Dewey's Read-a-thon Hours 5-8

Six and a half hours in and I'm about 1/3 of the way through my second book. I'll read the next part and then

Hour Seven Mini-Challenge: Best and Worst Covers

I chose Friends, Lovers, Chocolate as I thought it would be the best bet for having different covers (not a lot of cover variation in the "Dummies" series!).

    
Cover 2 is the edition I have, which is middle-of-the-road for me. Cover 1 is the version I liked the least, as it felt more like a travel book to me - there are better variations of the theme in other covers. Call me boring, but I actually like Cover 3 the best - simple, with a bit of tartan at the bottom for Edinburgh and a suggested image.

Dewey's Read-A-Thon Hours 1-4

And we're off! I have my books on the table, a few snacks to energize me and I'm ready to read.

Introductory Questionnaire:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Vancouver, BC, Canada

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman, even though I'm not a big Richard I fan.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Breaking the diet! Sour cream and onion potato chips.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
This is my fourth read-a-thon. I'm an arts administrator and marketing contractor, a player of field hockey, golf, and trumpet, and I love to read.

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?
I'll be able to put a little more time to the read-a-thon this time round - I hope to read for at least 20 hours. I do have to go to the Whitecaps game this afternoon, so this year I'll also try listening to an audiobook while I'm out of the house.

Hour 3 Mini-Challenge: Book Appetit!
I'm reading Wine for Dummies at some point, so I'm imagining a tasting menu based on wines in my "cellar" and books in today's queue:

Reception:
Majella Sparkling Shiraz - a selection of fruit - pears, apples, cherries - that might have been available during the time of Lionheart (Sharon Kay Penman)

Appetizers:
Gray Monk Gewurztraminer - a good Okanagan wine, also home to some of BC's best golf courses (What's a Golfer To Do? Golf Digest and Ron Kaspriske). Nachos shared with my virtual foursome.

Main Course:
Ravenswood Zinfandel - roast pork (or better yet, boar) in honour of The Magnificent Century by Thomas Costain

Dessert:
Graham's Late Bottled Vintage Port - chocolate of course, since I'm reading Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith

Hour 4 Mini-Challenge: Re-Title Your Current Read
I just finished The Magnificent Century by Thomas Costain (311 pages - 74 already read - 237). Given the subject, I'd retitle it A Parcel of Rogues, Warriors and Visionaries.

Next up is Wine for Dummies...

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-A-Thon - April 2013

I only ever seem to use this blog for the read-a-thon, so perhaps my goal for 2013 will be to become more active. Until then, I will be participating in the April event. I was supposed to be out of town, but my plans fell through (twice), so reading it shall be!

Half the fun for me is in the planning, so I'll be going through my bookshelves looking for a good mix of engaging fiction and non-fiction.

So far on the shortlist is:

Thomas Costain - The Magnificent Century (I'm part-way through, so I'll start off by finishing it)
Sharon Kay Penman - Lionheart (since I'm on a Plantagenet kick)
Wine for Dummies - I'll get some work done and feel productive
Neil Oliver - A History of Ancient Britain (though I might be getting a bit too history heavy)
Alexander McCall Smith - Friends, Lovers, Chocolate (in progress)

I also need to download an audiobook if I go to the Whitecaps game - something three hours long will cover me! I was going to give my ticket away, but I think getting some fresh air in the afternoon will be good.

Last Eight Hours

It's not really the home stretch - I'd say that will come at 1am, when I'm scheduled to settle in with Telegraph Avenue (I'd meant to tell Michael Chabon how thrilled I was that I had a new book to read for the Read-a-Thon, but I managed to make a complete idiot of myself just asking for an inscription - without telling him my name - that I couldn't bring myself to say anything other than a heartfelt "Thank You.").

I'm not sure what I'm going to start next. I pulled The Corrections out, but it feels like more of a commitment than I'm prepared to give right now. I might browse the bookshelf for something comforting and familiar instead.

Happy reading everyone!

End of Event Meme:

Which hour was most daunting for you?
The last hour - I haven't managed many coherent pages since about 3:30am PST.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I think once you hit the final hours of the Read-A-Thon, it's good to have books that can be tackled in short chunks, so that the feeling of accomplishment at finishing each one keeps you going. Short story/essay collections have been my late-night saviours.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I think it's great as it is.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
There were tons of prizes for readers and cheerleaders.

How many books did you read?
I finished five and started a sixth.

What were the names of the books you read?
Vinyl Cafe Diaries by Stuart McLean
Bad Boy by Peter Robinson
Walk Like a Man by Robert Wiersema
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
The Empty Stage by Peter Brook
Started: Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

Which book did you enjoy most?
Dress Your Family - David Sedaris always makes me smile.

Which did you enjoy least?
The Empty Stage - I was way too tired to tackle cultural theory.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I'll definitely participate again - I was out of town last April, but I'm less likely to have conflicts then. I'll be a reader, but if I don't lose a chunk of the day, I'll try to spend some time as a cheerleader as well.

Return to Reading

Took a longer break than I thought I would - two games in the rain (lost both 1-0, which is my least favourite score in the world) - and then as I was driving home, my mother called to say her plane had just landed and could I pick her up. Never got the email she sent, so it's lucky I was heading in the right direction at the time.

The Reading Child Mini-Challenge:

This is a good one for me, as I have stacks of pictures of me as a child reading a book. This is my all-time favourite, however, as I like how I look slightly maniacal :)

Mid-Event Survey

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?
I was a little tired earlier, but I've caught a second wind and am ready for more reading!

2) What have you finished reading?
I've finished Vinyl Cafe Diaries by Stuart McLean and Bad Boy by Peter Robinson.

3) What is your favorite read so far?

I'm a sucker for Stuart McLean, even though I've read the stories before.

4) What about your favorite snacks?

Haven't had much to snack on yet - a lousy sandwich from the gas station when I picked my mother up at the airport and some cold chicken. I'm just about to order pizza though, and my stomach is rumbling.

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!

I lost a lot of time with hockey and airport duties, so I haven't been surfing yet. I'm looking forward to doing some visiting and cheerleading later tonight.

Hour 14 Mini-Challenge

This was good timing for a challenge, as I'm just about to start reading Walk Like A Man, a book about coming to age through the music of Bruce Springsteen. I've had it sitting to the side, but I've been on a Springsteen kick in preparation for the concert in November, so this seemed like a perfect opportunity to finally read the book. And who doesn't like a little forearm porn!

Hours 1 to 8 (ish)

And we're off. I'm starting with Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe Diarires to ease into the day.

Introductory Questionnare:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Vancouver, British Columbia

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon (if I can find where I put it...)

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
A fresh apple from the Okanagan.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I'm an editor, grant writer, field hockey and trumpet player, and reader!

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?
I missed the last coupe of read-a-thons, because of other commitments - I have other commitments today as well, so the one thing I'm doing differently is taking a big break in the middle and therefore not setting as high goals for myself.

Hour 4 (8:13am PST) - finished Vinyl Cafe Diaries (325 pages) and am fighting with Firefox to post an entry to the mini-challenge. Next up - Bad Boy by Peter Robinson (signed!). I hope to get at least 100 pages in before I have to go to hockey.

October 2012 Read-A-Thon

I like to leave things until the very last minute, so I just decided to sign up for the October Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon. I have two field hockey games in the middle of the day, so I won't be able to rack up the hours and page count this year, but at least I'll be able to participate for 19-20 hours (unless it turns out that I do have to pick my mother up at the airport...)

Going to bed now, so that I can at least get 5 hours sleep before I start reading!