Dewey’s Readathon: End-of-Event Survey

My overall assessment of Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon: It was magical. It was wonderful. I spent the entire day with a smile on my face.

The biggest surprise of this Readathon for me: I actually read the three books on my initial list. That hardly ever happens. Usually, my list is seven miles long, and I end up reading books that weren’t even on it. I also didn’t get a chance to do many of the mini-challenges or update here. My books kept me hooked! When I could pull myself away, I was more focused on engaging with the social media communities.

Since I knew I wouldn’t be able to push through the full 24 hours – I’m working today so had to be rested – I made a point of being ready to begin at the start time. This tweet captured the feeling perfectly for me:

And now, on to the end-of-event survey:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

The Friday before Readathon felt like Christmas Eve. I was so excited, I had trouble falling asleep. The toughest hour for me was the first one. I was tired and wired. Once I hydrated, though, I felt better, and the rest of the day went smoothly.

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

For readers who enjoy children’s/YA, Shannon Messengers Keeper of the Lost Cities is super suspenseful. They’ve kept me up reading even when I feel like my eyeballs are going to fall out. For murder mystery readers, I adore M. C. Beaton’s Hamish Macbeth novels. They’re short, quick reads as well, so perfect for Readathoning. Two others who have kept me glued to a book are Octavia Butler and Liane Moriarty.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?

Blasphemy! How could it possibly get better?

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

The community was amazing, once again. It’s so moving to see people coming together with so much passion, enthusiasm, warmth, encouragement – ahhh, I’m having a moment. *discretely wipes eyes*

5. How many books did you read?

I read one full book and got halfway through another. I also finished one that I’d started before Readathon.

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

The Mothers by Brit Bennett (full)

Exile by Shannon Messenger (halfway)

When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning (finished)

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

They’re such different books. I enjoyed them in different ways.

8. Which did you enjoy least?

See above. 🙂

9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Barring anything unexpected, I will definitely participate in the next Readathon. I loved writing a warm-up post this year. Next time, I would like to do more – perhaps host a mini-challenge and/or help out in other ways.

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Dewey’s 24-Readathon is here! If this is the first you’ve heard of it, click here to learn more about it because it’s the best thing happening on the internet. 🙂

I plan to read as much as I can. I mean, obviously. As a fairly slow reader, I keep my stack modest (it’s good for managing expectations):

When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning (I have 10 pages left)

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Exile by Shannon Messenger

I also want to make time to be social (Readathoners are The Best) and update my progress right here on this page.

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Hour 10 Update

I have yet to post a progress report because I’ve been so engrossed in Brit Bennett’s The Mothers! It was a great readathon pick that kept me reading feverishly. This isn’t because it was exactly plot drive. Rather, I was invested in the characters and what would happen to them.

In addition to The Mothers, I also finished the last 10 pages of When Books Went to War. That happened waaay back in hour one.

Now, it’s on to Exile by Shannon Messenger. But first, a mini-challenge!

This one is hosted by Ampersand Read. It’s a challenge after my heart: Literary World Tour. Here is the prompt:

“This challenge seems simple: if money and time were no object (you’ve won the biggest lottery jackpot ever, and your boss is totally fine with you taking all of the time off work you need), where would you go to experience your favorite book(s) or series? Fictional places count too, of course.”

The hard part, of course, is picking a place to visit. Well, not too hard because I think about this at least once a day!

If money and time were no object, I would travel to the U.K. for as long as I could secure a visa. I would need loads of time because my ideal visit would include:

• Extended time in London for Charles Dickens and Harry Potter related walking tours and train station and museum visits
• Gad’s Hill
• Bath
• Jane Austen sites
• Bronte sites
• Extended time in Edinburgh, to which I would travel by train from London, naturally
• Hay-on Wye for the bookstores

Also, bookstores throughout the U.K. including Barter Books (where the Keep Calm Carry On posters were first rediscovered) and Mr. B’s Emporium

What’s your ideal literary travel destination?

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Opening event

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Connecticut, USA. It’s pouring and gloomy out. Perfect reading weather!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

I can’t pick favorites. I just can’t. 🙂

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

That would be the bananas I bought yesterday. Gotta stay fueled!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

This question may be coming at the perfect time since I was working on my writing portfolio yesterday and had to come up with a pithy “about me” statement. Writing these makes me so anxious, like I’m on a deadline I’m going to miss. What I said was this: “My mission is to inspire reading for pleasure and enrichment, and I bring my passion for that to everything I write.” Or at least, I try to!

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 only my second Readathon, so I have only slightly more of a clue, ha. I’m more organized and pro-active this time around. I got Andi‘s awesome stickers and have organized my day more than I did last time. I still won’t be able to read the full 24 hours because I have to teach tomorrow.

I will definitely be setting aside time to connect with the awesome community as well. That is what I’m most looking forward to, hands down (or up, as the case may be)!