Dewey's Readathon Master Post: April 2015. Edit 4x.

Happy Readathon!

I haven't participated in a readathon in at least a year or two, so I'm excited that I can dive back in this year. I have fond memories of reading with bloggers a few years ago, and I even hosted back in 2011 (that doesn't seem so long ago in my head....but it was!).

I'm not planning on reading the full 24 hours, but I'm hoping for about 8. I have a lot of grading to do this weekend (Sunday), so I need to make sure I don't kill my poor eyeballs. :)

I'm also hosting a mini-challenge during Hour 2, so I hope you'll participate.

I'll be keeping track of all of my reading, etc in this post throughout the day (just to keep my blog clean and uncluttered), so stop by periodically to see what I'm up to.

Here are the books in my readathon stack:

From top to bottom:

1. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson: This is my current read, and I'm kind of addicted, so this will probably be my first book. I'm going to try and avoid jumping right into the sequel, but who knows.
2. The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather: This is the next read for my Willa Cather project. I started it a few years ago, but never finished it. I've been craving some Cather, so this is a good option.
3. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson: This is the last book I wanted to read prior to my 10th graders' book battle, since it has been a couple of years.
4. So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba: I mainly picked this because it's tiny, but I also remember quite a few bloggers reading it a number of years ago and really enjoying it!
5. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami: This is a new acquisition for me, but it's really long (and the text takes up a large chunk of each page), so I don't know if I'll start it or not.
6. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol: This is a new title to our media center, so I snatched it up On Thursday with hopes of reading it. I know it's gotten good reviews!
7. Yes, Please by Amy Poehler (not pictured): This is my current audiobook that I'm listening to at the gym, and since I plan on going to the gym, I'm sure I'll listen for an hour or so. 

Happy reading everyone! I'll check in periodically!

Hour 1:
Opening Meme:
1. What part of the world are you reading from today?
I'm going to be reading from my couch. ;) But really, I'm from Metro-Detroit. It's set to be about 60 today, so it's a little too chilly to be reading outside.

2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
I'm going to start with Mistborn since I've already started it and I'm excited to keep reading it. Truthfully, it's a reread. I read it a couple years ago and never read the sequels, so that's my intention is giving it another go. I'm also going to dive into Anya's Ghost pretty early on.

3. Which snack are you most looking forward to?
We bought a bunch of veggies and veggie dip last night, so truthfully, I'm pretty excited for that! Ha! I'm trying to eat a little better, so all of my snacks today will be pretty healthy.

4. Tell us a little something about yourself!
I've just jumped back into blogging after a couple years of random posting. It's been great to jump back into the community, and I'm excited that today I will be able to reconnect and find some new bloggers! I read a lot of the classics, but recently I've been branching way out from that. I'm a high school English and History teacher, so I like reading YA to help with suggestions for kids I'm teaching.

5. If you have participated before, what's one thing you'll do different today?
I have participated before, but not in a couple of years! I've never gone the full 24 hours, but the year I co-hosted I came pretty close. My goal for today is to read for about 8 hours, talk with members of the community, and have a good time. :) I'm trying not to stress too much about this whole thing! I am planning on cheering more than I have in the past, and I'm hosting a mini-challenge again! Huzzah!

Readathon Nonsense Stats (8:41 AM):
# of Pages Read: 0
# of Books Finished: 0
# of Ounces of Water Drank: I just woke up, so my water bottle is full!
# of Kitten Cuddles: 1 (Lily was cuddling on my feet this morning when I got up, so that totally counts)
# of times my Husband has annoyed me: 0 (He's still asleep)
Random Thoughts: I'm ready to start reading, but I'm going to hang out online until my mini-challenge launches. :) I'm excited!

Check-In 2:
Things are going pretty splendidly over here. I read for a bit, but took a break to cheer for people on Instagram. I also looked at quite a few entries for my mini-challenge, which has ended. I posted winners in a different post.

I read a good chunk of Mistborn, but I saw a photo on Instagram of someone's pile and noticed Ethan Frome by Wharton, and now I have to read it. So, that's what I'm settling in with now. :)

I'll probably read for another hour before eating some lunch and taking a social media break. Matt is still home (he goes to work at 4), so it's hard to stay focused with him bugging me all the time.  

Readathon Nonsense Stats (1:30 PM):
# of Pages Read:111
# of Books Finished: 0 (I was only about 50 pages into Mistborn and it is 600+ so I'm okay with that).
# of Ounces of Water Drank: 24. I'm slacking. I actually find it easier to drink lots of water when I'm at school.
# of Kitten Cuddles: -Lily joined me early this morning on the couch, then Hemi. Then Lily joined me again a little while ago, but Sparty kicked her out of her spot and is currently annoying me.
# of times my Husband has annoyed me: 2 I had to stop to go wake him up. And I had to make him breakfast because he's a whiner.
Random Thoughts: I'm ready to read Ethan Frome. Amazing how I never end up reading from my pile.....

Check-In 3:
I finally settled into reading for an hour or so, then had to shepherd Matt out the door to go to work (he's working part-time at a restaurant cooking). And now that he's gone, I thought I would take a few moments to pop in an update.

I didn't have the most productive few hours. I did eat a late lunch, then stopped to clean. Then I settled in with Ethan Frome, which was a random decision, but I read it in one long, delicious sitting. Ahhh, SUCH a good book. I think that was probably my 6th or 7th time reading it....

I think I'm going to tackle Anya's Ghost next, since it's a graphic novel and will be a fast read...How are you all doing?

Readathon Nonsense Stats (5:19 PM):
# of Pages Read: 210 (my copy of Ethan Frome was exactly 99....I find that amusing...)
#of Books Finished: 1! And a chunk read out of Mistborn this morning
# of Ounces of Water Drank: 72. I drank a full bottle (24 oz) with my lunch and have been sipping away ever since. 
# of Kitten Cuddles: Like....10? They seriously won't leave me alone. Currently Lily is perched on the back of my desk chair.
# of times my Husband has annoyed me: 4. The 2 new ones include him refusing to refill my water for me and the other was me trying to get him out the door so he would let me read! But now he's at work until 10, so I have the place to myself. Except for the cats.
Random Thoughts: Not sure what I'm going to make for dinner tonight. Also, I feel guilty not grading some essays....so I might try and read Anya's Ghost, then call it a night on the reading. :/ We'll see if the guilt continues...

Check-In 4:
Well, I finished another book in the last 2 hours! Truthfully, it didn't take that long to read, but I got sidetracked cleaning and just now decided to sit down and update (and do the mid-event survey). I'm still feeling a little guilty about reading when I have essays to grade, but I think after dinner I'm going to settle back in with Mistborn and try to get a little further. I knew going into today that I wasn't going to stay up through the night, but I do want to read more!

Readathon Nonsense Stats (7:39 PM):
# of Pages Read: 431 (Anya's Ghost is a graphic novel, thus the inflated # of pages)
# of Books Finished: 2! 
# of Ounces of Water: 80. I need to drink 20 more to hit my daily goal, so that's totally doable!
# of Kitten Cuddles: I've lost count. They seriously will not leave me alone today.
# of times my Husband has annoyed me: Not any new instances since he is at work. :)
Random Thoughts: I have no idea what I'm making for dinner. But I need something delicious.

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
As I just finished Anya's Ghost, nothing. Although, now that I'm staring at my pile...I have another REALLY short book that I could probably finish tonight........

2. How many books have you read so far? I finished 2-Anya's Ghost and Ethan Frome. I also read 100 pages of Mistborn. I also listened to a few minutes of Yes Please earlier when I was cleaning and will probably listen as I cook dinner and do a few cleaning things around the apartment. Saturdays are typically my cleaning days, so I can't avoid it!

3. What book are most looking forward to for the second half of the Readathon?
I really love Mistborn, even though it's technically a reread, so I am happy to get back into it. I left off at the beginning of "Part 2," so it should be easy to jump right in. And now that I looked at my pile....I might grab So Long a Letter to read this evening after dinner.....It's only 89 pages...

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Let's be honest....I interrupt myself. I keep finding chores to do or silly things around the house. But hey, I am glad to be participating and while I might not be reading as much as many other readathoners, I'm having a good time with the book blogging community today. :)

5. What surprises you most about the Readathon so far?
Hmmm, no surprises. Well, I guess I'm excited to see a large presence on Instagram. I spent about an hour this morning liking pictures and commenting and didn't even make a dent. I'm glad to see how big this readathon has gotten. The first one I did, way back in October 2009, was only semi-successful (I also didn't blog about it). My second attempt, in April 2010, was much better (I read A LOT). I know there were only a few hundred participants, so I'm happy to see the event growing and trending on twitter. :) Book nerds rock.