Read-a-thon: The End

Title of book(s) read since last update: Tamburlaine Must Die.
Number of books read since you started: 3 and 3/4.
Pages read since last update: 99.
Running total of pages read since you started: 878.
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour 35 minutes.
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 11 hours 40 minutes.
Mini-challenges completed: The intro one, the nominees, book title sentence and the song one, and one in comments, I can't remember which (it was late, my mind was drifting).
Other participants you’ve visited: I've been out of the house for the last hours, I'll be sure to catch how everybody did.
Prizes you’ve won: One, the soundtrack one.

And now the final survey from Dewey's Read-a-thon:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Around 17-18. I was SO sleepy.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I've been reading Blissett's Q lately and that's one page-turner. Also, Virginia Woolf's Orlando I think would be perfect for this kind of situation
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I would like to have more mini-challenges, but maybe that's just me and I like to be distracted.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The mini-challenges, they were a treat.
5. How many books did you read? 3 and 3/4 of another.
6. What were the names of the books you read? The Magic Apple Tree, Music and Silence, Unthinkable (graphic novel) and Tamburlaine Must Die.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? Music and Silence, hands down.
8. Which did you enjoy least? The Magic Apple Tree, it wasn't a good night opener, the writining wasn't sharo enough.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn't a cheerleader - I loved seeing their comments on my blog.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I'm almost 100% I will do the Read-a-thon again, I really enjoyed the challenge. As a Reader.

Hour 13: Update and survey

Title of book(s) read since last update: Music and Silence.
Number of books read since you started: 1.
Pages read since last update: 201.
Running total of pages read since you started: 450.
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 2 hours 30 minutes.
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 6 hours 10 minutes.
Mini-challenges completed: The intro one, the nominees, book title sentence and the song one.
Other participants you’ve visited: None this round, I've been on full reading mode.
Prizes you’ve won: One, the soundtrack one.


And now a Mid-Event Survey from Dewey's Read-a-thon:
1. What are you reading right now? I'm well into the second half of Music and Silence.
2. How many books have you read so far? Only one.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Mark Sable's Unthinkable. It'll be quite a change of pacing.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? No, I had the day off anyway.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Many, from football matches to Channel 4's Greatest Comedy Stand-Ups, I'm easily distracted.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How much people blog - and they still have time to read!
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Not really, I think it's a pretty smooth ride as it is.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? I'd prepare better, pre-event wise.
9. Are you getting tired yet? A bit. I might need a power nap.
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 found that having some good, moody music helps, at least it does me - I've had BBC Radio 3 on all day and it really puts me in a reading frame of mind.

Hour 9: Update and mini-challenge

UPDATE

Title of book(s) read since last update: Music and Silence.
Number of books read since you started: 1.
Pages read since last update:20 .
Running total of pages read since you started: 249.
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 40 minutes.
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 3 hours 40 minutes.
Mini-challenges completed: The intro one, the nominees, book title sentence and this song one.
Other participants you’ve visited: None this round, I've been distracted by the football match.
Prizes you’ve won:

MINI-CHALLENGE

Excellent books + song challenge over at alita.reads. Here’s how to play:

* Pick up a book that you’ve read today, or are currently reading.
* Choose a song that goes with the book – could be that it fits the overall feel of it or even a certain scene.
* Create a blog post answering the following:

• Book title
• Soundtrack song
• Why you chose that song

My entry then:

Book title: Music and Silence
Song: Heima by Sigur Ros.
Why I chose this song: Sigur Ros always evokes empty, frozen landscapes that go well with the Denmark-set narrative of this books. This song is also full of yearning and subdued tragedy, much like Rose Tremain's sickly-sweet and aching prose here.

Hour 5: Update and challenge

Title of book(s) read since last update: Still The Magic Apple Tree. Slowly because I'm not liking it much.
Number of books read since you started: None.
Pages read since last update: 49.
Running total of pages read since you started: 143.
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 2 hours.
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 2 hours.
Mini-challenges completed: The intro one, the nominees and the book titles one.
Other participants you’ve visited: Mainly tried to see how people in my blogroll are doing, like kiss a cloud and She Read A Book.
Prize you’ve won:

MINI-CHALLENGE

The Titles challenge over at Bart's Bookshelf (basically you have to make a book title composed of other book titles you have in your bookshelf):

Under the black flag, Mrs Dalloway saved Vermeer's Hat.

Hour 3: Update and mini-challenge

Not much actual reading done these past couple of hours because I had lunch (& had to go buy it too) but things are starting to pick up now.

UPDATE HOUR 3:

Title of book(s) read since last update: Still going through The Magic Apple Tree.
Number of books read since you started: None.
Pages read since last update: 96.
Running total of pages read since you started: 96.
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour & 10 minutes.
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 1 hour 10 minutes.
Mini-challenges completed: The intro one, and in this post the nominees challenge.
Other participants you’ve visited: Not many yet. Working on it now.
Prize you’ve won:

And the hour three mini-challenge is the Nominees challenge at 'Til We Read Again:

Favorite Female Character in a book: Villanelle from The Passion.
Favorite Male Character in a book: Raskolnikov from Crime And Punishment.
Favorite Side Kick in a book: William Bush in the Hornblower series.
Favorite Couple in a Book: Howl and Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle.
Favorite Book Series: Pat Barker's WWI trilogy.
Favorite Author: Jeanette Winterson.
Favorite Book Cover: The Vintage editions of Virginia Woolf.
Favorite Book of 2009: The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels.

Hour 1: Mini-challenge

Read-a-thon has started, and I'm making my way through Susan Hill's The Magic Apple Tree, because it's light and short, a good way to start.

Now, for the first mini-challenge over at Dewey's Read-a-thon:

Where are you reading from today? The west of London.

3 facts about me …

1) I'm allergic to aspirin.

2) I was a football player in my teens.

3) I don't care for plot in books.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? Seven.

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'd like to read all seven books. Some of them are related to the research for my novel, so it's a win-win. And I'd like to use this chance as a way to discover new blogs.