Readathon Finish Line

I finally crashed last night about 3 am after finishing one last graphic novel and trying to read a bit more from goodness knows what else.  I just know I fell asleep my iPad next to me and the television on.  That's the sign that I needed to just call it a night!


Today I'm feeling a bit haggard, which I wasn't expecting.  I've been taking it easy and just doing some light reading and even took a little cat nap.  Very strenuous day, eh?

Well, here's my readathon wrap up!

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? 3 am, when I finally threw in the towel!
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?  Eleanor and Park.  I didn't get it finished, but I really enjoyed what I started and can't wait to finish it this week.  I've learned that the key it diving into a book that makes you forget about the pages your turning and the time that's passing. 
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?  Not really.  I just really enjoy being involved and appreciate all the time and effort that everyone puts in to putting it together for us.  THANK YOU so much!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?  The hourly posts and all of the constant communication.  It was easy to see where we were at and how everyone was doing, which was nice.
5. How many books did you read? 3, but they were pretty short.  I read a book of poetry, 2 graphic novels, and several hundred pages in a couple young adult novels.
6. What were the names of the books you read? Poems from Homeroom, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Graphic Novel, and The Uglies Graphic Novel.
7. Which book did you enjoy most?  The book of poetry was a nice diversion and had some great stories.
8. Which did you enjoy least?  None of them.  I liked them all.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?  No.  They were great!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?  Well, I need to see how things are going in the fall and how busy I am.  I'd love to try to host a challenge, if things are going well.  Sometimes it's all I can do though to just participate.

Well, I'm off to get ready for a busy week!  Thanks again to all those who put this together.  You all did an amazing job!

Readathon Update: My Late MidPoint Survey

It's getting close to Hour 19 now, and close to midnight.  Sleep is hard to ward off when you're used to crawling in bed before 10 pm so that you can be up before 6 am every day, but I'm hanging in there for the moment.  We'll see how much longer I last though!

Since I started WAY later than everyone else, I figured I'd catch up with the Mid Point Survey.

Mid-Event Survey
1. What are you reading right now?  Well, since I just finished a graphic novel, I'm going to move back to a novel.  I think I'm going to bounce between Eleanor and Park and Diamonds and Deceit.  Both are YA novels that keep things moving, which I need right now. 
2. How many books have you read so far?  2--amazingly enough, considering when I started.  I finished a short book of poetry and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Graphic novel version.  I've also read over 100 pages so far in Diamonds and Deceit and listened to a bit in an audiobook. 
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?  Well, since I'm probably in my final stretch, I think I'll settle in with those listed in #1.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?  No.  I really should have, but this has been my first day "free" for weeks, so after sleeping in and then running a quick errand, it was not quite the full day that I would have wished.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?  More than I expected.  I'm always surprised by the little things that interrupt a readathon.  Oh well!  You just dive back in and go back to reading.  :)
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?  The crazy weather we've had that has made reading perfect.  We've had non-stop, constant rain here, which has been glorious!  When you live in a desert, the sound of rain on the windowpanes is absolutely hypnotic. 
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?  Not that I can think of.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?  Start earlier.
9. Are you getting tired yet?  I live with tired, so that's a given!  :)  Yes...I don't think I'll make it much longer.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?  Finding a good story that makes sleep the farthest thing from my mind is always the best thing possible.  Really, that's the key.

All right, it's time to fight the good fight and see how much I can read in these final hours.  Good luck to the rest of you as well!

Readathon Kickoff: SO Late!

Yep.  I'm just kicking off here.  Let's state the obvious and get it out of the way.  I haven't posted in forever!!!  What better way to "try" to get my groove back than with a readathon though, right?  Life has really kicked me in the rear end in so many ways over the past six months, that it has been crazy.  I don't even know if I've read/finished a book in the last month, which is sad enough as it is, so I'm just happy to be here!  Work always overwhelms me with all of the grading & responsibilities for one.  But my grandmother passed away the first of this month, so I'll admit it--I clammed up a bit.  Not always my best quality, but now I'm ready to step back out.   


Thank goodness for a readathon to move things along though!  The grades have been graded, the sleep has been slept, the errands have been erranded (ha, ha).  Let me get reading now! 

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?  Salt Lake City
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?  Eleanor & Park, Allegiant, or finishing up The Chocolate Touch (It's all about the escape read for me today!)
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?  Crackers & Cheese--I picked up some of those fancy water crackers w/ sesame seeds.  I love, love, love them.  I'm a bit more of a savory gal than a sugar fan, so this is what I'm actually getting ready to snack on. 
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!  I'm a book "rotator," (20 books at a time to be exact--yes, it's an illness, I think)  so I'm worried that I won't actually finish a darn thing with as little time as I'm giving myself!  I have a feeling I'm going to get going and will flip to something else.  I might have to grab a graphic novel just so I feel like I can accomplish something before it's all said and done.
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?  Relax.  I've learned it doesn't do me any good to fret over what I can't do.  I can't do it perfectly, so do what I can do and enjoy my time here!  It's just great that we have a community of readers who enjoy doing this in the first place.  I'm just thankful that there are amazing folks who are still so willing to put it together.  THANK YOU!!!