Once Upon a Read-a-Thon - The Wrap-Up Post

And another read-a-thon ends! It was fun, but I realized I did less reading than the last one, both because this was a 3-day RAT (instead of a 5-day one), and because weekdays are busy days for me, so there is less time available for reading.

Statistically speaking, I read:

• 521 pages
• in 8 hours
• 2 books: Homem-Aranha - Integral Frank Miller and Pure, Jennifer L. Armentrout

As for my goals, I did quite well:

• I read every day for at least an hour
• I entered all the challenges but one (due to elegibility)
• I updated  my progress every day

I did well, I think. I read quite a lot during these days, with the exception of Tuesday, which was a low day for me, even for non-RAT days. I guess that's because when I start a book (in this case Pure) it always takes me longer to get through the first 50-100 pages.

This was fun, and I'd like to thank the hosts of the RAT and of the mini-challenges. Thank you!

Below are my posts for the read-a-thon, both the starting post as well as the daily updates posts, which contain my progress and my answers to the mini challenges.

Starting Post 

Monday, July 9th

Tuesday, July 10th

Wednesday, July 11th

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon - Wednesday, July 11th

Pages: 228

Hours: 4 hours and 40 minutes

Books: Pure, Jennifer L. Armentrout - completed

Challenge: Anticipating hosted by Christy @ The Reader Bee

What is your most anticipated book for 2012?
(It can be an upcoming release, or one that's already been released.)

This one is easy:

I just ache to read this book! Laini Taylor really captivated me with her story, and I can't wait to read what's in store for Karou and Akiva.

Also, this one:

I really am anticipating the end of Riley and Beck's story. I loved this series and am glad Jana Oliver got to write a fourth book in the series. I expect it to be so exciting and emotional, and I am looking forward to it.

Challenge: Matching FIctional Best Friends hosted by Alli @ Magnet4 Books's Reviews

Match the 5 sets of Fictional Best Friends below.

Cassel
Emerson
Hermione
Jessica
Sam
Clary
Harry
Hope
Lily
Simon

Done! That was fun, though it required some hard thinking and some research to check whether some of my guesses were right.

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon - Tuesday, June 10th

Pages: 64

Hours: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Books: Pure, Jennifer L. Armentrout

Challenge: Bookish Fight hosted by Rebecca @ Kindle Fever

As the story teller, I now want you to tell me which two characters are fighting and WHY! If you want to, you’re also more than welcome to guess the outcome. ;) It doesn’t have to be anything too detailed; we’re here to have fun!

Right now I'm really rooting to pit Alexandra "Alex" Andros from the Covenant books by Jennifer L. Armentrout against Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. They both are so kickass and stubborn the fight would be explosive! They are fighting because their stories are a bit similar, at least in the beginning, and they want to be unique, awesome girls by their own right. I don't dare guess the outcome, since they really are so strong and fantastic that it would be a close call!

Challenge: Foreign Authors hosted by Courtney @ Stiletto Storytime

Below in the comments simply share a foreign author whose work you adore. I personally am from the United States but we may have readers from all over so just make sure the author you share is from a country other than your own. Tell us why you like them. Are there any books by them in particular that you would recommend? How did you come across their work? The whole point is to share and allow us all to discover a new author that we might otherwise never have been exposed to... to literally open up a whole new world of books for one another.

I am going to choose Sarah Alderson. She is British, but currently lives in Bali, and is the author of Hunting Lila. I read this book for a challenge - I didn't expect to like it so much, and that really caught me off guard! Hunting Lila is about a girl, Lila, who finds out she has superpowers, and freaks out - so she runs to the only people she trusts - her brother Jack, and his best friend, Alex. Except they are part of secret team who tries to hunt people with powers, like Lila - and to complicate matters more, she has a huge crush on Alex since forever! The book is a mix of X-Men with car chases and road trips, and with a touch of romance. There were so many things that I liked about it that I was convinced Sarah Alderson is a auto-buy author for me. With just one book! She writes her books with a good sense of humor, she does action very well, but she is also capable of breaking your heart with the romance. Definitely an author to follow!

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon - Monday, July 9th

So, here are my updates for the day.

Pages: 192 + 37 = 229

Hours: 2 hours

Books: Homem-Aranha - Integral Frank Miller - completed
Pure, Jennifer L. Armentrout

Challenge: 4 Questions hosted by Loretta @ Between The Pages

Sitting this one out. It's US only and I've only read one of the four books covered by the questions, so...

Challenge: Covers hosted by Bailey @ Stiletto Storytime

Question 1: What is your favorite cover that has been revealed this summer and why? Post a link or picture of the cover if you want.

Question 2: Do you rely on the cover to help you choose whether you want to read a book or not?

Question 1 - Well, I really love the US cover for Days of Blood and Starlight:

I've been slowly dying all year because I can't yet read this book. I loved the first one, Laini Taylor is a great writer, and the story was magnificent.

Question 2 - I don't exactly rely on the cover to help me choose books, but the way the cover is designed is a great way to ler me know what kind of genre the book is, and whether I might like to read it. So the cover is a great way to grab my attention, but ultimately what makes me decide for this book instead of that one would be the description and the book's reviews.

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon - Starting Post

This is the second read-a-thon I'm entering. The first one was just a couple of weeks ago, and I enjoyed it so much I decided to explore more this read-a-thon thing.

The Once Upon a Read-a-Thon is hosted by Candace @ Candace's Book Blog, Lore @ Pure Imagination and Angela @ Reading Angel, and it runs from July 9th to July 11th. The sign-up posts can be found through each link above.

My goals are:

• To read every day, and at least an hour;
• To enter some of the challenges;
• To update my progress everyday.

I'm planning to read:

- Pure, by Jennifer L. Armentrout

- a comic HC book recently published in my country with some Spider-Man comics by Frank Miller

And maybe some more comic albums, but that is uncertain... a back-up plan of sorts, if I run out of books to read.