End of event meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? 
Well, I fell asleep somewhere around hour 13 and slept for a few hours, so that'd be it.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? 
No, I wouldn't generalize like that. My philosophy is that choose books depending on mood, so it varies a lot. However, graphic novels are always good when the attention span is failing.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? 
No, I think everything worked smoothly.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? 
As seen above, just about everything.
5. How many books did you read? 
Three.
6. What were the names of the books you read? 
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Seduced by Midnight, and Jack of Fables, vol. 1.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? 
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
8. Which did you enjoy least? 
Jack of Fables, but really, I enjoyed them all.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? 
 I wasn't.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? 
I think I'm very likely to participate as a reader again.

Hour 24

The last hour! Woo!

I finished Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton. Finally! I don't know why it took me so very long to read because it's in no way a difficult read and I enjoyed it the whole time. Weird.
Since then I've also read Jack of Fables, vol. 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape by Bill Willingham, a spin-off of the excellent comic Fables. While I liked it, I have to say that so far I prefer the original Fables.

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Hour 21

My entry in the hour 20 mini-challenge.

My most precious book is definitely this collection of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetry from 1894.

Hour 19

My entry in the book sentence challenge:

The thief stray in the cities of coin and spice.

Hour 18

I fell asleep for awhile. I think I was out for about three hours.

I'm still not finished with Seduced by Moonlight. I have no idea of why I'm reading oh so slowly, but apparently I am. However, I hope to be finished by hour 20.

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 Also, to enliven the spirit: David Tennant with kittens.

Mid-Event Survey

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?

I'm doing ok, the sleepiness comes in waves. I had an half-hour nap a couple of hours ago, that really helped. And, yes, my eyes are indeed quite tired.
2) What have you finished reading?
I've only finished one book so far; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I would have liked to have read at least one more at this point, but I suppose this is fine too.
3) What is your favorite read so far?
My current one, I think, Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton.
4) What about your favorite snacks?
For some reason I've really been loving the orange juice.
5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!
No, but then, I haven't really looked very much.

Also, I won something! I'm positively giddy.

Hour 12

Still reading Seduced by Moonlight. Slow progress.

My handmade bookmark for the hour 10 mini-challenge:

An old drawing glued to cardboard, patterned tape, and 'read' written in Swedish.

Hour 9

I'm a quarter of the way into Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton. I switched from Nightshifted not because that is a bad book (so far I quite like it), but because I wanted some familiar characters.
Sequels are often easier to read for that reason: it's always exhausting to meet and get to know new people, IRL or otherwise.

I've not been very good at completing mini-challenges so far, but I think I'm going to attempt the challenge for hour 8 by taking a walk around the block. Nevermind that it's 10 in the evening here and probably close to freezing outside (yes, literally). If anything it'll wake me up.

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Hour 4

I've finished my first book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I've read it once before, but I can safely say I enjoyed it much more this time around.
A few years ago, when I read it for the first time, I remember thinking the language was a bit tricky (English not being my first language) but now I found it completely doable and being able to appreciate a lot more of the oh so numerous puns and language acrobatics.
I'm glad to see that my English is still improving, even after having left school.

Next up, Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander.

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Hour 3

The downside of the readathon is that after a while I tend to forget why I do it. The reason for doing it is of course that I enjoy it, that I love reading. But as the hours pass I become more and more stressed.
I can no longer relax in the simple joy of reading, I start to focus on how much (or rather, how little) I've read. I compare myself to other readathoners and I feel like I'm less for not having read as many books as they have, or as intelligent and deep books as they have, or [insert stupid reason here].

This is not a situation unique for the readathon, it's something I do all the time. Still, I'm doing the readathon because I like it, because I want to. I don't want the disparaging voice in my mind resulting in making something I love doing less enjoyable.

On a less serious note, here's my entry to the snack mini-challenge:

Hour 1

 The introduction meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Gothenburg, Sweden.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
The bar of 70% chocolate in my kitchen.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
My name is Shirin. I work in a bakery/coffeeshop (baked goods is the main part of my snack pile...). This spring I'll be staring uni. I'm quite the nerd.
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?
I'll try and stay awake longer. Also, remember that I enjoy reading and keep that as my focus.

...aaand go!

The hour is nigh. First out: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Books for a readathon

Nowadays the stacks of unread books are just about burying me alive. I have so many books I want to read. This dilemma is of course familiar to every passionate reader. Still, this year the sheer number of unread books in my flat seems higher than should be legally allowed.
Books ought to be read; it seems to me as if books have a right to be read. As if by buying a book I've made a covenant with it. Not with the author, mind you, I don't consider my self having any sort of obligation toward the author. Rather, by buying a book I've made a commitment to it, to the story itself, that ought not be broken for any reason.

As you can see, I take my stories seriously.

So, how to pick the books for the readathon? I know from experience that too intricate, complicated books are ruled out. The attention span one has after hours of reading is simply too short.
Reading shorter books helps with this too. Books in Swedish (my first language) is necessary for the later hours of the thon. Graphic novels are really good, because they don't take very long to read.

Here is a short list of some possible contenders:

• The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
• Fury by Elizabeth Miles
• The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
• Fables, vol. 9: Sons of Empire by Bill Willingham
• Jack of Fables, vol. 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape by Bill Willingham
• Paper Towns by John Green
• Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander
• Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton
• The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn

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New season, new readathon

...or something of the like.
Anyways, with less than a week left until the autumn readathon, maybe it's time to post something here again.
I have a ton of unread books lying around at the moment and for some reason I keep buying more (well, I know the reason: books are my weakness and I couldn't help myself from acquire more of them for all the little plastic toys in China). I am seriously considering a book buying embargo until the end of the year, though. Otherwise I will soon drown in unread books.

List of readathon books to follow.

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Hour 19

 I am rather pleased with having read five books. Now I'm going to bed.

• När du blundar tittar jag by Gunnar Ardelius
• The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
• The Unwritten, Vol. 1 by Mike Carey
• Eat Slay Love by Jesse Petersen
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

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Hour 13

Mid-event survey:

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?
I'm actually not as tired as I was before. I think I've passed tired into that stage of survival mode that is "I can go 8 more hours, but then I'll be dead to the world for the next 48." But my eyes are sore.

2) What have you finished reading?
Eat Slay Love by Jesse Petersen, Unwritten, Vol.1 by Mike Carey, and När du blundar tittar jag by Gunnar Ardelius. I'm halfway through The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson.

3) What is your favorite read so far?
So far, The Last Little Blue Envelope.

4) What about your favorite snacks?
Chips and raspberries.

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!
Nope, not yet.

Hour 10

I've finished two more books since my last update; Unwritten, Vol. 1 by Mike Carey and När du blundar tittar jag by Gunnar Ardelius. A graphic novel and a Swedish novel, respectively. The first was good, but the second not very much so. I'm too tired to form a more interesting opinion than that.

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I forgot one...

Handsome Devil — The Smiths

"There is more to life than books, you know
but not much more, not much more."

Hour 6

Only a quarter of the way through and my eyes are already bleeding. (Cue rant.) I'm kind of queasy from eating too much sugar, my computer mysteriously just turned itself off, and on the reading front it's going really slow.
Oh, and I'm already having trouble forming sentences in English (thank god for spell check), which is usually a sign of me being really tired. I'll probably look back on this cringing after I've had some decent sleep.

Here's some of the music I've been listening to:


There Is a Light That Never Goes Out — The Smiths


 I'm the One That's Cool — The Guild


Ceremony — New Order

Hour 5

I've just finished Eat Slay Love by Jesse Petersen. I'm kinda disappointed; I thought this was the last part in the series, but it didn't give me the ending I wanted. A lot of things still seems unresolved and it feels like there should be a continuation but there doesn't appear to be one.

My entry in the hour 5 mini-challenge:

Invisible strange music chime in the night garden.

Hour 1

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I'm reading from Gothenburg, Sweden.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas and Chime by Franny Billingsley.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
My home-baked chocolate and apricot cake, and the ready-to-heat pizza I'm having for dinner tonight (I haven't had pizza in a long time).

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I am reading this year from my first very own flat. I moved in a month ago.

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?
I will set an alarm for every two hours, to keep myself from sleeping through the whole thing like I did last time!

And we're off!

I've got tea, I've got cookies, and I've got BOOKS! Bring it on!

T minus 24 hours

Today I'm baking cookies in preparation for tomorrow. The excitement is reaching sizzling levels. Here is my list of books I may read tomorrow. The list can also be seen as a goodreads shelf: readathon-2012.

• The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
• Fables, Vol. 1 by Bill Willingham
• När du blundar tittar jag by Gunnar Ardelius
• Naiv. Super. by  Erlend Loe
• Family living: den ostädade sanningen by Lotta Sjöberg
• The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas
• Strange Music by Laura Fish
• August & jag by Anneli Furmark
• The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
• The Poison Apples by Lily Archer
• Isnätterna by Malin Isaksson
• The Unwritten, Vol. 1 by Mike Carey
• Riktig kärlek by Inger Edelfeldt
• Spränga gränser by Solveig Olsson-Hultgren
• Sugar: Kvinnan som steg ut ur mörkret by Michel Faber
• Shattered Dreams by Laura Landon 
• Zombicorns by John Green
• Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
• Eat Slay Love by Jesse Petersen
• Mordet i Eiffeltornet by Claude Izner
• Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
• Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
• Vindens skugga by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
• Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green
• Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
• Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev
• Chime by Franny Billingsley
• Norrtullsligan by Elin Wägner
• Maus, Vol. 1 by Art Spiegelman
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
• Nefilim by Åsa Schwarz
• In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente

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Last year's list, updated.

Or, Shirin is distracted by shiny new things.

The grey titles I read during the readathon. The rest of the crossed out ones I've read since. As you can see, quite a few of them is still unread. Or worse, started and still lying around unfinished.

•  American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Blood Lite (anthology)
• Chime by Franny Billingsley
• A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
• Det är så logiskt alla fattar utom du by Lisa Bjärbo
• Glimmerglass by Jenna Black
• Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
• In for a Penny by Rose Lerner
• In the Night Garden by Catherynne M.Valente
• Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
• Kapitulera omedelbart eller dö by Sanna Näsling
• Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase
• Mordet i Eiffeltornet by Claude Izner 
• Norrtullsligan by Elin Wägner
• Osäkerhetsrelationen by Helena Granström
• Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
• The Poison Eaters and Other Stories by Holly Black
• Ronja Rövardotter by Astrid Lindgren
• Språkens Historia: En upptäcktsresa i tid och rum by Tore Janson
• Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
• Vacations from Hell (anthology)

The anthologies I returned to the library unread, but the other books are still on my TBR list.
Out of the titles above the following is on this years readathon list:

•  American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Chime by Franny Billingsley
• In the Night Garden by Catherynne M.Valente
• Mordet i Eiffeltornet by Claude Izner
• Norrtullsligan by Elin Wägner
• Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
• Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

 This says something about my tendency to get distracted by new-released books.

T minus 6 days

So the last readathon was a bit of a failure on my part. I pulled the I'm-gonna-close-my-eyes-for-five-minutes deal in Hour 14, and then I slept the whole thing through, waking up disappointed after the finale.
It's not so much the falling asleep that irks me (well, that too), but more not making a conscious decision to stop and go to bed. I feel betrayed by my own body. Maybe that's a little too harsh, but still.

But, I'll aim to do better this go around. Practice makes perfect, right? My accumulated readathon experience tells me the following:

• A pile of light books is needed for the last half of the readathon. Romance without too many twists and plotlines is good. YA often works well.
• Think short. The kick that the sense of accomplishment in finishing a book gives is everything at Hour 18. Anthologies are awesome for multiple reasons, (1) the shortness of each novella keeps you from drifting off, (2) you get a mini-shot of accomplishment after finishing each one.
• The more tired I get, the more difficult is it for me to read in English. Keep a few Swedish books for the last hours of the readathon.
• Keep an alarm set for every two (one?) hours in case of accidental naps.

So, what books will I read? I confess, the readathon sneaked up on me this year. I woke up yesterday morning thinking it was this weekend and that I already had missed half of it. Luckily, it was not. Still, only having a week of prep time and limited resources money-wise means no ordering new books for the occasion.* I'll have to make do with what the library has to offer and what I have lying around unread. This shouldn't really be a problem, considering that I still haven't read many of the books on last year's readathon list.
At the moment I've not yet gone through my TBR pile and picked out exactly what to read, but I'll return later in the week with a complete list.

Gah, the excitement!

*Maybe I'll sneak in a visit to the book shop. But I really, really shouldn't.