Saturday, October 22, 2011

Readathon - Wrap Up

Wrap - Up 
 It feels like the readathon went very quickly this year - before I knew it, it was past midnight and I was fighting to stay awake.  I finally gave in and went to bed in Hour 18 (2 am my time).  All in all, I read:

Pages Read 333
Comments so far: 22
At $.10/pg read and $.25 per comment, I have raised 38.80 for the Brooke Jackman Foundation

I will add in $$ for any additional comments on this post to bring my total up a bit.

End of Event Survey:
  1. Which hour was most daunting for you? 17/18 - I was really dragging by then
  2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Read my first YA during this event - 13 Little Blue Envelopes and highly recommend YA for this event - the books move quickly
  3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Everyone did a great job in organizing the event - keep up the good work!
  4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? As always, the cheerleaders are always my favorite part.  Also, the hourly hosts on the blog kept me going towards the end.
  5. How many books did you read? 2.5
  6. What were the names of the books you read? Finished The Next 15 Minutes by Kim Kircher which I had started pre-readathon; Falling for Me by Anna David
  7. >>
  8. Which book did you enjoy most? 13 Little Blue Envelopes
  9. Which did you enjoy least? Falling for Me started to drag for me but I think it was just the time spent in one place and not the book.
  10. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? NA
  11. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Will definitely participate again and will sign up to cheer next time

Halfway Mark Update

Darkness has fallen and we are into the 2nd half of the Readathon!  I took an unplanned nap so am a little behind in my reading but have turned on lots of lights to keep me awake tonight.

Pages so far: 213
Comments so far: 13

At $.10/pg read and $.25 per comment, I have raised 24.55 for the Brooke Jackman Foundation

Here is the mid-event survey:

1. What are you reading right now? Falling for Me by Anna David
2. How many books have you read so far? 1.5
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? 13 Little Blue Envelopes (it will be my first YA)
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Sadly, no
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Other than my nap, not too many interruptions.  I literally completely gave into the nap
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? All the twitter action - its great!
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? None - everyone is doing a great job!
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? So far, I am happy with how things are going
9. Are you getting tired yet? Now that I have had the nap, no
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 keep planning little markers or breakers - snack, a drink, a quick errand, time to check the blogs - it is breaking it up for me and keeping me going!





I am so excited to be starting Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon! I am fairly sure I won't make it for whole 24 hours but I am looking forward to so much dedicated reading time on this cold, crisp morning. I am reading to support the Brooke Jackman Foundation . I featured this charity in my 9/11 post - Brooke Jackman was killed in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11 and her family started this foundation in her memory. Because Brooke was an avid reader, the foundation supports literacy or underprivileged children. Can't think of a better charity for the Readathon! I will donate $.10 for every page read during the readathon and $.25 for every comment received during the readathon (so stop by often!)

Now for the introduction meme:

1) Where are you reading from today? I am reading from crisp and cool NYC! 
2)Three random facts about me…
a) I have a passion for handbags that started young - I was lost in a department store at the age of 3 and they found me in the handbag department!
b) I once got lost on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa 
c) I have run 8 marathons but the last one was over 6 years ago
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? I have a very fluid pile but about 6 books on deck (I won't get through them all!)
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? I want to read at least 2 full books
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Have fun and take part in the community (its the best part)  



25 comments:

  1. You sound like an amazing person! Happy reading!

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  2. The community is the best part. It's hard to get offline and actually read sometimes :) Have an awesome day today!

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  3. Ah, from the tender age of 3 you've been destined for handbag-love! LOL.

    Hope you have a great 'thon! =D

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  4. Have a great day!! I think it's great you use this to do charity work too. So sweet!!

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  5. I hope you get a lot of reading done. Have fun!

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  6. Colleen, I'm not participating in the Readathon, but good luck to you! Thanks for directing us to the Brooke Jackman Foundation. I went over and made a donation. I'm always so pleased to help out worthy organizations that other bloggers have dear to their hearts. This one sounds marvelous!

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  7. Eight marathons? Holy cow lady! ;)

    I hope you have a marvelous readathon--a crisp autumn Saturday is the perfect time for reading.

    Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah!

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  8. Happy reading! I cannot join you since I work on Saturdays as well, but I am sure you'll have fun running through books as well! :)

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  9. I can't participate this time, but I'll be happy to cheer you on! What a great cause. I hope you have a fantastic reading day!

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  10. Great charity. Good luck. I hope you get lots of reading done and have a fun day.

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  11. Sounds like a great cause. Have a wonderful time.

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  12. Love your charity! Happy reading and enjoy your books.

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  13. Lovely that you are reading for a charity! How is the reading going?

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  14. What a great cause you're reading for! Hope you get lots of reading done and a lot of comments!

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  15. I love the cause that you're reading for. Such a wonderful idea!

    Sounds like you have a great reading strategy, and plan to incorporate reading and mini challenges.

    1, 2, 3, 4
    You can read a chapter more
    5, 6, 7, 8
    Your read-a-thon is going great

    I'm cheering you on from #cheercookie. Have a fun read-a-thon!

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  16. It's fantastic you're reading for the Brooke Jackman Foundation. I checked it out after reading your post from 9/11 and I also recently saw a commercial for her foundation. It's such a worthwhile cause.

    I hope you're a great Readathon. Kepp up the great reading work & have fun, Colleen! You're doing a fantastic job!

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  17. It sounds like you are doing great so far!!! Hope you are having lots of fun while you are reading as well :)

    *Keep it up,
    You're doing great,
    Read lots of books,
    And stay up late!*

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  18. You sound like you're doing great. If I took a nap, I don't think I would get up again! *laughs* Thanks for stopping by my blog and cheering me on earlier :)

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  19. I'm here to do my part to help your charity! :)

    I've been interested in Falling for Me; what do you think of it? I read 13 Little Blue Envelopes for the read-a-thon this time last year; I hope you enjoy it.

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  20. That's awesome that you are reading for charity! I hope you enjoy 13 Little Blue Envelopes. I think Maureen Johnson is a great YA author.

    -jehara #cheercookie

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  21. Happy reading! Good luck raising more money for charity :)

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  22. Looks like you did great this time around! I read the same amount and was also surprised with how fast the time flew by!

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  23. Yeah, you! I'm glad you had such a productive Read-A-Thon. And it's so great that you participated for a great cause! Have a great week!

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  24. The readathon is something I look forward to both times of year, but especially in the fall. Glad you participated!

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