Monday, April 25, 2011

I finished reading:

"Generals Die in Bed - A Story from the Trenches" written by Charles Yale Harrison. 175 Pages.

I think anyone in favour of war should read this book. Pretty powerful stuff!!

19th book of the year. 5785 pages at an average of 304 pages per book.

-Richard

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Coffee House I

Suppin' Tea
Or flavoured coffees
A far cry
From the greasy diner
Or local chippy
Perspective's changed?
Life changed?
Values changed?
Have I become too yuppie?
I promised I never would,
Or, is it growing up
(finally!)?

-Richard

Ringo's Having a Baby!

Ringo's having a baby,
Red "Pepper" suit
In a VW bug
Liverpool accent calling
Psychedelic flowers passing by.

Ringo's having a baby,
Thirty-five years young,
Penny Lane in California
Sitar wailing through speakers
Coloured flutterbies sweeping by.

Ringo's having a baby,
Two thousand and eleven,
Nineteen Sixty Seven,
Time passes by
Peace symbols waving high.

Ringo's having a baby,
What does it mean?
All in a dream?
The music's gone
And there is no peace....

Did Ringo have a baby?

-Richard

Friday, April 22, 2011

I Finished Reading:

"Absolute Power" written by David Baldacci. 505 Pages.

"To Have and Have Not" written by Ernest Hemingway. 262 Pages.

Books 17th and 18th of the year. 5610 Pages at an average of 312 pages.

-Richard

Monday, April 11, 2011

I finished reading:

"Mockingjay" written by Suzanne Collins. 390 Pages.

The third and final part of the Hunger Games series. A great series, but, although it's a young adult series it is certainly not for younger readers.

16th book of the year. 4843 pages at an average of 303 pages.

-Richard

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Read-a-Thon End - Final Stats.

(I did add another 10 minutes before falling asleep!!)

Total Pages Read - 1171
Total Time Read - 12 hours 53 minutes
Books Finished - 3

I am up to page 266 of"Mockingjay"

See y'all in October!!!

-Richard
End of Read-a-Thon Survey


1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 23. I was planning on getting up after a few hours nap, but, hit snooze on the alarm and went back asleep!!
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Anything by David Baldacci
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No, seventh time and I still love it.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Everything
5. How many books did you read? Finished 3
6. What were the names of the books you read? The Simple Truth, Coach:A Season with Lombardi and God's Smuggler.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? God's Smuggler
8. Which did you enjoy least? Coach: A Season with Lombardi
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? n/a
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Very likely as a reader.

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hour 18.

Pages Read Last Hour - 111
Total Pages Read - 1152
Time Read Last Hours - 53 minutes
Total Time Read - 12 hours 43 minutes
Books Finished - 3

I am up to page 247 of"Mockingjay"

Time for a few hours nap. I hope to be up for at least the last hour, hopefully two. Goodnight!!

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hour 17.

Pages Read Last Hour - 85
Total Pages Read - 1041
Time Read Last Hours - 51 minutes
Total Time Read - 11 hours 50 minutes
Books Finished - 3

I am up to page 146 of"Mockingjay"

-Richard

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Read-a-Thon End of Hour 16.

Pages Read Last Hour - 61
Total Pages Read - 956
Time Read Last Hours - 51 minutes
Total Time Read - 10 hours 59 minutes
Books Finished - 3

I am up to page 61 of"Mockingjay"

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hours 15.

Pages Read Last Hour - 23
Total Pages Read - 895
Time Read Last Hour - 13 minutes
Total Time Read - 10 hours 8 minutes
Books Finished - 3

I am about to start "Mockingjay" written by Suzanne Collins (390 pages).

-Richard
I finished reading:

"God's Smuggler" written by Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill. 224 Pages.

I read this book a long time ago and was inspired. Re-reading it again had the same affect. I still support Brother Andrew work in Open Doors.

15th book of the year. 4453 Pages at an average of 297 pages per book.

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hours 13 and 14.

Pages Read Last 2 Hours - 101
Total Pages Read - 872
Time Read Last 2 Hours - 1 hour 9 minutes
Total Time Read - 9 hours 55 minutes
Books Finished - 2

I am up to page 201 of "God's Smuggler".

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hour 12. Half way through!!

Pages Read Last Hour - 65
Total Pages Read - 771
Time Read Last Hours - 54 minutes
Total Time Read - 8 hours 46 minutes
Books Finished - 2

I am up to page 100 of "God's Smuggler".

Off out to dinner, but, will be taking the book with me to read whilst eat!!

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hour 11.

Pages Read Last Hour - 57
Total Pages Read - 707
Time Read Last Hours - 31 minutes
Total Time Read - 7 hours 52minutes
Books Finished - 2

My new book is "God's Smuggler" written by Brother Andrew. It is 224 pages. I am up to page 35.

-Richard
I finished reading:

"Coach: A Season with Lombardi" written by Tom Dowling 317 pages.

The story of Lombardi's last Season as a coach with the Washington Redskins in the 1969 Season. He died before he could complete his rebuilding job.

Book #14 of 2011. 4229 pages at an average of 302 pages per book.

This is also the 1000th post since I've started this blog!!

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hours 9 and 10.

Pages Read Last 2 Hours - 113
Total Pages Read - 650
Time Read Last 2 Hours - 1 hour 19 minutes
Total Time Read - 7 hours 21 minutes
Books Finished - 1

I am up to page 295 in "Coach: A Season with Lombardi"

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hour 8.

Pages Read Last Hour 55
Total Pages Read - 537
Time Read Last Hour 55 minutes
Total Time Read - 6 hours 2 minutes
Books Finished - 1

I am up to page 182 in "Coach: A Season with Lombardi"

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hour 7.

Pages Read Last Hour 46
Total Pages Read - 482
Time Read Last Hour 42 minutes
Total Time Read - 5 hours 7 minutes
Books Finished - 1

I am up to page 127 in "Coach: A Season with Lombardi"

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hour 6.

Pages Read Last Hour 56
Total Pages Read - 436
Time Read Last Hour 49 minutes
Total Time Read - 4 hours 25 minutes
Books Finished - 1

I am up to page 81 in "Coach: A Season with Lombardi"

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hour 5.

Pages Read Last Hour 37
Total Pages Read - 380
Time Read Last Hour 28 minutes
Total Time Read - 3 hours 36 minutes
Books Finished - 1

My new book is "Coach: A Season with Lombardi" written by Tom Dowling. It has 317 pages and I am up to page 25.

-Richard
I finished reading:

"The Simple Truth" written by David Baldacci. 511 Pages.

The first book by Baldacci I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

13th Book of 2011. 3912 pages at an average of 302 pages per book.

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hour 4.

Pages Read Last Hour 93
Total Pages Read - 343
Time Read Last Hour 46 minutes
Total Time Read - 3 hours 8 minutes
Books Finished - 0

Up to page 499 of "The Simple Truth"

-Richard
Read-a-Thon End of Hour 3.

Pages Read Last Hour 110
Total Pages Read - 250
Time Read Last Hour 51 minutes
Total Time Read - 2 hours 22 minutes
Books Finished - 0

Up to page 406 of "The Simple Truth"

-Richard
End of Read-a-Thon Hour 2.

Pages Read Last Hour 52
Total Pages Read - 140
Time Read Last Hour 36 minutes
Total Time Read - 1 hour 31 minutes
Books Finished - 0

I am on page 296 of "The Simple Truth".

-Richard
Read-a-Thon Introduction Meme

1)Where are you reading from today? At home, in The Woodlands, TX (nr Houston)

2)Three random facts about me…
  • Not good at answering random fact questions.
  • Just bought my first Cowboy hat
  • Still not good at answering random fact questions.
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? None. I read the books in the order I bought them

4)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)? No goals, except to enjoy and make the most of the opportunity to have down time and relax doing my favourite hobby.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Enjoy!!! Don't put too much pressure by trying to reach goals. It's supposed to be fun!!

-Richard
End of Read-a-Thon Hour 1.

Pages Read Last Hour - 88
Total Pages Read - 88
Time Read Last Hour - 55 Mins
Total Time Read - 55 Mins
Books Finished - 0

-Richard
So, here we go. 7am and time to start reading. I will do an update every-hour.

I am starting with the book I am currently reading: "The Simple Truth" written by David Baldacci. At the moment I am on page 136 (out of 511).

-Richard

Friday, April 08, 2011


Tomorrow will mark the seventh time we have participated in Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon.


As usual I will be reading my books in my systematic way in the order I bought them. However, they may be an exception. If Jenn finishes reading the last book of "The Hunger Games" trilogy I will start that immediately.

A couple of other changes this time are this is the first one we will have done since we moved to Texas. Therefore, for us it will start an hour earlier (7am) rather than 8am. Also, we have our friend Nancy staying with us and joining in for the first time.

As anyone who knows me knows I like stats so here are my combines stats for the last 6 events combined:

Total Time Read: 70 hours 56 minutes
Books Finished: 23
Pages Read: 6169

I am looking forward to nice relaxing day of reading after all the craziness over the last few months with the job change and relocation to Texas.

See all y'all in the morning!!

-Richard

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

I finished reading:

"Catching Fire" written by Suzanne Collins. 391 Pages

The second book of the three part "Hunger Games" series.

12th book of the year. 3410 pages at an average of 284 pages per book.

-Richard

Saturday, April 02, 2011

I finished reading:

"Henderson and the Rain King" written by Saul Bellow. 341 Pages...

The 11th book of 2011. 3019 pages at an average of 274 per book.

-Richard