Read-a-thon Recovery

I had forgotten how much fun Dewey's Read-a-thon is.

It's been 4 years since I last participated in a Read-a-thon. I find that hard to believe (maybe I cheered for some without blogging it?). This year I signed up to cheer others on, but I probably did read a bit more than I would have on an ordinary Saturday. If I had it to do over again I'd sign up to read as well, and do some of the mini-challenges.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Starting at 5 a.m. was so daunting that I didn't do it. I think I started reading closer to 7. In retrospect, I wish I'd gotten up early and gotten some reading in before it was time to start cheering.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I like the idea of mixing in graphic novels with more traditional books, because they go by so quick.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? It was so well-organized and fabulous! I think I didn't sign up to cheer the right way, though because I ended up not on the list even though I emailed with one of the wonderful organizers well ahead of time. This could totally be my own fault. So I guess my only suggestion is to make that part of it more clear--with my caveat being that it might have been extraordinarily clear and I just missed something.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The mini-challenges looked like so much fun and people seemed to really enjoy them. The cheerleading pages were really well organized, and the co-hosts were fabulous. It never fails to floor me that Dewey did this pretty much on her own. It takes an entire team to replicate it, but because of that team I think things just keep improving with every Read-a-thon.
5. How many books did you read? Um. I read like 4 chapters of one book, and listened to almost 2 chapters of another book? Oh, and a dozen pages of another book. And many blog posts!
6. What were the names of the books you read? Fairy Godmothers, Inc., The Lemon Tree, and Calling Dr. Laura.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? I was most excited about The Lemon Tree because the downloadable audio finally came in for me from the library so I could get a start on it for book club next week! I almost never listen to audiobooks, so it was a unique experience for me.
8. Which did you enjoy least? None of them stood out as being not enjoyable.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wish I had remembered to make a category in my feed reader of all the blogs I was responsible for cheering on. That way I could have been more on top of who was updating, without wasting time clicking on folks who ending up not participating after all (there were a lot!) or who didn't seem to be on the computer much. ALSO, don't forget to visit and cheer on your friends, even if they're not in your official group. I think I missed some!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I hope to be able to both read and cheer next time! Can't wait for October!