1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Probably Hour 16. I was getting tired and uncomfortable. I never planned to stay up all night, so at 11 pm I decided to get in bed and read for as long as I could. I lasted 25 more minutes. I had hoped to make it to at least midnight, but no such luck. Maybe next year.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
The collection of short stories (Joe Hill's 20th Century Ghosts) and essays (Jeanne Marie Laskas' Growing Girls) were the two books that held my interest the longest. I think this challenge is perfect for memoirs, essays, short stories.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Since I'm a newbie to the challenge, I'm not sure what was different and if any changes made it more of a success. It all seemed to run smoothly.
5. How many books did you read?
I finished one, am about to finish another and am about halfway through two more.
6. What were the names of the books you read?
20th Century Ghosts
by Joe HillGrowing Girls: The Mother of All Adventures
by Jeanne Marie LaskasThe Graveyard Book
by Neil GaimanHolly's Inbox
by Holly Denham7. Which book did you enjoy most?
The Graveyard Book, once I got into it.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
Holly's Inbox. It's pure brain-candy and I found myself feeling a little bored and antsy.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I wasn't a cheerleader, but I have to say I really appreciated all those who stopped by my blog with comments of encouragement and advice. I look forward to visiting all of those bloggers in the coming days. Thank you!!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I will certainly plan to particpate in the next Read-a-Thon, as long as my schedule allows. I had a great time.
Additional Stats
Total time spent reading: Exactly 9 hours (weird how that worked out!)
Total pages read: 621
I hope you had a good time. The readathon is so many things that I didn't have time to do everything. I wish I could have cheered on others more. I wish I could have visited more blogs and for a longer period of time. I wish I could have done more mini-challenges. But I had a great time and hope you did, too.
ReplyDeleteLesley, I had to smile at your first response because it was the very same for me. I never planned on staying up the full 24 hours, except in my dreams. At 11:00 I was in bed, waiting for my son to come home from his Homecoming Dance, reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. (It did pick up!) By twelve-ish I was asleep. I think if I didn't have responsibilities of church and work on Monday I would have tried the whole night, but if I did this year the week would have been difficult for me. Plus, we have report cards due which I must focus on tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could have been in the same room together, with Henry and Annie, tea and chocolate. But, I did feel like I participated with you long distance as best we could.
Let's do it again next year!
You did great! I'm glad you had fun and I look forward to reading with you during the next one. :)
ReplyDeleteYou did fantastic! I don't know how many pages I read or how many hours -- I can only guess -- but I did what I could without actually being an official participant and now I really, really want to join in the next time!
ReplyDeleteDebbie - I had a lot of fun! I was just telling Bookfool that it's weird, though. I'm feeling really tired tonight. I didn't stay up all night and slept in this morning, but I'm exhausted. Wonder if I just didn't eat well enough and sat around too much. Having said that, I can't wait for the read-a-thon in April. :)
ReplyDeleteBellezza - As tired as I am now, I can't begin to imagine what a wreck I'd be if I had stayed up all night. Ugh.
I'm so glad you're enjoying TGWTDT. I knew it'd pick up for you. Do you think you'll go on to read the others in the series? I'm toying with the idea of giving The Girl Who Played With Fire a read. A couple of good friends said they loved it.
I wish we could've been reading in the same room together, too. But I suspect we'd set our books down and wind up chatting all day long. Probably not too conducive to logging in a lot of pages, eh?
Yes, let's do it again next year. I'm planning on the April event.
Nat - Thanks! I had so much fun. Now to write up some reviews and get organized again. Ha!
Bookfool - Did you participate last year? You definitely have to join in this coming year. It's such fun!
I am so impressed that you participated and did so well! I know I'd never make it that long but perhaps next year I'll give it a whirl!
ReplyDeleteI LOVED The Graveyard Book! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, too.
Great job, Les! You did wonderfully well on your first read-a-thon. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI agree that short stories are great for Read-A-Thon! I read A Touch of Dead with the Sookie Stackhouse short stories and they really made the hours fly by!
ReplyDeleteAnnie is so pretty. She does look like she's trying to hide. Our dog is not a snuggler, which is probably a good thing as I don't like to snuggle dogs. She is VERY good with little boys though.
ReplyDeleteTammy - I can't believe I've never done this in the past. It was lots of fun and so nice to spend an entire day reading. I really should try to do this every Saturday or Sunday. Maybe not until Midnight (and starting so early!), but most of the day. I could easily knock off several hundred pages in a good book. Just need to learn to ignore the dust bunnies (or dog hair). :)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed The Graveyard Book, once I got into it. I can't wait to try something else of Gaiman's.
Andi - Thank you! You did amazing, too. I can't wait for the next one. I'll have to stockpile my nonfiction books for April.
Ashley - I'll have to keep that book in mind for the next read-a-thon. Thanks for the recommendation.
Lisa - She's our pretty girl. And such a sweet dog. We love her.
You got a lot read for someone who didn't make it past midnight! I had seen on your sidebar that you were reading Growing Girls the other day-I loved that book, but I enjoyed the first one even more. I wish I had had a Gaiman book for the challenge as I think his books are great for it. I did read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which was my "light & easy" read for the night.
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a great week--
*Smile*
Kim
Kim - I think it helped for me to jump around from book to book. I generally stick to one at a time, but I knew that would get old fast.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting ready to review Growing Girls. I loved the first two in her memoir/essay series. This one was good, but not quite as humorous.
If you haven't read The Graveyard Book, I strongly suggest you either read it asap or save it for the next read-a-thon. It's a perfect book for the challenge. Fairly quick and quite compelling.
My week's going well. I cut out of work early today since I was all caught up. Baked a couple of loaves of bread, did a few loads of laundry, and have been catching up on blogs. I'm tempted to stay home tomorrow!
Oh you got to participate in the Read-a-thon! How fun and it looks like you did great. I think the most I've been able to read for is about 9 hours. Unfortunately I didn't join in this time around but hopefully next one. Oh and glad to hear you enjoyed the Joe Hill book. I've read one of the stories from the collection and it was wonderful.
ReplyDelete9 hours is great!! I enjoyed The Graveyard Book, too.
ReplyDeleteNope, I've never joined in. My unofficial participation, last weekend, is the closest I've ever come. Normally, I'd have been at the state swim meet, last week - Will did qualify. But, his shoulder injury shut him down completely and we had a pretty quiet weekend, apart from picking up huz from the airport.
ReplyDeleteIliana - It was a lot of fun! I think it helped to take a few breaks for meals and dog-walking. There's no way I could read straight through that long! I'm still reading Joe Hill's book and am really enjoying it. Guess I can't say I don't like short stories anymore.
ReplyDelete3m.michelle - Thanks! Any other Gaiman books you can recommend? I'm making a list.
Bookfool - What a bummer that Will couldn't participate in the meet. I hope his shoulder continues to improve.
Can you believe I am still reading Read-A-Thon posts in my Google Reader!??!?! I am so far behind...again! But, just stopping by to say congratulations on finishing the Read-A-Thon...glad you had fun (you did well to read so many pages too :)). I meant to get by more often and cheer you on, but the time went by way too fast :)
ReplyDeleteWendy - I'm behind, too. It's a never ending battle. Read or blog or answer emails or do housework or walk the dog or spend time with friends or spend time with hubby or go to work. So much to do, so little time!
ReplyDelete