Bout of Books Readathon 4.0 Day #7 and Finish Line

Today’s Progress:

• Books Read: 0.1
• Total Books Read: 5.1
• Pages Read: 40
• Total Pages Read: 1405
• Time Read: 30 minutes
• Total Time Read: 12 hour 38 minutes
• #todayinsixwordds: Epic fail for the last day!

Another readathon completed.  I was hoping to read more than I did, but 5 books is respectable.  House chores seemed to get in the way.  And the weekend just went downhill from there.  At this point, I think I need to carve out some time every day to read.  As it stands, I keep getting distracted…

My Goals

• Read at least 5 books √
• Read my required reading for the month (Shakespeare and Harry Potter) — Epic fail of the week
• Review all books read √
• Participate in at least 2 mini challenges — I only did one…  tried to focus on the reading.
• Read an average of 2 hours a day — Close but nope

Books To Read

• Anthony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare
• Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell
• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
• Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
• Paris in Love by Eloisa James
• The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
• Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin — Started

 

Bout of Books Readathon 4.0 Day #6

Today’s Progress:

• Books Read: 0.74
• Total Books Read: 5
• Pages Read: 242
• Total Pages Read: 1365
• Time Read: 2 hours 57 minutes
• Total Time Read: 12 hour 8 minutes
• #todayinsixwordds: Amazing sea monster classic story fun!

 

Bout of Books Readathon 4.0 Day #5

Today’s Progress:

• Books Read: 0.49 (Murder on the Orient Express) + 0.26  (Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters)
• Total Books Read: 4.26
• Pages Read: 234
• Total Pages Read: 1123
• Time Read: 2 hours 17 minutes
• Total Time Read: 9 hour 11 minutes
• #todayinsixwordds: Great mystery, started great monster reimagining

 

Bout of Books Readathon 4.0 Day #4

Today’s Progress:

• Books Read: 0.59
• Total Books Read: 3.97
• Pages Read: 198
• Total Pages Read: 889
• Time Read: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Total Time Read: 6 hour 54 minutes
• #todayinsixwordds: Loving a classic Agatha Christie mystery

 

Bout of Books Readathon 4.0 Day #3

Today’s Progress:

• Books Read: 0.38
• Total Books Read: 2.38
• Pages Read:101
• Total Pages Read: 691
• Time Read: 1 hour 21 minutes
• Total Time Read: 5 hour 24 minutes
• #todayinsixwordds: DNF, disappointing and messes with stats

 

Bout of Books Readathon 4.0 Day #2

Today’s Progress:

• Books Read: .7 (A Great and Terrible Beauty)
• Total Books Read: 2
• Pages Read: 279
• Total Pages Read:  590
• Time Read: 2 hours 4 minutes
• Total Time Read: 4 hour 3 minutes
• #todayinsixwords: Slower reading day, but good book

 

Bout of Books Readathon 4.0 Day #1

Today’s Progress:

• Books Read: 1.3 (The Frog Prince, A Great and Terrible Beauty)
• Total Books Read: 1.3
• Pages Read: 311
• Total Pages Read: 311
• Time Read: 1 hour 59 minutes
• Total Time Read: 1 hour 59 minutes
• #todayinsixwords: Interesting Frog Prince retelling – modern take…

Mini Challenge #1: “What do you like best about readathons? Do you have any readathon traditions or rituals? If this is your first readathon, what do you like so far? Discuss away!”

I love the idea of focusing on my reading.  Often, life gets in the way of reading or I make excuses to do things instead of read.  Readathons allow me to focus and make me read.  I wish I had some big ritual to my readathons, but in reality I grab some books the day before, throw some goals on a post, and attempt to clear my schedule.  Wow, boring answer.  But that’s all I got.  Now, back to the reading.

 

The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell

Title: The Frog Prince

Author: Stephen Mitchell

Publisher: Harmony 1999

Genre: Fairy Tales

Pages: 188

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges:  Semi-Charmed Challenge — One day read; Telling Tales; Support Your Local Library

How I Got It: Library loan

In this brilliant jewel of a book, the best-selling author of Tao Te Ching: A New English Version expands and deepens the classic fairy tale in the most surprising and delightful ways, giving new emphasis to its message of the transcendent power of love.

The Frog Prince tells the story of a meditative frog’s love for a rebellious princess, how she came to love him in spite of herself, and how her refusal to compromise helped him become who he truly was. This is a magical book that moves (amphibiously) from story to meditation and back, from the outrageous to the philosophical to the silly to the sublime. Profound, touching, written in prose as lively and unpredictable as a dream, The Frog Prince tickles the mind, opens the heart, and holds up a mirror to the soul.

Interesting retelling of the fairy tale.  We get to see more of the Princess’ and Frog’s inner thoughts through the journey.  I like the idea of teaching life philosophy through fairy tales.  They are the easiest to understand.  We can explore deeper meanings through classic well-known stories.  The slim novella only took me an hour to read and yet I feel like I could spend many more hours contemplating the messages included.  I don’t have much else to add.  I like it.  I want to read more fairy tales/reinterpretations/philosophy stories.  I really should add some more to my TBR list.

Two great passages:

What may appear to be proud, ungrateful, and headstrong from the outside may from the inside express an unshakable integrity of character.  Pride, if is doesn’t step over the line into arrogance, is simply an unprejudiced self-esteem.  Ingratitude is the appropriate response to a kindness that has hooks on it.  Headstrong is another word for trusting your own heart. — pg. 103

There remains the question of meaning.  A frog turns into a prince.  A lost son is found.  A queen long dead steps down from her pedestal, flushed with life.  Is this wishful thinking?  Whistling in the dark?  And if it isn’t, if such transformations are images of what can actually happen to us, in us, what do they entail?  What do they look and feel like? — pg. 184

Side note: Listening to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds while listening was a good choice.  Soothing acoustic music set the mood for this books.

  

 

Bout of Books Readathon 4.0 Goals

I can’t believe we’re starting the fourth Bout of Books Readathon!  I remember when this one started.  I love the easy pace, longer time span, and love from other bloggers.

Go to Bout of Books for the rules, details, and signups..

My Goals

• Read at least 5 books
• Read my required reading for the month (Shakespeare and Harry Potter)
• Review all books read
• Participate in at least 2 mini challenges
• Read an average of 2 hours a day

Books To Read

• Anthony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare
• Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell
• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
• Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
• Paris in Love by Eloisa James
• The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
• Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Happy Reading!  I’ll see you on May 14th!

 

Into the West Day #4

We’re on our way.  We’re heading to California to start a slightly modified life.  Excited as it may be, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.  I thought you would like to see the things we encounter on our ~2000 mile journey.  (I know it ‘s just what you have all wanted!).  Enjoy!

Travel miles today: 561  miles

Travel miles total: 1831  miles

Places of interest: Another huge day of traveling.  I did get to see some awesome dino bones, though.  We didn’t quite make it to Reno today, but we are about 3 hours away.  That should leave us with about 6:30 hours of driving tomorrow.  I think we can do it.  Just need to get up and going early.

 

First (and only) stop: Dinosaur National Monument.  We arrived right as it opened and got on the first tour of the day.  The ranger takes you up to the Quarry Fossil Center and from there you can explore.  Of course, we got to enjoy it with about 50 elementary students there on a field trip.  The center is basically a building covering a giant wall of dinosaur fossils.  It’s huge!  And really cool.  The original building was built in the 1950s, but closed in 2006 because it was structurally unsound.  It was literally falling apart.  It took the NPS five years to replace it.  Thankfully the new building opened last year, so we could see the wonder that is the Quarry.  Very neat place!

 

In passing: We passed the Great Salt Lake.  Man is that thing huge!  and the Bonneville Salt Flats.  J didn’t want to risk the car, so no offroading.

 

Tomorrow: Donner Party Memorial in Truckee CA, Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield CA, and finally Sunnyvale CA!