Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

It's that time again, it's Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon!  This event was started in 2007 with 37 people participating.  After Dewey passed away in November of 2008, it was taken on by other book bloggers in her memory and it now has over 400 participants!  The idea? Simple, read as much as you can for 24 hours while connecting with other book bloggers and readers around the world.

End of Event Questionnaire
1.  Which hour was the most daunting for you?
Umm...hours 5-24?

2.  Could you list a few high-interest books that could keep a reader engaged for next year?
I started reading The Best Place on Earth by Ayelet Tsabari which is a collection of short stories set in Israel.  Very good and I really like short stories for a readathon.

3.  Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the readathon next year?
Nope.

4.  What do you think worked really well in this years readathon?
I loved the Twitter involvement on everyone's part!

5.  How many books did you read?
1 fully read book.  A few short stories.  Another book started.

6.  What were the names of the books you read?
In Calamity's Wake by Natalee Caple, The Best Place on Earth by Ayelet Tsabari, Struggles of a Dreamer by Yahaya Baruwa.

7.  Which book did you enjoy most?
In Calamity's Wake is a really good book about the story of Calamity Jane.

8.  Which did you enjoy the least?
I didn't get far enough into the other ones to dislike them.

9.  N/A for me.

 10.  How likely are you to participate in next year's readathon?  What role would you like to play?
Highly likely.  After this ones fiasco of not getting much done, I'm coming back to the next one with a vengeance!

 Update #3
Note to self: Next readathon, when husband says "let's go out for a bit," say no.  Visiting the inlaws lead to the kids staying over at their cousins house which led to us catching up on Walking Dead Season 3.  Which of course, led to very little reading.  I have managed to read a few short stories and start a new novel, but nothing much.  It's off to bed soon, so hopefully a little more reading before I end my readathon for good.  Because when the kids aren't home, I sleep in!

Total Pages Read: 352
Total Books Read: 1
(Still more than I would read on a Saturday so I guess it hasn't been a complete bust for me.)

 Update #2
It's 6pm EST and this day is definitely not going how I had thought it would.  An impromptu visit to the inlaws has turned into running a whole bunch of errands for quite a few people.  That's ok though, there's still a lot of time to go!

Total Pages Read: 313
Total Books Read: 1
Recently Finished: In Calamity's Wake by Natalee Caple

 Update #1
Four hours in I'm not where I had hoped to be but that's okay.  I had planned to get in a solid 1.5 hours reading at the library while my daughter was at her art class but we got there and it was cancelled.  So my reading has been scattered all over the place, but now that the kids have been given their lunch, I should be able to get down to some serious reading.

Total Pages Read: 193
Total Books Read: 0

 Introductory Questionnaire
1.  What fine part of the world are you reading in today?
I am in beautiful Toronto, Canada.  The sun is shining bright today and the temperature is getting up to 19C today.  It's been a painful spring so this is very welcome!

2.  Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
I picked a bunch of Canadian books and I'm really looking forward to that however I'm really looking forward to Fahrenheit 451.

3.  What snack are you most looking forward to?
We often order in on Friday nights but last night I cooked so tonight could be our take-away night, so I'm really looking forward to pizza and wings tonight.  I don't have any snacks actually planned.

4.  Tell us a little something about yourself.
I'm a wife and mother who loves Jesus, books, and yoga.

5.  If you participated in the last readathon, what is one thing you'll do different today?
This year I picked a couple of collections of short stories to intersperse among the novels.  I think this will give me a greater sense of achievement and keep my attention span on track.
The Plan

 I have chosen five books from my to read pile that I hope to get to today.  They are:

Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility by Theodora Armstrong
In Calamity's Wake by Natalee Caple
Struggles of a Dreamer by Yahaya Baruwa
The Best Place on Earth by Ayelet Tsabari
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Most of my success in the last readathon came from shorter books.  So this time around I've chosen two collections of short stories (Clear Skies and The Best Place on Earth) and three other novels that are short in page length.  Four of my novels are by Canadian writers, so I'm really looking forward to that. 

The readathon starts at 8am EST, so I'll be setting my alarm early.  I'll be checking in here throughout the day for updates and mini challenges.  Hope to see you all tomorrow!

Comments

  1. Lisa (Lisa's World of Books)April 27, 2013 at 10:28 AM

    I hope that you are having an amazing readathon!

    Lisa
    Lisa's World of Books

    ReplyDelete
  2. RonnicaApril 27, 2013 at 11:27 AM

    You have an interesting stack. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  3. IrisApril 27, 2013 at 12:23 PM

    That is an early starting time! I feel quite spoiled with the 2pm start. Have a great day :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzApril 27, 2013 at 12:43 PM

    Good luck with your reading today! And, like you, I love Jesus, books, and yoga.

    Stop by, if you get a chance: Deb Nance at Readerbuzz.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DeniseFApril 27, 2013 at 1:53 PM

    Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite books! I hope you enjoy it.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  6. VasillyApril 27, 2013 at 7:37 PM

    My read-a-thon isn't going as planned either. Enjoy your books.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Belle WongApril 27, 2013 at 7:39 PM

    You're doing great, even with all the impromptu things happening - happy readathon!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Relentless ReaderApril 28, 2013 at 12:36 AM

    Everywhere we go
    People want to know
    Who we are
    So we tell them
    We are the readers!
    The mighty, mighty readers!

    I hope you’re having a fantastic Read-a-Thon!
    Jennifer ~ Team Panda
    The Relentless Reader

    ReplyDelete
  9. Alex in LeedsApril 28, 2013 at 5:53 AM

    *grin* Sounds like you still managed to sneak some good quality reading in even if you couldn't quite get the quantity you hoped for!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lisa (Lisa's World of Books)April 28, 2013 at 7:06 AM

    Hey, life has to happen sometimes. I hope that you had an amazing readathon!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Guestbook" by Holly Martin

Image
Welcome to Willow Cottage - throw open the shutters, let in the sea breeze and make yourself completely at home.  Oh, and please do leave a comment in the Guestbook! Annie Butterworth is the landlady of Willow Cottage, a beautiful cottage in the English countryside with a colourful array of guests.  Every guest is encouraged to write their thoughts in the guestbook and do they ever!  Love, loss, happiness, sadness, guilt, affairs, births, and surprises, it’s all in there.  Even Annie’s life gets caught up in the book. As a young widow, Annie herself is going through some changes.  And the appearance of her brother-in-law, celebrity crime writer Oliver Black isn’t helping.  As the guests of Willow Cottage go about their seaside vacations, Annie and Oliver must figure out how to move on in their lives, and most importantly, if they will do so together. The Guestbook by Holly Martin is a lovely, sweet, and unique book.  Written in the form...
Read more

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop

Image
I am so excited to be participating in the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop, hosted by Judith at Leeswammes' Blog . There are over 50 participants hosting giveaways on their blog between October 15 and October 19. Be sure to hop around and check out all the awesome giveaways! My Giveaway Award season is underway in the Canadian literary world and to celebrate I would like to send someone some fabulous Canadian literature. One lucky winner will be able to choose which book they would like me to send them. Here are the choices (click on title to find out more about the book): A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (bought at library sale) Life of Pi by Yann Martel The Last River Child by Lori Ann Bloomfield The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden (bought at library sale) Two of the books were bought at a library sale as mentioned. They are still in good condition but are obviously well-loved and do still have the library stickers on them. The other t...
Read more

"Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home" by Esi Edugyan

Image
“But where are you from, really?” This is a question that Canadians of all walks of life are often asked.  Part of our identity as Canadians is that we all come from somewhere else, and no matter how long ago, it is a defining part of who we are.   But for many people, this question is about more than where their family came to Canada from.  For many, it brings about a question of home and belonging.  These are the ideas that Esi Edugyan explored in her 2013 Henry Kreisel Memorial Lecture, Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home .  Born in Canada to parents from Ghana, Esi Edugyan has travelled to and lived in various countries, all the while searching for her identity and coming to understand the meaning of home. As an author, Edugyan also reflects on Canadian literature and the notion of the “Canadian story.”  Her wildly successful novel, Half-Blood Blues , was set outside of Canada, and something she often heard was that it was not a t...
Read more