Blogging For Books

I slept for four hours after the Blogathon ended, but now I'm awake and feeling like crap so I don't have too much of a screwed-up sleep schedule. I'd still do it all again in a heartbeat. :)

Thanks again everyone! If you would like to get in touch with me, feel free to leave me comments on this entry. I'm so darn proud of this blog that I won't be getting rid of it.

- Olivia

I can’t believe I have been up for 25 hours. :)

And conveniently enough, the last song that played on my playlist was No Doubt's "You Can Do It." It's been an ironic event when it comes to music.

But it feels freakin’ awesome to have completed my FIRST Blogathon... and it feels even more amazing to have raised $157 for First Book! You can still sponsor this blog for two more days. If you want to sponsor, search for the link somewhere throughout my blog. I'm just too darn tired to do any more linking.

I hope all of you who read my blog enjoyed it. I really enjoyed blogging and participating with all of you. I am definitely doing this again next year. That means one thing: I’m going to get a good-night’s sleep for next year’s event... starting now!

Before I pass out, I want to thank all of my sponsors again for sponsoring my blog:

+ My husband
+ My parents
+ My in-laws
+ My boss Mitch
+ Missy
+ Steven
+ Ronda (qtfriend2all)
+ Casey (exoticbeachbum)
+ Arleen

I also want to thank Arleen, Cole, Steven, and Mia for giving me so much of their time on AIM to keep me entertained throughout the event. Another big thank you goes to Sarah, because she spent a good six hours with me during the day on Saturday, keeping me entertained and even guest-blogging on here.

I can’t forget about the Blogathoners who have friended me here on LJ who have left me lots of comments of encouragement and who generally rock my socks:

4theloveofpets
boobathon07
bookaid07
featherjean
fading_xhopex
seimaisin

Oh, and a big thanks to my monitor picoesque. Monitors made sure we bloggers were following the rules and keeping up with posts. Many of them also kept blogs of their own for the ‘thon, so Stacy gets an extra pat on the back for doing two jobs during the 24-hour period.

Thank you to anyone else who has commented on by blog throughout this entire event. :)

And because my husband did his best to stay up with me, I give him lots of kudos for staying up as long as he did before passing out (he conked out around 3:30 a.m.). He’s a trooper; that’s why I married him. ♥

I hear birds chirping! One more post to go!

You know, I was trying my hardest to write something of substance related to First Book, but I just can’t. My fingers just won’t let me type all too well, and I’m just getting all foggy in the brain. Fortunately, I have been working on a nice thank-you blog for my second to last blog, so hopefully it makes sense. I did just have the last apple in the house, so hopefully that will sustain me for the last hour of the Blogathon.

As of this post though, I have been up for 24 hours. The end of the Blogathon will mark 25 hours of no sleep. I think this last hour is going to be great! We're almost there!

Hmm, what to talk about in this post…

As soon as this Blogathon is over, my kitties and I are snuggling in bed for a very long time. I know this event is going to severely disrupt my sleeping schedule, but again, it’s worth it. I don’t have to work on Monday, so it really doesn’t matter that much. I think I may try to wake up at a reasonable afternoon hour today (ha, who am I kidding?) to maybe get a few things done around the house.

I think I’m catching a second wind here. I’m feeling strangely alert, but at the same time delirious. Muhaha!

At this point, I’m saying prayers to God to please give me the strength and mental clarity to get through these last two hours. I know I can do it, but the added push of faith and reminding myself that this is for charity is really what is keeping me going at this point.

Of course, the upbeat tunes I have playing on my iTunes playlist is helping me immensely as well. I created a workout mix of songs that I load onto my iPod shuffle for when I go to the gym; nothing but upbeat songs. And it’s an eclectic mix of goodies too: I have everything from Ozzy Osbourne to Daughtry to Pink to Mims. What can I say, I don’t like limiting myself to just a few genres of music. I like just about all music (except jazz; but I think I need more exposure to it before I can say if I truly like it or not).

The sun is rising. It’s pretty outside right now. It’s been so long since I’ve seen the beginning of daylight hours. I think the last time I stayed up for 24+ hours was in high school. I have yet to pull an all-nighter in college, and I hope to not start in my final semester this fall.

My last post was pathetic, although completely true. Here’s is my sleep-deprived attempted at something at least of some substance.

I decided to do a little Googling using just the word “reading” as my search term. Here are a few links that I found of interest:

+ Strategies to Help Kids Who Struggle with Reading
+ Reading Is Fundamental (this is another reading non-profit, woo!)
+ Online Speed Reading Test

And while the next two mentions involve reading/writing, how many of you enjoy(ed) Mad Libs? And please tell me I wasn’t the only kid who liked Wishbone.

I just opened the blinds back up in our living room. I don’t like having them open when it’s dark. It’s still dark out, but sunrise is supposed to happen sometime around 6:45, so I’m thinking I may scoot my butt out to the patio for a bit of fresh air and sunlight. Maybe it will help me wake up. I’ve told my plan to featherjean, and she seems to think it’s good, so if someone agrees with me at this point, it’s a good idea.

How’s everyone feeling? I feel like we’re all mothering each other at this point. :)

I have found my latest resource for entertainment: Spider Solitaire.

My goal right now is to keep my number of moves under 100.

It's keeping me awake.

Because the lack of sleep is starting to hit me, I’m going to post the Wikipedia definition of a book. Hey, it’s on topic.

book: a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side.

You know, just in case you needed a refresher. At this point in the ‘thon, I think I needed the refresher.

Nothing enlightening or fantastic right now. The most excitement that has occurred since my last post involves me moving my butt from the table to the couch. My back is currently thanking me for this move.

How about some quotations?

"In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." – Mortimer J. Adler

"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." – Joseph Brodsky

"Books are good enough in their own way, but they are a mighty bloodless substitute for life." – Robert Louis Stevenson

And a quick author name drop: I ♥ John Steinbeck.

I really don’t know what to write about right now. I’ve exhausted the list I created for the event, but I am really happy I created it. I may come up with a few more things related to books and reading in these last few hours of the Blogathon. In the meantime, I’ll give a little status report on myself and on the Blogathon as a whole.

Me: I’ve got the equivalent of two cups of coffee flowing through me right now, and I just ate a banana. I’m feeling good, I’m awake. I believe my second cold shower of the ‘thon will be coming up in a few hours. Richie is currently napping and plans on waking up at 5 a.m. to see me through to the end, but if he doesn’t, it’s OK. He worked today, and I am super appreciative of him to want to stay up with me, but he really needs some rest because he has to work today (Sunday). Our cats are confused as to why the heck I’m still awake. Hopefully they’ll crash with me after 9 a.m.

Blogathon: As of this posting, $112,536.89 has been pledged (yay!). There are 375 active bloggers, and the B-schedule bloggers are now in full force. I can’t wait to see the final results of how much money was raised in all for this event. I’m really happy I decided to participate in the ‘thon. It may be exhausting, but it’s so worth it.

I can't believe that after this post, there are nine postings left.

My mom just called me. :) She gets up insanely early for work (she’s a chef, so she has lots of prep work to do in the mornings), and she told me she’d call me when she was getting ready to see if I was still alive. I’m feeling really good all of a sudden.

And I must share this AIM conversation bit with Mia. Mia (crazyjedi) works for a major book-retail store, and some of the stories she shares with me are absolutely hysterical/horrific. For example:

( Conversation )

This, among other reasons, is why I am so happy I don't work in retail. I like to consider myself a nice person, but there's no way I could have handle that situation without saying, "What? You've never read a book? How is that POSSIBLE?"

If you work in retail, I commend you BIG TIME for putting up with what you do. I did a stint at Blockbuster for two months in high school, and it was excruciating. Richie works for a sporting goods store and I don't know how he manages to bite his tongue during the day. But I must admit, I always get an amusing story from him after a long day of work.

I have introduced coffee for these last five and a half hours. Sweet, sweet coffee.



I haven’t pointed this out enough, but feel free to check out my LibraryThing account. I try to keep it updated regularly with books I have purchased or have read. It is no where near complete as I have bunches of books still at my parents’ house, but I will finish my book inventory one day. I think it’s a great website, and if you want an easy way to catalog your books, check it out. I know there is also Shelfari. I’ve never used it, but it looks cool. Which ever one looks good to you, start showing the world your virtual bookshelf.

This is me at the moment:



I'm looking and feeling ragged, but damn it, I’m in this for the long haul.

I WILL finish this Blogathon. Who's with me?

Seriously, I need to thank Cole so much for jogging my mind for ideas to keep me awake.

I generally don’t like it when books are turned into movies. It bugs me. On the rare occasion, a movie really complements a book, i.e. “Memoirs of a Geisha.” I loved that book, and the movie was equally fantastic. My biggest beef with books being turned into movies is “Running With Scissors.” Augusten Burroughs wrote a fantastic memoir (I read this after post 20’s memoir; I must have been in a phase), and while the movie stuck to the book for the most part, I think I grew a love for the book because I didn’t like the characters and how they were portrayed in the movie. Arleen, who has been frequently commenting around here and I thank her for that, mentioned to me that she was reading “Fast Food Nation.” I read that book back in high school, and when I heard that a movie was coming out, I was a little bit excitement. Richie and I rented it, and we couldn’t get through half of it. I don’t know, I just preferred the book.

If you want to build a better vocabulary, you should read books.

Another way to build a better vocabulary? Crossword puzzles.

I have busted out the frappuccino. *makes sure head doesn’t hit desk*

I’m leaving this next post topic to my friend Cole who has been keeping me up by entertaining me with craigslist postings through AIM. Here is his topic:

Cole: i have a topic you could talk about
Cole: since its something i do
Cole: do you think its wrong for someone to download books and read them
Cole: its like going to the library… you can get it for free
Cole: so i don’t see the difference
Cole: because i downloaded harry potter before it came out and read it

I didn’t feel like editing much of the conversation from AIM, but I think it’s a good topic for discussion. Any takers? Personally, I see no problem with downloading books online... as long as you’re not one of those morons who spoil things for the rest of the crowd. When Harry Potter came out especially, I was so sick of seeing spoiler posts from people (even though I didn’t care). That’s not cool; don’t ruin the fun for the masses. If it’s legal, that’s cool. How Cole read HP before it came out is all on him and if he did it illegally, I claim no responsibility and I don’t condone his actions (*tsk tsk* Cole), but if it’s legal, whoop dee doo.

Cold shower? Check.
Diet Pepsi (I think I can hold off on the frap)? Check.
Late-night snack? Check.

You know, since I’m talking about books and I’ve mentioned my husband a few times, let’s bring him into the book conversation. Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot tell a lie: My husband, Richie, dislikes reading. Let me tell you that he enjoys reading books on sports and the sports section of the newspaper (then again, what man doesn’t [in general]?). Other than that, he sees no use in reading. He can read, and reads things rarely, but overall, he can’t understand how I get enjoyment out of reading book after book. My mom and Richie’s mom don’t read much, not to say that they don’t enjoy reading. My dad and Richie’s dad are avid readers, and I break the mold as being the female in the family who enjoys reading. I guess what I’m noticing is that there is no distinct middle ground. Most people I know either really enjoy reading or can’t be bothered by it. Obviously, those of you reading this blog must get some enjoyment out of reading… what’s the point of being a blogger if you don’t enjoy reading, right?

I don’t know, just a late-night observation. How are you all doing?

You know what I want to participate in eventually (besides another Blogathon, because while I’m tired, I’m having a good time)? NaNoWriMo. I give kudos to all of you who participate in it while you’re in school and such. I just couldn’t do it while in school. Fortunately, I graduate in December, so hopefully November 2008 will be my time to shine in NaNoWriMo.

I’m already thinking of possibilities for next year’s Blogathon. I want to get friends together who have expressed an interest in doing this and have a Blogathon party. What a fantastic way to spend time with friends and raise money for a charity. If anyone has done a Blogathon party of sorts, please comment and let me know how it all turned out. I think it would be a blast to do.

I’m off to take a cold shower and grab that frappuccino. Must… not… get… tired…

OK, this isn’t related to reading, per se, but it popped in my head earlier when Sarah and I were talking about things we remember when we were growing up. Did anyone else have a Speak and Spell? I had one. I remember it very well. I got it in third grade from a thrift store (or a teacher, don’t remember that part exactly). I almost believe that my parents still have it somewhere. Even if you never had one, have you heard Dane Cook’s skit on the Speak and Spell? It makes me almost pee myself every time I hear it. I found this little movie on YouTube with the skit, and it’s amusing. Enjoy!



I also just submitted part of my last entry into the latest Blogathon game: Your best tip for surviving the Blogathon. It’s probably not the best, but it’s working for me.