The Road to Oz

Title: The Road to Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Finished: April 15, 2009
Pages: 264
Published: 1909

The next book in the Oz series. I enjoyed this one immensely. It was great seeing Dorothy’s next adventure to Oz and how she gets there this time around. The meeting of new friends on her journey and then the end result of all old and new friends coming together as one for a celebration was fun.

I do occasionally miss all the friends from The Wizard of Oz so it was great to see them all again with Dorothy.

After this one I am more motivated to continue on with the series since they seem to be improving.

Challenges: 999 Challenge, 100+ Challenge, A Visit to Oz Challenge, Book Binge

2009 Spring Read-A-Thon Wrap Up

So … I didn’t make it 24 hours, I had high hopes this time around, but by hour 21 I was ready to throw in the towel. I figured it was better than doing as some and re-reading the same page over and over until the time ran out. I think at 3am it’s hard for any book to be so interesting that you have to keep reading.

First off – the End Event Meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 21, my quitting hour
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? The Georgia Nicholson series was great last year and graphic novels for me this year were great.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I think it was awesome. Someone made the suggestion of a complete list of books people read the previous year and that could be fun and helpful for first timers.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I loved the twitter feed, it helped me interact with other readers in real time and not just when they were updating their blogs.
5. How many books did you read? A total of 7 with half of another completed before I quit (one book was already in progress and almost finished)
6. What were the names of the books you read? James and the Giant Peach, 300, Love Letters of Great Men, The Pillars of the Earth, 30 Days of Night, Letters to a Young Poet, and Ellen Foster.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? Love Letters of Great Men and Pillars of the Earth was enjoyable just to be able to say I finally finished it.
8. Which did you enjoy least? I liked them all but if I had to choose, 30 Days of Night
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? I will be there with a revised plan on how to function. Maybe I’ll take a nap like some to renew energy, but I would be a reader first and foremost, but the cheering along the way is pretty awesome too.

It will take some time before all my reviews are posted, probably into tomorrow for sure. I am also going to do like some and go back through the reader list and try and visit everyone’s pages that I missed. With almost 200 readers, it could take awhile.

My FINAL STATS:

• Books Read – 7, including one already in progress
• Pages Read – 1,177 pages
• Hours Spent Reading – 16 1/2 hours
• Mini-Challenges Completed – 9
• Prizes Won – 1

I increased all my stats from last year which was actually pretty shocking. Between the two I will probably set a goal for myself for sure next time around, probably somewhere in between. 7 books seems daunting now that I look at it.

Special thanks to all my visitors and cheerleaders, anyone who commented and helped motivate me. THANKS! You guys ROCK!

Hour 21

Here’s my stats so far:

Title of book(s) read since last update: Violets are Blue by James Patterson
Number of books read since you started: 7
Pages read since last update: 52
Running total of pages read since you started: 1,177
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  50 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 995 minutes (16.5 hours)
Mini-challenges completed: 9
Other participants you’ve visited: twitter feed/google reader (not may people still up and about)
Prize you’ve won: 1

I’m not sure if I’m going to make it through the next hour. Not only am I tired but I’m more bored than anything else which makes it even harder. My book is good but not that good and I don’t want to start another one. I’ll be hanging out for a little bit but I’m starting to think a few more hours of sleep is better for my plans tomorrow than being bored.

Hour 20

Here’s my stats so far:

Title of book(s) read since last update: Violets are Blue by James Patterson
Number of books read since you started: 7
Pages read since last update: 154
Running total of pages read since you started: 1,125
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  50 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 945 minutes (15.75 hours)
Mini-challenges completed: 9
Other participants you’ve visited: twitter feed/google reader (not may people still up and about)
Prize you’ve won: 1

It’s getting a lot harder. I remember in October I quit at 4am (with two hours left). I don’t remember being this tired. I made good progress on my book, but the hours are ticking by very slow now compared to earlier.

I also succeeded in my last official goal of the read-a-thon and surpassed my page count. Last year I read 1,014 pages. So … even if I did decide to head to bed, I will have accomplished everything.

I think I’m going to see if there’s something on TV to keep me more alert, even if my page count goes down some.

Hour 19

Here’s my stats so far:

Title of book(s) read since last update: Violets are Blue by James Patterson
Number of books read since you started: 7
Pages read since last update: 60
Running total of pages read since you started: 971
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  50 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 895 minutes (almost 15 hours)
Mini-challenges completed: 9
Other participants you’ve visited: twitter feed
Prize you’ve won: 1

Progress is slowing. If I’m lucky I’ll finish this book and maybe – just maybe – one more. Not sure what I’m going to feel in the mood for in the wee hours. It’s going on 1am here, I have to last until 6am my time. It’s getting colder in my house which makes me want to put on sweats but I know if I get any more comfortable I’ll need a nap and that ain’t gonna happen.