Dewey's Readathon: A Delayed Start

Hello friends! This weekend marks the spring edition of Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. I attempted to do last fall's read-a-thon but didn't plan well enough in advance. This year I thought I'd be on the ball and try to do as much reading as possible because I am way behind on my stack o' books. Well. It's now almost two hours into the event and I'm jut doing the intro post. Woot! I'm ok with taking a lazy approach to it because I do have other things to look after today. Like putting together a new booshelf (woohoo!) and looking after my bunny who just had surgery this week. But, I will read and do as many challenges as possible because who doesn't like reading? :)

Without further ado, here are my answers to the intro questions!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I'm in St. Catharines, Ontario (right near Niagara Falls)
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Confession: I didn't even really plan out what I was going to read! Gasp! I know. I would liked to finish The Queen of Unforgetting. It takes place in the tiny town I grew up in which is super cool.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
It's a little time consuming but I think I need to have popcorn at some point today. I have this delicious flavouring - maple sugar - that is, well, delicious!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I'm trying to get into the world of publishing! I was a publicity intern at Random House of Canada from January to April and now I'm an intern at a great nonprofit. I'm not making much money but I'm learning a lot! And getting lots of free books!
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?
I'd like to actually finish two books. That shouldn't be too hard, right? Like I said, I'm taking a laid back approach because there's just too much going on at the moment for me to start stressing about how much I've read or what challenges I've completed! Fun is the name of the game.

CHALLENGE! Book Spine Poetry
After some thought I decided I wanted to put my own unique spin on things and have created a Canadian bookspine poem. Enjoy!

Update #1
I honestly don't even know what hour we're in right now. 8? Maybe? No matter. I have, finally, finished my first book. It's not that exciting since I was well into it when the day started, but I finished it nonetheless. The slow reading day was due to a necessary errand for library books for my internship and chicken noodle soup for the boyfriend.

Ta-da! Dreamland is complete. I want to get into The Queen of Unforgetting but I think I might check out the Harlequin romance I need to read for an upcoming review. Time for another cup of tea!

Mid-Event Survey

Time for another update and a little survey! We're eight hours in now. I got distracted from another cup of tea earlier because my boyfriend put together my new bookshelf for me!

It was desperately needed and, as you can sort of tell, I'm eventually going to need another! Now, survey time!

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?

No sleepyness on my end yet. It's just 8pm in my world.
2) What have you finished reading?

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen.
3) What is your favorite read so far?

Well, that's the only book I finished and the one I'm reading now is a cute little romance. While it's enjoyable, it's no Dessen so Dreamland wins over Wind Chime Point.
4) What about your favorite snacks?

The red velvet cake tea I had earlier was delish but the aforementioned boyfriend made one tasty supper for us. I have much to look forward to this evening, though I'm not sure how well my plan of beer and reading will end up going.
5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!

I have to admit that I haven't been bopping around too much so I haven't really come across anyone new. Perhaps tomorrow I will check out some blogs and see if I can find some new favourites.

Now, where's that beer I was mentioning... :)

MINI CHALLENGE! Share a Quote
As you can tell, I haven't really been taking part in many mini challenges. After finishing book #2 (woohoo!), Wind Chime Point by Sherryl Woods, I decided to check out the website and see what was happening. When I saw that it was a share a quote challenge, I knew I wanted to throw my hat into the ring. Why? Because I actually took a picture of a page in Dreamland because a quote made an impression on me. Here's the picture:

It's a little long to type out so I hope you can all see it in the picture alright. It starts in the last full paragraph with "I stood..." and ends with "...save her." That save her part is why it hit me so hard because I spent a good portion of this book wishing I could save Caitlin. She's a decade younger than I am and I wished I could hop into the book and protect her from her boyfriend.

Now, I have to decide what book to dive into next, even though I know I probably won't be reading for much longer tonight. I also have a bunny to look after and she needs tonight's round of meds. It took us 25 minutes to get them into her this morning, complete with a scratch on my arm. Think good thoughts for us! Then, it's reading, another beer, and that popcorn I mentioned earlier!

End of Event Survey
Well, it's an hour and a half past the end of the read-a-thon and I just got up a half hour ago. My laid back attitude carried on and I decided sleep was important :) For those who are interested, beer was delicious, popcorn was tasty, and I got some more scratches on my arm when trying to give the bunny her meds. Sigh. I think she hates me now. I also started a new book, Vanity Fare, which was an excellent choice. I can't wait to dive back into it later today. For now, here is the end of event survey. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and cheered me on!

1) Which hour was most daunting for you?

Since I didn't really do too much, I can't really answer this. I didn't stay up late or have cat naps to keep me going. It was a regular day of lots of reading for me!

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

Hm. Good question. I think it's all up to the reader. Last night when I was trying to pick a book, I went with something that was closer to my favourite and most comforting genre (chick lit) instead of going for two of the really popular historical fiction novels I have and really want to read.

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

Can't really think of anything...I think any improvements I want to make are just on my own stuff!

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

I know a lot of people really enjoy the cheerleaders so make sure you keep them around!

5) How many books did you read?

I read two and a bit books.

6) What were the names of the books you read?

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen, Wind Chime Point by Sherry Woods, and part of Vanity Fare by Megan Caldwell.

7) Which book did you enjoy most?

Tough one...even though I'm only partway through Vanity Fare, I think I have to go with that one.

8) Which did you enjoy least?

I guess Wind Chime Point, which isn't to say I didn't like it. It was a lovely little romance and I enjoyed reading it.

9) How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? 

I'd like to participate, it just depends on when it is. I'd also like to really be able to do the full 24 hours. I wish I had known about this when I was still living alone because once you throw in someone else in your house (not to mention a recovering bunny), it's hard to say "I am spending my entire day reading and ignoring you, please go find your own fun." :) So, we'll see if I show up again for the next read-a-thon!