It’s that time again.  Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-Thon is this Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, starting on the East Coast at 8AM.

I’m sure you are wondering what I’ve chosen to read this time around.

Here’s the tentative list:

1.  Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
2.  Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
3.  Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
4.  Bloody Awful by Georgia Evans
5.  Bloody Right by Georgia Evans
6.  Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
7.  True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy

What’s on your TBR list?

I got up for the last couple of hours to start reading again and here I am filling out the final survey. I may have only finished one book, but I’m okay with that.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour 18 when I finished my first book. My eyes were hurting, I was tired, and I really needed a break.

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

The Keeper of Light and Dust is a fantastic book and I was engaged the whole time, minus some self-induced interruptions. James Patterson novels should have been on my reading list too, since I can never put those down.

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

No suggestions here. I really had a great time and enjoyed most of the challenges, but when you are in the last hours its hard for your brain to think or be overly creative.

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

I really enjoyed the mini-challenges and the hourly updates. It kept me motivated.

5. How many books did you read?

I read 1 book…sad I know. But I did start The Mechanics of Falling by Catherine Brady this morning.

6. What were the names of the books you read?
The Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
I only read one book, so I guess it can only be one answer: The Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert

8. Which did you enjoy least?
None, though I didn’t like the fact that I only read one whole book.

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

I was a reader this year.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I’ll definitely participate next time, though I’m not sure if I will be a reader or cheerleader…this staying up is brutal! Yet, fun.

Hour #13:

HOLY COW, I made it to the halfway point. I cannot believe my stamina and I’m not even tired yet. I guess it helps that I normally stay up late on Saturdays to begin with.

Anyway, the purpose of this post–other than to continue with my hourly or bi-hourly updates–is to complete the Midway Survey:

1. What are you reading right now?

Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert, which I have been reading since the challenge began! Still reading it, but there are only 83 pages left!

2. How many books have you read so far?

I’m still working on book #1; I guess you could say that I’ve been a bit distracted by The Girl, the challenges, the cheerleading, and Twilight and Moonlight DVD breaks.

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

I haven’t even thought that far ahead. I’m looking forward to finishing this book.

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

The only special arrangements I made was having an audiobook in the car because I knew we had about a 45 minute ride from my house to Anna’s. Gotta keep reading, and Janet Evanovich is a good break from reading.

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

There have been a number of interruptions between Cheesecake, Chipotle, and Little Caesar’s Pizza…and that’s just the food. I think you can already guess what the other distractions were given previous answers.

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

How cheerful people are when they comment on your blog even when you have been so engrossed in reading that you really haven’t been commenting that much. Ok, that an concentrating when there are so many Vampire movies I would rather be watching…lol OK, salivating over.

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

I don’t have any suggestions…but that could be because I’m having a tough time concentrating.

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

I think I should probably have started off with shorter books, rather than starting with a 300+ page book.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Not tired yet, but I have had two cups of coffee for breakfast, a few sodas, and a bunch of green tea! Perhaps that has helped keep the brain muscles working.

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?

I think the distractions have helped a lot. I may have given up sooner in the challenge. This is my first read-a-thon, and I think reading in a group has been helpful! We find ourselves reading passages out loud…that has been interesting.

Stay tuned for more updates in this post!

Hour #16:

Here’s my short little update. We were in the car listening to Janet Evanovich, and we are now on Disc 7 of 8, so we’re nearly finished with that book, but doesn’t look like that one will be finished in this read-a-thon.

But I’m home, and I’ve decided that the drive along I-70 is really boring and tires people out. I’m waning here a bit, but I am determined to at least finish one book for this challenge. Wish me luck!

Here’s a photo of our lunch scarf-fest!

Hour #17:

Life in the Thumb is hosting the latest challenge where we must complete this phrase: You know you’re participating in a READ-A-THON when:

1. You carry the book to the kitchen, pour milk into coffee with one hand while keeping your eye on the page and overflow your coffee mug.

2. You don’t pay as much attention to your blog as you normally do, fail at commenting and cheering others on, and forget to pee.

3. Read passages out loud randomly to your husband who just looks at you like you are out of your mind or have suddenly contracted a weird form of tourettes.

4. You’ve driven 45 minutes to a friend’s house to spend the day reading while your husbands get to wait on you hand and foot while you read.

5. While you are in said car on the trip to the friend’s house you are listening to an audiobook and reading from a hardback at the same time–boy your brain gets tired with all that double duty!

6. You start to stare at the floor and wonder what it would be like to be your dog or your cat. (see photo)

Hour #18:

I finished my first book for the Read-a-Thon, Keeper of Light and Dust. That means I read 301 pages. Not bad for a first timer. I’m headed to bed for a few hours, but will be up before the read-a-thon ends. Keep reading everyone.

Welcome to my very first attempt at the Dewey’s 24-hour Read-a-Thon; I thought about all those times that I was going to participate when Dewey was alive, and I missed out on those chances. But I’m doing it now.

What you can expect from me today in terms of blogging is some updates to this post throughout the day, so keep checking back.

I’m primarily going to be reading some review copies, short stories, audiobooks, and poetry books. I have no particular page goal or book total that I hope to achieve. I will be checking for the mini-challenges and other blogger’s updates; I see the hubbub feature growing in the near future! Overall, I just want to have fun.

Meme Hour #1:

3 Facts About Me:

1. I love my Keeshond like he’s my kid.
2. I love books, and I think it’s becoming an addiction.
3. I really love poetry and I hope to in some small way broaden the audience for poets publishing work today.

Where I’m reading from is my living room couch, the car as I head to Anna’s later today, and her couch or floor or somewhere.

I’ve answered all the other questions for this meme above. Now let’s get reading!

Hour #2:

Not much reading happening here as I get ready to head over to Anna’s in Baltimore, but I have gathered the no-bake cheesecake, the veggies and dip, the green tea, strawberries, and some bread sticks. I’ve got a ton of books in my bag, but we’ll see how many I actually get through over her house. 🙂

The laptop will be coming along, though I hope I can hook it up, if not it’s my multimedia movie/music distraction when I need a break! See you all on the Web again soon.

Hour #3 & 4:

Ok, so the last hour the hubby and I were in the car “reading” One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. Yes, I resorted to audiobooks while in the car, but that counts as reading, right?! I don’t discriminate anyway.

Now we’re at Anna’s house and The Girl is taking a break with the scooter outside, and Anna’s on the couch wrapped in a blanket reading. I’m blogging, obviously, but the Men are out getting us Chipotle for LUNCH! WOOHOO. I like this read-a-thon stuff. Keep commenting, and I will be back on the Internet soon. I hope these updates aren’t boring you! I’m reading Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert for those interested! I really love this book!

Hour #6:

This is hour six, and I am still reading the same book, but that’s OK. My main goal is to finish this book and maybe read some poetry later today. However, I did decide to take a cue from The Girl and draw a comic for the Hour 6 Mini-Challenge at Sophisticated Dorkiness. If you haven’t read this blog before you should, Kim does a great job. Anyway, here’s my comic creation below based upon Natasha Mostert’s Keeper of Light and Dust:

Well, it’s back to reading! Have a great time. We’ll be posting about our adventures in cheesecake later!

Hour #8:

I’ve made it 8 hours! I’m still reading the same book, but the breaks to eat and have The Girl read to us has been good! I’m still awake…no snoozing here. Anna, on the other hand, has fallen a sleep for a nanosecond or two! 🙂 Too much quiet for her, I think. I just entered the Hour #8 mini-challenge about Loving Your Local Library. What a great challenge. well, it’s back to reading Keeper of Light and Dust!

Hour #11:

Well, we had our Jello No-Bake Cheesecake with fresh cut strawberries, and some of us had some whip cream on top as well. You should have heard the orgasmic sounds from the girls and boys. LOL And it was all very platonic! Still reading Keeper of Light and Dust, but I’m nearing the 200 page mark in spite of the Twilight-Edward distractions.

The Girl is hoping to win the comic challenge, but I’m hoping to beat her out and win the prize. It’s a friendly little rivalry we have going on here. Neither of us will probably win! LOL Anyway, its back to reading…I mean watching Edward!