Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

It's that time of year again, friends! Fall is clearly here. Thanksgiving is over for us Canadians. The leaves are changing and there's a nip in the air. And book lovers all over the world are hunkering down to read as much as possible in 24 hours. Because we're crazy like that. But Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon is just so much fun!

It's already an hour and a half into the day (I decided I needed to sleep in!) so I'm just going to get started with the opening questions and then get to reading!

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

As I mentioned, I'm Canadian. I live in St. Catharines, Ontario. (If you're unsure where that is, just place me in Niagara Falls. It's only about 20 minutes away.) 

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

As usual, I don't have a stack. I always approach the readathon with an open mind and hope that I'll finish at least one book, if not two. I'm starting with Smoke by Catherine McKenzie (I started it yesterday and am intrigued!). I think I'll also read A Sister's Place by Savannah Page. And probably something else!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? 

Pumpkin beer. I bought some at a craft brewery yesterday in anticipation of the day (and the boyfriend asked me to haha). I'm not sure what else I'll snack on. Likely popcorn. It usually happens during the readathon! Maybe apple crisp if I decide to take the time to make it.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! 

I'm a Blue Jays fan. I've been watching them for only about ten years...since I started dating my boyfriend who is a HUGE baseball fan. I especially have to mention this because later today they have a game. A playoff game. They're playing baseball in October! To my non-Canadian and non-sports fan readers, this is a huge deal. The Jays hadn't made the playoffs in 22 years. So we're pretty excited! They lost last night (boo!) so we're hoping for a win against Kansas City tonight to even up the series. Go Jays Go!

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've been doing these read-a-thons for a while now and it's always a good time. I always sleep in (it starts at 7am in my part of the world. That's too early for a Saturday, thank you very much) and get started reading and just read as much as I can. October is great because I can snuggle in with blankets and tea and feel super cozy. I'm hoping I can find some new bookish friends because that's part of what makes book blogging so much fun...the community!

I'll be posting on Twitter and Instagram throughout the day, too, if you want to say hi over there!

First challenge is complete! The Diversity Shelfie hosted by An Unconventional Librarian.

First #readathon challenge: Diversity #Shelfie. ALL INCLUSIVE features a half South Asian heroine who may be bisexual (she's hesitant at putting a label on it). It has swingers and polyamorous couples and touches on the unfairness to natives in the tourism industry. It's a fantastic read! @pamlovesbooks

A photo posted by Kaley (@kaleys23) on Oct 17, 2015 at 8:13am PDT

I've finished my first book! I received and ARC of Smoke by Catherine McKenzie way back in May at BEA (the best part of my week there was meeting her, finally!). It comes out on Tuesday and it's such a good read. Riveting, would be a word I'd use to describe it. I had already read about a quarter of it yesterday on my lunch break and at the gym. I'm eager to dive into book #2. After I eat lunch. It's almost 1:30 and I haven't eaten anything since those mini wheats!

I'm well into book #2 now, A Sister's Place by Savannah Page. I realized early on that a book about sisters who have grown apart might not be the right thing to read when my sister, three years younger than me, is away working on a cruise ship. Happily, I will see her in just under two weeks! Anyway. The book is lovely. I'm tearing through it. (No surprise, I've loved the other books by Page that I've read.)

I needed a wee bit of a break so I'm taking part in an hour nine (we're now in hour ten...TEN!!) challenge, a book scavenger hunt hosted by Just One More Thing. We had to find words or phrases that corresponded with the prompts given. I decided to include quotes from the book because I think that's more fun than just one word.

Something Hard

“We will, Mom.” I give her a kiss on the side of her head, her auburn, sun-streaked hair dropping just past her shoulders in wide, heavy curls. “This will  pass.”

But it’s too soon,  I want to add. I restrain myself, knowing it won’t make matters any better, only bring my mother to more tears. It will only make the reality of loss that much more palpable.

Something Fast

Getting around home on bike is easiest and quickest, and I love the feeling of freedom and fresh air as I zip along the streets.

Something Sweet

When I came with the third orange, with intentions to give it to Mimi, I also brought another for a snack. The delectable fruit, at its most ripe, was nearly as comforting to my soul as the conversation I had with my grandmother.

Something High

“I haven’t done this since I was a kid,” I shriek as I hold in one hand the plastic yellow handle, made for a child’s small fingers, and gingerly guide the string with the other.
“Kite flying is just as fun for adults,” Cary says. He focuses on the slow-waving and rather steady motions of the kite.

Something Funny

“Excuse me if I’m closed for that kind of business.” I look down at my lap with raised eyebrows, and this gets a laugh from Juliette so loud we actually do turn some heads.

Mid-Event Survey

1) What are you reading right now?

Still working on A Sister's Place. On page 254 of 363.

2) How many books have you read so far?

Just one but I'm creeping closer to two!

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

Thanks to a brilliant suggestion from my author friend Meredith Schorr, I think I'm going to read her upcoming novel Novelista Girl. (It's the sequel to one of my all time favourite books, Blogger Girl.) Unless I check my TBR list and see there's something else that has to be read ASAP. I've been lax on my scheduling lately...

4) Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Not too many. I slept in, did two loads of laundry (though they're still sitting on my, unmade since I washed sheets, bed), ate. The biggest thing has been the Blue Jays game. I mentioned earlier how I'm a fan and there's a playoff game today. They're down 6-3 in the top of the ninth AND I AM SO STRESSED OUT. So I'm drinking pumpkin beer.

5) What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

Not a whole lot, really. Maybe the only thing is that I haven't done nearly as many challenges as I feel like I normally do.

It's 12:17 AM and I have finished my second book! Along with a few beers. And a bowl of popcorn. Sadly, the Blue Jays lost. They're now down 2-0 in the ALCS. But the good news is, I spent today's Readathon reading two really great books. I adored Smoke as well as A Sister's Place. I highly recommend them both! (Links to both are above somewhere!) So this is it. This is when I bid you all good night! I hope those who decide to pull an all nighter have a grand time! For me, it's time to look after my crazy kook of a rabbit and head to bed. Thanks for another great day, fellow readathoners!

Closing Survey

1) Which hour was most daunting for you?

Probably 16/17. That's when it starts to get really late in my time zone and, as much as I love reading, I know that's when I need to call it a night. And because pumpkin beer is always in season during the October readathon, I'm usually quite buzzed by this point! I was also watching a TV show with the boyfriend so I was splitting my mental capacity there too! I was worried I wasn't going to be able to get the second book done but I persevered! 

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

Harry Potter, The Lake House by Kate Morton, The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling), Burying Water by K.A. Tucker.

3) Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
It's not so much an improvement but something I noticed...I was tweeting and posting throughout the day and had a few cheerleader tweets but nothing from something like hours 6 on. I know it's hard to get cheerleaders and I know there are a lot of readers...I just found it strange that I had some tweets and then it was radio silence.

4) What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Most everything ticked along as usual this year! Good job, guys.

5) How many books did you read?
Just 2! But that's ok :)

6) What were the names of the books you read?
Smoke by Catherine McKenzie and A Sister's Place by Savannah Page.

7) Which book did you enjoy most?
I honestly can't choose. McKenzie is one of my all time favourite authors and I really liked this one but I adored Page's just as much.

8) Which did you enjoy least?

See above! :)

9) How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Oh, I'll definitely take part in the next readathons, as long as my schedule allows for it. It's always fun to hunker down with books and spend the day chatting with likeminded people. And it puts a dent in my TBR list.