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I was hoping to have a Readathon Recap for you on Monday, but it was… well, it was a Monday. Instead you get two book posts in one day. I’m mostly sharing details of the day, so check back early next month for a review of everything I read in October.
I really had no expectations for Saturday. We didn’t have plans for the weekend, so I knew it was a great day to plan to read, but how in the world could I pull off a 24 hour stretch?! I made a few plans to keep things on track, but I also made a few changes along the way. It was much darker (and colder) than I expected at 7 am, so I scrapped my early morning run and then avoided it for the rest of the day. I did take breaks to prepare meals, help with children, care for the dog, and take a shower (priorities, people), but otherwise I spent the day with a book in my hand. I didn’t make it the full 24 hours, but I did read 969 pages over the course of 16 hours, so I’m going to call it a success.
Stella by Starlight (6:30 – 8:42 a.m.) | I started the day with this children’s title. I had read a few chapters earlier in the week, but I tackled the bulk of the 320 pages early that morning. It was beautifully written and I new immediately that I wanted Ella to read it, too. This was probably the quickest thing I read all day and that can be attributed to the middle grade writing and the fact that I was the only person awake! As soon as I finished this one, I took a break to make more coffee and put some breakfast in the oven for the girls (and obviously made enough for me).
After breakfast, both girls stumbled into the sunroom to see what I was doing. I didn’t actually tell anyone other than Josh what my plans for the day were, so the girls thought it was crazy that I planned to read all day! They both suggested that they join in, so they grabbed blankets and footstools and stacks of books. Ella read about three quarters of Stella before abandoning us for cooler things. She is loving the book and has plans to share it with her Elementary School librarian as soon as she’s finished.
Sophie lasted a lot longer than I expected. She read this Nancy Drew book before lunch and then finished up two Heidi Hecklebeck chapter books in the afternoon. She actually ran upstairs to choose a four book, but came back and said, “I JUST DON’T THINK I CAN READ ONE MORE PAGE!” I was so proud of what she accomplished and she couldn’t wait to tell her teacher how much she added to her reading log over the weekend.
The Sunlight Pilgrims (9:26 – 11:06 a.m.) | I’ve had this title in my to read stack for several weeks. It sounded interesting and seemed short enough, so I felt sure I could tackle it in its entirety. I actually adored the writing, but I had a hard time getting into the story. I had a few issues with the story, but I’ll delve into those more when I (finish it) review it in a few weeks. I couldn’t decide if my problems were with the book itself or if I just needed something different, so I grabbed some lunch and switched paces.
All Joy and No Fun (11:06 a.m. – 2:27 p.m.) | I actually bought this book in October of last year after seeing someone share it on Instagram, but never got past the first 45 pages. I think God knew I needed to read at this time of life, so I’m so glad to have found it in a dresser drawer last week. I plowed through it a few hours and particularly loved the section on adolescence. I learned so much and paired with what I gained through a parent teacher conference today, I’m basically about to be a parenting expert. Ha!
The Sunlight Pilgrims (2:38 – 5:01 p.m.) | After lunch, I moved outside to watch the dog play. The weather was perfect and I thought I change of scenery might help. I read another hundred pages of Sunlight Pilgrims and decided to abandon it in favor of household chores. I got our bathrooms cleaned, some laundry done, and a chalkboard painted for my sister’s surprise baby shower the next day.
Turtles All the Way Down (5:55 – 10:25) | This was probably my most anticipated read of the entire day and although it took me longer to read than I expected, I really loved it. I watched a lit bit of TV with Josh during this time, fixed dinner for the girls, and helped them get everything ready for church the next day, but mostly I read. I can’t wait to share a full review with you on this one, but if you’re a fan of any of Green’s prior work, then you’ll likely love this one, too.
I’m guessing you can tell that I kept a log of my reading times and the last thing I wrote down was “Sunlight Pilgrims, 10:25 p.m., page 161” and then I promptly fell asleep. Don’t mind the cover, Scoop happens to love chewing on books while I’m sleeping, so I woke up to this little treasure! I thought about waking up early to ready for an hour before church, but I was actually exhausted (despite not doing any physical activities on Saturday) and slept until the last possible moment. I’m planning to finish this one up by the weekend, so I can include it my October Reading Recap.
I’m hugely impressed with how much I tackled, considering I had people to take care of. If I had read through the night, I feel sure I would have finished Sunlight Pilgrims and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, but I’m too thrilled with the 1000 pages I did read, to care. I know I won’t be able to join the next readathon in April because of dance competitions, but I’m marking October on my calendar for 2018, because this was so much fun.
