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Final Stats:
10 hours of reading
634 pages
3 books completed (see below)

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? I fell asleep at 1 am ET for five hours. I thought I was going to make it longer, but I just can’t stay up late any more!

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Two of the books I read, The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood and The Chocolate War by Cormier would be great choices.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? The only thing I can think of is to give a little leeway (maybe 3-6 hours) if we choose. For instance, the best times for me would have been 9 am ET to 9 am ET the next day. This would have been 3 hours earlier than everyone else started, but it would have given me 3 more hours of reading time during the readathon. Obviously, we can’t expect you to be there during these pre or extended hours, and we wouldn’t be eligible for mini-challenges or prizes during those hours if we chose a slightly different schedule, but it would give us more reading time if we have other commitments during part of the regular hours of the readathon. It’s not that big a deal if you don’t change it, though. I’ll still participate during the hours that I’m able.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Just having it! It’s a fun way to read together and accomplish some much needed reading goals.

5. How many books did you read? I read three complete books and parts of two others.

6. What were the names of the books you read? I completed Bear by Marian Engle, The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, and The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. I also read parts of the Bible and parts of Lolita by Nabokov.

7. Which book did you enjoy most? The Bible; also The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

8. Which did you enjoy least? Bear by Marian Engle and Lolita

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

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I would love to be a reader in the next Read-a-thon. It’s a fun way to knock some books off the TBR pile.

I just spent half an hour reading the Bible; I read James and I and II Peter for 11 pages.

I’m going to have to quit now so I can go to church. I’ve enjoyed participating again and accomplished many of of my reading goals. Can’t wait for the next one! I’ll have to do the end of readathon survey later this afternoon.

Stats:

Time spent reading: 10 hours
Pages read: 569 pages + 2 CD’s (65 pages)
Books completed: Bear by Marian Engel, The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, and The Chocolate War by Cormier
Other incomplete books read: Lolita by Nabokov and the Bible (what a combination!)

I finished The Chocolate War, yay! It took about an hour to read the final 83 pages. That’s my third finished book for the readathon.

Stats:

Time spent reading: 9.5 hours
Pages read: 558 pages + 2 CD’s that I’ll figure out the pages later
Books completed: Bear by Marian Engel, The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, and The Chocolate War by Cormier

Well, I just woke up from sleeping for about 5 hours. Right after I said I was going strong, too! I had just eaten something, though, and that can definitely put me out. Plus, I hadn’t really slept much the night before, either, so that didn’t help.

Before I fell asleep, I read 60 more pages of The Chocolate War in 45 minutes.

Total time spent reading: 8.5 hours
Pages read: 475 pages + 2 CD’s that I’ll figure out the pages later

Now I’m reading The Chocolate War, and in 60 minutes I read 78 pages. I also listened to another CD of Lolita, which took about 75 minutes.

Cumulative stats:
7.75 hours reading, 415 pages + 2 CD’s, in which I’ll calculate the pages later
2 books completed Bear and The Penelopiad

Mid-Readathon Survey

1. What are you reading right now? The Chocolate War and Lolita

2. How many books have you read so far? I’ve finished two.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Not sure yet.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Not really.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? A few, but it was no problem.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? It feels a little easier this year. I haven’t participated in any mini-challenges yet, but it seems like I’ve got more reading done.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? None yet.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Nothing. I learned from the first readathon to pick short books (which I’m successfully doing this time)!

9. Are you getting tired yet? A little, but I’m okay for now.

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? Well, as stated above, picking short books is key for me. Also, CDs work if you have to be in the car or when you’re too tired to read anymore.