Hours 20 thru 24, Final Meme

Since last update:

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - 30 pages

Final total, pages: 501
Final total, hours: 8 hrs 50 min reading, 1 hr audio

I slept for a bit, but came back for the last 45 minutes.

It was a blast as always. Can't wait to do it again! Special thanks to my loyal RAT pal, Laura, at pleasepardontheinterruption.blogspot.com.  I can't imagine doing this without you!  And thanks to everyone who visited me, the hosts, co-hosts, and mini-challenge creators. You guys are all great!  See you next time.

End of Event Meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hours 20 thru 23 - gave in and got a few zzzz's
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I enjoyed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Again, loved the cheerleaders' spreadsheet.
5. How many books did you read? 1 entire book, parts of 2 others
6. What were the names of the books you read? Fever, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
7. Which book did you enjoy most? The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
8. Which did you enjoy least? We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, but I'm only 50 pages in - maybe it will get better.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Nope
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Extremely likely.  I'll read and probably cheer again.

Hours 17, 18, and 19

Since last update:

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - 99 pages, Finished

Running total, pages: 471
Running total, hours: 8 hrs 20 min reading, 45 min listening

The last hour was tough, but I was determined to finish my book! I must nap for a bit, but hope to come back for at least the last hour.

The Pet Parade Mini-Challenge

            Here's my puppy! Normally, she would have gone in to her bed by now, but she knows tonight is special and is hanging out with me!

Hours 15 and 16

Since last update:

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - 43 pgs

Running total, pages: 392
Running total, hours: 6 hrs 50 min reading, 45 min audio

Hanging in there for a bit longer before I might have to succumb to a nap!

Book Spine Poetry Mini-Challenge

                                      The power and the glory
                                        peace like a river
                                      I used to know that

Hours 12, 13, and 14

Since last update:

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - 76 pgs

Running total, pages: 349
Running total, hours: 6 hr 5 min reading, 45 min listening

Must log in more reading time before I get sleepy and my reading speed slows by half (or more)!

Mid-Event Survey

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
2. How many books have you read so far?  I read the second half of one and am through the first half of another.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?  I think I may be in the mood to start my Agatha Christie mystery. (Why Didn't They Ask Evans?)
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Not many interruptions except my slow computer is making me inefficient at cheering.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Not really any surprises - great fun as always!

Hours 9, 10, and 11

Since last update:

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - 58 pgs

Running total, pages - 273
Running total, hours - 4 hrs 40 min reading, 45 min audio

Time for another cup of tea, I believe, along with a late-afternoon snack (as opposed to the early or mid-afternoon snack!)

Hours 7 and 8

Again, time is going too fast!

Since last update:

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - 63 pgs

Running total, pages: 215
Running total, hours: 3 hrs, 35 min reading, 45 min audio

'Name Your Read-a-thon' Mini-Challenge

               My Life in the Mansions of Chocolate!

Hours 4, 5, and 6

Yikes! Time is going by too fast!

Since last update:

Fever - 74 pages, Finished

Running total, pages: 152
Running total, hours: 2hr 25min reading, 45 min audio

Hours 1, 2, 3

Woo hoo - I won a prize! A good way to start off the day!

Reading progress:

Fever by Mary Beth Keane - 52 pgs (This book wasn't in my official RAT stack because I was hoping to finish it before today - didn't happen.)
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - 26 pgs (listened to audio while walking the dog. This one hasn't grabbed me yet, so I may start a different audiobook when I want a reading break.)

Running total, pages: 78
Running totals, hours: 60 min reading, 45 min audio

Off to visit a few blogs, maybe do a mini-challenge, then back at it!

Opening Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Utah
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Not sure - I want to read them all!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Hmmm- probably pumpkin chocolate chip bread!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I have two grown daughters, a hubby who travels a lot, and I work part-time, so I love that I get a fair amount of time to read!
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?  I'm hoping to just get more reading done this time!

Hope everyone has a marvelous RAT!

The RAT Stack!

Here they are:
     We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (a group read)
     The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (heard good things about this one)
     The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly (love the 'Lincoln Lawyer' novels)
     Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith (another favorite author)
     Open Secrets by Alice Munro (short stories - always try to have at least 1 of these)
     Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie (still my favorite mystery writer)
     Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (been on my TBR for ages)
     My Life in France - by Julia Child (great movie - been wanting to read the book)
     Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? by Raymond Carver (also short stories)
     The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene (my traditional Nancy Drew for the wee hours!)

Can't wait to get started! And for the first time in awhile, I don't have ANY other commitments that day (except for having to walk the dog, but I have a couple of these audiobooks on my iPod).  Here is aforementioned dog (and reading companion). After her walk, I'm hoping she stays this relaxed the entire day:

Now, I have to try to forget about the RAT for the next few days, so I can get lots of work and cleaning done.  If I can feel like I'm rewarding myself, it makes the RAT even MORE fun.