I am super excited to get started!
For those of you not familiar with Bout of Books...
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books teamIt will be a little different from Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, but I'm really looking forward to this format too. Especially since I have a nice stack of books to get going on.
So let's set some goals. It's always better to have a focus. I've talked to Darian and he says that he's thinking he'll participate too. I've sent him off with a list of things to consider so that he can set his own goals, so I'm going to follow the same parameters I gave him.
Elle's Bout of Books...
Elle's Bout of Books 10 Goals:
1. Read at least two hours every day.
2. Read a total of twenty hours.
3. Read at least 4 books.
4. Read at least 1200 pages.
5. Participate in Wednesday & Saturday's Twitter Chats
6. Participate in at least four mini-challenges.
Elle's Bout of Books 10 Reading List:
I have some books all lined up and ready to go. I have them in a planned order so that I don't hem and haw about what to read next, I'll just be ready to get going on the next one once I finish a book. I work much better when I have a plan and can minimize things that I can distract myself with.
I'm aiming for four completed books, so I'm planning out twice as many. I may not finish them all...which is fine...but at least I have an order. Here's the list of planned reads:
1. A Shining Space by Ailsa Fabian (currently reading)
2. Now I See You by Nicole C. Kear
3. The Right Thing by Amy Conner
4. Lucky Us by Amy Bloom
5. The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell
6. A Triple Knot by Emma Campion
7. Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea Hannah
8. Anathema by Megg Jensen
It's a pretty good mix. I have a couple of memoirs, some chick lit, one historical fiction, some young adult fiction, and even a fantasy. It should be good!
The Plan
I used a spreadsheet to keep track of myself during the last read-a-thon and that worked out pretty well. I'm making a few tweaks to it, but it should help me keep track of where I'm at in relation to my goals. If nothing else, it should work to push me in the right direction if I start to fall a little behind.
I'll be putting up at least one update post each day (most likely two on the weekends). I haven't decided yet if I'll do separate posts for the mini-challenges or blend them with the update posts. I'll just have to wing it on that one.
Darian's Bout of Books...
Darian's Bout of Books 10 Goals:
1. Read at least 45 minutes every day.
2. Read a total of fifteen hours.
3. Read at least 5 books.
4. Read at least 1200 pages.
5. Participate in Wednesday & Saturday's Twitter Chats
6. Participate in at least four mini-challenges.
Darian's Bout of Books 10 Reading List:
(This is Darian speaking, Elle typing...)
I'm setting this goal so that I can get back on track with my Goodreads because I've been rereading the Harry Potter series. The list is:
1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
(I just finished the seventh one a little while ago.)
5. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
6. Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
7. Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card
8. Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
The Plan
My plan is that I'm going to keep a spreadsheet for how many pages I read and how many minutes I read. Every other day I will post an update.
Let's do this! We're ready to READ!
You and I are such opposites. I noticed that when you did your Liebster award random facts. For example, I HATE being without socks, I never am barefoot. Hate it, and I lived in FL for 22 years. Never owned a flip flop ever. LOL! Anyways, I'm the opposite in preparing too. I have a few books I'm thinking about but I'm more of a pick on the fly type. I definitely can't plan my books because I'm always changing my mind for what I'm in the mood for. I do want to try to knock out some series, there's tons I only have one or two books left on, so right now I'm focused on that, but I'm sure something will distract me and I'll go in a completely different direction. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you both and have so much fun!! :)
Haha. Yes. We definitely have opposite streaks in us. I'm super excited for the Bout of Books. Heaven knows I need to get some books read to catch up on my Goodreads goal. I'll be updating the bracket again this month, so it would be nice if I could show some serious changes. I'm looking forward to seeing your books for the BOTY Bracket Challenge. Now we just need to get some other voracious readers on board!
DeleteDewey's was fun (this last one was my first time) but personally I like Bout of Books better. I have more time to balance reading with all the social stuff, and even if I don't get much done one day, there are six others to make up for it.
ReplyDeleteFantastic that you're making it a family event. Good luck!
This last Dewey's was my first one too. It was totally a whirlwind. I'm looking forward to see how Bout of Books goes since this will be my first time participating in it as well. I'm lucky that the kiddo loves to read as much as I do. He was getting all excited last night talking to me about the Ender's series. We're planning on doing an all-nighter (or at least as much of it as we can manage) on Saturday. We had fun doing that last year for the Summer Lovin' Read-a-Thon. Looking forward to seeing what you have to read Charleen!
DeleteI cannot tell you how elated I am that you stopped over at my blog from the Bout of Books blog, because oh my gosh, am I in love with your blog! I knew I would be just from your blog's title! :D Seriously, that is soooo me too. Projects, projects, projects...oh how I love my projects. Even if I can't ever seem to finish many. :P Oh, how I see myself spending many an hour here reading through your old posts (and your new ones, of course)--books and crafts and scrapbooking...*swoon*
ReplyDeleteI love that you've got a buddy reading with you!!! I miss the days when my daughter participated in challenges and read-a-thons and whatnot with me, but at 17 she's now way to busy with classes and her job and the school's literary magazine, etc. And my boys, it would take a might hefty bribe to get them to play along. *sad sigh*
Have fun with Bout of Books!!! I'm looking forward to watching yours and Darian's progress. :)
The feeling is totally mutual! I love your blog as well. I'm enjoying discovering how much we have in common. I'm was really glad to read that your family has decided to join you for the read-a-thon. Have a wonderful time! I'll be swinging by here and there to check out you guy's progress.
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