I crashed last night at 1:00 in the morning (the end of hour 20) – so I met my goal of staying awake for 20 hours. Of those 20 hours, I actually participated 18.75 hours. Here is the breakdown:
Hours Spent Reading: 11 hours
Hours Spent Blogging: 7.25 hours
Hours Spent Visiting: 0.5 hours (I visited 15 bloggers during that time)
Number of pages read: 591
Number of books completed: 2 and portions of 2 other books
Number of Mini-Challenges completed: 14
How does this compare to previous Read-A-Thons? In October of 2008 (the last time I participated in this event) I read slightly more pages (603) and for a slightly shorter period of time (10.6 hours). I completed 4 fewer mini-challenges and spent only 6 hours blogging. But I visiting more bloggers last year (25) and spent more time at that activity (nearly 2 hours). This year I participated 15 minutes longer than last year!
Now for the end of the event meme:
1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Definitely hour 20.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I have to say the two books I completed were GREAT for the read-a-thon – very engaging and easy to read. They were: The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano, and The Cradle by Patirck Somerville
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? None at all – you guys rock!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I thought everything went really smoothly. I know how hard it is to coordinate these things and I was impressed that the hourly updates came out so consistently on time!
5. How many books did you read? I completed 2 and read portions of two others.
6. What were the names of the books you read? Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano, The Cradle by Patrick Somerville, and Bundle of Trouble by Diana Orgain
7. Which book did you enjoy most? The Cradle by Patrick Somerville
8. Which did you enjoy least? Bundle of Trouble by Diana Orgain – but to be honest, I started it in hour 20 and was really fading at that point.
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? Very likely. I love being a reader.
Thanks to all who make this event happen!!!
= Excellent
= Good/Very Good
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
I achieved 320 pages. But Thomas Nashe is hard and I did spend quite a bit of time blogging. I plan on doing the next Read-a-Thon too, so hopefully I’ll get even more done!
You did a great job! Our stats are similar. I still need to find a way to streamline my computer time though!
Happy Sunday–
Kim
You had a great read-a-thon! I’ve read both of those books and they are both page turners!
Wow!! I’m impressed with the 20 hours! I bailed at 15!!
Great job!
Great job on the readathon!
I was trying to hard to do a lot of reading; then every blog I visited, they were reading way more than I was doing so I hardly spent any time visiting blogs and none doing mini-challenges. I wish I would have gone more your route!
You did such a great job! Congratulations!
Looks like you did find a good balance of Read-a-thon activities! I mostly read – completely missed the mini-challenges and didn’t do much visiting or blogging (I updated more on Twitter). Since I didn’t get over here during the ‘thon itself, I’m trying to make up for it now
! I lasted till about 1 AM myself.
I read your review of The Cradle and added it to my wish list.
Congratulations with meeting your read-a-thon goal, Wendy! It sounds like everyone who participated had a wonderful time.
My least favorite book was my last book too and I suspect it’s because my brain was so tired. It seems to be a theme among the read-a-thon wrap up posts I’ve seen!
Great job, Wendy! I read for 11 hours, too, but I think you blogged/visited much more than I did. I’m trying to visit participants now!
You did an awesome job, Wendy! I thoroughly enjoyed the read-a-thon. I only wish I had more time to visit everyone’s blog. It was hard enough posting on mine and joining in on a few challenges. I can’t wait for the next one! I’m hooked.
Congrats on your read-a-thon accomplishment.
Very impressive stats indeed! And thanks for hosting that fun mini-challenge and your various visits!
El Fay: I am totally impressed by the books you chose to read for this event. I could never had read such difficult material…you did AWESOME!
Kim: I think the more of these you do the better you get at streamlining. I felt the most “in control” this time around.
Kathy: They were great books for this event!
Staci: I always shoot for 20 hours…but I want to quit every time closer to 15!!
Trisha: Thank you!
Lisa: *nods* I am always tempted to just read and forego the other stuff…but I think the event is as much about the community and the mini-challenges as it is about the reading. Everyone has to find their own balance that works for them.
Vasilly: Thank you!
Florinda: Thanks for stopping by! Looks like you did FANTASTIC with the event! And hope you’ll enjoy The Cradle as much as I did!
WendyCat: Thanks! This was another successful read-a-thon for everyone!
Stephanie: *nods* I hate being so tired I cannot appreciate what I’m reading – it is a “down” side to the Read-A-Thon.
Michelle: I am STILL catching up on posts from last week!!
Les: I KNEW you’d love it!!! So glad you had fun and will be back for another one!
Serena: Thanks!
Jenners: Thanks!
Congrats Wendy.. You did great! Im in awe of everyone who participates in this challenge.
Faith: Thanks!!!