Last year, I got all musing and reflective and said that I wasn’t sure I’d do it again.

But, when Mother Reader announced it, I found myself wanting to be a part of it, and looking forward to it, and planning for it, and in the end, having a good time.

What changed?

First of all, this year, Hubby helped out. He took A & K for hours, managed to get laundry done, and while I had to help motivate the kids into cleaning yesterday, he mostly ran the show. I couldn’t have done it without him.

Also, I’ve learned to be a faster reader. Not fast-fast, but faster than I was last year. I’ve learned how to plow through books that aren’t gripping (even though all the books I read for this managed to be quite gripping). And I’ve learned that taking breaks is just fine. Weeding the garden, giving blood, puttering around the house energized me.

So, this year I read:
Poison Study
Magic Study
Fire Study
Here Lies Arthur
A Hat Full of Sky
and about 1/3 of Wintersmith (I’ll finish it tomorrow and put up a review then)

I read/blogged for 23 1/4 hours (two hours and 45 minutes more than last year!), with a total of 1958 pages. I’m rounding up and will give $20 (which isn’t that much, so maybe I’ll convince Hubby to give more) to First Book.

I’m out of introspective and interesting thing to say, and I’m going to go outside and enjoy the sunny day (why can’t this fall on a weekend when it rains!) while it lasts.

Thanks, Pam, for all the effort and work you’ve done. 🙂 It was a blast.