Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon! (With Updates)

I'm taking part in Dewey's Read-a-thon in a matter of hours! I'm very excited, as I wanted to take part last October but I missed it and missed out. Reading is my favourite thing ever, but it always seems so self-indulgent to read for hours on end and I start to feel like I should be doing something more constructive and less fun. The Read-a-thon gives me the excuse I've been waiting for, to read uninterrupted for a whole day. To make me feel even better about this event, I'm donating to a UK reading charity, The National Literacy Trust in the event's honour.

I am going to try to stay up and read and do reading and blogging-related things for the entire 24 hours: I'm armed with several cans of Red Bull and have stocked up on snacks. During the daylight hours, I'm going to vary my settings and read in different cafes and libraries (and parks if the weather's nice, which it probably won't be. Nothing falls, and puts the kibosh on days out, like London rain) around the city. I think I'm more likely to get bored and antsy if I'm cooped up at home for the full 24 hours.

I'll probably still be reading Anna and the French Kiss when the Read-a-thon begins, but after that, who knows? I've got a stack of paperbacks, e-books, audiobooks and library books in my possession and I'm going to get through as many as I can. I'll be updating this post every couple of hours to report my progress and I definitely want to visit other blogs and cheer other readers on.

Wish me luck and great reading!

Introductory Questionnaire
 
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

London, England.
 
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Hard question, because I have such a huge stack, I have no idea which books I'll get to. I guess Dairy Queen, because I just picked that up at the library yesterday and I'm the kind of reader that always prefers the newest and shiniest book!
 
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Popcorn! I could live off the stuff and kind of did in my student days.
 
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm very scared of the future right now. I'll be leaving a school I've been teaching at for 5 years, the longest time I've ever spent doing anything. For the first time in a long time, I have no idea what the future holds, but it's a good scared feeling - an excited one.
 
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?

It's my first read-a-thon and I'm most excited about chatting with other participants, of course!


FIRST UPDATE - 4.39pm UK time. We're just about 3 and a half hours into the Read-a-thon. I've been going back and forth between Anna and the French Kiss and the audiobook of A Monster Calls. I just finished Anna and am still on a high from it and am grinning stupidly with delight at that ending.

It didn't rain! I went to St James's Park and read right in front of Buckingham Palace - how's that for living up to cultural sterotypes? There were huge effing pelicans in the park, just strolling along the path. I was brave enough to take a picture, even though I am terrified of large birds. Then I headed to the nearest library, where I am right now. I'm starting to get hungry, though, so it's time for a food break.

Huge effing pelicans

SECOND UPDATE - 7.45pm UK time. Seven hours in and I've been commenting on a few blogs and finished Volume 3, Animal Armies, of the graphic novel series Sweet Tooth. This series started out good and has become amazing! It's about a post-apocalyptic world, where the only children born are half-human, half-animal. Volume 3 really fleshed out the supporting characters and I'm now fully invested in this story.

I'm going to comment on blogs for a little while now and then I'll start Touch by Francine Prose.


THIRD UPDATE - 23.55pm UK time. I'm just over halfway through Touch and I have to admit, at nearly midnight over here, I'm started to get tired. Good thing Ashley at the Read-a-thon website is on the same page as me. I was thinking a dance around the room might get my juices pumping and she has a song already picked out! 

FOURTH UPDATE - 2.35 am UK time. I just finished A Monster Calls and am something of an emotional wreck. That story is so beautiful and so heartbreaking, I'm not sure I can even put into words how special it is.