I finished reading:

“An Orchestra Beyond Borders:  Voices of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra” written by Elena Cheah.  280 pages.  Five Stars. 

The one hundred and thirtieth book of the year.  45,775 pages at an average of 352 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The Wars” written by Timothy Findley.  218 pages.  Two stars.

The one hundred and twenty ninth book of the year.  45,495 pages at an average of 353 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The Ecclesiastical History of the English People” written by Bede.  357 pages.  Three stars.

The one hundred and twenty eighth book of the year.  45,277 pages at an average of 354 pages per book.

  -Richard

I finished reading:

“The First Tycoon:  The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt” written by T.J. Stiles.  571 pages.  Three stars.

The one hundred and twenty seventh book of the year. 44,920 pages at an average of 354 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The First Counsel” written by Brad Meltzer. 479 pages.  Three stars.

The one hundred and twenty sixth book of the year.  44,349 pages at an average of 352 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Conversations in Black:  On Power, Politics, and Leaders” written by Ed Gordon.  242 pages.

The one hundred and twenty fifth book of the year.  43,870 pages at an average of 351 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

“The Lenin Plot:  The Unknown Story of America’s War Against Russia” written by Barnes Carr.  338 pages.  Three stars.

The one hundred and twenty fourth book of the year.  43,628 pages at an average of 352 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Zero Day” written by David Baldacci.   549 pages.  Four stars.

The one hundred and twenty third book of the year.  43,290 pages at an average of 352 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Black Boy” written by Richard Wright.  384 pages. Five stars.

The one hundred and twenty second book of the year.  42,741 pages at an average of 350 pages per book. 

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Tooth and Nail” written by Ian Rankin.  293 pages.  Three stars.

The one hundred and twenty first book of the year. 

42,327 pages at an average of 350 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Spring” written by Ali Smith.  337 pages.  Four stars.

The one hundred and twentieth book of the year.  42,034 pages at an average of 350 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Phantom” written by Ted Bell.  631 pages.  Three stars.

The one hundred and nineteenth book of the year.  41,697 pages at an average of 350 pages per book.

-Richard 

Final read-a-thon stats and closing survey:

Pages Read: 983

Time Read:  11 Hours 2 Minutes

Books Finished: 2

1. How would you assess your reading overall? - OK.   Finished just short of my 1000 page goal.
2. Did you have a strategy, and if so, did you stick to it?   Yes
3. What was your favorite snack?  Mint Fudge
4. Did you add any new books to your TBR/wishlist after seeing what everyone else is reading?   No
5. What was your favorite book or experience from this readathon?  Having a day to just chill and read.

-Richard

End of read-a-thon hours 16-18:

Pages read these hours:  203

Time read these hours:  1 hour 35 mins 

Books finished these hours: 0

Total Pages Read:  962

Total Time Read:  10 hours 53 minutes

Books finished:  2

That’s about it.  Only a few minutes more before bed.

-Richard 

End of read-a-then hours 13-15:

Pages read these hours:  109

Time read these hours:  53 minutes

Books finished these hours:  0

Total Pages Read:  782

Total Time Read:  9 hours 18 minutes

Total Books Finished:  2

-Richard

End of read-a-thon hours 10-12:

Pages read these hours:  213

Time read these hours:  2 hours 23 mins

Books finished these hours: 1

Total Pages Read:  673

Total Time Read:  8 hours 25 minutes

Total Books Finished :2

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Hard Eight” written by Janet Evanovich. 326 pages. Three stars.

The one hundred and eighteenth book of the year.  41,066 pages at an average of 348 pages per book.

-Richard 

End of read-a-thon hours 6-9:

Pages read these hours:  173

Time read these hours:  2 hours 31 minutes

Books finished these hours: 1

Total Pages Read:  460

Total Time Read:  6 hours 2 minutes

Total Books Finished: 1

-Richard

I finished reading:

“The Gate House” written by Nelson DeMille.  770 pages.  Four stars.

The one hundred and seventeenth book of the year.  40,740 pages at an average of 348 pages per book.

-Richard 

End of read-a-thon hours 4-6:

Pages read these hours:  195

Time read these hours:  2 hours 22 minutes

Books finished these hours: 0

Total Pages Read:  287

Total Time Read:  3 hours 31 minutes

Total Books Finished:  0

-Richard

End of read-a-thon hours 1-3:

Pages read these hours:  78

Time read this hours :  1 hour 9 minutes

Books finished: 0

-Richard

Today we will be taking part in our thirty-first Dewey's 24 hour readathon (including reverse read-a-thon's).  This one will be slightly different as due to a very tough few weeks we plan to spend the day reading, but, also just relaxing and de-compressing. 

I will post updates after every three hours on progress. 

Opening Survey: 

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? 35 miles North of Downtown Houston.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?  Nothing in particular.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?  Cherry Garcia ice cream.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!  Grieving pet parent :(
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?  Less worried about #'s, more about chilling!!   

-Richard

I finished reading:

“Why Fish Don’t Exist:  A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life” written by Lulu Miller.  195 pages.  Five stars.

The one hundred and sixteenth book of the year.  39,970 pages at an average of 345 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The Case of Sergeant Grischa” written by Arnold Zweig.  449 pages.  Four stars.

The one hundred and fifteenth book of the year.  39,775 pages at an average of 346 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Love is the Way:  Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times” written by Bishop Michael Curry.  255 pages.  Five stars.

The one hundred and fourteenth book of the year.  39,326 pages at an average of 345 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading;

“Split Second” written by David Baldacci.  481 pages. Three stars. 

The one hundred and thirteenth book of the year.  39,071 pages at an average of 346 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

“The Henna Artist” written by Alka Joshi.  342 pages. Five stars.

The one hundred and twelfth book of the year.  38,590 pages at an average of 345 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“readings from the book of exile” written by Padraig O Tuama.  84 pages.  Four stars.

The one hundred and eleventh book of the year.  38,248 pages at an average of 345 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Reading While Black:  African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope” written by Esau McCaulley.  184 pages.  Four stars.

The one hundred and tenth book of the year.  38,164 pages at an average of 347 pages per book.  

-Richard

I finished reading:

“The Honourable Schoolboy” written by John Le Carre.  606 pages.  Two stars.

The one hundred and ninth book of the year.  37,980 pages at an average of 348 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading;

“Gambling with Armageddon: Nuclear Roulette from Hiroshima to the Cuban Missile Crisis” written by Martin J. Sherwin.  470 pages.  Five stars.

The one hundred and eighth book of the year.  37,374 pages at an average of 346 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

“Day” written by Elie Wiesel.  109 pages.  Five stars.

The one hundred and seventh book of the year.  36,904 pages at an average of 345 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Dawn” written by Elie Wiesel.  102 pages.  Five stars.

The one hundred and sixth book of the year.  36,795 pages at an average of 347 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America” written by Kevin M. Kruse.  294 pages.  Three stars.

The one hundred and fifth book of the year.  36,693 pages at an average of 349 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Winter” written by Ali Smith.  322 pages.  Four stars.

The one hundred and fourth book of the year.  36,399 pages at an average of 350 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading;

“The State” written by Fran’s Oppenheimer.  108 pages.  Three stars.

The one hundred and third book of the year.  36,077 pages at an average of 350 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Never Let Me Go” written by Kazuo Ishiguro.  288 pages.  Four stars.

The one hundred and second book of the year.  35,969 pages pages at an average of 353 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Citizen: Faithful Discipleship in a Partisan World” written by C. Andrew Doyle.  196 pages.  Five stars.

The one hundred and first book of the year.  35,681 pages at an average of 353 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

“Enigma” written by Robert Harris.  387 pages.  Four stars.

The one hundredth book of the year.  35,485 pages at an average of 355 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The Country Under My Skin:  A Memoir of Love and War” written by Gioconda Belli.  369 pages.  Five Stars.

The ninety ninth book of the year.  35,098 pages at an average of 355 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

“Deadly Decisions” written by Kathy Reichs.  332 pages.  Four stars.

The ninety eighth book of the year.  34,729 pages at an average of 354 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“This Tender Land” written by William Kent Krueger. 450 pages. Three stars.

The ninety seventh book of the year.  34,397 pages at an average of 355 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading

“Birds Art Life:  A Year of Observation” written by Kyo Maclear.  217 pages.  Four stars.

The ninety sixth book of the year.  33,947 pages at an average of 354 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The Slynx” written by Tatyana Tolstaya.  297 pages.  Four stars.

The ninety fifth book of the year.  33,730 pages at an average of 355 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Spy” written by Ted Bell.  699 pages.  Three stars.

The ninety fourth book of the year.  33,433 pages at an average of 356 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The Essential Ginsberg” written by Allen Ginsberg edited by Michael Schumacher.   418 pages.  Five Stars.

The ninety third book of the year.  32,734 pages at an average of 352 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Revolution of Values: Reclaiming Public Faith for the Common Good” written by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.  173 pages.  Five Stars.

The ninety second book of the day.  32,316 pages at an average of 351 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

“The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories” written by Carson McCullers.  152 pages.  Four stars.

The ninety first book of the year.  32,143 pages at an average of 353 pages per book.

-Richard

End of Bout of Books Day 7, August 22nd and final wrap up:

Pages read on Day 7: 452

Books finished on Day 6: 1

Total Pages Read: 1652

Total Books Finished:  6

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The Space Between Worlds” written by Micaiah Johnson.  323 pages.  Five stars.

The ninetieth book of the year.  31,991 pages at an average of 355 pages per book.

-Richard 

End of Bout of Books Day 6, August 21st:

Pages read on Day 6:  352

Books finished on Day 6: 5

Total Pages Read: 1200

Total Books Finished: 5

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The Book of Lies” written Brad Meltzer.  334 pages.  Three stars.

The eighty ninth book of the year.  31,668 pages at an average of 356 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Seven Up” written by Janet Evanovich.  337 pages.  Four stars.

The eighty eighth book of the year 31,337 pages at an average of 356 pages per book.

-Richard 

 End of Bout of Books Days 5, August 20th:

Pages read on Day 5:  239

Books finished on Day 5: 0

Total Pages Read:  848

Total Books Finished:  3

-Richard

 End of Books Day 4, August 20th:

Pages read on Day 4:  234

Books finished on Day 4: 2

Total Pages Read:  609

Total Books Finished: 3

-Richard

I finished reading:

“Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath” written by Heather Clark.  973 pages.  Five stars.

The eighty seventh book of the year.  31,000 pages at an average of 356 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

“The Anglican Spiritual Tradition” written by John Moorman.  223 pages.  Four stars.

The eighty sixth book of the year.  30,063 pages at an average of 350 pages per book.

-Richard 

 End of Bout of Books Day 3,  August 18th:

Pages read on Day 3:  88

Books finished on Day 3: 0

Total Pages Read:  375

Total Books Finished:  1

-Richard

End of Bout of Books Day 2, August 17:

Pages read of Day 2:  147

Books finished on Day 2: 1

Total Pages Read:  287

Total Books Read:  1

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The Secret Pilgrim” written by John LeCarre.  375 pages. Four stars.  

The eighty fifth book of the year.  29,840 pages at an average of 351 pages per book.

-Richard 

End of Bout of Books Day 1, August 16th:

Pages read on Day 1:  140

Books finished on Day 1: 0

-Richard

 

Next week Jenn and I will be participating in our twenty-first bout of books.

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 16th and runs through Sunday, August 22nd in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 32 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

-Richard

End of reverse read-a-thon,

I did not read as much as usual as other things going on, but, had a much needed relaxing couple of days!

Total pages read:  753

Total time read:  10 hours 24 minutes 

Books finished:  3

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Hot Six” written by Janet Evanovich.  336 pages.  Three stars.

The eighty fourth book of the year.  29,465 pages at an average of 351 pages per book.

-Richard 

End of read-a-thon hour 18 (3/4’s through):

Pages read:  517

Time read:  6 hours 20 mins

Books finished:  2

-Richard

End of read-a-thon hour 5:

Time for bed so an update:

Pages read: 294

Time read:  3 hours 31 mins

Books finished:  2

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“Indian Killer” written by Sherman Alexis.  420 pages.  Three stars.

The eighty third book of the year.  29,129 pages at an average of 351 pages per book.

-Richard 

I finished reading:

“The Righteous Men” written by Sam Bourne.  562 pages.  Three stars.

The eighty second  book of the year.  28,709 pages at an average of 350 pages per book.

-Richard 

Reverse read-a-thon opening post:

 1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? - The Woodlands, TX

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?   Red Comet
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?  Golden Oreos!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!  English Ex-Pat "Lost in Texas"
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?   Not really focused on goals.   A combination of reading and watching Olympics!!

-Richard