Dewey’s Read-a-thon

For the next 24 hours I’m going to be part of Dewey’s Read-a-thon.  This is my second time participating and I’m more excited/less nervous than I was my first time around. I’m not hardcore enough yet to try to read the whole 24 hours, but I am going to try and surpass my time/page count from last April. This means I need to read for more than 13 hours and read more than 1,000 pages. Internet permitting (it’s been on the fritz lately) I’ll be updating this post throughout the day (and night!) on my progress and with fun mini-challenges. You can also get updates by checking my twitter: @alisoncdoherty

Also to any new readers, all commenters will be entered into my 26th Birthday Giveaway for the chance to win a $26 Amazon gift card. The winner will be announced on October 26th. So yeah, let the reading begin!

The Morning After: So I didn’t make it until 5am, but I did read for Eighteen and a Half hours. I finished five books and read well over my goal of 1,000 pages. I really loved every book I read and I just couldn’t have been happier than while reading yesterday. So thanks for another great read-a-thon. I can’t wait to participate again next year. I’m skipping my usual Sunday book review (because I’m exhausted). But I’ll be back with Marry, Date or Dump on Monday!

Sat. 11:55pm: I finished another YA book, Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. It kind of feels like it’s time to go to bed. I’ve now been reading for about 17 hours (maybe a little more) and surpassed my goal of 1,000 pages. But part of me wants to keep going. I mean it’s only five more hours until I hit the 24 hour mark. We’ll see.

Sat. 9:10pm: I took an hour off for dinner, but other than that I’m still going strong. Although I am getting a little silly. I just finished Naomi and Ely and it was Fantastic, with a capital F. Because the internet appears and I have 20 minutes left on my audible version of If This Isn’t Nice What Is? to be working I thought I’d catch up on some of the mini-challenges.

• I made a book recommendation on Fiction State of Mind*

*One challenge in the internet stopped being cooperative. Oh well. I guess that means more reading time.

Sat. 5:23pm: The internet went from being a little glitchy to almost existent, but I’ve kept up with my reading. I finished Shrimp, which is definitely a 5 star book for me. I decided to stick with Rachel Cohn and read Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List co-written with one of my favorites, David Levithan. I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for more than 12 hours and it still seems like a good idea to just keep reading. Here’s my midway survey:

) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired? Not sleepy yet, I’m sure it’s coming though.
2) What have you finished reading? The Round House and Shrimp. I have two other books in progress.
3) What is your favorite read so far? Shrimp (sorry if that takes away what little literary street cred I have). 
4) What about your favorite snacks? Lady Finger cookies and leftover curry from last night (not mixed together). 
5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love! Because of technical difficulties not so much, but hopefully I’ll find more as the read-a-thon continues!

Sat. 1:30pm: I’ve been reading or blogging about reading for eight and half hours and so far it’s going great. The Internet is being a little glitchy, so I haven’t been able to update or connect with other read-a-thoners as much as I would like, but I am totally digging Shrimp by Rachel Cohn (did I pull that slang off?). One of the things I like about it is that even though it is YA, I love it right now but know I would have hated it when I was in high school. Usually the opposite is true, but I think I would have completely judged the main character Cyd Charisse. Which is only proving that (like Dawson) I am only becoming less reasonable and more juvenile as I get older. But I think it’s probably more fun that way. Time for a lunch break and then more reading!!!

Sat. 11:06am: I can’t believe I’m already six hours and 317 pages in. I just finished my first book of the read-a-thon: The Round House, by Louise Erdrich. It was so moving and heavy. I’m glad that I read it and totally understand why it won the National Book Award, but I’m definitely going to choose something lighter for my next book. I also listened to about an hour of an audio book of If This Isn’t Nice, What Is, by Kurt Vonnegut. Here is another mini-challenge to create blackout poetry, sponsored by Elizabeth Michelle. Sorry about the shoddy work, I only had a black crayon.

Sat. 8:47am: Here is my hour four mini-challenge to create some book spine poetry, sponsored by the blog Capricious Reader. I was a little limited by the books I could reach on my grandparents’ shelves, hence the geography theme.

Sat. 7:15am: A little more than two hours in and I’m going strong. I’m about halfway through The Round House, by Louise Erdrich. It’s dealing with some really tough/violent subjects, so I’m kind of glad I’ll get to read it all in one sitting. So far I’m having a lot of fun with the mini-challenges, although this hour three puzzling challenge is impossible. I think I got a four out of ten. Soon, I’m going to take a breakfast break, but I want to hit 200 pages first so now I’m going to go back to reading!

Sat. 5am: I’m awake and I didn’t even have to use my alarm. My ipad is being grumpy about never getting backed up, so I’m going to have to start with a real book. Anyways here is the hour 1 challenge survey then it’s time to start reading!

1. What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Big Sur, California
2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I’m really excited about The Round House, by Louise Erdrich and for a lot of books written by my favorite YA authors I checked out from the library. 
3. Which snack are you most looking forward to? Lady Fingers (the cookie).
4. Tell us a little something about yourself! I’m writing a YA novel of my own. 
5. 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? This is my second read-a-thon. I’m excited to see if I can surpass what I accomplished in April, both in terms of pages and time spent reading.