Dewey 24-Hour Readathon Updates

Today is #readathon! I will be using this post for updates throughout the day (new stuff at the bottom).

8:45am update
 I woke up in time for the 8am start and began my day with coffee and a picture book (If...A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers). Next up is a YA novel my niece recommended to me. I visited a few other participant blogs (ones from my list of book blogs I like to read) which was cool to see how people are getting started. 

Opening Meme:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?I am in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?I didn't make a stack (that never goes well for me, it feels like assigned reading). I'll go with whatever appeals to me as I need new books. 3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?Strawberries and ginger cookies.4) Tell us a little something about yourself!I work as a librarian and in my free time I like to read, quilt, and spend time with my husband. He is going to read today too, but not for the whole 24-hours.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?This is my first Dewey 24-hour readathon and I am looking forward to spending a lot of time reading.

12:15pm update

I am making good progress on Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (which is really good, my niece was right). I took a break to have breakfast with T (my husband who finally got up) and we are ready to settle in for an afternoon of reading. 

5:10pm update
I finished Mr. Lemoncello--really excellent book--and have moved on to In Cold Blood which is my Classic Club spin book. T has been making steady progress through his book (Towers of Midnight, part of the Wheel of Time series) and he fixed us cheese and crackers for an afternoon snack. We will be taking a break this evening to watch a hockey playoff, but will be back to reading after that.  

11:45pm update
The hockey game was good--my team won and it was an exciting game. Have about 100 more pages to go to the end of In Cold Blood. Will need something lighter if I am going to push on. T has read about 300 pages so far today.

wrap-up 
I didn't make it through the whole 24-hours (I didn't think I would), but I did get a lot of reading done and really liked spending a whole day reading books. I didn't quite finish In Cold Blood, but probably will today. T had a successful 12-hour readathon, noon to midnight with a break for hockey. 

Thanks to all my cheerleaders and the people who put this excellent event together!

Readathon Begins Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, beginning at 8am in my timezone, I will be participating in my first Dewey's 24-hour Readathon. Many of the book bloggers I follow do this and this year I was able (mostly) to clear my schedule so I can join in. I have been fighting off a terrible cold all week (I think the cold is winning) and I don't really have the energy to do much but lay around and read anyway, so it seems like it should work out.

I've been reading lots of posts and tweets about preparing for readathon and have been considering what I should do to get ready. I picked up a few snacks and muffins for breakfast. I thought about making a list of books to read, but I find when I do that I end up not wanting to read any of the things I put on the list.  I have several stacks of "to read" books around the house, including some YA and a picture book for fast finishes so I should be in good shape for options. I am in the middle of a history of the Arabian part of WWI which I will read some of, and have been working may way through Mists of Avalon for ages now. I am liking Mists, but find I have to be in the right mood for it. I also can't read it in bed as it is literally too heavy so that has slowed my progress. It will be a good candidate for reading during the day.

I made a button to use on my posts (I love that picture!) and convinced my husband to read with me. Tonight I plan to relax and turn in early so I am ready to read bright and early. I'm looking forward to visiting some of the other readathoner's and checking out the mini-challenges too.