Update #2

Got the last of July's reviews done and read 15% of The Johnstown Flood. 8 hours done. Signing off as I have laundry to do tonight, so reading will continue even though the read-a-thon will be over.

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Update #1

Finished Mystic Park and wrote 8 reviews/linked to COYER last night. Finished The Hens this morning and ran errands. Now reading The Johnstown Flood, which is on my list for August so I get a head start. 

Opening Survey:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

                     Brandon, Suffolk (East Anglia), UK
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

                     Finishing Mystic Park
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

                     Didn't plan food or drinks for this go around.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

                      I am back to reading fiction after my six week non-fiction binge. Second time this year it has happened.
5) This is our VERY first Reverse Readathon! How does it feel in your time zone?

                       Honestly, this was easier to do than starting at 1pm on a Saturday. Friday night to Saturday night gives me more wiggle room to get household chores done and still read.

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now? 

                The Johnstown Flood
2. How many books have you read so far?

                   2, but both were started before the read-a-thon. Total of 5 hours and 50 minutes.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

                  Getting a head start on Flood to jumpstart August's reading.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

                   Pre-planned interruptions, so I made sure to bring a book with me.
5. What surprises you most about the Reverse Readathon so far?

                     How quickly the hours are going by.

I usually like Farmer's works, but this story was just a miss for me. The heroine, Liu Meizhen, had a interesting back story but she acted too much like a giggling schoolgirl rather than a woman who journeyed so far to 1) find her brother (who is an asshole) and 2) be a mail order bride. Woody Burnside was a great beta hero who was a bit Dr. Doolittle but was very needed and wanted in the town for his talents with animals. The hens are Woody's pets and they were more of a help to him than the heroine was. The pacing dragged, especially in the beginning. It was just alright to me.

30 days from today the boy child goes back to school. Countdown has begun. Daughter goes to Kindergarten after Labor Day.

It is still hot, humid, and now we are in a tornado watch. I give up. We got ten minutes of rain this morning and once the water hit the ground it came back up as steam. 

Doing the reverse Dewey, starting at 8pm London time (so about five hours ahead of the US) because if I wait for the "official" time, it will be 1am and I need to get up with kids in the morning. I am aiming to finish two books, Mystic Park (Finding Home #4) by Regina Hart and The Hens: The Third Day (12 Days of Christmas #3) by Merry Farmer. During my reading breaks I will be writing up a bunch of book reviews for COYER, so heads up on a wave of posts coming from me :D

Sunday I am spending the day with at the Sedgeford Historical Archaeology Site for another Cub Scout summer activity. 

Please keep Pennyslvannia (my people) and NorCal/Redding (my husband's people) in your thoughts. 

This Sunday starts the week long COYER Christmas in July read-a-thon and ends during the halfway mark of 24 in 48 read-a-thon. So this list is for the next 10-12 days of reading; I am still working through All the Devils Are Here and Just Mercy, but those are on the back-burner come Sunday.

Holiday Reading List:

1. The Hens: The Third Day (12 Days of Christmas Mail Order Brides #3) by Merry Farmer

2. The Swan: The Seventh Day (12 Days of Christmas Mail Order Brides #7) by Merry Farmer

3. The Dancing Lady: The Ninth Day (12 Days of Christmas Mail Order Brides #9) by Mimi Milan

4. All She Wants For Christmas (A Regency Christmas Novella) by Amy Rose Bennett

5. Twelfth Night by Marisa Dillon

6. Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale (Espoir Archives #1) by Amanda Dykes

7. The Christmas Mail Order Bride by Kit Morgan

8. On a Cold Christmas Eve by Bethany Sefchick

9. A Dangerous Nativity (The Dangerous Series #1) by Caroline Warfield

10. At Your Request (Apart from the Crowd Novella) by Jen Turano

11. A Perfect Holiday Fling (Moments in Mapleville) by Farrah Rochon