Read-a-thon day-before prep!
I woke up in the middle of the night last night, looked at my watch, and thought “Oh, goodie, only three more hours ’till the read-a-thon starts!” And then I realized that it was only Friday, not Saturday yet. And then I was sad. And then I went back to sleep and dreamed of knitting baby blankets for Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters. (Yeah, I don’t know either.)
This being my first read-a-thon, I’m not entirely sure what to expect about my own abilities to read for that long uninterrupted. I’m not really planning much in advance – I’ve got a fair spread of snacks, beverages, and frozen pizza; I checked some graphic novels out of the library for the wee hours; and my TBR stack is ready to go!
I can’t really do a proper book list, because I think that I’m just going to grab whatever catches my eye next whenever I finish a book or just decide I need a change. However, what’s catching my eye as of this morning:
– The Lost Diary of Don Juan by Douglas Carlton Abrams (I’m already about 1/3 of the way into this, and will almost certainly finish it up on Saturday.)
– Abarat by Clive Barker
– The Children’s War by Monique Charlesworth
– The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
– Headless Males Make Great Lovers: And Other Unusual Natural Histories by Marty Crump
– Austenland by Shannon Hale
– The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent
– Sunshine by Robin McKinley
– Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
– Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach (good for Carl’s R.I.P. Mini-Challenge, if I’m still awake and able to focus on things with words.)
– Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
– The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
I also have Paper Towns by John Green and The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1 by Neil Gaiman waiting for me at the library, but I’d really like to use the read-a-thon to cut into my own TBR pile as much as possible. I probably should pick shorter books – none of the ones listed above are huge tomes, but most are not particularly short, either – and maybe I will… these are just the books that have been calling my name for the past few days.
Any thoughts on my books? Advice? Last-minute bets on the likelihood of me passing out in my narcolepsy-inducing green squishy reading chair and sleeping through most of the read-a-thon?
Fyrefly's Book Blog 
Oh good! Another Read-a-thon newbie. This is my first time too and I’m not sure what I’m capable of either…or how much I am going to be able to do with my husband/football going on. I’m thinking of checking out coffee shops/libraries/book stores and just chilling and reading here and there. I have a whole bookshelf of to-be-read books so I might just grab a handful of the smallest ones since I might have more motivation if I actually finish a book or two :)
I will highly recommend the lost diary of don juan and Austenland. I loved those books!
Oh wow, what a great pile o’ books! I haven’t read any of them, but want to read several of them. I do much better with shorter books for the read-a-thon, but that’s just me. I’m a horrendously slow reader, so shorter books just make me feel more like I’m accomplishing something.
Ok, now it’s a challenge. I must finish Abarat before you do. Shouldn’t be too hard – I don’t have a whole lot left to read.
Also, it’s a pretty “light” read, so you can save it for a wee-hours I-need-something-that-doesn’t-require-brainpower times.
Woo Clive Cussler Owen Barker!
Amanda – One of the things I’ve been toying with is the idea of going out to my favorite tea-and-lunch spot and reading over lunch. Good news is that I can sit and read and drink tea for as long as I want, plus I don’t have to make myself lunch; bad news is that I lose some time driving, plus the ever-present (and nearby) temptation of the library booksale…
Serena – I’m definitely enjoying Lost Diary of Don Juan so far… depending on how much time I have to read tonight, there might not be much left of it to read tomorrow!
Debi – We’ll see when tomorrow comes, but I have a feeling that my attention span (or lack thereof) is either going to require short books, or a lot of switching back and forth, which is not something I do normally.
Dave – Hey, who knew you were reading my blog? Actually, the reason Abarat‘s on the “caught my eye” list is because I knew you were reading it. Plus it’s got pictures! :) (also, shaddup, you. :P )
Heretic’s Daughter is great, but it’s not really and read-a-thon book. Middle Grade and YA are great picks… and something thrilling (not necessarily a thriller, but something that is hard to put down). This is NOT the time for quiet, literary tomes :)
lol, that sounds like an interesting dream :P
I loved The Book of Lost Things and I’ve wanted to read Abarat for years.
Happy reading!
Alcatraz is a really fun, quick read! I whipped through it in no time flat.
This is my first time reading for the ‘thon, too, although I was a cheerleader last year. Good luck with getting through your list! You have a few on there I want to read as well (Austenland and The Book of Lost Things); I look forward to reading your reviews. :)
When I was getting ready this morning I longingly looked at my bed thinking–I’ll see you in a few days–and then realized also that I still had one more night of sleeping bliss. :)
I have a stack of books but it isn’t set in stone–last time I had a period where I picked up and put down several books before finding the right one. Still need to hit the grocery for snacks!
My advice is to get into a rhythm, especially if you’ll be doing mini challenges (which are fun but time consuming). I also make a template for my hourly/bihourly updates that I can just cut and paste into new posts so I don’t have to think too hard early in the morning.
Yay!!!
Have fun!!!!!!