Read-a-thon Home Stretch

Less than four hours to go and I'm starting to fade - time for an energy drink. Reading Lionheart now, but interspersing it with some Fitzgerald stories. My page count isn't going to be as high as I'd like, but I made some good headway today. Looking forward to sleeping, though!

Hour 22 Mini-Challenge: If It Were a Movie:

I'm reading Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman right now, which would be a fun movie to cast. I know she imagined Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson as Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, but that casting would work better for Time and Chance - I'm thinking maybe Helen Mirren as an older Eleanor of Aquitaine. I'm having a hard time thinking of anybody except a young Anthony Hopkins as Richard, but I could imagine Dan Stevens as Coeur de Lion, at least in terms of looking the part. And Benedict Cumberbatch wouldn't necessarily look the part, but he'd make a great John. Matthew Macfadyen perhaps as William Marshall, Laurence Fox as Philip of France. And Peter Jackson to direct, since he could start with When Christ and All His Saints Slept and have enough material for a dozen movies... He'd probably have Howard Shore compose the score, but I'd like Patrick Doyle or perhaps Murray Gold, with a scattering of Holst.

END OF EVENT MEME

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
   Hour 21- I dozed a bit around 2am and then caught a bit of a second wind, or at least enough of one to be able to concentrate on reading again.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
   I enjoyed re-reading some of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories. They were nice palate cleansers in between longer reads.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
   I think everything about it is a great event!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
   There was a good mix of mini-challenges from quick answers to ones that took a little more thought.
5. How many books did you read?
   I read two, finished two that had been previously started and got part-way through another two.
6. What were the names of the books you read?
   The Magnificent Century by Thomas Costain (the final 234 pages)
   What's a Golfer to Do? (240 pages)
   Wine for Dummies (388 pages)
   Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith (the final 130 pages)
   Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman (the first 160 pages)
   Several short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald (135 pages)
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
   I'm really enjoying Lionheart so far.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
   I've actually really enjoyed all the books this time round, in different ways.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
    The October Read-a-thon is challenging for me, as my weekends aren't free in October, but I'll do as much as I can.

And now to bed!