End of Readathon Meme Wrap Up

Which hour was most daunting for you?

The 4 am time slot was when the tired hit. I drifted off a couple of times and lost about 15 minutes of reading time.

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

The Road was the last book I stayed up till dawn reading (apart from last night, of course) but individual tastes vary so much I would have to know more about a reader to recommend a book. For example, thrillers aren't that ...thrilling for me so something like Gone Girl would never end up on my "up all night" reading list but it would be a great choice for lots of people. On the other hand, I LOVED The Rook by O'Malley because of well, super powers, or any book with the potential to make me ugly cry would keep me up all night.

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

Everything went pretty smoothly this year but there were so many variations of the Twitter hashtag that it took longer than I would have liked to check all of the streams.

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

I think it all worked really well. I liked that I could control my level of participation.

How many books did you read?

9 and 1/3 books

What were the names of the books you read?

Hexed by Michelle Krys

Grim short story collection

Sex Criminals Volume 1

Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Sekret by Lindsay Smith

This One Summer by Julian Mariko

We Were Liars by E Lockhart

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

A Girl Called Fearless by Catherine Linka

Which book did you enjoy most?

Either Etiquette and Espionage, Page by Paige or This One Summer. Also Sex Criminals is off to a promising start but it is too early to be sure if it will keep my interest.

Which did you enjoy least?

I am not finished with A Girl Called Fearless but I haven't been loving it.

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

Not a cheerleader but they did a great job!

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

Definitely plan yo do this again and hope to add a charity fundraiser now that I have the mechanics worked out.

Readathon Updates

http://www.amazon.com/Grasshopper-Jungle-Andrew-Smith-ebook/dp/B007HU7LNK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398555683&sr=8-1&keywords=grasshopper+jungle

Mid-Event Survey
1. What are you reading right now?

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

2. How many books have you read so far?

One graphic novel: Sex Criminals: Volume One. Three novels: Grimm (Collection of Short Stories), Hexed by Michelle Krys, Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger. And finished off a Book-On-CD on my unsweet tea runs. Angel Fire by Weatherly (which had far too much teen angst).

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

We Were Liars is supposed to be fantastic. I also might slip in the second Gail Carriger novel in if I hit a reading slump. Her books are just so much fun!

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Not exactly but I just moved to Richmond and am waiting to take possession of my townhouse so am staying in temporary housing. Being in a small space with two bored cats has meant having to multitask by playing fetch while reading. When they are snuggly reading goes so much faster.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

My interruptions revolved around not having a kitchen. I am addicted again to unsweet iced tea and have to make periodic runs to McDonalds since my iced tea maker is in storage. I also picked Indian and Chinese takeout last night so I wouldn't have to run out for food but neglected to get any plastic forks so that was another trip out and about, not to mention a lunch of cheese and Traders Joe peanut butter cups ....although that was actually pretty okay.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

I am reading more slowly than I usually do, maybe because it find it hard not to check on my fellow Readathon team members progress. Which reminds me, I haven't even checked the Prize Page yet.

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

Not yet. My cheerleaders have been great and I love keeping up with the Twitter convo. I plan to go in tomorrow to read everyone's blog posts.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Stock up on forks and have a minion to run errands.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

A little but I am pretty well caffeinated.

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?

Comfy seating and self imposed rules about how often I can check Twitter have been important. So far, my interruptions have equalled about one and a half hours which isn't bad for a twelve hour reading jag. Hopefully the second half will be just as successful.

24 Hour Reading Challenge Templete

So here are the recommended questions I will be answering every three hours or so. 

Currently reading: Hexed by Michelle Krys http://www.amazon.com/Hexed-Michelle-Krys-ebook/dp/B00HBQUF6A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398513809&sr=8-1&keywords=hexed+michelle+krys

Books finished: None so far.

Pages read: 0

Running total of pages read: 0

Amount of time spent reading: 0. Unless you count me staying up long past bedtime to finish reading 17 First Kisses? Later I will link to my Goodreads page since I am going to drop short reviews in there. When I am finished with the day I will go back in and grab the reviews and tidy them up and transfer them to the blog.

Running total of time spent reading: 0

Snacks: I picked up some cinnamon scones at Trader Joes so that is on my morning snack list. Since I am still in temporary housing I am going to have to make a few unsweet tea caffeine runs during the day (and night) but apart from that I should have everything I need.

Reading List for the 24 Hour Reading Challenge

As promised, I am in the process of building my list for the http://24hourreadathon.com/2014/03/31/april-2014-reader-sign-ups/ reading challenge. I am still in temporary housing until the sale of my townhouse closes so I will have to take a couple of breaks to go in search of food during my 24 hour reading spree so I don't overdose on peanut M&M's but apart from that I am ready to go!

Here is my initial list (subject to change, of course):

New or Upcoming Releases:
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn
Girl Called Fearless by Catherine Linka
Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu
Exile by Kevin Emerson
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruiz
Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann
The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer
Faking Normal by Courtney C Stevens
Allies and Assassins by Justin Somper
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
Hexed by Michelle Krys
Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
Sekret by Lindsay Smith
Grim: An Anthology
Unravel by Imogen Howson
Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

And a couple of older titles:
Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger
Altered by Jennifer Rush
Concealed in Death by J.D. Robb
Struts and Frets by Jon Skovron

And last but not least:
Eisner Award Nominated Graphic Novels plus a few other titles.

Reading Challenge

For years I have been wanting to participate in this http://24hourreadathon.com/2014/03/31/april-2014-reader-sign-ups/ reading challenge but with multiple jobs I couldn't carve out time to make this happen. Now I have one, count 'em, one job and since I am still waiting to close on my new home, no house or errands to run on Saturday. That means I can read for twenty-four hours straight with nothing to distract me. If you don't want to join in the reading fun be sure to stop by Twitter and cheer me on.

For the next two weeks I will be compiling a reading list of books I want to try to read ....unless I am lured away by a completely random new egalley, of course. I will post a starter list soon.

As for next weekend, I will be making a trip to DC for http://awesomecondc.com with my new board game group friends.

The Universe is trying to Tell Me Something

So I am moving to Richmond Virginia. My roommate moved in with her boyfriend, the part time job did away with my hours and I got an email about the Virginia job all in the same week. I am pretty sure the universe was trying to tell me something. I know this is the right thing but I will miss my friends so

much. 

Roommate Ad and Craigslist Comedy

I was writing up my ad for a roommate today and went to Craigslist for ideas. Here are a few of my favorites.... From the extremely specific: "I'm a disabled, older single lesbian looking for same to share my home with." or "You need to have a job and be cool and relaxed, smoke and 420 friendly." To the very broad: "I'm lookin for one clean cut individual to share my home with." To the frugal: "Must be full time employed or full time student, I don't want someone sitting around the house all day running up the electricity." This one seems a little shady: "Prefer single female with or without children. (I am a) Single male 42 5'10 140" I feel this one could have set her standards a bit higher: "i would prefer single female no drugs,alcoholics or mentally disturbed." And these are hard to resist: "I DO NOT NEED THE MONEY SO I WOULD NOT CHARGE FOR RENT OR UTILITIES. MIGHT THROW IN SOME FREE MEALS BUT I WANT A BF GF RELATIONSHIP" or "Can trade rent for home cleaning and services rendered." And the upscale version: "I am a recently separated, business executive in my early 40's, in great shape, clean and fun loving. I am considered very attractive, with little to no time for the meet and greet at the local bar scene. I would like to find a young, attractive female to share my evenings with, we would be friends with benefits, in exchange for free rent in a low stress environment." Shockingly, I will not be using any of these in my ad. Tempting as it is.