Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon (Master Post)

End of Event Survey

Busy weekend! I feel like my theme for this Read-a-thon was ‘late for everything.’ 😛 Lots of great things have been happening in October, but I will appreciate some breathing time in November. I ended up reading for 5 hours and 15 minutes. I lost three planned hours of reading to socializing of all things. I go to the pub maybe four times a year and of course one of those times had to fall on Read-a-thon night. The occasion was a friend’s going away party, as they’re moving to Arctic, so I didn’t really want to skip that.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? I didn’t feel ‘daunted’, per se, but I planned to read all through hour eleven and that plan fell out the window in favour of watching hockey.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? The Slacker by Gordon Korman made for a relatively quick and fun read. A good book for when you need a ‘break’.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season? I didn’t participate too much this time, so I can’t say if anything needs to be improved.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? This kind of ties in to the above question. I don’t know how well it worked, but I think it probably took some stress/expectations by eliminating cheerleading. I signed up to cheerlead in the past and it was a bit frustrating going from blog to blog of people who signed up but weren’t actually participating. I had more fun cheering for people who were visible and actively participating on Twitter.
5. How many books did you read? I read 50% of one book, 90% of another, and 10% of a third. I guess that makes one and a half!
6. What were the names of the books you read? The Witches of New York, The Slacker, and When Friendship Followed Me Home
7. Which book did you enjoy most? The Witches of New York
8. Which did you enjoy least? The two middle grades are so far on par with each other – nothing amazing, but nothing unenjoyable.
9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again?  Very likely! I don’t have any plans, though I suppose it could be early to tell. I hope I will be less busy next time and able to read for 10+ hours.

Hour 3

Three hours into the Read-a-thon, I’m finally filling out the introductory survey.

1. What fine part of the world are you reading from today? – Winnipeg, Canada. It’s a fine foggy day for reading.
2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? – I’m currently reading The Witches of new York, which I love. I expect it will be hard for any of the other books to beat this.
3. Which snack are you most looking forward to? – Salt and vinegar Crispers. I’ve had a hankering for them this past week.
4. Tell us a little something about yourself! – I’m currently in the process of applying to MLIS programs.
5. If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? I’m taking this one more casually than the last one. There’s been a lot of flux in work-related stuff, so I just want to have a fun day of reading and socializing.

Pre-Read-a-thon

Good morning! Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon kicks off in about 15 minutes. I scheduled this post last night – have I woken up in time? You’ll have to nag me on Twitter if I haven’t posted there yet 😛 I’ll be updating this post a few times throughout the day, but I’ll be most active on Twitter. I do have a few distractions tomorrow – tutoring, a book event at the public library (going to hear Jen Sookfong Lee discuss The Conjoined!) and a farewell party. I have packed my bags and set out my clothes to minimize prep time for the outings.

Last night I prepped my reading stack and my munching stack, two stacks that are of almost equal importance when read-a-thoning. I’ve prepared a YA/MG sandwich. I’m focusing on MG fiction for the Cybils, but I’ve thrown in two YAs in case I feel like mixing things up: a book that my Dad and I are doing for Family Reads (Every Hidden Thing) and a book that has to go back to the library soon (Like a River Glorious). I’ll also probably be finishing up The Witches of New York, as I don’t think I’ll have time tonight.

As for food, I’ve planned two out of three meals (figuring out lunch always disrupts my schedule, even when I’m not trying to read all day…). I’ve got muesli, fruit and yogurt ready for breakfast and I’ve discussed ordering in pizza with my family. I’ve tucked my non-perishable snacks under my reading table – pumpkin seeds, candy corn, and salt and vinegar Crispers. I haven’t eaten those in years but I had a craving.

My goal for this year is 8 hours of reading. Are you participating in the Read-a-thon?