Monday, October 26, 2009

Readathon Wrap-Up

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? In the 8th hour, I was overpowered by that effing jerk, Mr. Sandman. "Bring me a dream." Yeah, right. My ass. The creep held me hostage for 4 hours. I finally got away from him. He pulled some crap again in Hour 19, but I was too strong for him.

2. Could you list some high-interest books that you think could keep a reader engaged? Three words: Linda Sue Park. She's my author-crush of the moment. Yes, she's YA, but don't turn up your nose. Readers of all ages could learn a lot about Korean culture and get good stories in the bargain.

3. Suggestions to improve the Readathon? This is unreasonable, but I'll try anyway: Could we do a 'thon one time in which other continents (like Asia, for example) get a good night's sleep and start in the morning and North America starts at night? Okay, I'll stop whining now.

4. What do you think worked well in the Readathon? The cheerleaders were well-organized.

5. How many books did you read? 3 and 55.3% of a fourth one.

6. What were they?
When My Name Was Keoko - Linda Sue Park
Yang The Youngest and His Terrible Ear - Lensey Namioka
Persepolis 2 - Marjane Satrapi
Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously - Julie Powell

7. Which book did you enjoy the most? Park's my crush, but Satrapi is mesmerizing. I was pleased to discover Namioka's book is part of a series about the Yang family.

8. Which book did you enjoy the least? I lovehate and hatelove Julie and Julia. Her style irritates me, but not so much that I can stop reading. I'm 68% of the way through it now and I'm dying to see the movie, sad to say.

9. If you were a cheerleader, what advice do you have? Try to read people's blogs and leave a personal comment. Or, find a gimmick like Softdrink did with her parodies of songs. I'm still LOL at her rewrite of "Let's Do The Time Warp Again". And, as always, pep talk is wonderful.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Readathon again? 94% likely. October to April is a difficult time for me because there's no Readathons or major league baseball. By the time winter's over, I'm so very ready for both.

9 comments:

Eva said...

LOL @ your duel w/ Mr. Sandman! I think your suggestion is great, personally. ;)

Carrie K said...

You did it! Congratulations.

Choco Pie said...

You're slightly nuts, but that ain't bad.

A 24-hour read-a-thon is probably the only way I'll finish The Historian in time for Halloween, so I'm taking notes on your technique.

If I can offer some constructive criticism, I think your snacks are subpar convenience store pap and next time you should treat yourself to something more gastronomically stimulating.

Congrats on a job well done. I really enjoyed reading your posts!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for cheering me on during the read-a-thon! As a first-timer, I really appreciated the support.

The Sandman tried to get me during hour 22, but I somehow escaped his clutch.

Rosemary Brennan said...

HA! Glad to hear that in the end you kicked Mr. Sandman's butt. :)

I've heard pretty much the same thing from all my friends who've read Powell's book...think I'll have to pick it up to see if I love/hate it as well. Though, I think I already know the answer. ;)

Bybee said...

Eva,
Or...I could move, right?

Carrie,
Thank you!

Sandra,
I want you to be my snack coach.

Stacybuckeye,
I enjoyed cheering you on.

Rosemary,
I'll finish Julie off tonight...or vice versa.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Some great suggestions there - I especially liked your idea for improving the read-a thon. Congratulations again for being such a good sport as to take part.

Care said...

I would be SO UP for that shift in time frame of day to night for North Am! CLEVER! great idea. I think we should!

Andi said...

I hope you enjoy the Julie & Julia movie when you get 'round to it. I found it more charming in many ways than the book. Much more Julia Child in the movie, which I liked, and Meryl Streep was great!