24 Hour Read-A-Thon Spring 2015

Good morning everyone. It is time for Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-A-Thon

This is an event I have participated in for a few years now and I always enjoy it. This will be my main post and I will update it as I go.

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HOUR 0 – WHAT THE READATHON MEANS TO ME + THE OPENING MEME.

When I first began book blogging back in 2007, Dewey was one of the bloggers I met online. She would visit my blog and leave comments and I remember thinking she was so sweet to visit my new blog being that she was well established in blog land already. Her read-a-thon was one of the events I’d take part in twice per year and I am glad it is still going on.

Opening Meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? New Jersey
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I am looking forward to reading a little Gaiman today but I am reading a love story first.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? My daily smoothie.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I’m a mom of two teens, I have a fur baby chihuahua and I crochet. I’m also a runner and have been enjoying the nice Spring temps to when taking my runs outdoors lately.
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?
When I take part in the read-a-thons I usually do the same thing, I pick books that I think will be page turners. I also find short story collections are good for this kind of thing.

Happy reading and good luck to those who are taking part. Have fun 🙂

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Challenges:

Read-a-thon Mini-Challenge: Classic Words of Wisdom
I am a big fan of the classics, there is just something special about books that were written in a different time and age and whose words still have the ability to resonate with readers today.

This quote on vanity and pride is from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and is spoken by Mary. I think she is right, being proud does not necessarily mean you are vain. The book centers a lot around pride and on the notions we hold of others, especially the ideas we form from first impressions. This is one of those quotes that has always stood out from Austen’s classic.

Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity to what we would have others think of us.

Do you have a favorite classic quote?

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Cast It

Take the book you are currently reading and cast the main character only.

1. Book title and author: Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey, a historical with dual settings and a few main characters.
2. Character name and brief description: 1940’s Stella Thorne is in a loveless marriage to a preacher but meets an American pilot named Dan Rosinski and falls in true love. (swoon)
3. Actor name (pictures are great too): I would cast Keira Knightley to play Stella.

*photo credit: wiki, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

4. Tell me why you picked that actor: I have seen Keira Knightley in a few historical films and I just think she has that kind of classic beauty and true talent for these kinds of roles. The British accent helps too.
5. How can I contact you?
naida1276@yahoo.com

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Picture It

Choose an image (or song) that makes you think of the main character, an important plot point, the book’s theme, the setting, or any other story-related element that triggers your imagination.

Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey has long-lost loves searching for each other decades later …that calls for a little Enya.

Who can say why your heart sighs
As your love flies, only time
And who can say why your heart cries
When your love lies, only time…

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Taking a break to walk Otis….

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Hour 8: Book Spine Poetry: Using the titles on book spines, make a short poem at least three “books” long/tall

Dear John
This is How I’d Love You
Beloved
Forever
Unbroken

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Hour 12
Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? I’ve just finished Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey.
2. How many books have you read so far? 1
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Next up I’m reading Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I did have some interruptions. The dog, my kids and hubby ,but nothing too major. I walked Otis as usual, which doesn’t take too long but for dinner hubs took me out for Chinese all-you-can eat, so I kind of cheated on the read-a-thon for about two hours total. But I did manage to finish one book.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Nothing yet. I am happy I chose Letters to the Lost for my first read, it was a page turner. I’m not one to be able to stay awake all night, so I will try my best with my second book but I know I might fall asleep halfway through.

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Hour 18 Mini-Challenge: Best of My Reading Year

The challenge for the hour is to share some of your best from your reading year and why.

I have not read too many books this year, but I have found a few gems so far.
*Best Non-Fiction Book of Your Reading Year Beneath the Surface by John Hargrove. This is an eye opening read about what happens to Orcas in captivity and former Sea World trainer John Hargrove bravely speaks out in his book.
*Best Romance Book of Your Reading Year: Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey. I read this during the read-a-thon and it has quickly become a favorite.
*Best Story Line of Your Reading Year The Siren by Tiffany Reisz. I have actually read a few of the books in this series these past months but have had time to blog about them yet. The Siren was fantastic with a unique storyline. Major book hangover here.

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Hour 22:
BLAME IT ON THE BLOGGERS MINI-CHALLENGE
I love a lot of things about Readathon, but I particularly love discovering so many new books AND new bloggers. So this Mini-Challenge is in that spirit: what book(s) have you discovered and added to your TBR pile because you saw it mentioned/read/discussed during Readathon… and what blogger(s) do you blame credit for making your TBR list just *that* much longer?
I’m blaming http://www.cautious.dk/for making me want to read Full Measures (Flight and Glory Book 1) by Rebecca Yarro after I saw her raving about it during a read-a-thon mini challenge.

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End of Event Meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? I’d say around 11:30pm when my eyelids started to droop. I logged onto my computer at that point to wake myself up.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Anything that is attention grabbing and fast paced. I could see thrillers working well for this event. One year for the Fall read-a-thon I read The Countess: A Novel of Elizabeth Bathory by Rebecca Johns and I remember breezing right through it. I also think short story collections are good for this also.

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

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? All of it, the coordinators and hosts do such a great job at updating the site hourly. It runs smoothly and makes the read-a-thon so much more fun. The social media aspect of it is neat as well, posting on Instagram and on Twitter…seeing that other people are taking part. I actually connected with Iona Grey via Twitter because I tweeted that I was reading her book, so that was cool. She’s so nice!

5. How many books did you read? one full book at 376 pages, and 52 pages of a second

6. What were the names of the books you read? I read Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey which was 376 pages and I read 52 pages of Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman before falling asleep around 1:30am.

7. Which book did you enjoy most? It was funny because Letters to the Lost became an instant favorite and was one of those books that after I read, I like to sit and think about but there was no time for reminiscing…lol…it was read-a-thon time. Gaiman’s book is fab so far as well.

8. Which did you enjoy least? n/a
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? Yes! As a reader again, I really enjoy this event.

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Another Read-A-Thon has come and gone, thank you to the coordinators and to everyone who participates and helps make this so much fun!