I'm kind of excited in the final preps for tomorrows readathon, at the moment all that's left is final preps for some snacks and just to rest up for tomorrow. Being in a 24 readathon AND having Multiple Sclerosis isn't an easy task but I gladly participate In the name of MS Awareness and remind my fellow MSers that it's still fun to read something that isn't a computer screen, or maybe to try audiobooks. 

Participating is fun, you get to devote a huge chunk of time to shutting out noise and just diving into some good reading, After some coffee and an extra B12 pill tomorrow I should be raring to go, Having optic neuritis (or at least mild optic neuritis ) it is difficult sometimes to read  being involved in this event is really important to me, having MS - one the other issue(s) I face is cognitive, no real cure for that except maybe taking time outs and remembering that although it's supposed to be a 24 event it's not mandatory, What is important is to have fun and to try to write about it, whether on FB or your own blog.

https://www.facebook.com/readathon

http://24hourreadathon.com/

My choices for tomorrow!

My Readathon Quandary!

Tomorrow is Can Do MS day and I decided to pick my book (books) for next months Readathon, it may seem trivial to some but it is something for me to take into consideration. In past readathons I've read both fiction and nonfiction, what I'm stuck on is IF I dedicate my time to a nonFiction MS book then I don't want to make the mistake of buzzing through the book too quickly, and since I'm dedicating my time on behald of Multiple Sclerosis and MS Advocacy I always question whether I shouldn't be reading an MS focused book. 

Right now as it stands there are two particular books that are leading the race

It's Not All in Your Head by Patricia Farrell PHD

it's common for MSers and to experience a wide array of issues and Dr Farrell deals with these issues in her book 

(please be aware that since I'm deciding which books to read that I haven't READ them yet)

and M is for Monster a Modern Bestiary of Classic Monsters

and just in time for Halloween a true scare fest!!

so far these books are leading the pack, eventual back-ups to these books include books by Palahniuk (which I have a few which I haven't cracked yet) and in a not so distant third place is

11/22/63 an imaginative story set a midst the tumult of the Kennedy Assassination with a fictional story as the main focus.

I invite any input by fellow MSers or fellow Bibliophiles, my intended Readathon is on October 13th   

Learn more here

Deweys 24 Hour Readathon  

NMSS

My final thoughts on Spring Readathon 12'

well, as is typical of my body, I was able to do my reading for springs readathon till the 16th hour mark rolled around but then my body gave out. After I woke up and tended to some business outside of the house I was able to retreat to a quiet area and finish the book. It's kind of funny reading historical fiction, I wanted to know what happened to Lincoln! see how Grahame-Smith was going to weave the assassination into the mythos of Vampire Hunters. Well needless to say I wasn't dissapointed, I'm eager to see how the movie turns out

The witching hour AKA tricky 16

Alas I'm heading to my twi-light hour, the mid-night hour which has been my Waterloo in the past few readathons but I'm still determined. The Book is doing a good job with blending fiction with reality, very good in that I might have to do some googling tomorrow to check some facts out. I'm not trying to bow out just yet but theres about sixty pages left and I don't know if I can make it. 

past the 13th hour mark, I'm in it to win it!!

this book has impressed me, Seth Grahame-Smith has managed to take real instances in Lincolns life and weaved them into a tale to show you the life of Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter I have to admit that my eyes as well as my concentration has been a little shaky this past hour. Not to bad for a disabled guy though. I'm glad I'm reading this before any movie ruins my perception of the tale.

nearing end of hour seven of the readathon

I'm feeling good, really into my book and I even did a mini-challenge titled Book Appetit! that asks what you  plan as a menu if you were going to have a discussion for the Book you're reading. I answered Chicken Skewers and Bloody Marys, I thought that was apropos considering..  speaking of food, I might head back to the kitchen soon

Readathon Post 1b

Well I've been doing the literary eye mambo for two and a half hours, I haven't gotten impressively far into my book but that is ok. This is the first book by Seth Graham-Smith that  I have read and I am really starting to get intrigued *SPOILER so I've gotten to the point where young Abraham's father has confessed to having dealt personally with vampires in the past.

OK OK, I must go back
 *added on, SPOILER ALERT so passed the point of his early adolescence the teenage Abraham Lincoln hears stories of a rash of killings of small children in small towns along the banks of the river, young Abe determined to Destroy All Vampires sets out to hunt down this menace, only to be surprised by what he finds.

Readathon Post 1A

*there might be spoilers?


I'm having fun so far with my book, as I promised myself I'm reading SLOWLY, slow reading is kind of a necessity for me given that I have cognitive issues. anywho, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is starting off as a fun read, I've only gotten to the end of Part 1, detailing you Abe's life with his parents, sister and his mothers aunt and uncle. So far Young Abe seems to be an intelligent and thoughtful boy,

I'm going to take a moment to have a small snack before I return to the book, I hope everyone else out there is enjoying their books!

it's that time again

last year I got involved in Dewey's 24 Readathom and its love of all things literary. It was important to me to do this in light of the cognitive issues that I (as well as countless others) have with Multiple Sclerosis. The 24 hour event is scheduled for April 21st  (times may vary, check the link) the event highlights the love of reading. You don't have to be a speed reader to partake but note it helps to have a blog or facebook page in order to post brief summaries or just publicize you participation. Some participants do their reading with a specific charity in mind, I've never done this because I feel odd handling monies that aren't mine. Instead of getting involved from a monetary standpoint I try to publicize the National Multiple Sclerosis Association and bring light to other MSers out there.

You don't have to be disabled to partake, I invite you to check out the link and see if you're game

read-a-thon post 3

I'm slowly plugging away taking my MS into consideration, the story is short but I'm a slow reader MS or no MS. But I'm near the end, so far the book is giving me a broader depth of the movie. One thing that I do like that movie changed was the character of Red being an older black male while in the book he sounds like he's white (from his red hair), not being critical, just love Morgan Freeman in that role

 I'm enjoying a warm Florida fall day and I've had some hummus and pita chips for lunch.

How I got my reading groove back, or how I learned to accept my optic neuritis and still enjoy a good book

About a year ago, a few months after I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, I encountered what looked like a sun spot or halo in my right eye. After going to my neurologist and consulting an optometrist, I learned that it was optic neuritis http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/opticneuritis.html. It thinned out with help of IV steroids but the steroids didn't help my confidence when it came to reading. I had amassed a small collection of books the month prior to my MS diagnosis and I had left them exactly where they were, on a shelf collecting dust.

It bothered me that aside from the physical limitations that I was experiencing with my legs and balance, I was  limited in my vision as well. After a few months of nothing but TV, TV and more TV, I was set to go back to the optometrist. (I'm jumping around in time a lot; this was throughout the span of about 8 months, 2-3 visits to this Dr. and inclusion of Tysabri in my treatment.) The optometrist performed field of vision tests on me to check my peripheral vision (which was previously affected) and a battery of other tests. My vision was improving. It wasn't the best in the world, but I was thankful for any improvement! So a few weeks later I went on a road trip with my wife to Ohio to visit family. Along with my standard luggage, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and bring a book or three. It's a good thing that I brought those books along; I managed to read two out of the three. I was very excited about that accomplishment. No one should ever let themselves get talked out of achieving the goals that they set out for themselves. With me, I think I was just a combination of fear and me just psyching myself out which in retrospect is probably typical of not just myself but other MSers.

Deep in Thought

Still in this readathon, in it to win it! and by win it I'm just talking about spreading a little MS awareness out there. I have been doing a good job thus far I have finished my first book and I'm about to start Chapter two in "Climbing Higher", and I've gone farther than I originally thought I might. David Landers book started off on a funny-ish beat but Montel is definitely not shy nor will he tiptoe around telling the story of how and when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

readathon part 2 I need a snack!!

Rounding the homestretch of my book I can't help but want to write David L Lander (Squiggy) A fan letter sometime tomorrow, It also inspires me to try to be more visible out in the blogosphere when it comes to MS issues. I don't think of it in a preachy sense, not in a pity me kind of sense but more in the sense of wanting to be an Ambassador for MS and MS issues. As far as my reading is going, I'm almost at the end, page 174

UPDATED AT 3:14PM.

as I had predicted, I was able to enjoy the book because I could relate to it up next on the schedule?

Climbing Higher by Montel Williams

my involvement in the readathon

by this time tomorrow I'll be into my first book during the April 9th readathon. I'll be doing this on behalf of the MSAA purely from an awareness point of view. I reiterate that just so there is no confusion. I plan to read a book by David Lander (Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley) and his life with MS. My involvement is to challenge my cognitive function and to see how much I can read, I even have a back-up book if I finish the first book but I doubt I will. 

Cognitive issues effect myself as well as countless others with multiple sclerosis. By taking part in tomorrows events I hope to see how much I can do and if I can give a clear synopsis of what I have read.  

Dewey's Read A Thon

my wife turned me onto a great web-feed/blog about reading thats doing a read-a-thon on April 9th, pretty much it involves reading for a 24 hour period  http://feeds2.feedburner.com/DeweysRead-a-thon for the love of reading, you can also do it in the Name of a Charity, I have chosen MSAA The MS Association of America. It also involves a bit of blogging. I think this will be a great challenge for me because having cognitive issues is not an easy thing. I'm hoping to overcome hurdles with caffeine and the support of my wife. Although I mentioned that it's for MSAA it's not for donations unfortunately.