Sunday, October 23, 2016

End of Event Survey!

  1. Which hour was most daunting for you?  At the end of Hour 16, we had a family issue come up that took me away from the readathon until halfway through Hour 24.  I was disappointed to lose so much time, and to not be able to start the illustrated Sorcerer's Stone, but glad I could join back in at the end and glad for the amazing first 16 hours!
  2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I read the second book in Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase series.  If you are open to children's books, I think any of his are perfect for a readathon.  Agatha Christie's murder mysteries would be great as well.
  3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?  Nope.  As always, so impressed by this community!
  4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Everything.
  5. How many books did you read? Three
  6. What were the names of the books you read? Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard: Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan, The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue, and Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
  7. Which book did you enjoy most? Gosh, I really enjoyed them all, in quite different ways.
  8. Which did you enjoy least? See above.  :)
  9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Of course I'll participate again!   Next time I may try to collect pledges, something I've done in the past but skipped this time, partially because my 12 year old daughter wasn't with me to participate.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Mid-event survey!


1. What are you reading right now?
Just Mercy:  A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

2. How many books have you read so far?
Two -- The Hammer of Thor and The Lotterys Plus One

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I'm really enjoying Just Mercy, but of course non-fiction usually is a slower read than fiction.  Hoping to also dive into the illustrated Sorcerer's Stone.

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Almost entirely interruptions I wanted, just pleasant little additions to my day.  It helps that I've been talking about the read-a-thon for weeks, so lots of people know I'm occupied.  :)

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Hm...  Not much has surprised me.  I didn't know how much I would enjoy Just Mercy & The Lotterys Plus and I didn't realize that all of my first three books were going to lend such a strong liberal hippie theme to my read-a-thonl


More about Dewey's:  http://www.24hourreadathon.com/

A book and a snack -- entering Hour 7!




I finished the second Magnus Chase book and decided it was time for some sustenance!  Tap water, some really good black bean salad, and lime tortilla chips are what's for lunch!  And I'm looking forward to diving into the advanced reader's copy of Emma Donaghue's The Lotterys Plus One, coming out in March.  Kieran went up to take a nap after our 9:00-10:00 reading sprint, and Pippin the Corgi is here keeping me company.

Hour Zero -- Opening Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Lakewood, Colorado

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Hmmm....  I'm looking forward to several for different reasons.  I'll say I'm looking forward to the experiencing a re-read of the The Sorcerer's Stone,  but with Jim Kay's gorgeous illustrations this time!  It's such a big book that I think the read-a-thon is perfect for it, as it's sort of hard to read in bed cozily.  :)

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
My boyfriend made a black bean salad that I got my first taste of last night.  Yum!  Planning to eat it with crackers or tortilla chips.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I'm a bookseller at a children's bookstore, I have a 12 year old daughter, I've lived in Colorado for 10 years but grew up in Indiana, and I love the read-a-thon!  Somehow I can't keep track of how many I've done.  I think I'm between 5 and 9....

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?

Last time my daughter was with me, as well as my boyfriend's 14 year old son.  They are both with their other parents today, and my boyfriend's 20 year old will be at work the bulk of the day -- so it may be a much quieter read-a-thon, with only 2 participants!

Friday, October 21, 2016

My stack for Dewey's 24-hour Read-A-Thon Fall 2016!!

I missed the spring read-a-thon, so I am so glad to be able to devote tomorrow to the read-a-thon.  My boyfriend is joining me, and we are ready for a relaxing day together! I only have one full-on adult book (Just Mercy, non-fiction) in my stack, though I also have an adult book going on my Kindle if need be.  One re-read this time, but it's the Harry Potter and I haven't yet read it in the heavily illustrated version, so that's exciting.  Only one book that's not yet out.  So many I'm excited about!

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Fall 2015 Wrapup

Well, this readathon I was a lot more bare bones than I have been in the past -- very few mini-challenges, and only a few updates -- with hardly any pictures!  And didn't even try to stay awake past midnight!   But I've never read with 3 other people (and others coming in and out) so it was a new adventure.  And I finished 3 books, all of which I really enjoyed.  Hoping to do the April readathon when I'm not in the middle of a move!  We definitely have some ideas for
next time.

What I read:
Anatomy of Evil by Will Thomas
 Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
 A Force for Good:  The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World by Daniel Goleman
83 out of 312 pages of Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal.

What Fiona read: 
A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo & Alison McGhee
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan
The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Doctor Who: Revolutions of Terror
Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd
And lots of partial Mary Russell book on her Kindle

My Aunt Vinnie said she'd do $1.50 for each book, so that's $15 for Fiona's classroom!

Here we are this morning, with Fiona eating chocolate chip pancakes on the couch.


Saturday, October 17, 2015

Cover Escape Mini-Challenge

What I've read: Anatomy of Evil by Will Thomas,  Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, 46/224 of A Force for Good:  The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World by Daniel Goleman

Where I'm at:  dining room table,but getting ready to head to the bathtub. Looking forward to that!

What else: Audra over at Unabridged Chick is hosting the cover escape mini-challenge, where you are supposed to post a book cover you'd love to escape into!  I don't think it's quite what she had in mind, but how awesome would it be to meet the Dalai Lama?