Dewey 24 Hour Readathon!

Friday, April 24, 2015

*********  UPDATED HOUR 24 ********
I was doing so good, but I keep falling asleep. I am going to keep reading as long as I can, but I might be done for the night. I'll try to get up early and read a bit more then. 

Ok, I've been asleep, but I'm back for the final hour and a half!

Pages Read: 1,507 pages
Currently Reading: Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan, Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale, I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron 

Books Finished: 7 - Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Interworld by Neil Gaiman, The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamill, Girl Walks into a Bar... by Rachel Dratch, Berlin: Part 1 by Jason Lute, Crow Call by Lois Lowry
Breaks Taken: Tons, to cheer, do mini challenges, a bit of yoga, a dinner with the Huz
Snacks Eaten: Raspberries, coffee, apple chips, salad for lunch, guacamole, fish for dinner, mint milano cookies, amazing breakfast made by the Huz.
Mini-Challenges Completed: 17

Blogs Visited and Commented On: 74

You can also find me here on Instagram, Twitter, and LibraryThing

End of Event Meme: 
1) Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 17, I kept nodding off.  

2) Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Interworld by Neil Gaiman, The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo, Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
 

3) Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I was a little confused if the mini challenge winners were being announced on the main blog (like past years) or on individual blogs. I probably just missed a note saying one way or the other. 

4) What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Heather absolutely rocked the cheerleader coordination! There were so many readers, but we were all split into teams. I also felt like there was a lot of great promotion of the event before the big day.
 

5) How many books did you read? 7 completed, three more that I got halfway through. 

6) What were the names of the books you read? Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Interworld by Neil Gaiman, The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo, Girl Walks into a Bar... by Rachel Dratch, Berlin: Part 1 by Jason Lutes, Crow Call by Lois Lowry, Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan, Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale , I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron 

7) Which book did you enjoy most? Asterios Polyp and The Tiger Rising were both powerful stories in very different ways.
 

8) Which did you enjoy least? Berlin was good, but maybe too detailed/complicated for the later hours of the readathon. 

9) If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I really like splitting up my cheering instead of doing it all in one or two hours. I cheered for 5 or so blogs every hour and then went back to reading.  

10) How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Yes, of course!!! I will probably read and cheer and maybe host a mini challenge.

Mini Challenge Hour 18: Best of your reading year, hosted here.
 
Best Main Character of Your Reading Year: Elnora from A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter. Elnora is such a unique character. She is stubborn and driven to succeed. She's fiercely intelligent but incredibly compassionate. She is patient, giving her mother the benefit of the doubt for years. She's a hard worker, willing to make money to achieve her dreams. She has self-respect and is willing to sacrifice in order to find true happiness.
 

Best Setting of Your Reading Year: Middle Earth from J. R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I reread the books this year and was once again blown away by the intricasies of the world he created. The different races, the different lands, the whole world comes alive for readers. 

Best Story Line of Your Reading Year: I just loved the plot of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I was hooked from the first chapter and the traveling Shakespeare performers in a post-apocalyptic world were just enthralling from start to finish.


Mini Challenge Hour 16: Hosted here and posted in the comments. 

Mini Challenge Hour 15: Hosted here and posted in the comments. 

Mini Challenge Hour 14: Hosted here and posted on Instagram. 

Mini Challenge Hour 13: Hosted here and posted in the comments. 

Mid-Event Survey: Hour 12:
1. What are you reading right now? Midnight in Austenland, I need something lighter because I was hitting a wall with Berlin.
2. How many books have you read so far? Four completed and in the midst of 3 others.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Inherit the Wind, I can't believe I haven't picked it up yet!
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I've stopped to cheer a lot. Other than that I haven't had too many interruptions.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I thought I would have napped by now. This has been the smoothest readathon I've done so far! 


Mini Challenge Hour 11: Hosted here and posted in the comments. 

Mini Challenge Hour 10: Hosted here and posted in the comments. 

Mini Challenge Hour 9: Hosted here and posted in the comments.

Mini Challenge Hour 7: Hosted here and posted to Twitter

Mini Challenge Hour 3: Hosted here and posted to Instagram

Mini Challenge Hour 2: Classic Words of Wisdom hosted by A Literary Odyssey

“Let me be something every minute of every hour of my life…And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost.” — A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I've always loved that quote (and that book!) because it's how I want to live my life. So many people put off the things they want to do, but you never know how much time you have. I want to make every single minute of my life count!

Introduction Quiz:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Indianapolis, IN

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and Gaiman's Interworld. 


3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Guacamole and Roasted Coconut Chips from Trader Joe's, but not together.
 
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! By day I’m an editor of a monthly magazine. I also review live theatre once a week. I'm one of the moderators at The Classics Club Blog. I am hopeless at keeping plants alive, but I manage to do just fine with my 80 lb. lap dog named Ollie.
 

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? This is my 8th readathon (I've linked to the others at the bottom of the post). I think I’m going to try walking on the treadmill and listening to an audiobook at some point. I always make the mistake of not moving enough.  
Tomorrow is the Dewey Readathon! This will be my 8th time participating in the event. Every April and October, if other obligations don’t get in the way, I spend one whole day reading. It’s always so much fun and I get a ton of reading done. There’s a great sense of community, mini-challenges each hour, cheerleaders and prizes.  Heather and Andi are the incredible ladies who help organize the whole thing and you can get more details at the official site
 
Tomorrow I will be reading from 8 am until whenever I fall asleep. I have my stack of books ready to go (see my pile above) and I will be cheering for at least 4 hours. 


A FEW NOTES: 
- I will be updating this post throughout the day so I don’t bomb people with half a dozen new posts.
- Please turn off your comment word verification for the day! It’s such a pain for cheerleaders.
- Tweet about your day with the hashtag #Readathon or by tagging @readathon 

PAST READATHON POSTS:

April and October 2011  /  April and October 2012 / April and October 2013 / April 2014

30 comments:

Brona said...

Ohhhh I hope you're my cheerleader :-)

Good luck with your stack. And thanks for reminding me to do a post.

Suey said...

I've lost track how many times I've participated. I should go count! :) Good luck and have fun!

Jillian said...

Looking forward to hearing how your day goes :)

Anonymous said...

Have fun! I'll be checking in on you and CHEERS!!

o said...

Good luck, have fun! :D

Allie said...

I love that picture! :) Enjoy your reading today!

Elizabeth - Elizabeth-Michelle.com said...

You're doing great! And now I want guacamole at 8am :) Happy reading! #TeamPopper

Anonymous said...

What a great pile of books! Happy reading today - it looks like you're doing great so far :)

Masanobu said...

Oh I also have Interworld in my stack! Are you enjoying it?

You are doing great :)

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Masanobu - So far it's really fun! It was a last second addition to my stack and a great one to start with.

Vasilly said...

Happy reading!

Camilla said...

Ooh, are you still liking "Interworld"? I'm such a huge Gaiman fan, and I loved the idea, but wasn't completely convinced.

And you also made me want guacamole.. Hmm.. I wonder if I could convince the husband to go buy me some avocados?

Happy reading!

CaroG said...

Your dog is adorable. Good job on the cheering! #TeamMrPopper!

Words for Worms said...

What a glorious stack o' books you have! It looks like you're chugging right along and having an awesome Readathon. #TeamPopper is proud of you!

Kay said...

Wow! So many pages! I'm cheering for you from Texas and it's obvious that you have hit your stride. Go, go, from Team Popper!!

Irene E. Jensen said...

Irene from Team Mr. Popper here. I hope you're enjoying the readathon so far. Please remember that it's all about having fun, so if you feel more like snacking than reading, then go ahead. This event is the perfect excuse for snacking!
I'm sure you'll reach your goal. You can do this!

Mia said...

Your dog is adorable! :) I've not done any of the mini challenges yet, need to get on that stat! :)

Allie said...

You're doing great! Keep it up!

CaroG said...

Oh wow, you pass the 1K bar! Great job!!!

dodibus said...

Good job! I can't believe that you have read more then 1000 pages! I have barely read 100 !!!

Have a good time!!!

dodibus from #TeamSherlock

Masanobu said...

You are doing beyond great! Impressive!

Keep up the good work and enjoy yourself :)

Yazzi said...

You're incredible!!!

Anonymous said...

Wow you're a readathon wonder!! So many books and other things completed! I hope the rest of your readathon is as fun and as successful :)

Chris said...

It's hour 15. It's time to shake it all up, and maybe change the reading material for something lighter, faster, easier, funnier. You've earned it. Go for a graphic novel, a comedy, a poem, a book of verse, anything, but make a change, just for a few pages or chapters. Oh... and now is the time for one of those super snacks you've been saving! ;-) #TeamMrPopper

Megan said...

Looks like you're killing this Readathon! You've read a ton and cheered a ton, too. And eaten some top notch snacks!

Keep up the great reading, Readathon Rockstar! =D

#TeamPopper

Unknown said...

Wow, what a great list of books read! And yes, all of the cheerleaders really rocked this year!!
Debbie @ CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) said...

Looks like you had an awesome day! I was really impressed with the cheerleaders this year. Good job to all of you and to Heather for coordinating!

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Thanks to everyone for your encouraging comments!

thecuecard said...

Way to Go! I'm tired just thinking about it. The Yellow Wallpaper is a good one! How was the Dratch book? Your dog is adorable -- looks tired though.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Camilla - You know, in the end I didn't love Interworld. I felt like it would have worked better as a TV show or graphic novel or something.

thecurecard - Dratch's book was just okay for me. After loving Amy Poehler's and Tina Fey's I might have set the bar too high.