The 24 Hour Readathon, Fall 2018

And so we say goodbye to another Readathon! Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make Readathon happen. I found that this year, I checked in online periodically but I didn't really feel like participating in the mini-challenges or bingo. So I did a lot of reading and it was lovely.

Closing Survey
1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Friends, I was tired this time around! I usually make it to at least hour 18 or so, which is 2 a.m. on the East Coast of the United States. This time, I was falling asleep in my book before midnight. Oh well!
2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read! I read When Dimple Met Rishi, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, An Age of License, Every Heart a Doorway, one Flannery O'Connor story, and I listened to 13 chapters of my audiobook Cress. 3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners? The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Every Heart a Doorway are perfect for the fall Readathon! They are both short and creepy without being so terrifying that you have to turn every light on in your house. 4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you happy? I don't know! I look forward to seeing what will happen in April. 
5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep? If I'm free, I'm always here for Readathon and I would be happy to help out with whatever our intrepid leaders need! 



Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? I'm reading some Flannery O'Connor short stories and trying to decide on my next book. 
2. How many books have you read so far? Four
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I'm looking forward to dipping back into some comics when I start to get tired (Giant Days, Lucy Knisley) 
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Well, I have two kids and I had to do a few things, so I just kept going. 
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Nothing really, although the time is going by strangely; sometimes it's really fast and other times, I can't believe how much reading I've done in a little time! 

So it's time to check in again! I've read four books so far--When Dimple Met Rishi, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, An Age of License, and Every Heart a Doorway. I've also been listening to the audiobook of Cress when I had to do some other things.

                  
The boy has been sick for the past few days, but he managed to read four books: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Geeked Out, and Game Over, Pete Watson. I also took some time this afternoon and went to the library with the little girl. Tonight at bedtime, we read Yasmin the Fashionista and Lucia the Luchadora. 

Now I'm looking forward to some ice cream and short stories. What are you reading? 




Getting to Know You Survey
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Hello from New Jersey! Today is pretty gloomy, which is fine with me. Who needs to go outside when there is reading to do? 
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I'm pretty excited to read When Dimple Met Rishi and catch up on some Lucy Knisley comics. 3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I have to confess I didn't do a lot of snack planning this year. However, I did make a giant batch of pumpkin pancakes the other day so there will definitely be pancakes at some point. 4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I've lived in New Jersey since I was five, I married the boy I started dating in eighth grade, I have two kids, and I am really enjoying expanding my editing business now that my little one is in kindergarten. 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 figured out that this is my 15th Readathon (!) so I'm going to relax and enjoy reading lots of fantastic books. Thanks to everyone who makes Readathon possible every year! 

Readathon Prep and Tips

Tomorrow is Readathon! In a world where temperatures drop 40 degrees in one day, it's nice to know that one thing is certain: each fall and spring, readers around the world will assemble an audacious stack of books, fill their fridges and cupboards with snacks, and settle in to read for 24 hours.

If you haven't signed up yet, there is still time! Go here to join us.

Here are the books I'm starting out with tomorrow:

Comics: Displacement, Giant Days
Fiction: The Ocean at the End of the Lane, When Dimple Met Rishi, The Keep
Short stories: The Sadness of Beautiful Things, The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor
I also have A Forever Family on my kindle and the audiobook of Cress on my phone.

I figured out that I have been a part of the Readathon since I started blogging in 2011, which means that this is my 15th Readathon. If you are a newbie, I have some tips for you!

1) Variety, variety, variety
Make your stack of books ridiculously large and as varied as possible. It's terrible to only plan a book or two and then find that you hate them and have to go find something else. Give yourself a lot of options and make sure that you have children's books, short stories, audiobooks, and comics in the mix--you never know what is going to keep you awake when you have been reading for 18 hours!

2) Take a break
Seriously. Get up. Stretch. Go for a walk. Take 10 minutes and clean up your kitchen or vacuum your living room. Sitting in one place for too long is an invitation to fall asleep.

3) Eat and drink well
Half the fun of readathon is planning and eating delicious snacks. But this is not a good time to triple your caffeine consumption or eat only Cheetos for a day. Your body needs good fuel to go with the snacks and lots of water. Keep drinking water!

4) Relax
Readathon is a fun day. It's not the day to beat yourself up because your kid had a soccer game or you only read one book when that crazy lady on twitter read 22. Read things that make you happy, check in and see what wonderful books people are talking about online, and revel in the knowledge that there are people all over the world who love books just as much as you do.

Happy Readathon, Friends!

24 Hour Readathon (Spring 2018)

Hour Twenty-Four (and change) Update
There has been much reading and snacking and chatting through our computers. As usual, I got many more books that I could possible read, but I still feel pretty good about reading five books and almost 1,500 pages. For a grand total of books/pages read, you can visit the 24 Hour Readathon page here. 

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Well, I have never read for a full 24 hours. People tend to like their worship leader conscious during services on Sunday morning and I also have to get my children there. I happily crawled into bed before 2 a.m., which was hour 15 or so. 

2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read! In order: The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer (454 pages), Awayland by Ramona Ausubel (240), Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston (248), Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Bosch (369), and Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff (176). 

3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners? Short stories are always great for Readathon, so Awayland would be great. Ditto for comics--I can see myself picking up the other Delilah Dirk comics for the next Readathon. Exit, Pursued by a Bear was a great story (which should surprise no one, E.K. Johnston is excellent), and it's Readathon friendly because it is under 300 pages!

4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you smile? That's a great question, but I'm not sure. I think doing new things is fun at this point for those of us who have done many Readathons, but I also know that it is an incredible amount of work to make it happen for so many thousands of readers. 

5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep? I will always be reading if I can and I am happy to volunteer in any way that the benevolent and wonderful organizers need. 




Hour Twelve Update
And we're back! Here in New Jersey, it's almost 9 p.m. We enjoyed butter chicken for dinner, the kids are in bed, and it's time to get back to reading!

Here is my reading so far.


Finished - 454 pages


Finished - 224 pages


98 pages read


Just started!

Reading is even better with carrot cake...

Hour Six Update
Hello everyone! How is your Readathon going?

I've made it halfway through Meg Wolitzer's The Female Persuasion (about 250 pages) and read several short stories in Ramona Ausubel's Awayland. I've also had some toast, a lot of water, one cup of coffee, some crackers and brie, and a few bites of carrot cake.

I'm about to break up my day and head to my local library for their book sale. I promise to show off my new books when I get back!


It's here! It's Readathon time! Here's the opening meme. 

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? My house in New Jersey. It's a little foggy now, but the sun is supposed to show up later. I'm looking forward to some outside reading!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I'm starting with The Female Persuasion, which I'm thrilled to be reading and I'm also looking forward to finally reading Hyperbole and a Half.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I never did manage to go on a snack run yesterday, so we will see what happens!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! Well, I just turned 31 (on Thursday). I have two kids, one husband, no pets, one keyboard, and many, many books.

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 think I'm a Readathon pro by this point. I'm ready to read as much as possible without stressing about it! 

Comic Mini-Reviews

During the most recent 24 Hour Readathon, I interspersed my reading with some comics. I had heard great things about each one, so I picked them up from my library and met some new comic authors and illustrators.

The first one I read was Petty Theft, which is about a man in the midst of a crisis. Pascal has just been dumped by his girlfriend, he can't seem to get inspired to start a new book and, to top it all off, he injured his back and can't get his feelings out through running. While wandering the aisles at a bookstore, he sees a woman steal his book from the shelf. He is instantly intrigued and convinces himself if he can only meet and befriend that woman, everything will be ok.

Pascal Girard's drawing style is spare in black and white. He doesn't shy away from showing the indignities of being middle aged and overlooked or crashing with friends when your life is a mess. Pascal and the object of his affection make many questionable choices and can be tough characters to root for, but it's a good pick for someone who needs to laugh when everything is going wrong.

Next, I read Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie. This book is about the titular Aya, a teenager living on the Ivory Coast of Africa during the 1970s. The author writes in the introduction that she wanted to portray regular life, with its fleeting romances and family squabbles, instead of the war and famine that seem to represent Africa in popular culture. Aya takes readers with her as she goes out with friends, meets boys, and navigates the transition between teen and adult.

Reading Aya was interesting because it is a story like any other teen story; only the illustrations with the sandy roads and the colloquialisms throughout remind us that we are in Africa instead of the US or Europe. The authors truly try to bring you into the time and place of their story and the last few pages include recipes and fashion tips from the characters. If you enjoy Aya, there are five more books about her life and community.

Paper Girls was my favorite of the three. I've read comparisons to Lumberjanes, a favorite in our house, and I can see the resemblance. In this comic, it's the later 1980s and Erin is out delivering papers in the early hours after Halloween. She expects things to be a bit strange, but she is unprepared to find a spaceship and zombie ninjas. Erin teams up with the other paper girls to keep each other safe and figure out what is going on in their town.

I was pretty little in the late 80s, but the fashion and colors are so fun to see on the page. It's definitely aimed at teens and adults, though, because this is one dark and violent tale. The story is wildly inventive, as you might expect from Brian K. Vaughan, and he leaves the first issue on a fabulous cliffhanger. There are three more volumes if you get swept up in the story of Erin and her fellow paper girls.

One Day More! (Until the 24 Hour Readathon)

Bookish friends, you probably know that tomorrow is one of the most wonderful days of the year. If you haven't signed up for the 24 Hour Readathon yet, there's still time--go now!

Some years I have more time to read, and some years things are a little crazier. This time around seems like there will be less time to read. Husband will be at a conference for a good chunk of the day and we have plans to go out for dinner. Plus, I have those beautiful children who will inevitably want my attention. We will have to see how much reading gets done!

Here is my potentially over-ambitious stack of books:

The comics:
Paper Girls
Aya
Petty Theft 

The novels: 

Magpie Murders

Ella Minnow Pea

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

The It Girls

Annihilation 

I picked up some veggies and hummus (and ice cream, because life is all about balance). I'm going to try to make a batch of pumpkin bread or muffins tonight and I think I'm ready to go.

What are your plans for Readathon? What snacks are waiting for you? What books are you looking forward to reading?

The Readathon: Hour 17

Well friends, I am heading off to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day.
During this readathon, I got to cheer for almost every blogger assigned to my cheering team. This was my first time cheering and it was a blast. It's great to break up your reading by seeing what other readers are up to. I am happy to report that I finished reading all 3 of the books I planned to read today.



149 pages read
Finished!!




274 pages read
Finished!



325 pages read
Finished!

That's a total of 748 pages. This year's readathon = success.

To all of you intrepid readers going for the full 24 hours, you are amazing. Have fun! To everyone who worked so hard to put this all together, thank you so much. Goodnight, all!

The Readathon: Hour 13

Guys, guys, I'm still here!!! I was reading and then there was some napping, and then we had to take a trip to Target...you know how it goes.

Anyway, here is what I have been reading the past few hours:



149 pages read
Finished!!



215 pages read
59 pages to go...

I hope you are all reading some great books. I'm off to check off some mini-challenges and go cheer on some intrepid readers. See you in a while!

The Readathon: Hour 7

Hi everyone! I'm still here! Well, I wasn't...but now I am again. We headed over to the church this morning for a breakfast and to do some work. Then my lovely in-laws were here for a while. So...now I am in for the long haul! :)

I've been reading my book for a while outside while David rode his bike. So here is the progress so far.



8 a.m. - on page 57
Now - on page 181
25 pages left!

Next up will be The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan. I'm off to do some cheering. I'll check back in later! Happy Reading, Readathoners!

The Readathon: It Begins!

It's here, guys and gals! The 24 Hour Readathon kicked off about ten minutes ago and I am happily sitting on the couch in my pjs with computer and book. The little guy is playing the other room and we have a little bit of time before we have to hop over to the church for a fellowship breakfast. So...the first book up to day is Let's Take The Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell. I was going to start fresh with new books today, but I finished my other book on Thursday night and really, who can go a whole day without reading?

So....here are the beginning numbers.

On page 57 at 8 a.m.

149 pages to go!

Introductory Questionnaire

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? The lovely state of NJ (If you say that it is the armpit of the country, I will have to come fight you. And I really don't want to fight....or interrupt my reading)

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I would say The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan, although I am really enjoying my current read so far. 

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? All snacks. What kind of crazy question is this? 

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! Uh...well...I like to read? And sing and play the piano and bake things. I do not like to clean or do puzzles. I am terrible at puzzles. 

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? Well, I'm cheering for the first time, so that will be different! 

See you later, friends! Read on! 

Let's Do the Readathon Again!

I would be a very bad book blogging friend indeed if I didn't make sure you were going to the coolest book event of the fall tomorrow. Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon kicks off tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. in my neck of the woods. It will be my third time taking part in this awesome event.

What is this readathon, you ask? Well, almost 400 readers have signed up to read for 24 hours (or as close to that as they can get). You can post on your blog or on twitter with your updates on what books you are reading, how many pages you have read, and what delicious snacks you are munching on. There are also hourly check-ins on the 24 Hour Readathon website. These check-ins encourage you to keep reading, provide fun questions for you to answer, and send you off to do mini-challenges to give you a little break from all of those pages. Did I mention there are prizes for the challenges?

So...if you are planning to read tomorrow, let me know what you are going to be reading in the comments. I will be starting with these guys:

                 

 If you haven't signed up yet, get thee to the website! It's a ton of fun and there is really no pressure. You can read as much or as little as you like. See you tomorrow at the Readathon!

I can Readathon. Can you?

Hello and Happy Tuesday.

I just wanted to make sure that everyone knows about the 24 hour readathon, which is coming up soon!

What is the readathon, you ask? Excellent question! The 24 Hour Readathon is a glorious day when nerds from all over join together on the interwebs to enjoy 24 full hours of reading. As of right now, there are over 200 readers planning to participate in this most wonderful day.You read some books, blog about the reading (and snacks! Readathon people love them some snacks...), and you participate in mini challenges so you can win prizes! And then really awesome people will come to your blog/facebook page/twitter feed and cheer you on!

Let us review.

On Saturday, April 21, you must gather your books. Gather your snacks. Gather your courage (no...you probably don't actually need this). Read to your heart's content or until you need to nap or, in my case, go to a senior class luncheon with a soon-to-be-graduating husband. People will cheer you on! You can win books and stuff! You are awesome!

So those are the basics, friends. I will be joining in sporadically. As I mentioned, we have the luncheon thing and I do have a four year old, so we shall see what happens. Check out my experiences with last year's readathon here and visit the official 24 Hour Readathon site here and sign up!

So...are you in???

Readathon Update: 8 a.m. and we're all done!

Good morning, intrepid readers! I got back up an hour ago to do a little more reading. I went with something light - who can do heavy reading before several cups of coffee?

On Page 148 (42 pages read)

196 pages to go! 

End of the Event Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 23, because it was really hard to wake back up to read for the last hour.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?  I think it depends on the reader - definitely an author you have already read who keeps you turning pages. 
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Not that I can think of. 
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Everything? Thank you to everyone who organized! 
5. How many books did you read? Finished one, made progress on three others and an audiobook.
6. What were the names of the books you read? The Borrower, Northanger Abbey, Sisterhood Everlasting, The Bible, Exit the Actress
7. Which book did you enjoy most? The Borrower
8. Which did you enjoy least? Exit the Actress
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? N/A
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I will be back reading next time! 

Thanks for visiting Literary Lindsey during the readathon. Please come back and say hello. See you in April for the next readathon! 

Readthon Update: 1 a.m.

Oh friends, I wish I could stay up all night with you. But someone has to lead the singing at church in 9 hours and that doesn't work very well when that person is snoozing in the pew.

So....I am hoping to catch a few hours of sleep and get back up for the last hour or so. Here is my reading in the past two hours.



Audiobook: Working through disc 8 and the dishwasher is unloaded, too!



On page 135 (19 pages read)
63 pages to go!



On page 106 (54 pages read)
243 pages to go!

For those of you going the full 24 hours, you are amazing! I will see you all in a few hours. Happy Reading!

Readathon Update: 11 p.m.

This has been a good two hours, friends!



I am almost done with Disc 7. I have maybe ten minutes left?


So, as I previously mentioned, I am trying to catch up on my read-through-the-bible in a year thingie. I finished Jeremiah (woohoo!) and made some progress in the book of Daniel.



On page 116 (read 22 pages)
82 pages to go!



Read 52 pages

So...this seems like good progress to me. I am snacking on some Doritos right now and ready to head back in for another round. How are you all doing? Keep up the reading!! :)

Readathon Update: 9 p.m.

Alright ladies and gents, I am back in the zone. The little man is up in bed and hopefully sleeping. I have picked up my book(s) again and am listening to my audiobook as I work on this post. 



         Finished!



On page 94
104 pages to go! 






Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
 Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and listening to Exit the Actress by Priya Parmar. 

2. How many books have you read so far?
Finished one - The Borrower. 

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I'm not loving the Austen...I may pick up Sisterhood Everlasting in a bit. 

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
No. I think for the April one I will try to schedule a free day.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
One large one, named my precious three year old son. We read some books together. Otherwise I realized I would not be able to read as much as I wanted to.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Nothing. I'm enjoying it, but I'm not surprised. 

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Not yet - I will let you know if I think of some! 

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Free up my day!

9. Are you getting tired yet?
Not yet - the night is young though. 

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?
It was good to put on an audiobook and do some cleaning. I moved my muscles, my house wasn't as awful looking and it still counted toward my reading time! 

Readathon Update: 5 p.m.

I'm still here! I'm still here!

It's been a hectic few hours with baking, child wrangling and trying to get some reading in. Here is the progress since 2 p.m.



At 2 p.m. - On page 132
Right Now: Page 181



Audiobook: Finished Disc 6, halfway through Disc 7 (about 45 minutes total)


I'm off to take our little guy to a Halloween party, but I promise I will be back later! Things will be much quieter in this house after 8 p.m.

Happy Reading!

Readathon Update: 2 p.m.(ish)

I know you are all dying to know what I have been doing the past 2 hours. I will not keep you in suspense any longer.

I ate some lunch. It's important to keep your strength up....you know, for all of that heavy book lifting.

I made progress on The Borrower. 33 more pages down, 188 pages to go.

I read some of Northanger Abbey for the Classics Circuit next week. I read 28 pages, although it seemed like more...I am about halfway through with that one.

I am off to check out the mini challenge for the hour, and then it is off to an audiobook and some baking.
Hooray!

How goes your reading? Has anyone finished a book yet?

Readathon Update: 12 Noon

Hello again, intrepid readers!


Here is what I've been doing in the past two hours. I read 23 more pages of The Borrowers. 221 pages left to go.

David and I have been hard at work. We played an excellent game of balloon volleyball which, as you know if you have little ones, elicits really excellent giggles. So simple and so good.

We also have been doing some reading. Our selections:

  

 

                      

Plans for the next few hours: I am perusing the mini-challenges. Win some books? Yes please! I'm going to try to read a little Northanger Abbey, see if I can convince someone to take a little rest and see my husband when he gets home from class.

How goes your reading? Are you having an awesome readathon? See you around 2!