24 Hour Readathon Opening Meme #readathon

Good morning readathoners

Hope everyone has their coffee/tea beside them and is ready to go.

1) I am reading from Abbotsford, BC
2) I don't know which book I am looking forward to the most to reading, but probably What Happened later tonight.
3) Probably the golden arches that I will get later tonight or the homemade soup I made yesterday.
4) Spent 2 years living in Brazil as a child
5) I'll be working later this morning for a few hours and then volunteering at my church afterwards, which will hopefully give a little more jump later on this evening.

Hour 0 – Opening Event Questions

Morning folks.  It's about 10 minutes to the start time (about 5 am here in Vancouver, BC) and I have my cup of coffee in my Fraser Valley Regional Library mug and my first book, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, ready to go.

Opening Meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? just outside of Vancouver, BC, Canada
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? The Wonder
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? The candy I bought yesterday
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I have been reading since I was little, lived in Brazil for a couple of years when I was a preschooler, my parents were both teachers, I have a BA in History and a Library Technicians diploma.
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? One thing I am doing different today is that I am going to see Girl on the Train with some friends and yes, I have read the book.

#readathon Mid-Event Survey and Update #teampenguin

Mid-event Survey

1) I am currently reading Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
2) I have only completed one other book, When Breath Becomes Air
3) I don't know, it depends on how long Jane Steele takes me, but probably Jane Eyre and Scarlet.
4) Haven't had many interruptions, except me feeling tired from a night earlier in the week in which I didn't sleep much.
5) What surprises me every time is the ability I have to just sit down and read something.

Update

The past 6 hours have gone a little slower than the first 6, primarily due to a nap I took for about an hour or two, but other than that, I am holding steady.

Pages read total: 407
Pages read since last update: 141
Total books read: 1 and a half
Total hours read: 12

#Readathon Update No. 1 #teampenguin

Its a little over 6 hours in and I am starting to feel it a little bit at the moment, but I am mostly yearning for lunch.

Here is what I have done:

Pages read: 266
Books read: 1
Time read: 6 hours

I completed When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi and it was amazing.  It is a really good book, meditating on life and death and what it means to be human.  It was a library read and there were a number of quotes that I liked that I would have loved to highlight, but I think I will have to purchase this book at some point.  While the book has this sadness that envelopes the book, it has a hopefulness about it.  It is philosophical, but its not at that elevated level that can lose me.

Back to reading.

#Readathon Hour 2 Mini-Challenge: Our Bookish Childhoods

My own top 5 bookish childhood moments:

1) Attempting to read Anne of Green Gables when I was in Grade 3.  I did eventually read the book.

2) The sticker dictionary book I got when I was about 3 or 4.

3) The photo with my mom and I read going over a book when I was about 3 or 4 as my mom was trying to make our Sunday noon meal.  My dad took a photo of the moment.

4) When I was in Grade two, I was still sucking my middle and pointer fingers and my teeth were on the receiving end of that and weren't looking good as a result.  After an orthodontist appointment, my dad took me to White Spot and got me a Pirate Pack.  Because of the device in my mouth, I had to have my burger cut up so I could eat my food.  I seem to have a memory of him taking me to a nearby bookstore and allowing me to choose a book, of which I choose Ramona the Pest.

5) Every Friday during the ski season from the time I was about 11 until I was about 13/14, my dad, me and my sister would head to one of the Vancouver ski slopes and do some Friday night skiing. I would usually bring a book (I rarely go a place without a book on me), hoping to read while we had our dinner break in the lodge.  This particular evening was unique because my sister broke her collar bone due to her ski catching a rut and hitting her up on the collar bone.  As a result, my dad had to take her to emergency at a nearby hospital (thank goodness for universal health care!) and I had to tag along.  Fortunately I had brought a book along with me, just in case I had a chance to read.  The book I had brought along was Jane Eyre, one of the books on my TBR list today.  Because of the long wait (it was about an hour until my sister and dad came out) I had no choice but to read and having no clue as to when they would be back, I started to read the hardcover blue book I had borrowed from the school library and managed to read the first 9 or 10 chapters of the book.  The result was that I fell in love with the book and it became one of my favourites as a result.

Pre-Event! Hour Zero! #readathon

Good morning folks!  I hope everybody is ready to crack open those books.  I sure am.

Here are the questions for the opening meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
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?

Here are my answers:
1) I am reading from Abbotsford, BC, about 2 and a half hours north of Seattle, Washington and about an hour outside of Vancouver, BC.
2) I am looking forward to When Breath Becomes Air; have heard so much about this book.
3) I am looking forward to having my twizzlers.
4) I spent two years as a toddler living in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
5) I am going to save my audio books for the last half of the readathon.

24 Hours Readathon - 2nd Update #readathon

I had thought I would be updating more than I have up until this point, but the important thing is that I have been reading.  Since my last update, I have completed one book and am almost finished my second one.  I have currently read for about 11 hours, which considering my "nap" between 6 am and 10 am and the two hours I took to do some things in town this afternoon, is pretty good.  I realize that the next 6 hours are going to be a bit of a challenge, but I have made a dent into the shows left on my PVR and am actually seeing a difference in how much I have left on it.  I have also read over 500 pages since my last update about 11 hours ago.

Wish me luck in the next 6 hours.

24 Hour Readathon - First Update #readathon

As I write this, it is almost noon on the west coast of North America and coming upon Hour 8 of the readathon, I believe.  I manage to read for the first hour, starting at 5 am, but at about 6 am I couldn't stay awake and needed some much needed sleep.  So I did and slept until about 10.  While I am still a bit tired, I managing to get through Bone and have read quite a bit of the book.

During the 3 hours of my time reading, I have read about 300 pages and seem to read more each hour.  I am also going to donate $2 for every hour that I read to my local food bank.  The reason being is that they have had some financial trouble and aren't getting the donations that they usually get at this time of year and I felt it would be the best bang for my buck and a good way of helping out my community.

Next update should be in a few hours.  Happy reading!

24 Hour Readathon - Opening Meme #readathon

From 24hourreadathon.com:

In an effort to help you get squared away before GO TIME! here is the Introductory Meme for you to fill out if you wish!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I am reading from Abbotsford, BC, Canada; its about 45 min east of Vancouver BC and about 2 and a half hours north of Seattle, WA.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Probably the Bone book and The Dead in their Vaulted Arches.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Probably the box of Nestle Halloween candy from last year and probably a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks at some point in the evening.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I wasn't diagnosed with Asperger's until just before my grade 12 year; was about 17 1/2 at the time.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? I will take a much more relaxed approach to the readathon and not insist on having a personal cheerleader.  I realize that we are all cheering each other on, whether we are assigned one a cheerleader or not and this is supposed to be fun and to get our TBR piles down, somewhat.

24 Hour Readathon - October 2015 #readathon

Somehow I had gotten it into my head that the 24-hour readathon was next Saturday.  I guess because of the fact that I have been very busy in the last few weeks and have basically just barely existed and manage to get through my day, but for whatever the reason I didn't clue into the fact that it was taking place today in about 3 and a half hours (I had 2 large drinks from a fast food place that has golden arches in its logo).  I realize that this means I won't get cheerleaders assigned to me but that is okay since we all sort of cheer for each other anyways.

Since I am going to participate here are the books that I will be reading:
• Bone the complete series by Jeff Smith
• The Dead in their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley
• In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
• 2 Book Tour books I need to read for this coming week
• A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke
• Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

I realize that the second last book is a very long book, as is the first book, but that one at least is a graphic novel that can easily be read fairly easily.  I also have over six days worth of podcasts that I would like to get through and off my iPod and I have a lot of hours recorded on my PVR, not to mention the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings movies that I purchased through iTunes for about $30 and the various movies and TV series that I have borrowed from the library.

As for food, I really don't know what I am going to eat, but I do have veggies that I need to eat up and also a lot of cheese and there is always those golden arches to get dinner from at 8:30ish pm that will keep me up until the wee hours of the morning.

#readathon Update No 1

Since my work schedule has gotten in the way of me doing a complete readathon, I am doing it in chunks.  So for my first chunk, I read from the start at 5 am PT until about noon PT.  I got about 123 pages read and managed to complete The Narrow Road to the Deep North.  And then I took a bit of a break to get myself ready for my shift.

For the next chunk, I will probably do it from about midnight PT until 5 am PT.   I'll probably read Horrorstor. 

24 Hour Readathon Spring 2015 Sign-up and Book Stack

As I look at the time on my PVR, I am realizing that it is almost time for the Readathon to start and I need to get to bed, if I wish to wake up at 5 am.

With that in mind, I will be short and sweet with this post.  This year is a little different for me since I got a new job in the last week and a half and can only read for a portion of the readathon this time around.  But still I will participate when I can.

So here are my books:

• The Narrow Road to the Deep North (finish)
• Vanessa & Her Sister
• Moon over Manifest
• Horrorstor

I am also going to watch some movies or TV as I read.  Happy Reading :)

#readathon Update No. 2

Another quick update

Total hours read: 6
Pages read: 402
Books completed: 1
How I am feeling: Groggy and a bit hungry, but I am going to have some yougurt and a Coke.

Be around in about 5 hours.

#readathon Update No. 1

Here is a quick update:

Hours read: 3
Pages read: 290
Books read:  Still working on the first book, but I should have the book done within about 30 min
How I am feeling: a bit tired and needing some breakfast (will get some when I finish Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

#readathon Opening Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?  I am reading from Abbotsford, BC

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I really don't know at this point, but probably Lawrence in Arabia

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?  Anything with caffeine at this point 

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! This is my 2nd time doing the fall session of this; I have done mainly the one in April

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 that if I need to sleep, I get some sleep; not counting on staying up the full 24 hours this time around.  But I think if there is one thing I will do differently is that I won't blog as much.

#readathon Books

I have been looking towards this for the last little while.  I hope that I can survive the 24 time span, either reading or doing reading type things (I have to volunteer in my church library tomorrow evening), but I will do my best.

Here are the books that I hope to read:
• Bridge to Haven
• Five Days at Memorial
• Lawrence in Arabia
• Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
• The Woman in White
• The Count of Monte Cristo

I'll probably add a couple more, but at this point these are the books that I hope to concentrate on.

Sunday Salon - #readathon End of Event Meme and Final Stats

I can't believe that I actually managed to stay up from 5 am PT Saturday until 5 am PT Sunday (today).  By the end, I was barely hanging on and had to mostly listen to an audiobook for the last 30 min so that I would be awake for the full time.

To kick things off, I read in my new reading corner in my room, as I had people staying with me on Friday night and I didn't want to disturb them as I read for the first few hours and one of my guests was leaving in the morning, so I didn't want to be distracted by the individual packing up, but by mid-morning, I had moved to the couch in the living room and there I sat from about 9 am Saturday until 5 am Sunday.  I did take a couple of half-hour breaks, including a run to Mcdonald's at around 12:30 am.

But despite how I felt when I finally went to sleep at around 5 am this morning, I am really happy at what I was able to accomplish.  According to my stat sheet that I kept (one of the readers offered this to fellow readers to use),  I read 995 pages between the 8 different books that I read and read for 19.75 hours.  I would have liked to read more during the read-a-thon and have more times when I would have entered my reading zone, but due to distractions that I encountered, especially during the early part of the read-a-thon, I missed about 4 hours and 15 minutes of reading, but I did read for at least 30 minutes during each hour.  I also participated in a few challenges, but by the end, I just wanted to read as much as I could, as I am also trying to get a very thick book completed by Saturday (its a library book and I have renewed it to its max and it has to be returned on Saturday).

I realize that I am being hard on myself, but I know for next time that there is a bit of room for improvement.

End of Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
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?
5. How many books did you read?
6. What were the names of the books you read?
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
8. Which did you enjoy least?
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

1) Probably the last hour was the most daunting for me; almost felt like quitting at about 4:15 am.
2) The Boxer & Saints series might keep a reader engaged for next year.
3) Not as many photo challenges
4)  What worked for me was taking at least two 30 minute breaks from reading and also the cheerleading helped.  I did notice that the cheerleading really dropped off after about midnight and I noticed that I didn't get really any encouragement from the cheerleaders; didn't get any sort of comments after my 1 am post.  I was disappointed that I didn't see any comments after that; didn't bring it up during the twitter chat.  I also noticed I didn't really many encouraging comments while on twitter.  I realize that there are a lot of readers participants, but if the cheerleaders could make sure to kinda hit readers on a regular basis, I think I could get through that final hour better.
5) Read 8 books; completed 4
6) I finished both books in Boxers & Saints series, The Hen Who thought she could fly, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
7) I enjoyed The Ocean at the End of the Lane for most of it and really liked the Boxers and Saints series.
8)  I didn't really enjoy The Hen Who Thought She Could Fly.
9) N/A
10) Depending on when the October read-a-thon is, I will likely participate; more likely to participate in April.  I probably will take on a similar role as have in the past.

#readathon Update No. 11

Books completed: 3
Books read from: 7
Total hours read: 17.75
Total pages read: 946
 Pages read since last update: 51

Well, this is probably the final update of my progress, as the next post will probably a final total.  As I reflect on it at this point, I have had fun.  I will post my final numbers probably in about 2 hours and maybe a final survey, if there is one.  See you in about 2 hours....

#readathon Update No. 10

Books completed: 3
Books read from: 7
Total hours read: 15.75
Total pages read: 895
Pages read since last update: 32

I am still finding The Ocean at the End of the Lane enjoyable, even though I am getting a little freaked out by the story and is giving "nightmares" and is kinda freaking me out.  I am starting to wonder if I really want to listen to one of the other books that I have audio for, especially since I still have about 2 hours and 20 min of Ocean left to listen to (the audio for Ocean is really good and Neil is an excellent reader) and maybe read something else for the remaining time.  I'll see.  See you in about 2 hours...

#readathon Update No. 9

Books completed: 3
Books read from: 7
Total hours read: 14.25
Total pages read: 863
Pages read since last update: 57

I am really enjoying The Ocean at the End of the Lane, but this last section felt really creepy.  See you in about 2 hours!