Today's the day to get your reading on with Dewey's 24-hour Read-A-Thon!
I'll use this post to provide updates on my progress throughout the day. To start, here are my responses to the opening meme:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I'm reading from Ottawa, Canada's Capital City.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Probably The Martian by Andy Weir. This is the book I intend to read first.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I actually haven't any specific snacks lined up. I'll just grab stuff out of my cupboards or fridge as the mood strikes me. I do, however, have lots of tea lined up -- my flavours of choice are Pure Chai and Maple Sugar.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
Well, I love to read obviously, but I also love to travel. My favourite place to visit is England, and no visit there is complete without a trip to Foyles Bookstore in London! I'm a huge baseball fan, with the Toronto Blue Jays being my favourite team.
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'm a first timer, so I'm looking forward to the whole experience :-)
Happy Reading!
UPDATE NUMBER ONE
Well, we are now through three hours of the Read-A-Thon, and I've only managed to get 85 pages read. I'm not off to as great of a start as I'd hoped, but I am enjoyed the book I selected to start with (The Martian by Andy Weir).
I have participated in one of the mini-challenges: Coffee or Tea? As a tea addict I'm clearly TeamCSLewis on this one. I hope to take part in more mini-challenges as the day progress.
I will be taking some time off this afternoon to take my daughter to see Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (at least it's based on a book), and to buy some groceries (turns out I should have planned some snacks in advance after all).
Once my afternoon activities are completed I'll plant myself firmly back in my reading chair and get back to it.
How is your Read-A-Thon going?
UPDATE NUMBER TWO
I did it! I finally finished a book! It was The Martian by Andy Weir and it took me longer to read than I expected it would. But that's okay, it was totally worth it since it was a great read.
My next book will definitely be shorter :-) This one wasn't included on my Read-A-Thon stack, but I'm going to give The Giver by Lois Lowry a try since it really should be quick read.
On another note, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a really cute movie, and since it's based on a book, I think going to see it was a great way to take a break from the Read-A-Thon.
I hope the Read-A-Thon is still going well for everyone!
READ-A-THON END OF EVENT MEME
It's hard to believe the Read-A-Thon is already over! I fell asleep around hour eighteen, intending to get back up and read for the final few hours, but it turns out I slept right through hour twenty-four and then some :-) So, I'm a little late with my answers to the end of event meme, but here they are:
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Hour 18, as that is when I determined I needed a bit of sleep or I wouldn't be able to function the next day.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I think George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series would work well as Read-A-Thon novels. I found them hard to put down. Each book in the series is about 1000 pages long though.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
None. This was my first time participating and I thought it was well run and fun!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I enjoyed the fact that people shared their progress on social mediums other than just their blogs, which I admit I had a hard time visiting since I was concentrating on reading. With Twitter and Instragram I could stay connected without the need to put my book down.
5. How many books did you read?
Two. My goal was to finish three, but in retrospect I miscalculated how long it would actually take me to read each book.
6. What were the names of the books you read?
The Martian by Andy Weir and The Giver by Lois Lowry.
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
Definitely The Martian by Andy Weir. It was suspenseful, had great characters and surprisingly funny.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
The Giver by Lois Lowry. I recognize this is an award-winning novel, and that lots of people love it, but it didn't work for me. It was entertaining enough that I could easily finish it, but it left me with a lot of unanswered questions.
9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
So long as future Read-A-Thon's don't fall on holiday weekends, I definitely plan to participate again -- and hopefully make it longer than hour 18 before falling asleep :-)
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