Liveblogging Readathon 2014

Hour 0

My book stack is ready, as is my journal! 

I always take longhand notes on things I read, but I thought the occasion warranted something extra, hence the special spread. A little bit of smashing in my writing journal, why not?

Hour 1

Kick-off Meme

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

London, UK

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Tricky. I think it will be 100 Years of Solitude, but I also can't wait to get on with Valente.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Palmiers from M&S. Yum.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I have over 400 unread titles in my home.

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

Nothing really, I am happy with what I did last time, which was spending part of the time in a cafe. I plan on going to Waterstone's today, and tomorrow, should the weather hold, I'd love to finish the Readathon at a park.

Hour 3

Finished The Bread We Eat in Dreams, which I enjoyed very much.

Entered 3 mini-challenges.

Hour 6

The Best of My Reading Year Mini Challenge

Here are my responses to this mini-challenge hosted by Lisa's World of Books.

Best Book of Your Reading Year

I am not sure if I can do it, but I so far One Hundred Years of Solitude, which I am reading right now for the Readathon is a revelation. If it continues in the same vein, it will be the best book of the year to date, hands down.

Otherwise, Wise Children by the late and great Angela Carter. A smart, witty, layered read with a lot of social awareness.  

Best Fantasy Book of Your Reading Year

The Kingdom of Gods by NK Jemisin. Identity, power, politics, and one of the best and most thoughtful takes on the divine and the numinous in the modern fantasy.

Best Supporting Character of Your Reading Year
Hanna Schmitz from The Reader. 

Hour 8

I am a quarter into One Hundred Years of Solitude. I am completely entranced and captivated. Can't wait to get back to the reading.

Hour 17

Two thirds into One Hundred Years of Solitude. I think I have another 3.5 hours of reading to go before finishing it. Since the last update, I slept for about 4 hours, and so now feeling refreshed and ready to read until the end of the Readathon.

Hour 21

One Hundred Years of Solitude: 55 pages to go.

Hour 22

Completed One Hundred Years of Solitude!

And now I am in a bit of a bind: I can continue reading now, but I am not sure that I want to. The completed novel is dominating my thoughts now and I am not sure I am ready to let go off it.

Hour 24

At the end of Hour 24 I have further read 100 pages of It's All Chinese to Me and 72 pages of The House in the Forest, leaving me with both at 50% read.

Now it is time to take a break and summarize my Readathon experience.

Readathon in Numbers

Texts Finished: 2

Catherynne M. Valente, The Bread We Eat in Dreams, a short story
Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, a novel

Other Texts Read During the Readathon: 3
Michele Desbordes, The House in the Forest, a novel
Pierre Ostrowski & Gwen Penner, It's All Chinese to Me. An Overview of Culture and Etiquette in China

Rhoda Lerman, The Book of he Night, a novel

Total Pages Read: 594

Hours Spent Reading: 13

Pages Read Per Hour: 46

April 2014 Readathon Time Distribution

Challenges Entered: 4

Pick a Paragraph Challenge

Jigsaw Puzzle Cover Challenge

One Sitting Reading Length Comment Challenge

The Best of My Reading Year Challenge

End of Event Meme:

Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour 12! I was fighting a battle with sleep that I have ultimately lost.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Literary: The Painted Veil or Cakes and Ale my W. Somerset Maugham, both very smoothly written, sharply observed, witty and not too long. 

SFF: The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson, if you like high magic and the fast pace.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

Can't think of anything.

How many books did you read?

What were the names of the books you read?

Completed 2 texts (1 novel and 1 short story), and reads sections of 3 more. Details above.

Which book did you enjoy most?

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Which did you enjoy least?
The House in the Forest

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I'll be reading again.

24 Hour Readathon Countdown

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon is quickly becoming the one event I try to do my best to participate in every year. ... Along with Eurovision. Hm...

I tend to have at least as much fun selecting my reads for the occasion, as I do challenging myself to read, read, read. So, without further ado, here's my line-up for April 2014!

Fiction

1. Catherynne M. Valente, The Bread We Eat in Dreams, a short story
This one was my TBR list since forever. Which is silly, because Valente is brilliant.

2. Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, a novel
I picked this novel for my Readathon before the sad news earlier this month. Every Readathon I want to attempt to start and finish a normal length novel, and this is my choice for April 2014. This is also a title which will count towards the TBR Pile Challenge, so win-win.

3. Greg Keys, The Briar King, a novel
A longish (500 pages+) epic fantasy, which should be an easy and not very challenging read. I picked it as the main Readathon novel alternative, in case I discover that I just can't get on with Márquez. Also counts towards the TBR Pile challenge.

4. Michele Desbordes, The House in the Forest, a novel
I know almost nothing about this book, apart from it being a short novel (186 pages) with dreamlike poetic prose and some rubbish reviews on Amazon. This was an impulse purchase from a few years' back. Now it is time for it to sink or swim.

Non-Fiction

5. Ian Stewart, Letters to a Young Mathematician
6. Alex Bentley at all, I'll Have What She's Having. Mapping Social Behavior 
7. Pierre Ostrowski & Gwen Penner, It's All Chinese to Me. An Overview of Culture and Etiquette in China
8. Rosalind Ashe and Lisa Tuttle, Children's Literary Houses
9. R. Hamilton, Ancient Egypt. Kingdon of the Pharaohs (want to read through it before I start unpicking it for pictures).

Essential Snacks

Liveblogging Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

Hour 1 - 2

Intoduction Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?UK

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Okay, I am kinda hooked up on Saga. Can't believe I am saying this.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
O'Gradys Classic Country Cream

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I read stuff. :)

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

Instead of books, I will be diving into my TBR mag mountain stack.

Dewey's Read-a-Thon: Take 2

This autumn I have decided to go for a somewhat less conventional Read-a-thon goal: I've got a boxful of magazines, sitting around since forever . Some of them have moved with me twice already. It is time I tackle them.

Secret shame: a box stuffed with unread magazines.

When I get tired of magazines, I will be continuing to read Cryptonomicon, one of my TBR Pile 2013 Challenge titles, and I also have Saga, vol. 2 all prepped for when I crave a palate cleanser. Both ebooks.

On top of that, I still have some of the April Read-a-thon titles sitting around unread. Top goal: get to one of them at least.

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon, Meme and Stats

End of Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
I got very sleepy around hour 11, which was 23:00 local time, but I managed to push through it and kept awake for another 4 hours.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Here are some pageturners I’ve read this year:
Joe Scalzi, Old Man’s War
Ben Aaronovitch, Moon Over Soho
S J Watson, Before I Go to Sleep
Rachel Hartman, Seraphina
W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?As this was my first Read-a-thon, I do not have enough perspective to answer these questions. At least not yet.

5. How many books did you read?

2 finished, 4 tackled.

6. What were the names of the books you read?
Shannon Hale, The Goose Girl

Dava Sobel, Longitude

Lynn Fllewelling, The Bone Doll's Twin

Ahmed Khaled Towfik, Utopia

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
The Goose Girl.

8. Which did you enjoy least?
The Bone Doll’s Twin

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I wasn’t a Cheerleader.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
Will definitely participate as a reader. 

Read-a-thon in Numbers

Book read at some point during the Read-a-thon: 4

Out of those, completed: 2

Pages read: 704

Time Breakdown:

Pure reading time: just over 12 hours

Sleep: 5 hours

Blogging/internet: 3-4  hours

Errands: 2 hours

Food/hygene/misc: 1-2 hours

Average reading speed: 60 pages/hour

Liveblogging Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon, Part II

Part I is here.

Mid-Event Survey

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?

I was getting very sleepy around midnight, but I read through it and doing okay so far! I might catch a quick nap in a couple of hours though.

2) What have you finished reading?

Books completed: 1 (The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, 383 pages, read in 5hrs 50 min)
Sections Completed: part of The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling, 85 pages

3) What is your favorite read so far?

I have only finishes 1 book so far, but it was very good.

4) What about your favorite snacks?
Does Advoccat count?

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!

I was so busy reading I have not done much exploring as yet, I am saving this for later stages!

Hour #14

My current reading location: home, nested on a comfy beanbag.

My current read: Longitude by Dava Sobel. First non-fiction of the stack! This will count towards my Mount TBR Challenge.

Here's what my reading station looks like atm:

Hour #22

So, um, I fell asleep barely 20 pages into Longitude. I opened my eyes at 8.30 am and have been reading ever since without moving off the couch or even emptying my bladder. I am exactly 100 pages in with 75 to go. Now for a spot of breakfast and a bubble bath! (Both activities are perfectly compatible with uninterrupted reading.)

Can't believe there are only 3 hours to go.

Must. Keep. Reading.

Hour #24

So, the Read-a-thon is done! Since the last update, I have managed to finish Longitude and started on Ahmed Khaled Towfik's Utopia. 

At 1 pm I was on page 61. (I did carry on reading though, and finished it by about 3pm.)

I have absolutely enjoyed the experience, but now I need to have some downtime before writing a round-up post. 

Liveblogging Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon

11:39am GMT

Read-a-thon starts 1pm local time, so it is less than 90 minutes to go. All systems at the ready!

I am about to leave for my first cafe. Nothing fancy, just a local Costa.

Hour #1

Introductory Questionnaire

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

London, UK

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Richard III manga. Because. I also find Towik's Utopia fascinating: near future SF by an Egyptian author. What's not to like?

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

As I am cafe-hopping through the Read-a-thon, I do not have a designated snack stack, but I am looking forward to visiting Camden Coffee House tomorrow.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I read therefore I am. 

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 am a newbie, but I look forward to testing my reading limits.

Hour #2

Ahh, some actual reading.

I am starting with Lynn Flewelling’s The Bone Doll’s Twin, book 1 of the Tamir Triad, which I happened to be reading over the last few days. I am on page 134 and I plan to make it to the halfway point before pausing and switching to another book.

Hour #4

Read-a-thon Essentials: 

- book
- another book
- sticky notes
- notebook
- coffee
- coziness
- connected laptop
- camera

Hours #5-13

Did not do much blogging or tweeting in this time - too busy reading!

Here’s my progress update:

1.

Read the planned section of The Bone Doll’s Twin and put it aside. Will complete it after the readathon.
Pages read: 85

2.
Started and finished The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. Blame this book for my lack of posting! Literally could not put it down. Treat, an absolute treat. And s-o-o-o satisfying.


Pages read: 383
Read in 5 hours 50 minutes.

Total pages read: 468

Now it is middle of the night in my timezone, I am at home and I am trying to decide what to read next. Find out what I went for in Part II here.

My Read-a-thon Stack

To find out more about Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon you can check out my master post or go to the Read-a-thon website.

Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-thon

It is the 24-Hour Read-a-thon weekend!

I have been looking forward to it ever since I've found out about this event last autumn. This will be my first time participating, and I am so phyched about it! Can't wait to dig into my Read-a-thon book stack (lovingly picked months ago) and engage in some social reading.

Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-thon is a twice yearly event, created in 2007 by Dewey. The premise is irresistible:

For 24 hours, we read books, post to our blogs about our reading, and visit other readers’ blogs. We also participate in mini-challenges throughout the day. It happens twice a year, in April and in October.

My Read-a-thon Goals

1. Physical books trump ebooks
2. Select the reads that are likely to contribute to my 2013 reading challenges, in particular Mount TBR Reading Challenge
3. NO PRESSURE!

My Reading Strategies

I plan to do most of my reading while cafe-hopping, so I did not prep any special food. I did, however, save this week's Graze box for emergency... well, grazing.

My Read-a-thon Stack

1. Lynn Flewelling, The Bone Doll's Twin

2. A. S. Byatt, The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye

3. Grimm's Fairy Tales

4. Shannon Hale, The Goose Girl

5. Manga Shakespeare, Richard III

6. Ahmed Khaled Towfik, Utopia

7. Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain

8. Simon Garfield, Just My Type

9. Dava Sobel, Longitude

I have selected more books than I expect to finish to give myself variety and circumvent reading fatigue at the later stages of the Read-a-thon. I reckon I'll have completed at least 4 by the end of 24 hours. We shall see is this prediction holds!

My Read-a-thon Progress

Here the link to my Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon liveblog post, I will also be tweeting as @mae_ost.

Happy reading!