Readathon Wrap Up for Sunday Salon

Another readathon bites the dust! Wow, what a day. Once again, the thing that blows me away is how insanely fast it flies by! It's truly incredible.

So I got up about 6:30 a.m. to join the party,  which was about 1/2 late. And I dropped off just a little after midnight. It's lucky that,  for me, that this party lasts mostly during daylight hours, otherwise, I'd never make it. So, I did pretty much 18 hours worth. But four hours of that was going to a work party of sorts with my husband, for a co-worker's baby. Interesting it was, but lasted WAY longer than I expected! The other birthday party I thought I'd be going to didn't happen, but hopefully I'll see those birthday people today, one of them being my mom! :)

Which all means that I was actually trying to read for about 14 hours, and I probably actually read about half that time, with the other half taken up by blogging/twittering, and other various interruptions. So one thing I've decided about me and readathons.... I HATE keeping track of the numbers! I just want to read, and play on the computer and read and play on the computer and forget about pages, and hours and clocks and times and math. WAY too much math involved. Can I try that next time? JUST SAY NO TO MATH!!  :)

I finished two books... two VERY little books. Both wonderful though. I'll be giving them five stars over at Goodreads. And then I read about 80 pages more in City of Bones. I ate a ton of caramel popcorn, which is a perfect readathon snack we've decided. We're talking the crunchy BAKED kind you know, not the sticky gooey kind. Oh so good. And lots of chocolate of course. I needed to drink more water. I always forget that part. The weather was perfect for staying home and reading all day long... it snowed the entire day! And was gray and gloomy. Not one speck of sun did I see.

I wasn't that tired at the end of the day really, so I thought I'd go later. But then I decided to curl up in bed to read, and guess what? I was suddenly overwhelmingly tired! It was over. I was done! Couldn't keep my eyes open if my life depended on it. So I caved and went to sleep. But that's okay because it just so happens that I'll probably read today... and tomorrow... and all this week even! :)

Here's the official questions we are all answering today:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? 
    The first hour is hard... it's hard to get up on a Saturday when you normally sleep in.
    I didn't have sleepy hours in the middle like I usually do. That was interesting.
    And then the last hour (hour 18 for me) is hard because that's when my eyes close whether I want them to or not.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
    My mind is blank at the moment. 

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
    No suggestions really. It seems like it's pretty much all figured out pretty well. Maybe a heads up on the opening meme so we can have that done and ready to go right at the start. Maybe a list of the mini challenges from the start so we can beginning thinking on the ones that require thought....get a little head start on some of them so we don't have to spend reading time thinking about challenge tasks. Know what I mean?

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
   I noticed more of the mini challenges were just completed by commenting on the blog post. That made it easier I think, rather than having to come and do your own post to complete it. Also, I really like the interaction on Twitter and seriously, how did we do this thing without that? Dewey would be amazed at the whole Twitter thing, don't you think?

5. How many books did you read?
    Two books, from start to finish.

6. What were the names of the books you read?
    If I Stay by Gayle Forman and Skellig by David Almond

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
    They were both wonderful. I little too poignant. I was feeling a bit weepy during both. 

8. Which did you enjoy least?
    I didn't enjoy my 80 pages read in City of Bones a whole lot... still too much explaining of the world going on. I'm ready for some action. I've heard so much about this Jace dude that I want to see him DO something... so far, he's just sort of there, you know. ACTION people! Action!

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
    Not a cheerleader, really. I mean, I end up cheering people on a bit through Twitter, but I am TERRIBLE about going around to other blogs, so way to go to the cheerleaders that do that! 

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
     If life allows it, I will read again.