Bout of Books Sign-up and Progress Post

As usual I will join Bout of Books to help kickstart the reading year.

 

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 1st and runs through Sunday, January 7th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, daily Discord questions, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 39 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

And as usual I will add the daily progress to this post. I will also be trying to participate in the Instagram challenges and will link to those each day.

Monday

Second Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 81 – end (37 pages).
Summer Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 1 – end (128 pages).
Maskiner som tenker by Inga Strümke, page 138 – 156 (18 pages).
Boy Trouble at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 1 – 16 (16 pages).

Total: 199 pages.

Instagram: Currently reading

Tuesday

Maskiner som tenker by Inga Strümke, page 156 – 200 (44 pages).
Boy Trouble at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 16 – end (112 pages).

Total: 166 pages.

Wednesday

Maskiner som tenker by Inga Strümke, page 200 – 214 (14 pages).
More Trouble at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 1 – 72 (71 pages).

Total: 85 pages.

Blogged: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse – James Goss

Instagram: Auto-buy author

Thursday

More Trouble at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 73 – end (45 pages).
The Tennis Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 1 – 30 (30 pages).

Total: 75 pages.

Friday

The Tennis Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 30 – end (90 pages).
Summer Camp at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 1 – 82 (82 pages).
Maskiner som tenker by Inga Strümke, page 214 – 231 (17 pages).
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian, page 274 – 300 (26 pages).
Natten by Elie Wiesel, page 1-16 (16 pages).

Total: 231 pages.

Saturday

Summer Camp at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 82 – end (30 pages).
Into the Fourth at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 1 – 98 (98 pages).
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian, page 300 – end (84 pages).

Total: 212 pages.

Sunday

Into the Fourth at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 98 – end (24 pages).
The Hockey Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 1 – end (158 pages).
Fourth Year Triumphs at Trebizon by Anne Digby, page 1 – 73 (73 pages).

Total: 255 pages.

Summary

Total pages read during the week: 1223. Not too shabby. Ok, so it’s mostly Trebizon, which I ought to know by heart by now, but still.

Interestingly, the two days I read the least were Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday I was busy, and not home until closer to nine in the evening, so that figures. Wednesday, though? I blogged. Which highlights an interesting dilemma. Because I do want to blog about (some of) the books I read, but doing so takes time away from actually reading. So there’s that. Same obviously goes for even half-assed Instagram posts or other social media sharing. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m going to take that as a sign to not beat myself up about all the books I don’t get around to writing about and just accept that that’s the way it has to be.

Bout of Books 36: Signup and progress post

Ok, so, no good reason not to, really. I will again be joining the Bout of Books readathon:

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 36 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I will use this post both as my sign-up post and to keep track of progress, and I will be attempting to participate in the Instagram challenge every day.

Monday

The Chronicles of Robin Hood by Rosemary Sutcliff: pages 234 to end (46 pages).
Kulturkrig by Carline Tromp: pages 283 to end (36 pages).
A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit: pages 1-28 (28 pages).
Total: 110 pages.

On Instagram: Currently reading.

Tuesday

La skogen leve by Nora Dåsnes: The whole book (219 pages).
Total: 219 (329) pages.

On Instagram: Recommended read.

Wednesday

A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit: pages 29-52 (23 pages).
The Philosopher, the Dog and the Wedding: The Story of the Infamous Female Philosopher Hipparchia by Barbara Stok: The whole book (296 pages).
Total: 319 (648) pages.

On Instagram: Celebrate diversity.

Thursday

A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit: pages 53-62 (9 pages).
The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami: pages 1-24 (24 pages).
Total: 33 (681) pages.

On Instagram: Future vision.

Friday

A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit: pages 63-83 (20 pages).
The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami: pages 25-70 (45 pages).
Total: 65 (846) pages.

On Instagram: Favourite feel-good.

Saturday

The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami: pages 70-83 (13 pages).
Total: 13 (859) pages.

On Instagram: Recent 5-star read.

Sunday

The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami: pages 83-256, finished the book (173 pages).
Total: 173 (1032) pages.

On Instagram: Shelfie.

Done. Just over a thousand pages in a week is definitely not bad. I also published two short reviews during the week of the readathon, which is much better than in an average week:

We’ll call it a success.

Bout of books 33: Signup and progress post

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 3rd and runs through Sunday, January 9th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 33 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

It’s a good way to kick off the reading year.

Monday

Apple of my Eye by Helene Hanff, pages 74-121 (finished the book).
Stargate – en julefortelling by Ingvild H. Rishøy, pages 1-128 (the whole book).
Mitt klimaregnskap by Anja Bakken Rise, pages 50-70.
Fremmedsteds reisebyrå: Ved havets ende by L. D. Lapinsky, pages 58-66.

Total 203 pages.

Tuesday

Mitt klimaregnskap by Anja Bakken Rise, pages 70-122.
Fremmedsteds reisebyrå: Ved havets ende by L. D. Lapinsky, pages 66-73.

Total 59 pages.

Wednesday

Mitt klimaregnskap by Anja Bakken Rise, pages 122-157.

Total 35 pages.

Not much reading, but on the upside a two-hour meeting with my book club over Teams.

Thursday

Mitt klimaregnskap by Anja Bakken Rise, pages 157-165.
Der du kommer fra by Saša Stanišic, pages 1-23.
Nærmere kommer vi ikke by Monika Steinholm and Anneli Furmark (ill.), pages 1-120.

Total 150 pages (30 prose, 120 graphic novel).

Friday

Nærmere kommer vi ikke by Monika Steinholm and Anneli Furmark (ill.), pages 120-219 (finished the book).

Total 99 pages (graphic novel).

Saturday

Outlaster by Nina Borge, pages 1-44.

Total 44 pages.

Sunday

Mitt klimaregnskap by Anja Bakken Rise, pages 165-244.
Fremmedsteds reisebyrå: Ved havets ende by L. D. Lapinsky, pages 73-77.

Total 83 pages.

Total for the whole week: 673 pages. Not bad.

Bout of Books 30: Sign-up and progress post

As usual, I will be participating in Bout of Books. I have previously found it a good way to kickstart my reading for the year. I will also (as usual) stick my daily updates in this post rather than add a new one per day.

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 30 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Today is day one, and I am all set to go, I just need to get through this little matter of thefirstworkingdayoftheyear first.

Monday

Finished:
A Presumption of Death – Jill Paton Walsh (inspired by Dorothy L. Sayers) p 135-372
Where the sidewalk ends – Shel Silverstein p 176-183 (reading aloud with the youngest)

Started:
The Land of Green Ginger – Noel Langley p 1-20

Instagram challenge:

 

Se dette innlegget på Instagram

 

Et innlegg delt av Ragnhild Lervik (@lattermild)

Once I’d finished the book I had to ad a comment to my own Instagram post:

You know what? Scratch that. When I wrote the above I was just about half-way through, and Lord Peter had just turned up. Now I’ve finished and I really don NOT think I will spend any further time on Walsh’s versions of Peter and Harriet. She does a decent job on the details of the characters, the setting and landscape, and to a certain extent the plot, but she completely fails to capture the relationship between Peter and Harriet, the dialogue feels clunky and the attempts at continuing Sayer’s version of Harriet’s internal dialogue is almost embarrassing. I might get rid of this one alltogether rather than risk rereading it again in a fit of «but I want MORE» the next time I reread Sayer’s books.

Tuesday

Continued:
The Land of Green Ginger – Noel Langley p 21-158

Started:
Lighting Girl #4: Superpower Showdown – Alesha Dixon p 1-25 (reading aloud with the youngest)

Instagram challenge:

 

Se dette innlegget på Instagram

 

Et innlegg delt av Ragnhild Lervik (@lattermild)

Wednesday

Finished:
The Land of Green Ginger – Noel Langley p 159-288

Continued:
Lighting Girl #4: Superpower Showdown – Alesha Dixon p 26-32 (reading aloud with the youngest)

Would have picked up a new book after Green Ginger, but went to check Twitter quickly and ended up doomscrolling the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol in DC instead.

Instagram challenge:

 

Se dette innlegget på Instagram

 

Et innlegg delt av Ragnhild Lervik (@lattermild)

Thursday

Started
Forsvarlig behandling – Unni Cathrine Eiken p 1-40
The Outlaws of Sherwood – Robin McKinley p 1-12

Continued:
Lighting Girl #4: Superpower Showdown – Alesha Dixon p 33-45 (reading aloud with the youngest)

Instagram challenge:

 

Se dette innlegget på Instagram

 

Et innlegg delt av Ragnhild Lervik (@lattermild)

Friday

Continued:
Forsvarlig behandling – Unni Cathrine Eiken p 41-98
Lighting Girl #4: Superpower Showdown – Alesha Dixon p 46-60 (reading aloud with the youngest)

Saturday

Continued:
Forsvarlig behandling – Unni Cathrine Eiken p 98-169
Lighting Girl #4: Superpower Showdown – Alesha Dixon p 61-75 (reading aloud with the youngest)

Sunday

Finished:
Forsvarlig behandling – Unni Cathrine Eiken p 170-304

Continued:
Lighting Girl #4: Superpower Showdown – Alesha Dixon p 76-91 (reading aloud with the youngest)
The Outlaws of Sherwood – Robin McKinley p 12-32

Summary

That’s 959 pages in total, which is pretty good going for one week even if it would have been more satisfying to hit 1000. After the events of Wednesday, the official updates and events of the readathon were toned down to a minimum, understandably, and I fell out of the loop Instagram-wise. Hopefully we can return in May (Bout of Books 31 is scheduled from May 10th to May 16th) in a world where the orange cheeto is a nobody (preferably in jail) and where the mob of Wednesday have discovered the little something that is the consequences of their own actions. We’ll see.

Bout of Books 29: Signup and progress post

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. All reading-in-place times, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges are completely optional. For Bout of Books 29 information and updates, visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I should have plenty of time to read this week, and I could do with a boost (or a good kick up the behind, if you like), so I will be «bouting» again.

This post will be updated with progress throughout the week. I will also try to participate in the Instagram-challenges, you’ll find me as @lattermild (same nick on Twitter, but I post less about books there).

Update: Well. I did read, a bit. But I completely forgot to update here. I managed to post pictures on Instagram for the first three days, and then we travelled to Oslo for a long weekend and that unravelled as well. Anyhoo, books finished during Bout of Books 29:

  • Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
  • Zalt: Dampherrenes planet by Jon Bing
  • Lumberjanes: The Shape of Friendship by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Brooklyn Allen, Grace Ellis and Lilah Sturges

Hardly terribly impressive, but not nothing. I also read a few pages of Zeshan Shakar’s new novel, Gul bok.

Bout of Books 27: Signup and progress post

It seems a little optimistic, but what the hey, here I am signing up for Bout of Books again.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 27 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I will update this post as the week goes on. At least that is the plan. The last Bout of Books I signed up for (number 25) didn’t go too well for me, but it’s a question of getting up, dusting oneself off and trying again.

Monday

Book-related activities: I’ve tidied my bloggroll, removing any blogs that have not been updated in 2019 seems safe enough, and I’ve added a couple of new ones.

Despite claiming to ignore all challenges for 2020 I have added both Bookriot’s Read Harder, Elida’s 1001-boksirkel, Bokhyllelesing and Kaosutmaningen to my spreadsheet. Ambitions are low. We will see.

But I blogged today! Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons, which I finished yesterday AND the two graphic novels I read today.

Today’s Instagram challenge: Current read.

Monday reading:
The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim, 170 pages.
Edelgran by Fredrik Di Fiore and Geir Moen, 196 pages.
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani, page 1-73.

Tuesday

Well, I blogged AGAIN. About an audiobook, no less.

Tuesday reading:
Tubakrisen by Pia Lise Selnes (as audiobook), 104 pages.
Heltinner jeg har møtt by Arnhild Skre, pages 1-64.
Dishoom: From Bombay with Love by Shamil Thakrar, Kavi Thakrar and Naved Nasir, pages 1-20.
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl, pages 1-19.

Wednesday

Mucking about with the blog again threw up some issues, and after a quick chat with my web host (the ever helpful Direkte.no) I realised some blog maintenance was in order. So now I’ve ditched my old WordPress theme (Twenty-thirteen. I did say old.), deleted some unused plugins, updated to use https and just generally shaken some dust out of the nooks and crannies.

Wednesday reading:
Heltinner jeg har møtt by Arnhild Skre, pages 64-80.
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl, pages 19-27.

Thursday

Thursday reading:
Heltinner jeg har møtt by Arnhild Skre, pages 81-104.

Friday

Today’s Instagram challenge: Recent five-star read.

Friday reading:
Heltinner jeg har møtt by Arnhild Skre, pages 105-117.
One of OurThursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde, pages 195-206.
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl, pages 28-35.

Saturday

Saturday reading:
Heltinner jeg har møtt by Arnhild Skre, pages 117-126.
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl, pages 36-46.

Sunday

Sunday I was busy all day with something that meant reading was a no-go, so NO pages.

Summary

Well. While I could certainly have read more during the second half of the week, I’m pretty delighted with the total number of pages (746), and three blog entries (and one draft, soon ready, too). What a nice kickstart to 2020.

Bout of Books 25: Sign-up and progress post

It is Bout of Books time again, and though it falls in a somewhat busy week I will attempt to participate. Perhaps it can push me to getting at least a LITTLE reading done.

For new readers:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 25 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Bout of Book 24 signup and progress post

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 7th and runs through Sunday, January 13th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 24 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team.

Monday

I read zilch. But I worked on a spreadsheet with the 1001 books you must read before you die books, so I guess that was book-related. I might have a shareable, enriched (with things like page numbers, nationality and such) in a few days.

Tuesday

Leselyst by Tone Selboe page 63-119 = 56 pages

Not great but MUCH better than the average so far this year, since the first 63 pages of that book are all I’ve read up til now.

Wednesday

Leselyst by Tone Selboe page 119-152 = 33 pages

Thursday

Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend page 1-66 = 65 pages

I’ve had Nevermoor lying around for a while but discovered when I started it Wednesday morning that I’ve somehow managed to purchase the Large Print edition… Well, I started it anyway and then popped out on my lunschbreak to buy a normal copy. The Large Print copy I donated to the kids’ school library, I figure it’ll be useful for kids who are struggling with reading, whereas I just found it annoying.

Friday

Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend page 66-79 = 13 pages

Abyssmal.

Saturday

Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend page 79-90 = 11 pages

Even worse.

Sunday

Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend page 90-132 = 42 pages

A lot better. And I’ve just got to the point where the book is getting unputdownable, so I’m currently at work wishing I was home reading instead.

Totals

89 + 132 = 221

Not my best performance in a Bout of Books, but 221 pages is a way better average than the 63 pages I’d managed up to the 7th. And I’m almost through the 1001 books spreadsheet. Just a few adjustments and I’ll be ready to share it.

Bout of Books 23 progress post

Monday

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill pages 198-244

46 pages total. A win I call it, because if it hadn’t been for Bout of Books I’d definitely have ended up with brain candy on tv instead of reading.

Tuesday

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill pages 244-302

58 pages. Even better. I also did Monday’s Instagram challenge on Tuesday morning:

Wednesday

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill pages 302-386 (the end).

84 pages total.

And I did a picture for Tuesday’s Instagram challenge:

Bout of Books day two, late again: Favourite colour covers. #bob23igphoto

A post shared by Ragnhild Lervik (@lattermild) on

Thursday

No reading 🙁

Friday

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett pages 7-12.

Blogged about The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

Saturday

No reading, but I did download review copy of a book I am very excited to read to the kindle, and borrowed another from the library. Both are published in 2018, so also fit the Instagram challenge for today.

Sunday

Sunday’s challenge is stretch goals. Since I didn’t really set any goals at the beginning of the week, I can’t revise them, but I will set a mini-challenge for myself: Read SOMETHING.

Update: Well, that went better than could be expected. Despite arranging a birthday party for the soon-to-be-six-year-old in the afternoon and hence being somewhat tired, I started reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (about time, too!) and read up to page 222. Granted, it’s a screenplay, so the amount of text on each page is limited, but still.

Monday morning I posted an Instagram image for the Saturday Instagram challenge:

Bout of Books day six challenge was Saturday, so I am even later than usual, but here are two «Published in 2018». Vi skulle vært løver av Line Baugstø oppdaget jeg etter å ha lest Musikk for rasende kvinner. Enhver forfatter som får meg til å like å lese noveller er det verdt å sjekke ut. Dette er en ungdomsbok om et dagsaktuelt tema: Trans. Klør av Ida Frisch var både @ellikken78 og @bokelskerinnen så begeistret for at jeg prøvde å søke etter den på biblioteket. Jeg fant den ikke på nettsidene, men når vi var innom lokalbiblioteket på lørdag ettermiddag fordi femåringen forlangte nye bøker sto den midt i glaninga og blomstret, så da fikk den bli med meg hjem en tur. #bob23igphoto #viskulleværtløver #klør #bookstagram

A post shared by Ragnhild Lervik (@lattermild) on

Conclusion

Definitely not my most productive Bout of Books, but then I wasn’t expecting it to be. I’ll be back in January (Bout of Books 24 starts 7 January), and by then I’ll be an old hack in the new job and hopefully not come home exhausted every day.

Bout of Books 23: Sign up post

Because why not? I will actually be starting a new job on 13 August, after a year of sick leave (I worked 50 % in June, but that almost doesn’t count), so I have no idea whether I’ll have the energy to do anything at all outside work. The nice thing about Bout of Books, though, is that it is low pressure and I can read anything I want, so if I end up comfort reading Dragonsinger/Dragonsong over and over again for a week (this could happen) that still counts as reading.

The official blurb:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team