I finished reading:

"The King of Torts" written by John Grisham. 470 Pages.

28th book of 2011. 9092 pages at an average of 325 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"The House of the Seven Gables" written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. 365 pages.

27th book of 2011. 8622 pages at an average of 319 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"Franklin and Winston - An intimate portrait of an epic friendship" written by Jon Meacham. 370 Pages.

The 26th book of the year. 8257 at an average 318 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"Arrowsmith" written by Sinclair Lewis. 430 Pages.

25th book of 2011. 7887 pages at an average of 315 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, The Finca Vigia Edition" written by Ernest Hemingway. 650 Pages.

Although I am not a short story person, this, for me is better than most because I really enjoy reading Hemingway and like his style.

The 24th book of 2011, 7457 pages at an average of 311 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"Death Sentence" written by Jerry Bledsoe. 418 Pages.

This is the first true crime book that I have read. I am not a fan of the genre, but, read this specifically because it is about murders and an execution that took place in North Carolina. Reading the book certainly has not changed my opinion that the death sentence is wrong, in fact, in many ways it has convinced me more. I still do not see how any one has the right to decide someones death, even despite horrific things they may have done. How does that make you any better?

Book number 23 of 2011. 6807 pages at an average of 296 pages per book.

-Richard

-Richard

An interesting though stuck me during a sermon at Church this morning. The subject was "Why does God Allow Suffering?". That is a very difficult to answer and this is not the purpose of this post. Something that was mentioned in passing got me thinking.

The comment was made that suffering gets people angry. It should, although, I understand, at least to the best of my limited ability the reasons why I get very angry at suffering, unfairness, greed etc... As a Christian surely we should be angry at all these things and I get mad when I hear people say "life isn't fair". On the flip side Atheist who generally believe in evolution or some variation on theme should not be bothered by say starvation or lack of health care etc. Why? because they follow the doctrine of survival of fittest and natural selection for example.

Extrapolating this to the current Political situation in the US and I am speaking very generally here The Evangelical, Conservative wing tend to be right wing Republicans against any form of social help. On the other side the liberal wing and atheist are Democrats espousing social reform and assistance. Surely this is completely backwards? The evolutionists for social help and the Christians against it? I know one of the arguments is for small Government and Government shouldn't be involved. My question is why not? If I believe in My God and Saviour who I know wants us to show compassion why cannot be demonstrated in the political world. If we all banded together and showed this love through everything including our politics how much more good could we do?

-Richard

I finished reading:

"Across the River and into the Trees" written by Ernest Hemingway. 308 pages.

21st book of 2011 (forgot to post it when I finished) it. 6389 pages at an average of 290 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"Beowulf" translated by David Wright. 101 Pages

22nd book of 2011. 6081 pages at an average of 276 pages per book.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"Crazy Weather" written by Charles L. McNichols. 195 Pages.

20th book of 2011. 5980 pages at an average of 299 pages per book.

-Richard

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

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

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

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

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

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