-CHALLENGE

Title of book(s) I've been reading this hour (hourly # of pages):
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (0 pages)
..... Total pages this hour = 0 pages

Books I've read (or dipped into) since I started (total # of pages):
..... A Three Dog Life ~ by Abigail Thomas (182 pages)
..... Big Woods ("The Bear") ~ by William Faulkner (15 pages)
..... Memories, Dreams, Reflections ~ by Carl Jung (12 pages)
..... Rules Are Rules ~ by Julie Scandora (32 pages)
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (120 pages)
..... Total pages today = 351 pages

Comments about this hour:
..... The hours continue to rush past, but I have slowed down to a crawl.
..... This hour, instead of reading, I wrote a single haiku.

Time spent reading since my last post (and collectively):
..... 0 minutes (360 minutes = 6 hours)

Other participants I've visited this hour:
..... Tammy
..... Debi
..... Bonnie (Oh, that's ME! We three are Readers of the Hour)

Mini-challenge for this hour:
..... The Hour 16 mini-challenge: All you have to do is write a limerick or haiku about one of the books you’ve read during the read-a-thon.
..... Mine relates to Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward.

children kill a son
his mother can't forgive it
other mother's grief

Fifteenth hour (2:00-3:00 a.m. EDT) ~ REPORT

This report is totally unlike the previous ones because I spent most of this hour researching South Africa and, specifically, Cape Town. I first published my response to Dewey's 15th hour mini-challenge in the post below.

I have also added a gorgeous header to Bonnie’s Books showing a panorama of Cape Town as seen from Table Mountain, which towers 1,086 metres (3,563 feet) over the city. Look at the top of this page. See it up there?


Here were Dewey's instructions for the mini-challenge:
Where is your current book set? If it’s a real place, go to wikipedia and find five interesting facts about the place and post about it in your blog.

Forgive Me is set in Cape Town, South Africa, during the time of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee meetings. Here are five interesting facts about South Africa:
(1) Cape Town is home to Table Mountain. The highest point on Table Mountain is 1,086 metres (3,563 feet) above sea level. This photo (click photo to enlarge it) fits in a post, but see my latest header of Bonnie's Books (above) to see the town from atop the mountain.
(2) Cape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa; it was the largest city in South Africa until the growth of Johannesburg.
(3) According to the South African National Census of 2001, the population of Cape Town is 2,893,251 people.
(4) Wikipedia had this photo of Bo-Kaap, an area of Cape Town where the characters happen to be as I've been reading the last few pages.
(5) Read what Absolute Vanilla, a South African, wrote this month about the violence and lack of logic in her country.

Fourteenth hour (1:00-2:00 a.m. EDT) ~ REPORT

Title of book(s) I've been reading this hour (hourly # of pages):
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (21 pages)
..... Total pages this hour = 21 pages

Books I've read (or dipped into) since I started (total # of pages):
..... A Three Dog Life ~ by Abigail Thomas (182 pages)
..... Big Woods ("The Bear") ~ by William Faulkner (15 pages)
..... Memories, Dreams, Reflections ~ by Carl Jung (12 pages)
..... Rules Are Rules ~ by Julie Scandora (32 pages)
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (120 pages)
..... Total pages today = 351 pages

Comments about this hour:
..... Actually, the warm bath was very conducive to reading.
..... I'm a night owl and feel ready to go the distance now.
..... I've popped some popcorn for strength and endurance ... lol.

Time spent reading since my last post (and collectively):
..... 20 minutes (360 minutes = 6 hours)

Other participants I've visited this hour:
..... Dewey

Mini-challenge for the upcoming (15th) hour:
Where is your current book set? If it’s a real place, go to wikipedia and find five interesting facts about the place and post about it in your blog.

Forgive Me is set in Cape Town, South Africa, during the time of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee meetings. Here are five interesting facts about South Africa:
(1) Cape Town is home to Table Mountain. The highest point on Table Mountain is 1,086 metres (3,563 feet) above sea level. This photo (click photo to enlarge it) fits in a post, but see my latest header of Bonnie's Books (above) to see the town from atop the mountain.
(2) Cape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa; it was the largest city in South Africa until the growth of Johannesburg.
(3) According to the South African National Census of 2001, the population of Cape Town is 2,893,251 people.
(4) Wikipedia had this photo of Bo-Kaap, an area of Cape Town where the characters happen to be as I've been reading the last few pages.
(5) Read what Absolute Vanilla, a South African, wrote this month about the violence and lack of logic in her country.

Thirteenth hour (12:00-1:00 a.m. EDT) ~ REPORT

Title of book(s) I've been reading this hour (hourly # of pages):
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (26 pages)
..... Total pages this hour = 26 pages

Books I've read (or dipped into) since I started (total # of pages):
..... A Three Dog Life ~ by Abigail Thomas (182 pages)
..... Big Woods ("The Bear") ~ by William Faulkner (15 pages)
..... Memories, Dreams, Reflections ~ by Carl Jung (12 pages)
..... Rules Are Rules ~ by Julie Scandora (32 pages)
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (99 pages)
..... Total pages today = 340 pages

Comments about this hour:
..... The water's running for a warm bath to soak my weary bones and read awhile.

Time spent reading since my last post (and collectively):
..... 30 minutes (310 minutes = 5 hours + 40 minutes)

Other participants I've visited this hour:
..... Bybee, who is hosting the upcoming mini-challenge

Mini-challenge for the upcoming (14th) hour:
Bybee is hosting How much do you know about Korea?

The person who can list the most facts (trivial or otherwise) about the interesting peninsula upon which I now live and work will win a copy of the novella pictured above.
ㅊ
An Appointment With My Brother is the story of a South Korean man whose father abandoned the family, defected to North Korea for ideological reasons, and started a new family there. Upon the father's death many years later, the South Korean man meets his North Korean half-brother for the first time.
ㅊ
Leave your answers in the Comments section; you have until the end of the Readathon. This contest is open to all Readathon participants. Good luck!

Since I have a friend currently working in South Korea, I'll take on this challenge! The list will come a bit later, however, because I want to keep reading.

Twelfth hour (11:00-12:00 midnight EDT) ~ REPORT

Title of book(s) I've been reading this hour (hourly # of pages):
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (4 pages)
..... Total pages this hour = 4 pages

Books I've read (or dipped into) since I started (total # of pages):
..... A Three Dog Life ~ by Abigail Thomas (182 pages)
..... Big Woods ("The Bear") ~ by William Faulkner (15 pages)
..... Memories, Dreams, Reflections ~ by Carl Jung (12 pages)
..... Rules Are Rules ~ by Julie Scandora (32 pages)
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (73 pages)
..... Total pages today = 314 pages

Comments about this hour:
..... The water's running for a warm bath to soak my weary bones and read awhile.

Time spent reading since my last post (and collectively):
..... 5 minutes (280 minutes = 5 hours + 10 minutes)

Other participants I've visited this hour:
.....None

Mini-challenge this hour:
Vasilly's Poetry Challenge, coming up in Hour 13.

Your task: Find a poem and post it. The length of the poem does not matter.

Your prize: Dirt Music by Tim Winton and 3 fridge magnets and dishcloths.

This challenge is open to Readers and Cheerleaders and will last until 11pm Pacific time. Remember to leave a comment below with the link to the specific post, after you've completed this challenge.

Hmm, maybe I'll consider doing it by the deadline. For now I'm headed for hot water.

Eleventh hour (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT) ~ REPORT and MINI-CHALLENGE

Title of book(s) I've been reading this hour (hourly # of pages):
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (15 pages)
..... Total pages this hour = 15 pages

Books I've read (or dipped into) since I started (total # of pages):
..... A Three Dog Life ~ by Abigail Thomas (182 pages)
..... Big Woods ("The Bear") ~ by William Faulkner (15 pages)
..... Memories, Dreams, Reflections ~ by Carl Jung (12 pages)
..... Rules Are Rules ~ by Julie Scandora (32 pages)
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (69 pages)
..... Total pages today = 310 pages

Comments about this hour:
..... I'm getting tired, so it's time to run hot water in the tub and relax with a good book. I do just happen to have several on hand, you know!

Time spent reading since my last post (and collectively):
..... 20 minutes (275 minutes = 5 hours + 5 minutes)

Other participants I've visited this hour:
.....None

Mini-challenge this hour:
..... Dewey's latest is a Mid-Event Survey. Answer these questions (though I've been answering some of these questions with every single update):

1. What are you reading right now?
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward

2. How many books have you read so far?
..... I've completed two and read parts of three other books.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
..... No, I'm single and retired, so it's my usual kind of day, more or less.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
..... My sister-in-law called to let me know how my brother is doing after liver transplant surgery, but that took only five minutes ... plus the time it took to call my daughter.
..... My roommate came home from work and got on the computer about the time I would have posted this report, so it's almost time for the next one. I waited. After all, I've been on the computer (off and on) for over eleven hours now.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
..... That the hours are so short! I barely get into reading when it's time for another hourly report.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
..... No, but I'll remember to choose less challenging books that day.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
..... See #7.

9. Are you getting tired yet?
..... Yes.

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?
..... No, not really. I'm just plugging along, trying now to stay away as it's almost midnight here in the Eastern time zone.

Tenth hour (9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT) ~ REPORT

Title of book(s) I've been reading this hour (hourly # of pages):
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (10 pages)
..... Total pages this hour = 10 pages

Books I've read (or dipped into) since I started (total # of pages):
..... A Three Dog Life ~ by Abigail Thomas (182 pages)
..... Big Woods ("The Bear") ~ by William Faulkner (15 pages)
..... Memories, Dreams, Reflections ~ by Carl Jung (12 pages)
..... Rules Are Rules ~ by Julie Scandora (32 pages)
..... Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward (54 pages)
..... Total pages today = 295 pages

Comments about this hour:
..... I dozed, because I DID lie down after all.
..... And I'm still taking notes on the book, lowering the page count.
..... I've been thinking about soaking in the tub while I read, though I'm afraid I'd fall asleep for sure that way! Maybe I'll do it though, just for the sheer relaxation and enjoyment of a warm bath.

Time spent reading since my last post (and collectively):
15 minutes (255 minutes = 4 hours + 45 minutes)

Other participants I've visited this hour:
..... Hannah, who is organizing all the prizes, winners and donors
Trish, who is Dewey's sidekick and spreadsheet master.

Mini-challenge this hour:
..... Hour 10 was BLANK, Dewey announced.
..... The Hour 11 Mini-Challenge is specialized, not something I can do.