End of Event Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? As usual, I took a little snooze Hours 21 thru 23. One of these times, I'm going to get a good night's sleep the night before and last the whole 24 hours!
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I thought 84,Charing Cross Road was a great Readathon book. It's less than 100 pages and it's a book about books!
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season? Nope
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? It was all good
5. How many books did you read? 3 and a bit
6. What were the names of the books you read? X by Sue Grafton, Gratitude by Oliver Sacks, 84,Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, and part of The Road to Little Dribbling and The Clue in the Diary
7. Which book did you enjoy most? 84, Charing Cross Road
8. Which did you enjoy least? I liked them all
9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? 100% chance I'll be participating again!

Hours 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24

I did take a little snooze but came back for the end.

Since last update:

The Road to Little Dribbling - 5 pgs
The Clue in the Diary - 72 pgs

Final total, pages: 647
Final total, hours: 10 hrs reading, 1 hr 25 min audio

Hope you all had a great Readathon. Let's do it again in 6 months!

Thank you, faithful RAT buddy Laura@pleasepardontheinterruption for hanging out with me again!

Hours 18 and 19

Since last update:

84, Charing Cross Road - 49 pgs (finished)

Running total, pages: 570
Running total, hours:  9 hr 15 min reading, 45 min audio

I think I'll have to give in for a little nap now. Hope to make it back for the last hour or 2.

Frightful Reads Mini-Challenge

This has some SCARY stories in it!

Hours 14, 15, 16, and 17

Since last update:

X - 75 pgs (finished)
Gratitude - 45 pgs (finished)
84, Charing Cross Road - 48 pgs
The Road to Little Dribbling - 10 pgs

Running total, pages: 521
Running total, hours: 8 hr 30 min reading, 45 min audio

And here is my faithful reading companion. She is grayer than she was when we first started doing these readathons, but she still enjoys hanging out with me!

Hours 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13

Yikes! How did the past six hours go by so quickly?

Since last update:

X - 148 pgs

Running total, pages: 343
Running total, hours: 6 hr 15 min reading, 30 min audio

I've been reading for about an hour at a time, then taking a break.  As the night wears on, I don't think I'll be able to do better than that. Maybe I can make the breaks shorter! I fear I only have another 4 or 5 hours before I'll have to sleep a bit.

Mid-Event Survey

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now? Still X by Sue Grafton (the book I started with, but I'm almost done), and The Road to Little Dribbling on audio
2. How many books have you read so far? Almost finished one, and a bit of a 2nd
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? 84, Charing Cross Road
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Not many interruptions at all. It's been great!
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How fast the time is going!

Cast Your Book Mini-Challenge

I’m currently reading “X” by Sue Grafton. I would cast Sandra Bullock as Kinsey Millhone, the tough female private detective (she’s older than Kinsey, but is the first person who popped into my mind). Dick Van Dyke would be her 89-year-old neighbor/landlord, and Kathy Bates would be Rosie, owner of the local diner.

Reading Sustenance (i.e, Snacks!)

Healthy eats (for the most part). Junk food makes me too sleepy!

Hours 5, 6, and 7

Since last update:

X - 82 pgs (I always enjoy being in Kinsey's world, and this book is no exception)

Running totals, pages: 195
Running total, hours: 3 hr 15 min reading, 30 min audio
Two mini-challenges done

Book Memories Mini-Challenge

My bookish memory is from 3rd grade (!) Our teacher read The Hobbit to us, and I remember being enthralled that someone could write like that.  Some of it was over my head, but the characters, the adventures, and the language itself helped turn me into the book lover I am today.

A Book and a Snack Mini-Challenge

Trying to eat healthy snacks to keep me from getting sleepy!

Hours 1, 2, 3, and 4

AAARGH!  Why does the time go by so fast on Readathon day?!

Progress so far:

X - 98 pgs
The Road to Little Dribbling - 15 pgs (audio)

Running total, pages: 113 pages
Running total, hours: 1 hr 40 min reading, 30 min audio

Keeping my progress reports short, so I can visit a few participants and get back to the book!

Opening meme

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? Hmmm, I'm looking forward to ALL of them, but if I had to pick maybe The Road to Little Dribbling because I love Bill Bryson so much.3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Peanut M&M's!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I am a book, mountain, music, dog-loving middle-ish aged woman who can't go a single day without reading for at least 10 minutes. My husband and I have two incredible daughters - one on the west coast and one on the east coast.
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 was hoping to get a good night's sleep prior to the RAT this time, but that ship has sailed (sigh). I do hope to take fewer breaks and get more READING done this time.

Grab that book and comfy spot!

I have my Dr. Seuss-themed reading shirt on, and am ready to go! (I ordered this for a literacy fundraiser - love that it happened this time of the year.)

I'm starting off with X by Sue Grafton.

Good luck to all you wonderful readers out there. It's time to party (bookishly speaking, that is)!

Readathon Stack!

OK, pretty sure I've finalized the stack. I think I have the most varied selection I've ever had in a RAT:

X by Sue Grafton - I actually had this in my stack for last October's RAT, but didn't get to it (and still haven't, obviously). I've read this whole series, and plan to start with this book at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday!
The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson - I love Bill Bryson, and his latest will inject some humor into the day.
Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie - It's tradition to have an Agatha Christie mystery in my stack and for the first time in an October RAT, I have a little nod to Halloween.
French Milk by Lucy Knisley - A graphic novel to mix it up.
Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt - A Newbery winner for my ongoing project to read them all
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - Another Newbery winner and another nod to Halloween!
The Clue in the Diary - Traditional Nancy Drew for the wee hours
How to Meditate by Pema Chodron - Looks really interesting, and...Variety is the spice of Readathon!
Gratitude by Oliver Sacks - I revere Oliver Sacks and look forward to this inspirational little book
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff - This has been on my TBR list forever, and it's less than 100 pages, so....perfect!

There is NO way I'll come close to finishing all these, but the others will get finished in the next few weeks. I always try to finish up whatever I'm reading before Readathon so I can focus on books in my stack on THE day and immediately afterwards.

Stop by and say hi and I'll visit you on Saturday!

Readathon Wear

I just ordered this for a fund-raiser.  Pretty sure it's perfect for Readathon day!

It's almost Readathon time!

Already planning my book stack for the October 22 Readathon. Can't wait!

Dewey's Readathon

Have to skip Dewey's this April as I'm traveling, but will be back for sure in October!