| Number of Books | 6 | Books Read | Old Man’s War | |
| Pages Read | 1792 | Dead Until Dark | ||
| Time Spent Reading | 12:31 | The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever | ||
| Time Spent Blogging | 3:27 | Living Dead in Dallas | ||
| Oakleaf Bearers |
That puts my participation at roughly 16 hours. I was sleeping for 7. I’m not sure how I lost an hour there! I did start And Only to Deceive and let me tell you, I am loving it. This is a fantastic book. Despite the fact that I read for 12 1/2 hours out of the last 24, I’m definitely going to finish it today.
The Read-a-Thon was a LOT of fun. I’m really sorry that I didn’t manage to stay up later. I actually think I would have done better if I’d been at home in the US, because I think I would have stayed up later and read for longer if my start time was at 8 am rather than at 1 pm. I wake up around then anyway, and I know I can stay up until 3 or so if I try, so I’d have only lost 5 hours rather than 7.
Anyway, on to the end survey:
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Definitely the last one at night, from 2-3 am. I always find it really difficult to get past 3 am. My best guess is that I made it to 3:15 before falling asleep with my book still in my hands.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Old Man’s War, the Sookie Stackhouse series, Oakleaf Bearers, and finally And Only to Deceive were all fabulous choices. They were all fast-moving, interesting reads that kept me going even if I was tired. I’d recommend any of them.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I liked it! I had trouble participating in the mini-challenges because I thought they would take up too much time, though, I’ll be honest about that. I liked the surveys we could post during our own updates the best. I think that someone who was more interested in taking breaks and had trouble reading for longer would appreciate them more than me, though. I just wanted to get back to my book after a few minutes.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
To be honest, I thought everything worked really well. It seemed very well-run. I’m impressed by you three!
5. How many books did you read?
5 1/2 in total. Well, 216/310 of And Only to Deceive, which is more than halfway.
6. What were the names of the books you read?
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, Dead Until Dark and Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris, The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn, Oakleaf Bearers by John Flanagan, and And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander.
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
This is an impossible question. It’s between Old Man’s War, the Sookie books, and And Only to Deceive. Don’t make me choose!
8. Which did you enjoy least?
The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. Normally I love Julia Quinn. I think she writes believable, funny romance that also elucidates genuine human failings and emotions, which is something romance can do really well. This one I wanted to throw against the wall and I disliked the main characters by the end. Never happened before with a Quinn. I decided not to read any more straight romance because I didn’t want to deal with that happening again while I was reading.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I wasn’t a cheerleader!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
Oh, extremely likely. Barring some unavoidable event next time, you’ll find me right here, reading once again. Well, I won’t be living here, but you will find me on this blog. I loved it!
I would once again like to thank everyone who dropped by and commented while I was reading and everyone who was extremely encouraging on twitter. It would have been much less fun without you!
Congrats!! You’re awesome!!
I think some of the mini-challenges were a bit too time-consuming, but I just skipped those one!
Eva’s last blog post..Hour Twenty-Four (Eva)
Congratulations you did so well. I slept as well! Tried to stay awake but I just couldn’t do it.
Alaine’s last blog post..Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Great job!
My difficult hours were between 12 and 3am. Had to take a nap, but it really helped.
3m’s last blog post..Post #Readathon Survey
Wow look at those stats! Congrats!
Anna’s last blog post..Dewey’s Read-a-Thon Wrap Up
You did really well Meghan! This was my first time participating as a reader, although I have been a cheerleader before, but it was hard for me this weekend!
Marg’s last blog post..The end has come!
You did so well, Meghan! I also can’t believe that we missed each other, but there was so much going on. I wasn’t able to participate in the mini-challenges either. I think next time around I will try one, though. They were fun for those who could participate. I really, really enjoyed myself yesterday and am looking forward to next time.
I’ve only heard of Tasha Alexander. Otherwise, all of your books were new to me. I’m looking forward to your reviews.
Literate Housewife’s last blog post..Read-a-Thon ~ Hour 24 Meme
You had a great read-a-thon – congratulations!
Elizabeth’s last blog post..TSS – READ-A-THON wrapup
Good job
And some great tips there
Blodeuedd’s last blog post..More lovely awards
Great job! We about tied in pages read though I read more books (8) than you. Neener! I’m glad you like the Sookie stories. You might want to try Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison.
Morphidae’s last blog post..Read-a-Thon Wrap-up
Oh! And I read Kitty and the Midnight Hour yesterday because of your recommendation! I’ll definitely read more in that series.
Morphidae’s last blog post..Read-a-Thon Wrap-up
Great job, Meghan! Six books – I’m truly impressed!! Hope you’ll be able to get some rest today!
Wendy’s last blog post..Friday Finds – April 17, 2009
Splendid effort! Watching you and Morphy may tempt me to participate next year.
Jill’s last blog post..Pastorale
Congrats; you did great! I’m impressed with your totals.
Memory’s last blog post..The Sunday Salon: Read-A-Thon Aftermath
I am in awe of everyone who read over 1000 pages. You had a wonderful day!
Kathy’s last blog post..Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables
Wow, that is an amazing amount of reading.
Gavin’s last blog post..NaPoWriMo #17
Well done!
Lezlie
Lezlie’s last blog post..We Are Spinal Tap
You did so well, Meghan!! Congrats!
Nymeth’s last blog post..Read-a-thon
This was sooooo much fun. I’m definitely doing it again. I may even just cheer again. I really had fun.
Beth F’s last blog post..Dewey’s Read-a-Thon April 2009: Tales of a Cheerleader
Impressive stats indeed! I see you like Charlaine Harris’ Dead Until Dark series. The latest one From Dead to Worse just came out in paperback and there’s a new one coming out in hardback. I’m glad to see that they are keeping the artwork the same as all the other books in the series. There’s a new artwork style for the first book in the series that I don’t really like.
blacklin’s last blog post..The Sunday Salon: Dewey’s Read-A-Thon: The Day After
Congratulations, Meghan … what a lot you accomplished during the readathon; including having FUN!
I wonder where that hour went
Dawn (sheIsTooFondOfBooks)’s last blog post..Audiobook Review: *Beat the Reaper* by Josh Bazell
I didn’t do many of the mini challenges either because I wanted to focus on the reading. I also thought they would take up to much time that could have been spent reading.
You did very well! Being in Europe was one of the reasons I didn’t participate either.
lenore’s last blog post..Book Review, Author Interview and Giveaway: Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon
medieval bookworm….Congratulations on your amazing feat!!! Your stats are sooooo impressive. Thanks for your get well wishes.
I’ll join you next time.
Wisteria’s last blog post..Review-The Tory Widow
Great job — congrats! I have to say, I think mid-afternoon would be one of the worst start-times for me, too… you’ve already been up before it starts, and then do you cut your sleep short to start again? Ideal for me would probably be about 10 am… you could sleep in a bit Saturday morning, but then set an alarm for Sunday morning (if you sleep – which I do) and then get up to read again!
Fyrefly’s last blog post..Robin McKinley – The Outlaws of Sherwood
Good going! I’m a little late, but I’m trying to get around as many readathon participants as I can.
Maree’s last blog post..The Reading Week
I lost a LOT of time somehow as well. Great job!
S. Krishna’s last blog post..Laura Rider’s Masterpiece – Jane Hamilton