Dewey's Readathon: Better Late Than Never, 2016 edition

It's 4:00 a.m. and I just signed up for Dewey's 24-hour readathon. Completely winging it this year since it starts officially starts in 3 hours!! (7 a.m. CST). I wonder if the patron saint of readathons will forgive me if I start now? I am losing there hours to work after all.

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Better Late Than Never?

And here's the closing survey to Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-thon, submitted 3 or 4 days after the fact. Take that procrastination!

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Surprisingly, the morning. Mornings are usually my get-er-done time. While getting the kids ready and out the door at a certain time is hard, it's not impossible. But it does takes both hands. The only reading time in the morning was when I bribed the girls with picture books. And since we're staying out-of-state at someone else's house, I realized how I missed my own cluttered living room. I'm may have been in Kansas, but there's no place like home... where the VCR can keep kids occupied.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

I enjoyed Sarah J. Maas before the Read-a-thon and during. She writes YA fantasy and blends action and romance. She has one series... what is it? (The one about the assassin; I'm going to have to hop over to Goodreads.com to figure it out.) And her newest book is A Court of Thorns and Roses which looks like the start of a new series.

A-ha... the Throne of Glass series! Fourth book just published. (Fifth if you count the prequels.)

Wait, what is this Starkillers Cycle? Shiny! This is looks very sci-fi and fun to delve into while hanging out online. 

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Do not travel. Or at least time the travel so that I'm driving during the Read-a-thon and take advantage of audiobooks. Do not time the travel to do the Read-a-thon during your sightseeing day. 

Oh. Is this about suggestions for the Dewey folks? Umm... not sure since I only lurked a little during all the social media. I'm sorry I missed out on all the mini-challenges this year. 

Just thought of some things! On Twitter, I was added to "Team Evergreen" but I never figured out what that was. Was it a cheerleader's list name? Was I suppose to use a #TeamEvergreen hashtag? Was is a way to interact with others? I still haven't figured it out.

On the book database, offer an alternative replies to "pages read." I rely on audio books and e-books which are not easy to figure out in terms of pages. Either set-up the survey with other options, like hours / discs / percentage complete (most digital files come with a bar graph of how much you've read or listened). Or simply list other ways we could type in our reply. Give us permission to write-in our progress. 

Since Read-a-thon seems to be growing, how about an introductory video? Something to give newbies (and re-motivate us repeaters) a pump-up, adrenline rush. Or has someone already done this? I guess I should go searching around YouTube, huh?

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

Dropping the prizes. Good on you for not wasting your time with it! Mini challenges seem to be where it's at. 

5. How many books did you read?

Completed 4 pictures books and started 1 book for my pleasure.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

Don't ask about the picture books. I read so many between home and work, I tend to blank them all out except the extraordinary ones. While I realize the importance of reading to my kids, I also cannot say each and every picture book is a jewel. Becasue, honestly, they're not.  When you read 1,000 children's books a year (maybe more), many of them blur together. 

My book? A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. 

I had intentions of reading Best to Laugh by Lorna Landvik, but never got around to it. 

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

The book I read for myself!

8. Which did you enjoy least?

The kids' books. If I try to remember, I seem to recall that they were Disney books from the 80s? See rant in #6. 

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

Skip! But I will take this space to reflect on two things...

What did I miss the most this year?

Since I wasn't on social media during the live Read-a-thon, I found myself longing for the mini-challenges. Even on good years, I never did each and every challenges, but this year, I'm bummed I missed out on the fun and the randomness.

What surprised me the most?

This was the first year I read late into the night! Normally I conk out at 8 p.m. but this year, after the kids got to bed, I was able to keep reading all the way to midnight! I felt like a hardcore reader. 

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Very likely, because it forces me to re-prioritize for the sake of reading. Reading time is such a precious commodity, that I often don't know what to do with it when I get the chance! I like Dewey's Read-a-thons because they are great for exercising my mental muscles. It keeps my thirst for grown-up literature alive. Without the Read-a-thons, I'd be swallowed by the quicksand of children's books I live and work with. Thank you, Dewey, for reminding me - twice a year - to read for my own satisfaction.

Some day, my time will come. Some day, I know I'll be able to be entirely selfish with my reading time. Some day, it will be mine (again), ALL MINE! 

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Mid-way Survey

This mommy just got done driving from Kansas to Minnesota. If I had been doing my Read-a-thon social media in real time, my replies would've been logged in right around 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 17th. But because my brain and hands were busy, all I can commit to is the Read-a-thon's simply reading. I don't have a free hand to do the fun social media stuff in real-time. 

Back to replying to surveys in retrospect!

1. What are you reading right now?
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

2. How many books have you read so far?
On #4. The kids and I had a round of picture books this morning.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
The very one, I'm reading right now. I have been looking forward to reading it before it was published!

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
The whole day has been one long-extended-interruption as I juggle mother-hood, visit with distant relatives in Kansas, witness their local Maple Leaf Festival, and read in the midst of all of it. I deal by using several strategies:

• Thanking the heavens for e-books on my phone 
• Asking multiple other adults to watch the girls for "just a minute." 
• Taking many bathroom breaks to sneak in a few extra moments of private (e-book) time 
• Saying "yes" any time my 5-year-old wants to do festival activities that leave my hands-free, even momentarily... like jump in the bouncy castle or face painting. 
• Keeping the kids distracted with festival food: funnel cake, sweet corn, church baked goods, kettle corn, etc. 
• Agreeing to wait in line, any line, no matter how long.

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
The jump in reader participation this year.

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Opening Questions

Dewey's Readathon. (Or is it Read-a-thon? Anyway.) It takes place every October and April and is all about the joy or reading.

Everytime I sign up to do it, I end up traveling. With two kids! (Why do l do this to myself?! Anyway.) Couple such distractions with the slow pace I read at means I am always Johnny-come-late to the surveys. This read-a-thon is already complete; it took place last Saturday, October 17th. Yet, here I am doing the introductory survey on Sunday night. This just goes to show that yes, I do commit to Dewey's Read-a-thon despite such daunting distractions! But only barely and by the seat of my pants.

1. What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

While on a road-trip, I've stopped in Lawrence, Kansas.

2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Best to Laugh by Lorna Landvik

3. Which snack are you most looking forward to?

A caramel apple

4. Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm a mother of two lovely but clingy little ones. And I always seem to be traveling every read-a-thon. I don't know how it quite happens or if it'll ever get easier.

5. If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?

Bringing extra adults on this road-trip.