Reading Rambo

IT'S THE 24 HOUR READATHON, which means I will read for approximately 3 hours today, but I will TRY to read more. I'm just not that good at committing to these things, you guys. But I keep trying. Yep. 5:40 P.M. Sunday SO. Busy weekend. Saw an amazing play called Miss Holmes  at Chicago's Lifeline Theatre. Oh man. So great. Sherlock Holmes as a lady and infused with 19th century feminist issues, plus references to both Jack the Ripper minutiae and The Yellow Wallpaper .  I finished The Lunch Witch , which it turns out was more for like 8 year olds, and my taste in children's fiction runs to middle grade, so more like 10-12 year olds. It was fine. THREE OUT OF FIVE STARS. Maybe more if I were eight. I read about half of a book of Shirley Jackson short stories, which wasn't even on my LIST, but matched my theme of #Hallowreads. I've always felt like I was one step away from liking Shirley Jackson. I tried with We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Hau...

Here we are. The 24 hour readathon and the first time I'm putting any actual effort into reading for more than appx six of those hours. It's started out with a total bang, of course, as my Central Standard start time was supposed to be 7 a.m. and I arose at 9:30, then made tacos. So hours 1-4 have consisted of me eating many tacos and reading part of The Goldfinch . Food that I am currently eating Books I am currently NOT reading, as Goldfinch is an eBook Those are bookmarks. I am terrible at reading. All right, day. Let's see how you go. UPDATE 2 Well. I guess now we're in hour eight, which for me is like...hour five? Anyway, I was getting sleepy from sitting on the couch in my pajamas, so I got dressed and took a walk to the Anti-Cruelty Society to look at kitties and puppies. The weather today is overcast but warm, which is my FAVORITE, so none of that No Going Outside shit. Of course, by going outside, I did have to deal with this: ahhh...

You guys...I might...finally...FINALLY...be able to do the 24 hour readathon.  And not in some lame "I'm traveling that day so I'll read for a few hours" way, but in an ACTUAL, PROPER way. Which has never happened before because I am always busy on the two damn dates they choose every year. So what's awesome about the 24 hour readathon? It's themed. I like themed things. I'm immensely fond of them. Themes provide structure, and without structure, what is life? Aimless and boring. So there's the 24 hour thing (which, by the way, there's no way I'm staying awake for 24 hours, but I'll try for something slightly later than my usual rising/going to sleep times). Then there're snacks. Which I am ALREADY EXCITED FOR. I'm going to make a ridiculous amount of hummus. Ridiculous. And then eat it all. Do you know how many cans of garbanzo beans I have stored up? No, you do not, nor should you, but it is a lot. Also getting one's...

Omg. Today. Today actually kicked major ass. I worked on a ridiculous amount of music, read, drank multiple almond milk/banana/cranberry juice smoothies, finished all my hummus, and bought a cardigan, pencil skirt and necklace. LOOK AT HOW PRETTY MY NECKLACE IS Book-wise (which I guess is the point of all this), I caught up to last Friday's reading for Harry Potter (yay...), finished a couple chapters of The Drood Murder Case , actually picked up How the Irish Saved Civilization (it's been a while) and learned a li'l something about St Patrick, almost lost my shit over Mary Wollstonecraft's writing in Vindication of the Rights of Woman , and FINISHED Lamb . Yes, I finished a book I'd already started. If I can just reproduce here the first sentence of Vindication of the Rights of Woman , and we can bear in mind that it was written in 1792 , that'd be swell: After considering the historic page, and viewing the living world with anxious solicit...

I have a ton of music I need to be working on, so I've been alternating between that and reading. I'm about 60 pages from the end of Lamb , and I'm nearing the halfway point of The Drood Murder Case , which is basically a collection of essays written by a REALLY enthusiastic Drood fan in the 1950s. Drood's a half-finished novel, and as it is in fact The Mystery of Edwin Drood , there are a ton of mysteries left unsolved (thanks for dying, DICKENS). This author guy has some theories. A lot of theories. And as far as I can tell, they are awesome theories. Like WHO IS DICK DATCHERY. Oh, he has an idea. And I now completely agree with him and will fight anyone who disagrees because they will be WRONG. Got through some of Half-Blood Prince , and am slowly remembering how pissed off I was when I read it the first time and was SO CONVINCED that Ron and Hermione would finally make out, and then JK engineers this stupid fight which then is PROLONGED because Ginny told Ron he...

READATHON IS HEEEERE. Ok, I have pictures. And yes, I was supposed to start at 7, but I passed out last night WITH MY CONTACTS IN, so when I awoke at 7:45, a good deal of time was spent showering and making myself un-disgusting. Now, first hour survey that I missed two hours ago: 1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. It is gorgeously sunny and I expect to see people wandering around in shock like you would if you were a fire poker employed at the Beast's castle and it's right after Belle kisses him. 2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Weirdly enough, I think it's The Drood Murder Case .  3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I've been looking forward to the item pictured below for DAYS and I am glad it isn't in fact gross. 4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I sing opera. I ship a lot of couples. If I could be a cryptozoologist-opera singer, I'd consider my lif...

Readathon? Readathon. This Saturday. Very exciting. I HAVE BOOKS I WILL FINISH. Because I like piles of things and lists, here are the things I'm contemplating working on: Lamb , Christopher Moore Half-Blood Prince , Rowling The Drood Murder Case , No Idea Who Wrote It How the Irish Saved Civilization , Thomas Cahill Passions Between Women , Emma Donoghue A Vindication of the Rights of Woman , Wollstonecraft A Visit from the Goon Squad , Jennifer Egan THAT'S DOABLE RIGHT? Given that the last readathon I participated in, when I was visiting my parents and therefore BUSY eating things I didn't have to pay for, I read Winnie the Pooh annnnd that's it. But it's not like I'm actually gonna read all of those. I just like options. When I take a bath, I bring like three books with me. Because what if. What if. But if I don't finish Lamb this week, I'll kick my own ass. I have like 100 pages left. I also just renewed The Drood Murder Case at t...

I'm not gonna flood your Google Reader feed with posts, so here's the thing I shall go back and edit. 12:58 p.m. Back from church with lunch canceled, I have made myself three more tacos. Now, with tacos, I like to use the Old El Paso taco kit for soft tacos, get the highest quality beef I can (let's not be stingy with that extra dollar, people), and buy Kraft Shredded Sharp Cheddar, and lastly, Cholula hot sauce. Why? Because my mom used those brands (excepting the latter, which I picked up on taco journeys with friends) and damnit, I like them. Three tacos down for the day, and when the Italian place around the corner from me opens, I'm buying some Mexican Coke. FIESTA CON LIBROS. As for books..er...I read part of Middlesex on the bus, and now I shall continue that fantastic journey. Delicious taco remnant 3:54 p.m. Nearing the end of Middlesex which is, of course, awesome. Also getting laundry done and baking potatoes for tomorrow, so BAM. ProDUCTIVE. The s...