T-2 (noon): I figured this was as good a time as any to get the Readathon progress post started. I've gotten the crockpots started (yes, two 😄 We're going to be 8 people, so I've borrowed Henriette's, and am making chicken fajitas in one and vegetarian chili in the other! ), picked out most of my books (although you KNOW I always end up changing my mind up until the very last minute) and am now trying to figure out how we're going to fit 8 people into our library! It'll be slightly more tight than usual 😉
The readathon starts at 2pm and the others will start to arrive in about an hour, so I'd better get some lunch. I'll try to remember to update regularly this time!
T-0 (almost 2pm: Everybody's here now, and it's time for the opening survey!
1. Where are you reading from today? My library, as per usual.... more specifically: Lyngby, Denmark.
2. List three random facts about yourself: We're 8 people, so that's going to take forever! We'll just do one each!
Mum: I'm a professional translator.
Dad: I can read upside down! (Maria: Yes! He used to do that when he read aloud to us!)
Maria: I can write with both hands at the same time.
Rosa: I just found a sock that I forgot here LAST readathon! Also, sometimes I pretend I can't speak English and speak Danglish instead.
Isabella: I'm allergic to cats, but that does not stop me from petting them!
Rebekka: I don't like coffee.
Henriette: Me neither!
Michala: I love coffee.
3. How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the readathon?
Mum: Six
Dad: Two
Henriette: Two
Maria: 117
Rosa: Five
Isabella: Two on the table and all the ones on the shelves!
Rebekka: Four
Michala: Two
4. Which book are you going to start with?
Mum: Pastorale or Gone-Away Lake... haven't decided yet.
Dad: Arne Dahl's Skyggezone
Henriette: "Hvor der er vilje"
Maria: Ronja Robber's Daughter
Rosa: Bernstein Bears
Isabella: Also Bernstein Bears
Rebekka: Still making up my mind!!! Either "In a Holidaze" or "Library of the Dead"
Michala: What's Up Beanie?
5. Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon?
Mum: To make time go by as slooooowly as possible.
Dad: To read?
Henriette: Same.
Maria: To read more than last time I guess?
Rosa: To read at least three books. Or finish the one I started last time.
Isabella: Decide which books to read?
Rebekka: To stay awake! (Rebekka came straight from a night shift)
Michala: That's my goal every time!
4pm: Two hours gone, and MOST of the snacks X-D We always go a bit nuts in the beginning ;-) Rosa and Isabella have both finished their Bernstein Bear chapter books, and I've just finished "Ronja Robber's Daughter" - probably my favourite Astrid Lindgren book ever! Now I need to figure out what to read next...
But first - the challenge of the hour.
Do you have any childhood comfort books that you still return to from time to time?
Michala: The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye
Rosa: Bernstein Bears - the originals, not the chapter books
Isabella: Harper Hall trilogy by Ann McCaffrey (Maria: YES!!! I love that one too!)
Rebekka: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Dad: Perhaps not any that I read myself, but when it comes to reading aloud to others, I love Winnie the Pooh.
Mum: The Little House series
Maria: Several... Little House, Narnia, Baby-Sitter's Club, Famous Five and many others!
5pm: Mum finished "Gone-Away Lake" and is now reading "If I never Met You" which she and Dad gave me for my birthday. It's good! :-D Rosa finished her second Bernstein Bear chapter book, and asked me to go look if there were any more questions for her to answer, so here goes...
Top 10 12 things about Readathons
1. Snacks!
2. Hygge!
3. Company
4. Guilt-free reading time!
5. Mixi: No kids (This caused Rosa to glare at her, so she rephrased, "None of MY kids.")
6. Rebekka: Bringing my kid!
7. Rosa: Being the smallest one here!
8. Being in a library with tons of good books.
9. Dad: sitting in this chair!
10. Maria's crock-pot dinner!
11. Relaxation!
12. Being together without finding it awkward that we don't have anything to talk about.
9pm: I finished my second book ("End of Summer" by Rosamunde Pilcher) just before dinner. Unfortunately, it was only okay (VERY unrealistic), so now I'm returning to a reread instead - the first "Dragon Kin" book by Audrey Faye & Shay Geary.
Next challenge:
What's book outside your comfort zone did you end up loving?
- Michala: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Isabella: Wonder or Anna and the French Kiss
- Rosa: Vildheksen
- Maria: Feed by Mira Grant. I had NOT expected for a book about zombies to become one of my favourites!
- Dad: Laurus
- Mum: "Until the End of the World"
What is the best book you've read so far in 2021?
- Henriette: A Gentleman in Moscow (reread)
- Rosa: Baby-Sitters Club (her auntie is SO happy that she FINALLY has a niece who's reading them!
- Rebekka: Call Me Maybe
- Michala and Maria: YES!!!
- Mum: "Return to Me" - Lynn Austin
- Isabella: My Hero Academia
- Claus: Dominion - Tom Holland
10am: And I'm back 😄 People started leaving between 9:30-10:30 last night, and as I had slept poorly the night before, I actually didn't last much longer after that either, and didn't wake up until 9am!! Must have needed the sleep! I finished "Dragon Kin" this morning, and am now reading "Last Night" by Mhairi Mcfarlane which my sisters gave me for my birthday. At 400 pages, it's a tad longer than I usually prefer for readathons, but I was in the mood for a new read by a known author, so there you go 🙂 I'll probably only just finish it before the readathon ends though.
Books Read: "Ronja Robber's Daughter" - Astrid Lindgren (192), "End of Summer" - Rosamunde Pilcher (160), "Dragon Kin: Sapphire & Lotus" - Audrey Faye (247)
Currently Reading "Last Night" - Mhairi McFarlane (managed 260 pages before 2pm)
