It’s officially over for me! It’s been 48 hours since I started, and I have accomplished quite a few of the goals I set out from the start.
Total hours read: 21. My goal was 15, and I hoped to hit 20. I went even further than that.
Hours spent social networking with other participants: 2 hours. I plan on doing quite a bit more of this now that my reading time is over.
Cups of tea consumed: A grand total of 12. All vanilla.
Books finished since last update: 

Total number of books read: 10. My goal was 3 or 4. Guess I surpassed that a little bit.
Book breakdown: 6 adult books (3 graphic novels); 3 YA books; 1 middle grade book
Favorite read: 

On the Duncan book: Since I was asked a lot about this one, I’ll say that while I enjoyed reading it, it didn’t impress me as much as I hoped it would. It wasn’t bad, but it took a long time for me to get into Laurie’s story, and it took a long time for the astral projection elements to snap into place (though when they did, they played out well).  
Up Next: I plan on doing a lot of blog reading and catch up, since I didn’t blog much this weekend. I wanted to just read and take notes for future reviews. But the one thing I didn’t accomplish reading-wise this weekend was starting the final book in the Millennium trilogy,  so I suppose I’ll be starting The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest shortly. I balance reading those books with YA titles, so I’ll probably also start reading Never Enough by Denise Jaden.
Visual: Because I know I’m a visual person, here’s everything I read this weekend, in order:

2012 goal making: I set an arbitrary goal of reading 220 books this year. This weekend, I finished book 101. That means I’m 46% of the way there and about 4 books ahead of schedule to reach that goal.
But first: I need a nap and a shower and another bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal.

Hours read: 17 hours. 17 hours!
Hours spent social networking with other participants: 2 hours
Books finished since last update:

Books read total: 8
Book breakdown: 5 adult (2 graphic novels), 2 YA, 1 middle grade
Cups of tea consumed: A modest 9. I enjoyed a nice all-natural root beer, too.
Current distraction:

This is so my reward for reading so much today. Then I am treating myself to a little sleep before finishing at least another book tomorrow. If I finish one tomorrow, that will put me at 100 books for the entire year.
So you know: I have some great reviews planned of some of the books I’ve read, including one I read today which was wholly unimpressive to me.
Up next: Probably a contemporary YA title. I’m thinking one of these two:

Hours read: 12 hours
Hours spent social networking with other participants: 1 hour — I’m planning on taking a small break from reading to do this for a while.
Books finished since last update: 

Books read total: 6
Book breakdown: 4 adult books (one being a graphic novel), 1 YA book, 1 middle grade book
Cups of tea consumed: 7 (yes, I’ve had 4 since the last update)
Distractions: cheese-filled soft pretzels and the view of the other side of the couch I’m reading on, which is this

All three of my cats are sound asleep. The house is almost peaceful, if you ignore the fact all three of them snore.
Current embarrassment: I misspelled “challenge” in the title of my last update post, and it took me until now to realize that. I changed it, but it will forever be in the web address of that post. Sigh.
Biggest laughs: The book Idaho Winter had me laughing like crazy. The book doesn’t just reference Jurassic Park and Green Day — those things/people actually happen in the story. 
You should know: I am not going to review every book I read this weekend on STACKED. It’d kill me. But I am writing reviews — short ones — over at Goodreads. Let’s be friends there if we are not already. 
Up next: I am going to paint my nails a sort of blood red color and figure out which YA I should read next. I’m debating between Lost Girls or something straight contemporary. Or maybe not. I just know I need a reading break for a bit.

 

And so I’m rounding the corner on the first half of the 48 hour book challenge. Here are my stats so far:

Hours read: 7
Hours spent social networking with other participants: 1/2 hour
Books finished: 4

Favorite read so far: Come See About Me — I wrote up a bit of a review on Goodreads, but I took about 6 pages of notes for a formal review. This book was so, so good.
Cups of tea consumed: 3 (I just realized I haven’t had any yet this morning, so I’m fixing that now)
Distractions: Sleep, going to the library, checking out the new self-swipe card reader at the post office, thinking about what sort of food to pick up at the grocery store
Things I hate about ereading: I can’t take my nook outside in the sun
Things I love about ereading: I can take my nook on the treadmill
Up next:

My husband is going out today, which means I have a solid 10+ hours of no distractions. So looking forward to them.

I’m taking part in MotherReader’s 48 Hour Book Challenge this weekend. I have been looking forward to this since last year’s challenge, where I read a crazy 10 books and 26 hours total. I’m pretty sure I won’t get to that much reading this year for a number of reasons, but I’m still eager to spend long chunks of time reading. I’m also going to follow the same protocol I did last year and take notes on what I’ll include in future reviews, rather than writing the review immediately upon finishing the book (which I never do anyway). This method saved me an incredible amount of time last year and helped me remember some of the thoughts that could have easily gotten lost by book 7 or 8.

My goal is to put in 15 hours of reading, with a secret goal of making it to 20 hours.

I wanted to take a picture of my pile of books, but because a number of them are ebooks, I can’t (yet another reason I’m not crazy about ebooks). But here’s what is on my to-read pile for the weekend:

Come See About Me by CK Kelly Martin: I am so excited to read Martin’s forthcoming ebook that follows 20-year-old Leah through a number of tough early-adult life events. It’s described as a “new adult” title. After reading the first two chapters here and knowing how good Martin’s writing is, I’m sold. 

Address Unknown by Kressmann Taylor: I’ve never heard of this book but when Flannery mentioned it the other day after seeing a rave review then giving it a rave review herself, I wanted to check it out. It’s a short read and will be a really nice break between longer titles.

Stranger with My Face by Lois Duncan: One of the things I’ve learned about myself in the last year is that I love reading about astral projection. This title was recommended to me by an editor who said it is her standard of judging books on the topic. Sold.

Idaho Winter by Tony Burgess: This book looks so bizarre and in the right kind of way. The main character has a hard life then seeks revenge on the author for doing it.

Narc by Crissa-Jean Chappell: Drug trafficking in a high school. Count me in. I mean, not like that.

Never Enough by Denise Jaden: This is a sister story, where the older one is hiding a dangerous secret about her eating disorder. It’s set in Wisconsin, which is a bonus in my book.

I’m a big believer when reading for long stretches you have a pile way, way bigger than you could possibly read. That way, when you find yourself looking for a certain type of book, you have it at hand quickly. And that would explain this pile of other titles I’ve got on hand for the readathon.

If I can finish four books this weekend, I will be thrilled. If I can force myself to start the final installment of the Millennium trilogy, I will be satisfied, too. And I’m going to be honest: I’ve already got my eye on a few other books not even mentioned in this post, too, including See You At Harry’s, Tina’s Mouth, and more. My mood dictates my choices. And my eyes. But I have choices.

I’ll likely update once or twice during the weekend with quick reactions about what I’m reading. If I can put a book down, that is.