I decided to enter my first read-a-thon which a few other YA book bloggers have been mentioning on their blogs. After reading about Dewey's Read-a-Thon for April 18-19, 2009, I got really excited. Unlike walking or running marathons, reading is something definitely manageable. Weeks and weeks of training is not needed to meet this challenge. Definitely do-able. Also, I thought this would be a great way to catch up on some much needed YA book reading. I have a stack, but haven't organized it in any way. I think I'll wing it depending on my mood. Wonder how far I'll get.
My schedule: Saturday, April 18, 2009
5am - 6:30am: Dewey's Read-a-Thon officially starts in the Pacific time zone while I'm still asleep.
6:30am - 6:40am: Wipe the sleep from my eyes, grab my latest book which I started on Friday and get comfy on the living room couch.
6:40am - 9:44am: Read - Kit's Wilderness by David Almond
9:44am - 12pm: Break - breakfast, catchup on read-a-thon blog posts, post book reviews and updates
12pm - 1:15pm: Read - Vampire Knight v.3 by Matsuri Hino
1:15pm - 2pm: Break - took a walk to the supermarket for some groceries, did a smidgen of housekeeping and made a sandwich for lunch
2pm - 3pm: Still on break - post to blog, read progress of read-a-thon participants
3pm - 3:15pm: Read - The Fortunes of Indigo Skye by Deb Caletti (started but put on temporary hold to read something else)
3:15pm - 4pm: Read - Harry Potter: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
4pm - 4:15pm: Break - post to blog
4:15pm - 6:30pm: Read - The Fortunes of Indigo Skye by Deb Caletti
6:30pm - 9:30pm: Break - this one was forced due to unexpected visitors who came for dinner
9:30pm - 10pm: Read - NANA v.3 by Ai Yazawa
Decided to switch from Indigo to a quickie manga
10pm - 5am (Sunday): Forced end - missed all the fun of the final hours due to... well let's just say I couldn't do it. I will try again next time around and make efforts to plan for it better. So back to the normal reading mode for now.
The results:
Total Number of books read: 5
Total Number of books completed: 4
Total Number of pages read: 623
Total Hours of time spent reading: 8 hours
Other participants you’ve visited:
(I would have liked to visit more, but I just did not have enough time).
A Striped Armchair
The Curious Reader
Fire in the Hole
Sweet Serenity
Mini-challenges completed:
Jessica's Love Your Local Library
Mid-Event Survey
Overall experience:
Whoa! I'm amazed that in 24 hours I only spent 8 hours of real reading time. I was definitely expecting more, but I think I've got to seriously plan better next time around. Got to minimize breaks and what is done during the breaks. I also must alert friends and family so that I can have the me-time needed. However, I am happy I got some books read in my tbr pile. Shorter books do help in giving a sense of accomplishment when all is said and done.
Being that I just found out about the read-a-thon a few days before the start and that it is my first time with read-a-thon-ing, I haven't had a chance to read past participant experiences to gear up proper. I'm looking forward to going back now reading how fellow participants fared.
Thanks to Nymeth, Hannah and Trish for hosting this fabulous event. And, thanks to the many cheerleaders and commenters on my read-a-thon posts who helped me along the way!
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updated: 5.4.09
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