Read-a-Thon hours 7 and 8: 13:00 - 15:00

Currently reading: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (Squirrel Girl, vol. 3) by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

Pages read these hours: 86

Total pages so far: 525

Books finished: Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma, The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: More popcorn twists (oh my god someone get this giant bag of popcorn twists away from me). Also my husband got home from work and brought me a mocha frappuccino. :)

Current state of things: Doin' fine. Back on a graphic novel now.

Read-a-Thon hours 5 and 6: 11:00 - 13:00

Currently reading: The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 45

Total pages so far: 439

Books finished: Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma

Snacks: Popcorn Twists and water.

Current state of things: I had a lot of trouble concentrating the last couple hours. Kept getting distracted by my phone. But at least the sleepiness seems to have passed, and I'm back to concentrating now!

Read-a-Thon hours 3 and 4: 9:00 - 11:00

Currently reading: The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 186

Total pages so far: 394

Books finished: Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma

Snacks: None right now.

Current state of things: OK, so I got sleepy again. I was doing great, but in the last little bit I definitely dozed a bit!

Read-a-Thon hours 1 and 2: 7:00 - 9:00

Currently reading: Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma

Pages read these hours: 208

Total pages so far: 208

Books finished: None yet.

Snacks: Breakfast! A bowl of cereal.

Current state of things: The early wake up was rough, but I'm already feeling pretty good! Sometimes I stay exhausted for quite a few of the morning hours. Looks like the start of a good day!

Read-a-Thon Time!

It's time for my 16th go at Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon! (I've done this 16 times! Whaaaaat!)

As always, the start time here at (roughly) the longitudinal centre of Canada is 7:00 in the morning. Therefore, I obviously wrote this post last night because I do not function well at 7:00 in the morning.

Last read-a-thon, I did not have enough graphic novels. I really need graphic novels to switch up the pace and keep me focused. I also like quick reads so that I can change books frequently, and graphic novels are generally very quick reads! So for today I have compiled a whole bunch of graphic novels, plus a couple of regular (short) novels. I think it's going to be ideal. And if I run out of books because I'm going through them so fast, as always, my bookshelves are nearby and ready with more options.

Here's what I've got piled up:

• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, vol. 3: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (168 pages)
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, vol. 4: I Kissed a Squirrel and I Liked It by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (120 pages)
• Amulet, vol. 8: Supernova by Kazu Kibuishi (199 pages)
• Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson (147 pages)
• Sisters by Raina Telgemeier (197 pages)
• Twin Spica, vol. 11 by Kou Yaginuma (359 pages)
• Saga, vol. 9 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (152 pages)
• The Marvels by Brian Selznick (665 pages, many of them pictures)
• How I Broke Up with Ernie by R.L. Stine (136 pages)
• The Illusion (Animorphs #33) by K.A. Applegate (156 pages)

The total page count is 2299. That's definitely more than I've ever read in a read-a-thon! I haven't checked all my past posts to confirm my record, but it might be April 2018, when I read 1885 pages. My pile then was very similar to my pile this time, so it's likely (barring any falling-asleep-related issues) that I will read a similar amount this time. Of the books I've picked, 7 are graphic novels, 1 is a novel where many (most?) of the pages are pictures, and the remaining 2 are regular middle grade/YA novels.

Oh, and because I'm currently doing a 365 Day Challenge for language learning, I will have to at some point spend at least half an hour reading in French, so for that time I'll be reading La vie compliquée de Léa Olivier: Rumeurs by Catherine Girard-Audet.

Finally, here are my answers to the opening survey:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Winnipeg, Manitoba

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Squirrel Girl! She is my favourite super hero.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Perogies!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I'm a Trekkie. It occurs to me that my blogger friends may not know this about me, but it is a pretty big part of my nerd identity, lol.

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? Well, the last read-a-thon was not one of my better ones, and the one before that was perhaps my best ever, so I'm trying to be more like that one! Hence my huge pile of easy reads. I also tried to have more easy-to-prepare meals on hand this time. The last few, I haven't done so well with the food prep. We'll see if I eat better this time!

2019 Flourish and Blotts Reading Challenge

Time to sign up for another 2019 reading challenge! I found this Harry Potter-themed challenge and just had to join in the fun. You can see their challenge post on Instagram here.

There are 52 total prompts, each corresponding to a character, class, or other concept from Harry Potter. You can do any number of them, but the levels are Ron = 12 prompts, Harry = 24 prompts, and Hermione = 52 prompts. Naturally I'm aiming for Hermione, but not putting too much pressure on myself.

Here are the prompts, and I'll fill in the books I read for them throughout the year:

1. Harry: (re)Read a Harry Potter book
2. Ron: Read a book under 200 pages
3. Hermione: Read a book over 500 pages
4. Ginny: Read a poetry book
5. Luna Lovegood: Read a book about creativity or something unusual
6. Fred & George: Reada  book with twins in it
7. Fleur Delacour: Read a book translated from another language
8. Dumbledore's Army: Read a book about social justice or a current issue
9. Professor McGonagall: Read a book with a strong female lead
10. Dumbledore: Read a book involving a school or teacher
11. Gilderoy Lockhart: Read a book from a celebrity book club
12. Umbridge: Read a book with a pink cover
13. Snape: Read a book that includes page 394
14. Newt: Read a book containing a fantastic beast (any beast that can be found in the Fantastic Beasts textbook)
15. Bathilda Bagshot: Read a book written by a woman
16. Godric: Read a book that represents Gryffindor's values
17. Helga: Read a book that represents Hufflepuff's values
18. Rowena: Read a book that represents Ravenclaw's values
19. Salazar: Read a book that represents Slytherin's values
20. The Chosen One: Read a book that mentions Harry Potter in it
21. He Who Must Not Be Named: Read a book with a character that shares a name with a character from Harry Potter
22. Deathly Hallows: Read a book with a symbol on the cover
23. Gryffindor: Read a book recommended by a Gryffindor
24. Hufflepuff: Read a book recommended by a Hufflepuff
25. Ravenclaw: Read a book recommended by a Ravenclaw
26. Slytherin: Read a book recommended by a Slytherin
27. House Cup: Read a book that has won an award
28. Quidditch: Read a book involving a sport
29. Wizarding Radio: Listen to an audiobook
30. Hogwarts Library: Read a book you checked out from the library or borrowed from a friend
31. Herbology: Read a book related to nature
32. Potions: Read a book with potions, alchemy, or chemistry in it
33. Astronomy: Read a book with a star on the cover or in the title
34. Defense Against the Dark Arts: Read a book about Good vs. Evil
35. Transfiguration: Read a book about a huge change
36. History of Magic: Read a historical fiction
37. Charms: Read a book with a charming cover
38. Care of Magical Creatures: Read a book with an animal on the cover
39. Arithmancy: Read a book with a number in the title
40. Ancient Runes: Read a book set before you were born
41. Flying: Read a book with a bird on the cover
42. Divination: Read a book that includes prophecy or fortune telling
43. Muggle Studies: Read a memoir or biography
44. Apparition: Read a book set somewhere you want to travel
45. Restricted Section: Read a banned book
46. Durmstrang: Read a book with a boat in it
47. Beauxbatons: Read a book by a French author
48. Ilvermorny: Read a book by an American author
49. Gringotts: Read a book with gold foiling
50. Flourish and Blotts: Read a 2019 release
51. The Dark Mark: Read a book with a dark cover
52. Hogwarts: A History: Read a book that intimidates you

2019 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

It's time to sign up for 2019 reading challenges! So I'll start with the challenge I've probably attempted more times than any other, the Mount TBR Reading Challenge. I always start with the smallest level, Pike's Peak (read 12 books off your TBR pile); sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't. Of course, at that speed, I will almost certainly die before finishing even the TBR pile I have now, never mind all the books I'm still gonna buy over the decades!

So, because 12 books a year off my pile is clearly not enough, and also because the rules have changed this year to allow rereads in certain circumstances (and I have some serious reread plans coming up, including the Harry Potter books!), I'm gonna be wildly ambitious and start at not the first, not the second, but the third peak! Mt. Vancouver! 36 books off my TBR pile! Wish me luck, and the strength to resist taking out every library book that catches my eye.

I'll list the books I read for this challenge below.