Bout of Books Update: Day 2 (Tuesday)

It's day TWO of the Bout of Books Read-a-Thon. So far, I'm ahead of my goals (yay!). Darian is a little behind on his, but that's only because I think he was crazy to aim for 1200 pages and 5 books. I have far more time to read than he does. But...we'll see. He's determined.

I had the luxury of having the day off today, but somehow that didn't translate to more reading time than yesterday. I managed to get up early enough to be ready, run to the school twice, and work on this post before the 10am (MST) On-Air Chat this morning. That worked out nicely. Unfortunately, I then burned the last of the morning working on the challenges for today and getting caught up on a few other internety/bloggy things.

We also lost a little bit of reading time tonight due to a couple of meetings at his school. I regained a little bit of my time by making tonight's dinner ruling: leftovers. Clean out the fridge and save me an hour of time? Perfect. Double win. I also got to read outside in the sunshine for a bit this afternoon. That was lovely.

The plan is to keep posting our updates around 10pm MST, just enough time after Darian goes to bed for me to finish writing and get them polished. He gives me his stats before he heads up and I take care of the rest.

Today was another good reading day!

Elle's Current Stats 

Currently Reading: The Right Thing by Amy Conner

When I Read Today: A little bit this afternoon before Dar got home from school and a bit after his meetings tonight. I'll be continuing for a while longer after I finish this post.

Other Things Accomplished Today: Dropped the kids off at school, went back to the school to take Darian his forgotten math book, meeting for 8 in 6 program at Dar's school, parent's ALP meeting (where Darian was a presenter) at Darian's old elementary school. There was a lot of back and forth.

Minutes Read Today : 1 hour 26 minutes (86 minutes)

Total Time Read: 518 minutes

Goal: 20 hours (1200 minutes).

Pages Read Today: 97

Total Pages Read: 372

Goal: 1200 pages.

Books Finished Today: Now I See You by Nicole C. Kear

Total Books Finished: 2

Goal: 4 books.

How I'm Feeling: I wish I would've been able to be more productive today with my reading. Oh...and I really don't want to go to work tomorrow. I'd much rather stay here and get lost in a book.

Today's Challenges: 

1. Books You're Looking Forward To: Oh, I have a giant pile of books on my TBR list. But I'll pick out my top 10 "can't wait to read" books.

• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
• The Opposite of Maybe by Maddie Dawson
• The Winter Sea by Susana Kearsley
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
• The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

2. Bookish Battle Royal: Somewhat like my BOTY Bracket Challenge, this pits book characters against one another in a duel to the death. Fantastic! Right up my alley. Let's see here...

I'm going with bad ass dystopian chicks.

Contestant One: Katniss from The Hunger Games

Strengths: Independent, Dead Eye Shot, Adept at Trapping

Weaknesses: Stubborn, Rash, Emotional Ties to Family/Friends

Contestant Two: Lena from Delirium

Strengths: Determined, Good Runner, Resourceful

Weaknesses: Inconsistent, Naive, Lovesick

Contestant Three: Cassia from Matched

Strengths: Daring, Strong-Willed, Inquisitive

Weaknesses: Careless, Naive, Unobservant

Contestant Four: Tris from Divergent

Strengths: Strong-Willed, Good with Knives, Brave

Weaknesses: Low Self-Esteem, Impatient, Reckless

Alright...let's make this quick and dirty. 

Round One: 

Contestant 1 (Katniss) v. Contestant 2 (Lena) and Contestant 3 (Cassia) v. Contestant 4 (Tris)

This one's pretty easy. The lovelorn girls are going to lose it. Both Katniss and Tris have athletic skill and weaponry on their side. Though Lena does run quickly, that won't stop Katniss from getting her with an arrow.

Round Two:

Contestant 1 (Katniss) v. Contestant 4 (Tris)

This one's a little trickier. And it's all going to come down to skill. The two are fairly evenly matched in the weapons department...arrows vs. knives. Katniss does have a slight edge here simply because she can take a target from a little farther away. Both are nervous to kill and have to be at their breaking point to be that aggressive. So that's a wash. Both are hasty decision makers on occasion, something that has been problematic for each of them. So in the end, it's going to come down the one extra skill that's going to push winner ahead by a nose. It will be a knockdown drag-out and not a fight to end quickly, but in the end....the winner will be...

Katniss Everdeen

The Hunger Games

Her experienced hunting skills are going to set this girl apart. She can hunt, track, set traps, and shoot. It may take some time for her to beat out Tris, but in the end she will emerge victorious...the badest dystopian badass chick of them all.

Darian's Current Stats 

Currently Reading: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

When I Read Today: Between 9 and 9:30pm

Other Things Accomplished Today: Went to school, forgot my math book, did homework and chores, and attended two school meetings. Presented at one of the meetings.

Minutes Read Today : 27 minutes

Total Time Read: 140 minutes

Goal: 15 hours (900 minutes).

Pages Read Today: 26 pages

Total Pages Read: 128 pages

Goal: 1200 pages.

Books Finished Today: None

Total Books Finished: 0

Goal: 5 books.

0/4 Books

How I'm Feeling: Kind of bored. Even though I'm at the most exciting part of the book, it's not as exciting as it was the first time.

Today's Challenge:

1. Books You're Looking Forward To:

• Speaker of the Dead  by Orson Scott Card
• Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
• Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card
• Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
• Shadow of the Hedgemon by Orson Scott Card
• Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card
• Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card
• Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card
• Meetings in the Enderverse by Orson Scott Card
• Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

2. Bookish Battle Royal: I've picked the battle of fantasy characters.

My contestants are:

Eragon from The Inheritance Series

Strengths: Can Use Magic, Good with a Sword, Confident

Weaknesses: Soft-Hearted, At the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Hermione from The Harry Potter Series

Strengths: Smart, Good Reflexes, Tries to Stay Out of Trouble

Weaknesses: Afraid of Failure, Rule Follower, Sometimes Doesn't think Clearly

Katniss from The Hunger Games

Strengths: Observant, Good with Bow & Arrow, Doesn't Fully Trust Anyone

Weaknesses: Naive, Soft-Hearted, Rash

Katniss starts out setting traps while she's also getting supplies and Hermione tries to get a good shelter, while Eragon tries to get as far away as he can from the others. Katniss and Hermione face each other as the first battle. Katniss barely wins with a slight edge of a little bit more skill. Eventually, Eragon and Katniss face off and this is a hard decision. The battle gets very aggressive and the two affectionate people go ballistic. Eventually...

Eragon

comes out victorious. With magic on his side and good skills, he has very smart tactics and he is able to win without wasting all of his energy. Katniss tried to get him with her bow & arrow, but unluckily for her Eragon can use magic to block her arrows and catch up with Katniss. Her advantage of distance doesn't work out.