Completed 24-Hour Readathon – April 2024

That’s a wrap on this Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon. I had a blast. I wish I was able to spend this kind of quality time with my books more often. I also enjoyed stopping at some independent bookstores throughout the day as well. I made it 23 out of the 24 hours. I completed 5 books and started 3 others. I completed my bingo card and read a total of 1,296 pages. I’d say this was a very successful readathon!

Closing Survey

1. How many books did you read during this readathon? Did you have any favorites? I’ve been reading 8 books over the course of the readathon. I enjoyed Maus most, which has been on my TBR for a long time.
2. How many books did you finish? I finished 5 books.
3. Did you accomplish your goals for this readathon? Yes. 
4. How did your snacks and meals work out? Are there things you would change about the food and beverages side of your readathon for next time? I was doing well with eating healthy today, until my husband brought home chocolate chip cookies. I have no will power when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. I did drink a ton of water though, which is good. 
5. Did you enjoy this readathon? What was the most successful part of your readathon? What would you change for next time? I always enjoy these readathons. The most successful part of this readathon was reading a couple of books that have been on my TBR for a long time. I would like to have more time before the readathon and after the readathon to prepare and rest. 
6. What Dewey’s social media sites did you visit during this readathon? What activities did you participate in? Do you plan to complete those activities over the remainder of the weekend? I posted on this blog (obviously), Litsy and Goodreads. I also track books and my reading on StoryGraph. I participated in reading sprints and successfully accomplished the Bingo card I created. Unfortunately, I have two commitments later today, so I will be busy for the rest of the weekend. I’m glad I had the reading time I did.

Until next readathon….

24-Hour Readathon Halfway Point – April 2024

I’ve made it to the halfway point of Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon. I have been reading for the full12 hours, even while visiting local independent bookstores for the Houston Bookstore Crawl. I visited Kindred Stories, Gulf Coast Cosmos Comics, CLASS bookstore, and LIT Java. Here are some pics of some of the bookstores I visited.

Mid-Event Survey

1. How many books have you been reading? Have you finished any? Are you on track with respect to your readathon goals so far? Finished 2 books. I’m in the middle of 2 other books. I am definitely on track to finish my readathon goals.
2. Have you eaten real food today? (Not just junk food, ACTUAL HEALTHY FOOD) What was your favorite food or beverage so far? I am not snacking or eating that much this readathon for health reasons, even though I love all things made with sugar, but I am focusing on drinking as much water as possible.
3. Have you been participating in any of the activities on our social media (sprints, photo challenges, discussion questions, BINGO, etc.) I’ve participated on Goodreads mostly along with Litsy and posting blogs. I actually created my own bingo card that I am working through.
4. Are you growing sleepy? Do you plan to nap, or stop early, or are you extending the readathon hours to include sleep? I am not tired yet, but I can imagine ending my readathon before the 24 hour mark. 
5. Have you been outside yet today? Have you had much exercise (besides the heavy lifting required to hold your book)? On top of my visits to different bookstores. I am doing an audiorun right at the 12-hour mark. Will be doing some additional stretching later.
6. How is your readathon going, overall? I am loving this readathon right now and am looking forward to my next reads.

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon Begins – April 2024

It’s that time again! The semi-annual Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon begins now!!! This is my 13th time participating in this readathon. I am going to have a lovely day full of reading and other book related activities including a visit to a library and a bookstore!

Bingo Card

I created my own bingo card that represents everything I would like to achieve throughout this readathon.

TBR Pile

Physical Books:

• Our House by Louise Candlish
• A Castle in Spain by Matthew Parris
• Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
• Maus I by Art Spiegelman
• Maus II by Art Spiegelman
• Memories, Dreams, and Nightmares by a collection of authors
• The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
• The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Ebooks:

• Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Audiobooks:

• “N” is for Noose by Sue Grafton
• Inciting Joy by Ross Gay
• Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
• Hokuloa Road by Elizabeth Hand

Opening Event Survey

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I am reading today from my home in Houston, Texas, USA.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I am most looking forward to reading Maus I & II.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I normally eat a lot of junk food during readathons, but I have lately changed my diet a bit. I will not be starting my readathon with a healthy snack cake. However, I am still making my taco dip as per tradition.

4) Tell us something about yourself! Obviously, you will know through this blog that I love reading and traveling. I also love to listen to an audiobook while I work on a puzzle. It really helps me relax.

5) What are your goals for this readathon? My goals are as follows:

1. Finish 5 books
2. Read for at least 15 hours
3. Drink 100 ounces of water
4. Complete my bingo card

Social Media

I will be posting updates on multiple social media outlets:

• Litsy – @Morr_Books
• StoryGraph – @morr_books 
• Goodreads – @Morr_Books
• My Blog – The Great Morrison Migration

Are you participating in this readathon? If so, let me know in the comments what you are most looking forward to and let me know what you plan to be reading.

My Must Reads for 2024

Happy 2024! What books are you excited about reading in 2024? Here is the list of books I would like to read in 2024:

1. Memories Dreams and Nightmares: A Short Story Anthology by Belizean Women Writers by a collection of authors
2. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
3. The Wager by David Grann
4. Milwaukee Winters Can Be Murder by Beth Hartley
5. Shogun by James Clavell
6. Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
7. Until August by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
8. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
9. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
10. The Radio Revolution by Sheriff Norm Winter

My Top Ten Favorite Reads of 2023

Out of the more than 100 books I read this year, here are the ones I enjoyed the most:

• A Room With A View by E.M. Forster
• Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin
• The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
• The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Brave Boundaries by Sasha K. Shillcutt
• Reading Quirks by Laura Pacheco
• #Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso
• All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Favorite Read of 2023:

                    Lonesome Dove

                              by

                     Larry McMurtry

Completed 24-Hour Readathon – April 2023

Another Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon has ended. It was an overall great day! I went to bookstores for Independent Bookstore Day and then spent the rest of the day reading. Here is how I did on my reading goals for the day:

Goals

• Finish 3 books –  Finished 3 books and started 2 other books
• Read at least 800 pages – Read 623 pages
• Read for the full 12 hours – Read 12 1/2 hours
• Post at least 5 times to social media – Posted multiple times on blog, Litsy, and Goodreads
• Track progress in bullet journal – Yes – see image below
• Drink at least 100 ounces of water – Drank 47 ounces of water
• Get at least 1 bingo on each readathon bingo card – Did not get bingo

Closing Survey

1. How many books did you read during this readathon? Did you have any favorites? I read 5 books. I enjoyed Reading Quirks most, which I had just purchased in the last week.
2. How many books did you finish? I finished 5 books.
3. Did you accomplish your goals for this readathon? I did ok. I succeeded on some and not others.
4. How did your snacks and meals work out? Are there things you would change about the food and beverages side of your readathon for next time? I had a great amount of food, including some readathon traditions. I don’t think I would change anything.
5. Did you enjoy this readathon? What was the most successful part of your readathon? What would you change for next time? I always enjoy the readathon. Making progress on my reads and finishing multiple books was the successful part of the readathon. Also, I always enjoy puzzling while listening to an audiobook. (See the puzzle I am working on below.) I plan to do a lot of things differently next time. Next time I hope to dedicate the day to the readathon. That was hard to do this time, since I wanted to participate in the Independent Bookstore Day. I also want to spend more time preparing. Maybe I’ll take a day off of work to really look at the bingo cards and prepare to participate in sprints and other social media activities.
6. What Dewey’s social media sites did you visit during this readathon? What activities did you participate in? Do you plan to complete those activities over the remainder of the weekend? I posted on this blog (obviously), Litsy and Goodreads, but I would like to explore posting and checking out other sites as well.

Books Finished

Books Started

Did you participate in the readathon? If so, how did you do? Did you enjoy yourself? 

24-Hour Readathon Halfway Point – April 2023

I’ve made it to the halfway point of Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon. I haven’t been reading for the full12 hours, as I took a break to attend the 2023 Independent Bookstore Day. See pics below highlighting this event. However, even with this excursion in the middle of the readathon, I have finished two books. I’m on track to meet my readathon goals for sure.

Independent Bookstore Day

Happy 10th Anniversary, Independent Bookstore Day! A friend and I got a delicious brunch at George’s Bistro and Bar and then visited two independent bookstores in Houston – Brazos Bookstore and Murder By The Book. Both are such amazing bookstores with the best staff.

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Mid-Event Survey

1. How many books have you been reading? Have you finished any? Are you on track with respect to your readathon goals so far? Finished 2 books. I’m in the middle of 3 other books. I am definitely on track to finish my readathon goals.
2. Have you eaten real food today? (Not just junk food, ACTUAL HEALTHY FOOD) What was your favorite food or beverage so far? I don’t know if the brunch picture above can be considered real food, but it was amazing! I also enjoyed a mimosa with brunch.
3. Have you been participating in any of the activities on our social media (sprints, photo challenges, discussion questions, BINGO, etc.) I’ve participated a bit, but intend to participate more during the 2nd half of the readathon before I get tired.
4. Are you growing sleepy? Do you plan to nap, or stop early, or are you extending the readathon hours to include sleep? I am not tired yet, but I do intend to stop early this time. 
5. Have you been outside yet today? Have you had much exercise (besides the heavy lifting required to hold your book)? I’ve had a couple of walks outside today. The weather has been cool but nice.
6. How is your readathon going, overall? I am loving this readathon right now and am looking forward to the next twelve hours.

Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon Begins! April 2023

It’s that time again! The semi-annual Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon begins now!!! This is my 12th time participating in this readathon. The last few times I have participated, I actually was able to read for the full 24 hours. However, this time I will not be doing the full 24 hours, but I will still get a lot of reading in and will be visiting my local independent bookstores for Independent Bookstore Day.

Goals

Here are my goals for the readathon:

• Finish 3 books
• Read at least 800 pages
• Read for the full 12 hours
• Post at least 5 times to social media
• Track progress in bullet journal 
• Drink at least 100 ounces of water
• Get at least 1 bingo on each readathon bingo card

TBR Pile

Physical Books:

• Our House by Louise Candlish
• Joyland by Stephen King
• Reading Quirks by The Wild Detectives
• Maus I by Art Spiegelman
• Maus II by Art Spiegelman
• Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter

Ebooks:

• Sweet Valley High #1: Double Love by Francine Pascal
• Sweet Valley High #2: Secrets by Francine Pascal

Audiobooks:

• Wilding by Isabella Tree
• Platonic by Marisa G. Franco
• The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone

Opening Event Survey

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I am reading today from my home in Houston, Texas, USA.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I am most looking forward to reading a book I just bought last weekend at an independent bookstore in Dallas called Reading Quirks.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I always make a taco dip during the readathon. It is now tradition, and I love it!

4) Tell us something about yourself! Obviously, you will know through this blog that I love reading and traveling. I also love to listen to an audiobook while I work on a puzzle. It really helps me relax.

5) What are your goals for this readathon? See my listed goals above.

Social Media

I will be posting updates on multiple social media outlets:

• Litsy – @Morr_Books
• StoryGraph – @morr_books 
• Goodreads – @Morr_Books
• My Blog – The Great Morrison Migration

Are you participating in this readathon? If so, let me know in the comments what you are most looking forward to and let me know what you plan to be reading. Are you visiting an independent bookstore today? What is your favorite local bookstore?

My Must Reads for 2023

Happy 2023! What books are you excited about reading in 2023? Here is the list of books I would like to read in 2023:

1. Homecoming by Kate Morton (2023)
2. Spare by Prince Harry (2023) √
3. Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby (2023) √
4. Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez (2023)
5. Touch by Olaf Olafsson
6. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
7. Category Five by Ann Davila Cardinal
8. The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama √
9. Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton √
10. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

My Top Ten Favorite Reads of 2022

Out of the more than 100 books I read this year, here are the ones I enjoyed the most:

• If You Ask Me by Betty White
• Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
• The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
• Taste by Stanley Tucci
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
• Our Riches by Kaouther Adimi
• Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee
• The Book of Boundaries by Melissa Urban

Favorite Read of 2022:

                    Finding Me

                           by

                     Viola Davis