The Rainbow Readathon

For the past week, I have been working on categorizing and capturing my library in a database. (I will have a post about that at some point.) It has become quite the mission and to be honest, I am regretting having started. Because now I have incomplete data and a mission that no longer feels like an entertaining quest into the treasures on my shelves. Now I just feel like a data capturer with a very flat backside.

But this mission has led me to the realisation that my TBR is getting a bit out of hand. Perhaps it isn't radioactive, and hasn't quite achieved a life of its own - yet, but it is definitely starting to concern me. I am happy when my TBR pile is in the 30s. It means I have a variety from different genres to read. It is no where near the 30s. I have been buying a lot more than I should recently. But it isn't just that my TBR is threatening to acquire life - it is that these are just a teensy, tiny iota of all the books out there that I want to read. So I need to get reading - more and faster.

So this has led me to consider doing the Rainbow Readathon. Once again, the timing is a bit off. If it were in 2 weeks time, I would be bouncing off the walls to join. It will be the holidays (which were made for teachers, not kids, because dammit man, we deserve it!)! But today and tomorrow I have off from work (tomorrow being a public holiday, and the powers-that-be, under no illusion that kids are going to come to school on Monday if Tuesday is an off day, gave us today off too). But tomorrow is a BIG day for my books. My mom and I, weather permitting, are going to make my wall-to-wall floor-to-ceiling bookcase. I bought all the wood today! So I hope to be incredibly busy tomorrow. But... the weather does look a bit dubious... (When the bookcase happens, there will definitely be a post about that!)

The Rainbow Readathon requirements:
Either read 6 books that make up the colours in a rainbow, namely: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple OR read 6 books of any one colour above. You can double up on 2 colours with two books.

So, in the event that it rains, that I can mark the last exams that are written between Weds and Friday in record time, and that I can email out the marks and comments pronto, I will be reading these:

RED:
Choices, choices. I can never choose. I just want to read everything! But I have narrowed it down to The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente. I know Jen Campbell loves this book and I see it was even blurbed by Neil Gaiman. One could not ask for more, could they?


ORANGE:
The Accidental Apprentice by Vikas Swarup. I bought this one last year and I was keen to read it then. I really enjoyed Q&A by the same author (which was made into the movie Slumdog Millionaire - which I have not seen), and the first paragraph of this book - WOW. Talk about getting stuck in a plot! Very keen to get through this one.

YELLOW:
Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Shop by Robin Sloan. This was a recent acquisition and it looks so nice to read. (I didn't get the glow in the dark yellow cover, but this one has enough yellow on to qualify. It also has orange and blue on in case I don't get to either of those colours.)

GREEN:

This one is easy. I have been reading it slowly but surely since last month. I don't really plan on finishing it this week, because I think rushing through short stories really kills them. I do hope to finish it this month though. So for green, it is Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman. Got to have some Gaiman on the list!

BLUE:
The Kalahari Typing School for Men, the 4th book in the Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. I have been enjoying this series (as you would know if you have been following me for any length of time) and I must admit that they are nice for readathons. I can finish a book in a sitting and yet feel that I have read something worth while. This book also has the advantage that it can double up with another colour.

 PURPLE:
And to add the cherry to the cake, I am adding some Sanderson. I have read the first story in this bind up, but there is the 2nd one left to go, The Emperor's Soul. It is also the only book I have not read that I know has purple on it. (Legion was brilliant by the way! It was a great introduction into Sanderson. And if people who love him say that it isn't the best, well, I only have great things awaiting me!)

I must admit that this really makes for a pretty TBR pile! I can't promise that I will be able to get to all of them (as I have hinted at and rather bluntly stated, I am a bit busy) but I will definitely give it a good go - unless I get to build my bookcase, in which case, I will be outside (gasp, shock, horror!) with power tools!

Are you doing this readathon? If you are, leave a link to your TBR in the comments. I would love to see what you are reading!