[Dewey's]: End of Event Meme

Which hour was most daunting for you?
There wasn't none because I'm not hard core enough - instead of battling through 24 hours, I read very slowly, watched a movie and had 7 glorious hours of sleep. But I think that's the way for me to go, I wouldn't want to be zombie because of a reading event for the whole following week (I do feel a bit zombie now simply because I went to bed some hours later than usually).

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Not naming titles, I think it doesn't matter as long as you enjoy your selections, but there is some truth in "short matters" when it comes to reading intensely for hours in a row :) Also for the later hours of the readathon one might want to consider something "lighter", maybe nothing from heavy classics or on rocket science...

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Not really, it seems to be working fine.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Well, it's quite obvious - Twitter, aslo the official readathon page was very helpful with hourly updates! Great job there.

How many books did you read?
I finished one and then started another one, so I'd say 1.25 books.

What were the names of the books you read?
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows) and Andeka kingsepa surm (Smrt talentovaneho ševce in Czech) (Vaclav Erben).

Which book did you enjoy most?
I haven't finished one yet, but I enjoyed Guernsey a great deal - it's a good pick for bookworms and those who are interested in war-time literature.

Which did you enjoy least?
I'm not able to answer this question

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
-

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I'm very likely to take part again, given that life does not get in the way. I am very low key though, so will probably remain reader.

[Dewey's]: Update #3

I've got so many updates! *tries not to hyperventilate* I finished a book - I doubt I will finish another one, but I am very much pleased. I am a slow reader, apparently, and also very easily distracted. Last night Jan lured me to watch a movie instead of reading, and I don't even watch movies that often, so no idea where that went wrong... It was Crank with Jason Statham - one of those flicks where you feel like getting a bit dumber by each passing minute:p At midnight and after hours of reading, parts of it were hilarious though.

Even though I loved yesterday's snack dinner, I am very much ready to return my somewhat healthier food choices :p

Time: 12.05 pm local time

Hours read so far: no idea, maybe 12 or so.

Books read from: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Books finished: 1

Pages read: 270? I think.

Feeling: awesome! I slept like 7 hours :)

Misc: I will pick up another book, although I doubt I will finish anything else.

[Dewey's]: Book Jenga Challenge

This is my favourite challenge, and the only one I will be taking part of this time around (I wasn't planning to do any, but I cannot resist a little bit of book architecture...)

 

The challenge is hosted by Ellie at Curiosity killed the bookworm, go check it out if you like, there is time to take part until the end of the readathon.

 

Here's my attempt from last year - I can definitely see some progress.

 

I was quite ambitious this time around and used 24 books altogether, making sure I don't double any (directly on top of each other or standing with whole covers touching). The first attempt failed before I could take a photo - there was a major collapse of books that led Robert to flee under the bed. The second attempt was a lot better, though (key ingredient - I removed that slippery dust jacket from Bernadette - it's all in details, people). Jan helped as well (mostly by leading the cat troops) and all in all we had a lot of fun building the book tower.

Here's my official entry. All nice and neat.

 

This is where it all started going horribly wrong...

Let's take a moment to admire how cat-resistant
this book tower is.




Aand the collapse of the mighty fort...

[Dewey's]: Update #2

Definitely one of the highlights of the #readathon so far.

Time: 11 pm local time

Hours read so far: 8

Books read from: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Pages read: 60% on Kindle.

Feeling: still excellent, though a tiny bit sleepy - I'm not gonna fight it, if I get really sleepy, I will just go to sleep. I ain't no trooper, and health comes first, and yadda yadda. Whether I will set an alarm remains to be seen.

Misc: a photo misc:

When Robert realised I'm getting a bit sleepy, he insisted on reading out loud from Kindle :)

 

[Dewey's]: Update #1

Time: 7 pm local time

Hours read so far: 4

Books read from: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Pages read: no idea, but I'm at 38% on Kindle.

Feeling: great!

Misc: I'm enjoying the book - it's an epistolary novel, you guys! And not the half-ass one like Bernadette* (though I very much love me some Bernadette), but it seems to be written only in letters and telegrams. There is a doppelganger of Drusilla Clack** in this book, how I miss good old Miss Clack and her preachy patronising antics! I have been wondering over the title of this book for ages, and now I finally know how and why it got to be.

 

 

* Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple

** From The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

[Dewey's]: Kick-off Meme and Snack Special



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

Helsinki, Finland, Europe. The weather is sunny, 12 degrees of Celsius.

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

Ella Minnow Pea and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

Why so difficult questions! Is it supposed to be informative answer, or a random little fact, like ... that I never, ever go to bed with make up on? :p Hi, I'm Riv, I live in Helsinki with my fiancé and two furballs... that sounds like the About Me section.

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 participated in October, but didn't have a ton of time to read, so this time I have made myself free of all obligations, filled the apartment with food and caffeine, and ready to tackle the books. What I'm most looking forward to is the snacks! (See below.)

 

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

 



To Estelle, and all you other snack lovers out there :)

 

Snack Special!

 

Snacks are almost as important part of Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon as books, right? Right??? Here's what I have for myself for those moments I feel like om-nom-nomming on something :)

 

Beverages: regular coffee (with milk and honey); Pommac - a Finnish soft drink, which ain't as sweet as most of your other fizzy ones; apple-carrot juice from a farm in Estonia - my favourite; hot chocolate with Daim; regular water, which I flavour with lemon or strawberries.

 

Fruit (there ain't many things in life I love better than fruit...): oranges, apples, grapes, bananas, avocados, strawberries.

 

Misc: garlic cheese rye bread balls - a Finnish snack I haven't tried; ranch flavoured potato chips (haven't had those for a while, I kinda eat healthy nowadays, but when else to indulge if not today...), Camembert cheese (can't wait, honestly... - I think this is one's my answer to the question of which I am most looking forward to), candy! of Finnish variety.

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

I couldn't resist the pressure and signed up for Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon, which takes place this Saturday, which means TOMORROW!

Now, going back to autumn 2013, which was so far my first and last attempt at Dewey's - it was a memorable failure. Though I had all the best plans in the world to spend all the time reading, it didn't happen because we went out in the evening, came back really late, I was hungover in the morning... So this time, no plans to socialise this weekend, there will be me and the books (and the snacks).

 

Okay in all seriousness, I know I won't be reading for 24 hours. I will make an attempt to read a lot more than usual, but I know that I can't just read, and do nothing else, I'm a restless person like that. I have to have the time to do go outside if I feel like, or work out if I feel like, or take a nap or play with cats, or play some Diablo 3 with Jan. Or have a good night's sleep. I am already this age (:p) when one all-nighter means not one or two but possibly near a whole week of messed up energy rhythms, so even though I love to read, I'm not going to do that to my body.

 

Since I live in Helsinki, the readathon starts 3 pm for me, which is just fine because it means I have time to do get some stuff done with in the morning. Though I will probably go snack hunting already today. And I get to read on Sunday morning as well, which is, again, just fine.

 

Here is my tentative Dewey's TBR list (the books I'm planning to choose from):

I don't read graphic novels (which seems to be the bread and butter during readathons), so I just tried to find a variety of various genres, and books that are kinda short-ish:

 

On Kindle:

 

* Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn (very short)

* Breaking Stalin's Nose, Eugene Yelchin (very short)

* The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows (very short)

 

* What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami - non-fiction, currently reading

* Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen - a short classic

* Andeka kingsepa surm, Vaclav Erben - a Czech mystery

* Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - book I am currently reading (though I don't think it's best readathon material)

* Red Seas Under Red Skies, Scott Lynch - fantasy

* The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley

* Karlsson stories, Astrid Lindgren - children's n+th re-read (the book's literally falling apart)

 

Are you taking part as well? See you tomorrow!