Systematic Student:
read-a-thon

  • Read-a-Thon Survey!

    End Point Survey!!

    1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
    Most daunting for me was probably somewhere around 21 or 22. It didn't help that the book I was reading was dense, and has very small font. Probably not the best choice for the homestretch.:)

    2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

    Books written in verse move really quickly, so you feel like you are accomplishing a lot. I was also rather partial to rereads, because you are already familiar with the story, so they generally move quicker.

    3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
    Still nope... :)
    4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

    I don't know how to answer this question. And, I'm exhausted. So I won't.:)

    5. How many books did you read?
    11 1/3

    6. What were the names of the books you read?

    I listed them all in another post. Here is the link.

    7. Which book did you enjoy most?

    Most? I don't really know. I enjoyed a lot of them differently. Some were old favorites that I reread, some were new. I don't know that I could pick one!

    8. Which did you enjoy least?

    I feel guilty saying this, but that book I enjoyed the least was The Hero and the Crown. I feel guilty, because it's one of my favorites. It's a reread for me, and my lack of enjoyment was not the books fault. It's just fairly dense writing (that's McKinley for ya) and the font in my copy is tiny, and I started it at one o'clock in the morning. Let me tell you — When you've been reading for 19 hours, dense writing with itty bitty font is probably not the best idea.

    9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

    I wasn't a cheerleader this time.
    10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
    Definitely will! I will be a reader for sure, and probably a cheerleader.

    Here is my mid-challenge survey! I will most likely also be using this post for the final survey also, but we'll see.:)

    1. What are you reading right now?
    I just finished reading The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, and now I'm waiting on Twitter to help me decide what to read next while I fill this out!:)

    2. How many books have you read so far?

    I have 8 books on my 'read' list. One of those was just finishing the last 70 pages, and three were short novella, but I'm feeling pretty awesome about my progress!

    3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

    Most looking forward to? I have no idea! My interests keep shifting, so right now, I'm just interested in making sure I finish!

    4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
    Not really. I don't work on Saturdays, so I mostly just told people that I was uninterested in being social.
    5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

    I had a few phone calls, and a friend came over for a second, but I just didn't talk much. All in all, I think my total distraction time is less than 15 minutes, and that includes the few minutes it took me to walk around the corner to go get the mail, and then open my packages! I'm really proud of myself! Normally I get completely sucked into Twitter or something, but I've been really great at keeping focused!
    6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
    Like I mentioned above, mostly I'm surprised at how well I've kept my focus! And, that I'm passing through hours 13 and don't feel like gauging my eyes out yet.:)

    7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Umm... Not really.

    8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
    I think next year I'd like to set up a slightly different area in advance with more sitting options. I don't have a chair in my bedroom right now (no room) and it's the quietest part of the house, with no distractions. I think after everyone goes to be, I might migrate, but I'd like more ready made options. I will also buy a little more food with substance to it.:)

    Also, next year, I think I want to sign up to be an official cheerleader. I plan to spend some time cheering later tonight, but I'd like to be able to make it 'official'
    9. Are you getting tired yet?
    Nope! My tired time was this morning. That first 3 or so hours was a little hard, because I am not a morning person. I'm just hitting my stride!:) I thrive at night, so I imagine I'll be doing great for a while yet! I usually start getting sleeping around 3 or so, and if I can push past that, I'm golden!

    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?
    I don't really know... I'm still pretty new to this, so, take it for what it's worth. But, it's been working out really well for me to finish a book, write it down as completed and then jump on Twitter and update, or cheer people on for about 5-10 minutes. It gives me a chance to get my mind around the book I just finished, and then swiftly shift for the next one. I doubt I'm the only one to figure this out though!:)

  • Read-a-Thon Updates!!

    Final Update 6:00am Hour DONE!

    I MADE IT! All the way! There might have been about 10 minutes around 1:30 when I dozed off a little bit, but I'm not sure. BUT, I did it! And I'm crazy proud of myself! I feel like I did an awesome job with this read-a-thon! I got a lot of books read, and feel very accomplished!

    How did you all do?! Link me your completion posts, and I will stop by to tell you how awesome you are!:)

    Books I have read:

    *Little Bee — Chris Cleave: 68 pgs (finished last few chapters) *The Swan Kingdom — Zoe Marriott: 258 pgs (reread) * Stargirl — Jerry Spinelli: 186 pgs *Glimpse — Carol Lynch Williams: 484 pgs. *The Fairy's Mistake — Gail Carson Levine: 87 pgs. (reread-novella) *The Fairy's Return — Gail Carson Levine: 104 pgs. (reread-novella) *Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep — Gail Carson Levine: 107 pgs. (reread-novella)
    *The Summer I Turned Pretty — Jenny Han: 276 pgs.
    *The Emerald Atlas — John Stephens: 417 pgs. (ARC)
    *The Hero and the Crown — Robin McKinley: 227 pgs. (reread)
    *The Princess Test — Gail Carson Levine: 96 pgs (reread-novella)
    Total: 11 1/2 books 2310 pgs.

    Update 3: 7:00 Hour 13
    This is just a quick update to say Ooops! Last update I said I was at 7 1/2, but I wasn't.: ( I was at 6 1/2. But, I just finished The Summer I Turned Pretty so I am now!:)
    Oh, and also — My hands are FREEZING! Especially the right hand. My room is cold, since it's a "balmy" 35 degrees here is good ole SouthEast Idaho, so the hand holding my book is a little numb. But fear not! I shall prevail! The cold can't stop me!:)

    Update 2: 4:15pm Hour 10 1/4
    I'm pretty proud of my progress today! I've been doing great so far, making sure I'm 'on task' and have spent most of my time reading today. I plan to read one more book, and then spend about an hour or so visiting everyone who has stopped by to cheer me on. I'm at 7 1/2 6 1/2 books now, although the 3 last books that I read are more novellas, but I'm okay with that. I'm counting them anyway.:)
    I hope all of you are doing well with your reading! Good luck!

    Update 1: 12:30pm Hour 6 1/2

    I feel like I've been making pretty good progress with the read-a-thon so far, although some part of me thinks that I might be able to do better... But I shouldn't be complaining, because I have already completed two books, and I finished the last bit of a third book. Hopefully, I can keep it up throughout the rest of the day!!

  • 24 Hour Read-a-Thon!! (starting line)

    24 Hour Read-a-Thon!! (starting line)

    I'm so excited! In 10 or so hours, the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon begins!! I've been getting excited for this for weeks and it's finally right. about... here! I'm posting my 'starting line' now, because the read-a-thon starts, for me, at 6am. O_O Many of you would have no way of knowing this, but I do not do mornings well. At all. I have never been a morning person, and I'm a little worried I won't be able to get up in the morning. So, I'm writing this up tonight, so that I can go to bed early. I'm hoping to be in bed around 9 or 10, and then I'll get up around 5:30 or so, to give myself a chance to wake up and un-groggify myself.

    I'm hoping to get some serious reading done tomorrow. I want to spend a little bit of time updating progress, and will also probably spend some time checking into Twitter to say hi, cheer others on, and I'll probably stop by and check out the mini-challenges. But, for the most part, I plan to do nothing by read. I'm hoping to get a solid 8 books read, along with a few novellas, so we'll see! I have to pictures below. One is a stack of all the books that might, maybe, kinda, sorta interest me tomorrow, and the one below that a smaller part of that stack that I am more likely to draw from. But who knows.

    The 'wouldn't it be nice' but 'wow! overwhelming!' pile

    The 'this is me being a little more practical but not much' pile
    Other than these photos, I'm deliberately not including a list of the books that I hope to get read, because I don't want to worry about whether or not I'm really in the mood for what's on the list. It's just one less step in deciding what to read next.:)

    I'm be writing up a new post sometime tomorrow that will just be my read-a-thon updates. I will update is periodically throughout the day with finished books, thoughts I need to share, and any mini-challenges I chose to take part in.

    Are you going to read with us? Leave me a comment and I'll make every effort in my sporadic internet time to get on and come cheer at you!!:)

  • The Big's Game's On, Read-a-Thon!!

    I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately. I have a few ideas as to why that it, most of which are directly related to feeling like all the books I *should* be reading, but aren't yet are staring at me from my shelves and judging me. I see it in the way they *look* at me, and it's made picking up that next book to read hard.

    So, when I saw on Twitter that Jenn from Jenn's Bookshelves was hosting a Read-a-Thon today, I decided that I should jump on that, and participate.

    in my blog IF YOU WANT TO JOIN UP TOO!!:)

    So, here I am! I do have stuff that I need to get done today, so I know I won't be reading all day. And, I am actually going to be watching at least part of the game. I'm not a huge football fan, but I enjoy watching upon occasion, and my brother-in-law is the best person I have ever watched a game with. The Steelers are his team, and he gets so invested in the games, and watching, that he's probably more fun to watch that the game itself. Then, add in the fact that my best friend has wanted to go to a legit Superbowl party for as long as I've known her (legit meaning not just another excuse to hang out in a living room w/ people who don't understand the game) and she was thrilled when I told her my BiL invited her to theirs.

    But, I know I won't watch the whole game, and there's a bunch of time before and after the game when I'll be able to read. And, having a reason I'm supposed to be reading, is hopefully going to motivate me to actually, well, do it!

    So, my plans for today are pretty conservative. I want to finish one book, get started on a second and begin East of Eden for a read-a-long I'm participating in. I'm supposed to have 80 pages read by Tuesday, and I haven't even opened the book yet. O_0 So, that's the minimum I'd like to get done, but more would be awesome!

    What are you reading today?

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