Readathon October 2014 MASTER POST - running updates, scroll down for news, will also include usual mini-reviews

9 AM - woke up; slept in to be able to handle all todays taxing reading
9:30-13:00 - showered, cleaned the apartment, did the grocery shopping, cooked lunch: nothing can disturb the force now.

As per usual you can follow my updates here and on my twitter @Gemmanebi, (you might even see a little update or two on my instagram @gemmanebi if I remember to)

#readathon #readathon #readathon #readathon #readathon #readathon #readathon #readathon #readathon

13:45 - For any newcomers, I've gone ahead and filled out the Opening Meme for a little info about me:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Middle of Nowhere, Jutland, Denmark.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
The third Supernatural book which I have on my ipad.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
The bottle of coca cola in my fridge. I'm usually not allowed to drink anything but water (I get crazy addicted to the sugar), so this is really a treat!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I'm 26, I have a cat called Sofie, I live on my own, I'm a librarian with a Master of Arts (MA) in Information Science and Cultural Communication (5 years at uni).
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
The big difference for me this time is doing a single master post rather than a thousand of small ones. I hope it'll be easier for newcomers especially to get a better idea of what I'm doing.

14:00 // 2 PM - ready -- set -- go!
Iiiiit's READATHON tiiiiime!

15:05

First book have been finished! I've read the comedian Bo Burnham's book Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone (an illustrated collection of absurd poetry and writings). Rewatched his show What. yesterday and had his voice in my head as I read. Amazing stuff.

15:52
I've given up reading Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. The Danish translation I have is simply terrible. The language and the wording is all off and it just doesn't feel right. I don't want to ruin a good book with a bad impression, so putting this down and starting on another book.

16:43
Finally found the right book for me :) Unfortunately I'm leaving home in less than an hour's time to go have dinner with a bunch of friends I haven't seen since forever, so will have a fair few hours without any reading at all! (Though I'll be listening to my audiobook whilst driving to and from)

23:10
I'm home again from a very good night in great company. Unfortunately it's also quite drained my batteries and I'm not really feeling up for a whole lot of activity now. Will try and see if I can read a bit before going to sleep.

00:44
It's late and I'm all caught up in a good book. I'm just over halfway through Still Alice by Lisa Genova and really enjoying it, though it's also very scary. The book is about a woman who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers and how her reality is slipping between her fingers as her brain cells deteriorates and her memory fades and gets muddled.
Have been sitting on my couch so far, will now retreat to the bedroom for some final pages before sleep overpowers me as it has someone else :)

02:26
I couldn't stop reading. I've just finished my second book of the readathon and it was a fantastic 5 star book. I'm a big fan of realistic novels like this one that accurately portrays different sides of life and possible leaves you wiser on a subject. Before this I've loved books like The Rosie Project, The Bell Jar and The unfortunate incident of the dog in the night-time.
Now, it's time to sleep!

09:42
Good morning every body!
 I'm back awake after some 6 hours sleep and have gone straight to the couch in my pyjamas and cuddled up with a blanket and pillows I've started reading All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque; so far, it's very engaging :) How's everybody's night been? Any body manage to read with no stop?

11:44
Though it's a bit heavy to read and very gory, I'm really enjoying All quiet on the Western front, a  halfway through it now, if I keep the pace I should be able to finish it just before the end of the readathon in 2 hours time.

13:51
With just 10 minutes to go of the 24 hours I finished my 3rd book. I really enjoyed All quiet on the Western front, despite it's age (86 years old, published in 1928!) it's as accurate and on point as it ever was. It depicts the horrors of modern warfare in the war they thought would end all wars (sadly, it didn't - it just ended lives). It'll definitely be a book I recommend others to read. Although it's a novel and not a straight documentation, it's a lesson in history and a lesson in human nature.

14:11 - End of Event Meme:
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
I think around hours 20 and 21 were the toughest for me. That was at 9-10 AM and shortly after I'd woken up after just 6 hours of sleep and I was just getting to comfy on the couch :)
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
It's hard to say what works for different people, but I think rereading a previous favourite like harry potter books or reading something by an author you know you like, is a good safe bet.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Not really. I'm never very engaged in the process after the first few hours. Right when it starts I scramble to read some and then stress over not being social and stress even more trying to follow a hundred different people's progress and after a while my brain just blocks it all out and I get selfish and just read on my own. I do occasionally pop in to see what others are doing, but I'm no good at juggling it all. I was a bit let down by the mini-challenges this time around though, not many of them were of any interest to me at all (and the one that looked really good I wasn't home to do ofc :/ )
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Again, seeing as I'm a bit out of the loop I can't really say, but it seems like everybody had their cheer on and were in high spirits throughout.
5. How many books did you read?
I finished 3 and read 40 pages of a 4th (and heard an hours worth of 5th)
6. What were the names of the books you read?
I finished Egghead: or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone by Bo Burnham, Still Alice by Lisa Genova and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
Still Alice blew me away, but AQotWF was very good too.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
I gave up on Catcher in the Rye, hoping it's just the Danish translation that's poor.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
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 definitely joining in again, no doubt about it. I'll probably just be a reader again. I always toy with the thought of being a cheerleader, but can never commit.

All in all I read 741 pages (+40 from the unfinished book) and I read from 2 PM till 5 PM, 11 PM to 2:30 AM and 9:30 AM till 2 PM; so that's roughly 11 hours [71 pages an hour].
I hadn't expected to read half as much as the last few times I've participated seeing as I usually read the most in the early evening and this time around I wasn't at home for that having been invited to dinner with friends. I've pleased with the end result and very happy with the books I read, which were very good.