Saturday, October 22, 2011

It's 24 Hour Readathon Time!


I've decided to keep one master readathon post which I'll update throughout the day. So, if anyone wants to follow me during my reading escapades, just stay tuned in to this post! :)

I'm getting a little bit of a late start since I forgot to set my alarm, but it's okay since I got up only 15 minutes late and my husband helped get my coffee going. I'm looking forward to reading so I'm going to keep the introduction short.

Books:
1. The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Started at page 284-
The first hour of the readathon is some introductory questions:

1)Where are you reading from today?
I live in Pittsburgh, PA and will  be reading in my house... probably either on the couch or recliner. I may go out for some coffee later if I need a change in location.

2)Three random facts about me…
a- I've driven across country twice (well, I didn't actually drive because I was too young, but I went across country with my family). b-I've been married for over a year now. c-I went to the opera last night and loved it.

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
I participated in the readathon last spring and was way to overambitious in my goals, plus I like to sleep and can't stay up the whole 24 hours. So my TBR for today is to finish up Volume 1 of the complete Sherlock Holmes and get a good start- at least half way through- on The Inferno by Dante Aligheiri.

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
See above in my answer for #3. I want to keep today relaxed and a great time to just sit down and read since I've been really busy lately.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
This is just my second time participating in the 24 hour readathon, but I guess I'd tell people to relax and have a great day. Last time I tried to do too much with trying to read a lot and participate in the mini-challenges. Today I want to mostly read and do just a little online participation.

Update #2- Photo Mini-Challenge


It's not a picture of a character, but rather a representation of Hell, which I'll be reading about in The Inferno later today.
Update #3:

Well, I'm almost 4 hours into the readathon (since I didn't get going until 8:30~ish EST). I never thought I was such a slow reader, but I'm only on page 358 and I started at 284, meaning I've read only 74 pages so far. However, I've gotten online once an hour to update and look at the new posts on 24hourreadathon.com which must be really slowing me down. Plus, my husband came home from his 15 mile run and wanted to talk... the nerve. ;-) I'll just have to stop getting distracted and start plowing through my book so I can move onto the next one. 

Update #4:

It's now 4:08 EST and I've been "reading" for 8 hours now! Reading is in quotes because of course I've done other stuff in the past 8 hours, but reading has been my main focus. I took a shower a couple hours ago to feel all nice and clean and refreshed, then I made some popcorn to munch on. Then I ended up falling asleep for a little bit, but now I'm back and ready to keep tackling my book! I don't know if I'm just a slow reader or maybe I'm reading the Sherlock Holmes stories particularly slow because I like to pick up on clues before Holmes divulges the secret to the mysteries, but I'm now on page 462, which means I've read only 178 pages. I really need to pick it up! Hopefully my husband will come home soon and maybe make some dinner or at least feed me a snack so I can keep going! I hope everyone else is having a wonderful readathon!

Update #5:

14 hours into the readathon and I'm still going, albeit quite a bit slower than earlier. My husband felt like talking earlier so I spent some time on the couch with him... trying to read and respond to him at the same. I'm on page 596 now in the Sherlock Holmes volume and I'm in The Hound of the Baskervilles, which is the last story of this volume! My new goal is just to finish this before falling asleep, which I should be able to do. If I get started on The Inferno, I'll count that as a bonus for today :)

Final Update:

The readathon has been over for 30 minutes. I'm rather disappointed in my own performance for this readathon. I felt like I was reading all day yesterday (I did stop at midnight and went to bed), but I didn't even finish the book I had already started. I'm reading a Sherlock Holmes collection and yesterday I read from page 284 to only 630, which is a total of 346 pages. Now, the print is small and I tried to pay attention to all of the details to figure out the mysteries... but I still should have read more pages than that! Maybe I'll do better next time...

Have Fun Reading!

11 comments:

  1. I love Sherlock Holmes! Great choice :)
    And thanks for the advice - It's my first time doing this read-a-thon but I'll try to have fun and not to worry about reading too much.

    Hope you'll have fun during the read-a-thon :)

    Happy reading!
    Vicky @ Books, Biscuits & Tea

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooh - great representation of hell!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I read Sherlock Holmes for my first readathon. :) Great choice!

    Husbands are distracting, aren't they? pesky guys!

    ReplyDelete
  4. To read a book for the first time is to make an acquaintance with a new friend; to read it for a second time is to meet an old one. ~Chinese Saying

    Hope you're enjoying the reading time :))

    Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  5. HI KC. I'm one of your cheerleaders, and I hope most of all you are having fun and not stressing about how much you read!!
    You're almost half way there, so go girl!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy reading and I hope you enjoy Sherlock Holmes! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Want to know something? I've been married for little over a year too! :-)
    I hope you are enjoying the readathon more than last time, and do keep it relaxed and enjoyable! Keep going!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great depiction of The Inferno! I hope you've had a really wonderful readathon today. ;)

    I know you're tired
    And losin' the fire
    You'd rather be sleeping
    But keep on reading!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. If you'd like to take a break from reading or if you have just woken up, KC, just join the twitter read-a-thon party. The hash tags are #readathon and/or #cheergolden. Everyone would like to meet you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. You did great anyway! :) Congratulations!! And I hope you had lots of fun! :)

    ReplyDelete