Monday, August 22, 2016

Back to School & Bout of Books 17


One week.  That is the time I have left of summer vacation.  Exactly one week from today, I return to work at school, and a couple days later, my kids have their first day.  Where has the summer gone?!?

At the beginning of the summer, I had high hopes and expectations.  I had hoped to catch up in my reading for the year.  I had planned to complete so much around the house -- the kids' play area (we call it the hangout room now that they are older!), the office, and get started on my library.  I had hoped to spend a ton of time reading in my hammock and hanging out with my kids.  I had hoped to have a garage sale to get rid of some of this clutter.  In reality, the time flew by and I didn't quite meet all those expectations.  I am still currently 13 books behind schedule to meet my goal for the year.  I did spontaneously create a reading nook.  I am almost done with the kids' hangout room.  The office is almost ready to paint after we put in a new ceiling over the weekend.  And, the library is a hot mess of storage.  I did not spend a lot of time reading and relaxing in my new hammock, but I have had some great time with my kids and my husband.  I did also join a local committee on suicide prevention that a good chunk of my time has been devoted.  And now, I only have one week left before the crazy schedules of the school year returns.  I have one week left to finally finish that hangout room, get the painting started in the office, get prepared for a garage sale that I will hopefully still have next month, and read as much as I can.

That's where Bout of Books 17 comes into play because they have great timing!  In this last week before I return to work, they are hosting their next week-long readathon in this final week of my summer!  Thank you Bout of Books!!

The last week-long readathon I did, I went in with no plan at all.  I read what I wanted, when I wanted, and in the end, I thought it went pretty well.  I liked the relaxed and spontaneous feel to the week, and vowed that I would do it again.  But, it will not be this week!  This week, I've got plans.  And, if I can get through my planned reading, then I will switch to spontaneity again.

What are these plans?

I hope to finally finish Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand on audiobook.  I've been working on this book here and there for more than a year and am just ready to be done with it!  I'm really hoping that I don't have to request the audio again, so I will be attempting to get through a little more than 18 hours over the next 7 days.  It will honestly be my main focus of the week because I can work on those household items at the same time as listening.

I hope to finish a couple of books that I am currently in the middle of -- Hollow City by Ransom Riggs and The Brothers Grimm:  101 Fairy Tales.  The latter is mainly re-reads, but I can never really get enough of Grimm's tales!  I am almost done with the former, so that one should be easy.

I hope to read a friend's manuscript that she gave me.  I'm reading it with editing and feedback eyes, so it will likely take me a bit longer than usual to get through this one.  Plus, I want to get it back to her sooner rather than later.

Lastly, I want to finish with the Ransom Riggs series and dive into Library of Souls.  Let's hope I can get through all of these, and then some!

I will not be posting updates here on the blog, but rather via Twitter and Instagram.  I will post a wrap-up post here on the blog next week.  And, if I'm feeling lucky, I might actually get more blogging done and scheduled along the way!

Has your summer been all that you expected, or have you been like me?  Will you be joining in on the Bout of Books readathon?  If so, what are your plans?

8 comments:

  1. I'm rereading (well, listening really) to Miss Peregrine right now and then I will reread Hollow City so that I can finally get to Library of Souls too! It had just been too long since I read the first two and I couldn't remember much. Also, with the movie coming out, I wanted the first book fresh in my mind.

    I hope you do finally finish Atlas Shrugged! You have been listening to that for a LONG time. ;)

    Good luck on your goals and enjoy this last week of vacation!

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    1. Kristen M. ... I re-read Miss Peregrine for the reason of the movie too! I finished Hollow City last night and now I'm on to Library of Souls. And, I'm working on that audio of Atlas Shrugged. I've got less than 15 hours left!!

      Enjoy your last week of vacation as well!! I'm sure it will fly!

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  2. Things never go quite as planned, do they? I guess if they did life would be pretty boring. I'm not sure what I expected out if this summer but more reading by the pool would have been nice. For now, bring on fall!

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    1. Jenny ... No, they do not! The last couple of days have been very fall-like around here, and I'm completely okay with that. I love fall!!

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  3. Enjoy your last week of break. Mine ended today bright and early at 8 am. Tough to get back in the groove. It will be more exciting once students come flowing through the halls.

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    1. Peaceful Reader ... I actually was in trainings all last week, and yesterday, and spent some time at the school this afternoon. Gotta spend more time there in the next couple of days. But, it won't be official until the kids are walking the halls!!

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  4. Oh yeah, you must finish Atlas Shrugged. I read it in print and was surprised how fast I got through it. Maybe it would take longer on audio.

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    1. Ti ... It is taking me a bit longer on audio. I started it in print and got a good chunk in, but switched to audio so I didn't have to keep lugging the book around. I've got less than 15 hours left!

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