Read-a-thon picks

Dewey's Read-a-thon is this Saturday, October 18th. For 24 consecutive hours, starting at 5 am pacific time, participants will read as much as they choose while cheerleaders and others cheer them on. There will be mini-challenges and great prizes to win.

For the last Read-a-thon I read short stories, children's books, poetry, plays, and graphic novels. This time will be no different. By reading short works I keep the fun going and the pressure off though I will not be online this time.

My reading picks are:

Sinners Welcome - Mary Karr (poetry)

6 short stories from The Best American Short Stories of the Century

A Midsummer's Night Dream - Shakespeare

Repair - C.K. Williams (poetry)

2 short stories from Alice Munro's Runaway

6 short stories from The Better of McSweeney's

3 short stories from The Best American Mystery Stories 2007

This year's batch of Tin House magazine that I had not read though I subscribe faithfully to it

the rest of The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

The Shiniest Jewel - Marian Henley (graphic novel)

I predict that I'll get halfway through this list.

Wrap-up post for the Read-a-thon

Books completed: 2

Books I'm in the middle of: 2

Total pages read: 497

Prizes won: 1 - a chocolate bunny!

Posts made: 19

Currently reading: Comfort by Ann Hood

I've had so much fun participating in this Read-a-thon. There were people who cheered me on and left great comments like Eva and Nymeth, Bethany and Jennie, Care and so many others. It really encouraged me to keep reading and to cheer on others. The mini-challenges were fun to join and I think I'll probably throw more than two next year. Dewey, thank you so much for throwing this challenge. Can you throw it every six months? LOL!! I also know that there are so many blogs I will be subscribing to. Thank you Cheerleaders, you've done a great job and congratulations to ever Reader who participated even for a minute.

Post-event survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? The hours I was asleep.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Fables series - Bill Willingham
Twilight -Stephenie Meyer

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? none

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Having cheerleaders to keep people motivated to read.

5. How many books did you read? Currently 2, but I am trying to read 4 by the end.

6. What were the names of the books you read? Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer & What now? by Ann Patchett

7. Which book did you enjoy most? What now?

8. Which did you enjoy least? The sleeping part.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Keep making your rounds and encouraging people.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? As long as you have the Read-a-thon I'll participate. I'll be a Reader and Cheerleader next year.

Read-a-thon Mini-Challenge, Hour 13

Your task: Find a poem and post it. The length of the poem does not matter.

Your prize: Dirt Music by Tim Winton and 3 fridge magnets and dishcloths.
This challenge is open to Readers and Cheerleaders and will last until 11pm Pacific time. Remember to leave a comment below with the link to the specific post, after you've completed this challenge.

Hummingbird

Suppose I say summer,

write the word "hummingbird,"

put it in an envelope,

take it down the hill

to the box. When you open

my letter you will recall

those days and how much,

just how much, I love you.

Raymond Carver

Read-a-thon Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now? Theodosia and the Serpent of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers. It's a young adult novel, that's pretty interesting already.

2. How many books have you read so far? So far I've completed two, is midway through one, and just started Theodosia.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? The memoir, Comfort by Ann Hood, V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? There's no way to free up my Saturdays with Saturdays being the busiest day of the week for both the love of my life and my mom, but I made sure that the kids had plenty of snacks and things to do.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I constantly have interruptions with so many kids here, but it's not a problem. I don't feel any pressure at all with this challenge.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? There are so many people cheering you on and there's no pressure to have a certain amount of pages or books read.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? None. This year's Read-a-thon has been pretty fun.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Nothing

9. Are you getting tired yet? A little but that's what coffee's for.

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? Just relax and have fun. If you need to take a break, take one.

Read-a-thon, Mini-Challenge 4

This mini-challenge is now closed. I want to thank everyone who joined me. Happy readings and remember to have fun!

Read-a-thon Mini-Challenge, Hour 4

The task: Grab one of your favorite books and post one of your favorite quotes from it. This challenge is open for the next two hours, ending at 11:00 a.m. pacific time, which is the very end of hour 5. This mini-challenge is open to Readers and Cheerleaders.

The prize: Ruined by Reading - Lynne Sharon Schwartz and a set of dishcloths

Here's one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books, East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

"No story has power, nor will it last, unless we feel in ourselve that it is true and true of us." p. 266

Read-a-thon Mini-Challenge, Hour 1

This mini-challenge is a meme from Darcie.

What are your reading from today? My lovely kitchen table in Long Beach, CA. The weather is perfect reading weather to me: cold and cloudy.

3 facts about me: I am a single mother of three kids, ages 3, 4, and 6. I am a full-time college student, majoring in English. I am reading with my kids and younger twin sisters who are 8.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? Lucky number 13.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? Nope. What's the fun in that?

Any advice for people doing this for the first time? This is also my first time, so I'll just say have fun. This is not a race or a contest, just a bunch of people sharing their love of books with each other. Also, take a break when you need to.

13 hours until the Read-a-thon

Some of what I plan on reading (if I'm in the mood) :


1. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer (already in progress)
2. Guerrilla Learning - Grace Llewellyn (in progress)
3. Trail of Crumbs - Kim Sunee (in progress)
4. What now? - Ann Patchett
5. The Best American Comics 2007


6. V for Vendetta - Alan Moore
7. Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos - R.L. LaFevers
8. From Hell - Alan Moore
9. One hundred demons - Lynda Barry
10. A midsummer's night dream -Shakespeare


11. Fun Home - Alison Bechdel
12. The vintage book of contemporary short stories
13. Understanding Comics - Scott McCloud
14. Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
15. Scent of God - Beryl Singleton Bissell

I have Tylenol for those book-induced headaches I'm bound to get, plenty of movies and books for the kids, I've mopped and swept, and plan on eating sandwiches for dinner. I also bought plenty of French Vanilla coffee cream for all the caffeine I will be consuming and donated to Reading is Fundamental.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (2006)
608 pages
2/5 rating

I cannot comment on this book. *Sigh* I just can't. Also read for the Stephenie Meyer mini-challenge.

Read-a-thon

There's less than two days until the start of Dewey's Read-a-thon. I cannot wait. I already have my books on my shelf, just waiting to be read. I plan on catching up on some of my many reading challenges.

If you haven't heard about the Read-a-thon or haven't signed up, click on my link and go. Maybe you can't read that day but still want to help, you can be a cheerleader or donate money to Reading Is Fundamental.

2008 Read-a-thon

Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf is hosting a Read-a-thon. I can't wait for it to start. I have some serious catching up to do with most of my challenges. The read-a-thon starts June 28th at 9am Pacific DST, which is perfect since I live in Cali. There's mini-challenges, door prizes, and much more. The event lasts for 24 hours. So you read books, post in your blogs about the books you've read, and visit the blogs of other participants.

One of the great things about this event (besides the reading,) is that participants can get their friends and loved ones to sponsor them to raise money for Reading Is Fundamental. I think I'm going to just donate a set amount to RIF.

The read-a-thon is a month away and already I'm forming a list of the things I want to read and the challenges I need to read for. I'm such a dork.