Bout of Books 5.0 Goals & Updates

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 13th and runs through Sunday, August 19th in whatever time zone you are in.  Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week.  There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 5.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books 5.0 team

MY GOALS:

1. to read/finish the following three books (about 1200 pages total):
   • Dracula by Bram Stoker – because I borrowed it from a friend and I've been reading it for far too long (read 155 pages before Bout of Books )
   • Second Glance by Jodi Picoult – because it is also borrowed from a friend and although she is okay with me having it as long as I want I'm annoyed with myself for having it for so long.
   • Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck – because it's due at the library on August 20. (DONE)
     
     Of course, I might decide to be bad, change my mind and read something else. Because my reading depends on my mood.
     
2. to participate in at least one Twitter chat – Monday or Saturday (because the one on Wednesday is in the middle of the night for me). (DONE)
3. to participate in some challenges (DONE)
4. to try to visit as many blogs as I can and make new blogging friends (DONE)
5. and, most of all, have fun (DONE)

UPDATES:

(The format is adapted from Amanda's.) I’ll also update on Twitter @StrangeNewWords, and you can find me on Goodreads.

August 13:

The books I’ve been reading today (and the number of pages): Dracula (51), Deep Kiss of Winter (169)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 220
Total number of pages I’ve read: 220
Today #insixwords: A great start of this readathon.

As you can see I already changed my mind and picked up a book which isn't on the initial list. I participated in Twitter chat, which was fun, although a bit dizzying because it was going so fast. I met some great new book bloggers, and 'old' ones, too, so that was amazing. I also did the Passing Books challenge hosted by Reading in Texas and The Space Between, but I was lazy, so I just filled the form that was provided rather than making a separate blog post. Oh, and I visited some blogs, too. All in all, a fun readathon day.

August 14:

The books I’ve been reading today (and the number of pages): Deep Kiss of Winter (78)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 78
Total number of pages I’ve read: 298
Today #insixwords: Not bad for a busy day.

I had a lot of work-related things to do in the morning, and then I had to run some errands and do the grocery shopping, so I was pretty tired, especially because it's very hot here. Also, my cousins stopped by, which was great because they don't come often, I usually visit them, and we had some fun time, but I was exhausted afterwards. Considering it all, I read a lot. I visited some blogs, too, and commented, but I didn't do any challenges. I'm quite happy with the day in general, though.

August 15:

The books I’ve been reading today (and the number of pages): Deep Kiss of Winter (53)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 53
Total number of pages I’ve read: 351
Today #insixwords: A weird, half-busy and half-lazy day.

We had a national public and church holiday, The Assumption, one of my favourites, so it was quite nice. I went to church, but then I worked awhile, because without a job I use every opportunity I get to work. Then I was mostly free, I hopped around the blogosphere a little and did Book Word Search challenge hosted by The Musings of ALMYBNENR. It was fun, although I had to take a couple of breaks and come back with fresh eyes to find all the short words, hehe. I read less than I could have, because I procrastinated, but hey, that's what holidays are for.

August 16:

The books I’ve been reading today (and the number of pages): Tiger's Curse (158)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 158
Total number of pages I’ve read: 509
Today #insixwords: I spent too much time online.

I started Tiger's Curse, because this is the book I really need to finish this week. It's been a fast and enjoyable read so far. I completed two challenges: A Book for Every Season hosted by Reading in Winter and Candy Challenge hosted by BookSmartie. I spent a lot of time on line, visiting quite a lot of blogs and commenting on them. So, there went my reading time. Much better than Tuesday and Wednesday, though.

August 17:

The books I’ve been reading today (and the number of pages): Tiger's Curse (120)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 120
Total number of pages I’ve read: 629
Today #insixwords: Where did all the time go?

I blame the Internet for eating my time again, haha. The day was gone so quickly, though I wasn't doing anything special. Besides the usual things, I read (a little), and blog hopped. I loved Book Spine Haiku challenge hosted by bookgoonie, which I completed.

August 18:

The books I’ve been reading today (and the number of pages): Tiger's Curse (186)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 186
Total number of pages I’ve read: 815
Today #insixwords: Relaxed day, did lots of readathon things.

All right, over 800 pages doesn't seem so bad, does it? So, I finished Tiger's Curse (you're welcome to read my review). I did some commenting. And I completed Virtual Travels challenge hosted by Ex Libris. I also participated in Twitter chat. It was great, I found it more easy to follow than on Monday and I actually had some conversations with people.

August 19:

The books I’ve been reading today (and the number of pages): Deep Kiss of Winter (86)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 86
Total number of pages I’ve read: 901
Today #insixwords: I took the last day easy.

My enthusiasm waned a little, so I didn't do neither as much blog hoping as in the previous days nor any challenges. I didn't have a particularly good day, so I did some other things to distract myself from worrying. I read quite a lot considering my general state of mind, though.

WRAP-UP:

Total number of books read: 1 and partly two others
Total number of pages read: 901

Fro me personally, Bout of Books 5.0 was one of the more successful readathons. I was more organized than usually, and I socialized a lot on line through commenting and Twitter chats, which was great. I had set my reading goals pretty high to motivate myself and it worked. Although I didn't exactly reach them, I am happy with how much I read – more than twice as much as I usually read in a week, so hooray! Also, I really enjoyed the challenges I completed.

Overall, Bout of Books was a great motivation for me, and I had lots of fun during the week.

Thanks so much to Amanda and Kelly for organizing everything so well and running it so smoothly! You are awesome!