Time to kick off the
readathon! Like last time, I'm going to update the same post so everything's organized in one spot (hopefully), with the latest updates at the top. Enjoy!
Thank you to all the amazing Dewey folks who make the Readathon possible! It's always a fun event and the challenges this time around were great. Very engaging. I'm glad to participate as a reader and unofficial cheerleader. xoxo
Hour 24: End of Event
Hour 24 Update
Books completed: almost 5 (3 children's picture books, 2 middle grades), titles listed below in the "End of Event" Meme
Pages read: 558
Time spent reading: 5.5 hours
Time spent blogging/completing challenges/cheering: 4.5 hours
Where I'm reading: at home on the couch
Snacks: hot chocolate, popsicle, cereal
End of Event Meme:
- Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 21 was tough. I almost stayed up to hour 22, but couldn't make it.
- Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and The Bad Beginnings (A Series of Unfortunate Events, 1) by Lemony Snicket kept me both interested.
- Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? There were a few minor linking issues (i.e. 404 errors), but other than that, nope.
- What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I like the format of the hourly posts. It was organized so you could easily find the current mini-challenges and door prize winners.
- How many books did you read? I fell asleep on my 5th book (mind you 3 were children's picture books).
- What were the names of the books you read? Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant Retold by Mary Hollingsworth, The Berenstain Bears Storybook Treasury by Stan & Jan Berenstain, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket.
- Which book did you enjoy most? The Berestain Bears Storybook Treasury because I loved that series so much as a kid.
- Which did you enjoy least? Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant Retold by Mary Hollingsworth. I get it was originally written a while back, but that giant was a little too creepy for me (i.e. man who watches/kisses kids creepy).
- If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn't officially a cheerleader, but I recommend cheering on folks who participated in the later hour challenges. You know they're up and need that extra little nudge.
- How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I will definitely participate in the readathon again. I hope to be able to devote more time reading and some time cheering.
Hour 20: Update
Well, I honestly didn't stay up all this time. I napped for about 4 hours. Then had my snack (below) and cheered on a bunch of the recent mini-challenge participants---You folks are doing awesome! Not sure if I'll read much more, but I intend to unofficially cheer a little be longer. Keep it going all! Gotta love the Dewey experience. :)
Currently Reading: The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket (many other folks are reading it so I figured I'd give it a re-read).
Books completed: 4 (3 children's picture books, 1 middle grades)
- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
- Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant Retold by Mary Hollingsworth
- The Berenstain Bears Storybook Treasury by Stan & Jan Berenstain
- Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Pages read: 502
Time spent reading: 5 hours
Time spent blogging/completing challenges/cheering: 3.5 hours
Where I'm reading: at home on the couch
Snacks: cereal, my usual middle of the night snack.
Hour 18 TBR Challenge: I almost missed this challenge but got my comment in under the time deadline. I love
this ridiculously huge Mt. TBR pic! My guess was 910.
Hour 15: Update & 2 Mini Challenges!
Books read: almost 4 (3 children's books, 1 middle grades)
- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
- Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant Retold by Mary Hollingsworth
- The Berenstain Bears Storybook Treasury by Stan & Jan Berenstain
- Almost finished with Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Pages read: 462
Time spent reading: 4 hours
Where I'm reading: at home on the couch
Snacks: Cherry popsicle :)
Hour 15: That Reminds Me Of A Book Challenge - My response:
I’m almost finished reading
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. A heart attack
kills the pilot flying the single engine plane which Brian is the only
passenger. Miraculously, he survives a crash landing in a dense Canadian
wilderness and is left only with a hatchet (This happens in the first
few chapters, so really no spoiler here). Anyway, there’s a lake (not
huge, but big enough) and dense trees. I think this picture displays
Brian’s remote environment the best. It doesn’t have majestic mountains
like other Canadian lake pics.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/164944405072650339/
Name in Titles Challenge: Objective = Spell out your name in book titles. I went through my shelves and found these titles, each first letter spells out Michelle!
M - Mira, Mirror by Mette Ivie Harrison
I - Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel
C - Chosen (The Lost Books, 1) by Ted Dekker
H - Hourglass by Myra McEntire
E - Eve & Adam by Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate
L - Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
L - Lullaby by Amanda Hocking
E - Elixir by Hilary Duff
Hour 12: Mid-Event Update
While most folks are probably hitting the exhaustion/break stage, I'm back to focusing on the readathon. I attended an awesome bridal shower and now I'm ready to commit at least 3-4 hours to reading/posting.
Mid-Event Survey
1. What are you reading right now?
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
2. How many books have you read so far?
I finished 3 short children's books and I'm on a middle grades classic now.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I'm hoping to finish Hatchet. Anything else would be icing on the cake.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Sadly, I couldn't free up all day. Hopefully next time.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Yep, traveled an hour (each way) to attend a bridal shower. Couldn't miss it.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Not much...I've participated in it a bunch of times so far. Maybe a surprise is still in store.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Not yet, as I'm getting back into the swing of the event.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Hopefully next time I'll have a open schedule so I can complete multiple (middle grades or YA books).
9. Are you getting tired yet?
Nope, but as a mom-to-be, I'll probably be exhausted by 10 pm (in 3 hours).
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?
Enjoy the musical interludes. If you have a favorite music video that inspires you, play it on a loop until you're energized again. That's helped in the past.
Hour 2: Update & Pick A Paragraph
Books read: 3 (all children's books)
- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
- Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant Retold by Mary Hollingsworth
- The Berenstain Bears Storybook Treasury by Stan & Jan Berenstain
Pages read: 280
Time spent reading: 1 hour
Where I'm reading: at home on the couch
Snacks: Hot chocolate...yum!
Hour 2 Challenge:
Pick A Paragraph. I posted a paragraph from my current read,
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. “It was a clear, blue-sky day with fluffy bits of clouds here and there
and he looked out the window for a moment, hoping to see something, a
town or village, but there was nothing. Just the green of the trees,
endless green, and lakes scattered more and more thickly as the plane
flew—where?” p. 15-16
Hour 0: Intro Meme
Yes, there's a pre-readathon meme...love it! Here are the questions:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Philadelphia, PA, USA! I have a bridal shower to go to today out in the burbs so when I'm not out and about, I'll be reading from my comfy couch at home.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Obligatory book pic:
Since I'm a soon-to-be mom, I'm looking forward to reading (or re-reading) some of the baby books I received, including Where the Wild Things Are, Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant, and The Berenstain Bears Storybook Treasury. From the middle grades pile, I'll probably only have time to read one, most likely Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
My pantry and fridge are pretty bare, but I'm obsessed with popsicles right now so I'll enjoy a few of them.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
My little dude is due to join us in just over 3 weeks! I'm super excited and nervous to become a mom. I can't wait to read to him. I hope he inherits my love for reading. :)
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 participated 2 years ago (wow, I can't believe it's been that long). I didn't cheer many other readers on last time so I hope to do more of that this year. Have fun everyone!
