Countdown to the Readathon

It’s almost time for the Readathon which begins tomorrow at midnight GMT and continues for 24 hours. There are lots of fun events, mini-challenges and prizes. Hundreds of bloggers are participating and it just gets better every year.

For more information check out the informational video by Andi from Estella’s Revenge or stop by 24HourReadathon.com.

This will be my fifth Readathon. I have yet to make a full 24 hours but it’s always been a great time. The most important part of the Readathon is to have fun and participate for whatever hours you can.

I will be updating this post throughout the Readathon.

Rather than fill my feed with posts that a some of you may not be interested in, I will use this one post for my updates and mini-challenges throughout the day and on twitter at #readathon.

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Let the Readathon Begin!

Hour 1 – Introduction

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

I live in the USA in a suburb of Chicago.

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

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares. It’s been at the top of my stack for a week or so but I held off reading it until today because it’s the perfect book for the Readathon.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

I haven’t put a lot of thought into snacks this time. I went grocery shopping yesterday so there are both healthy and junk foods to choose from, but my go-to snacks are almost always cereal, popcorn or chocolate.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I love birds! If you’ve been here before, you already know this from my Saturday Weekend Birding posts on birds and nature. I’ve been blogging for about 10 years and have had a book blog since 2009. I’m an eclectic reader, gardener, bird watcher, amateur photographer and all around nature lover.

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

As silly as this sounds, Read More! I get easily distracted by all the challenges and visiting other blogs.

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Hour 5 Mini-Challenge: Book Puzzles

Use pictures and graphics to describe a book title.

Hint: Book will be published in July

Answer [highlight to reveal]: The Sea Garden by Deborah Lawrenson

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Hour 6 Mini-Challenge: Best of Your Reading Year

Best Sci-Fi: The Martian by Andy Weir
Best Non-Fiction: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
Best Techno-Thriller: Influx by Daniel Suarez
Best Memoir: Mister Owita’s Guide to Gardening by Carol Wall

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Hour 8: An Update

Books

I’m listening and reading, switching back and forth between print and audio. I can’t sit still very long anyway!

I’m listening to the audiobook of My Wish List by Grégoire Delacourt. I finished up William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher and began reading The Here and Now by Ann Brashares while eating lunch. I’ll read a little more and then switch to audio and go outside to do a little gardening.

Snacks

After a sandwich and chips for lunch I broke open the bag of one of my favorite snacks. Yes, those are dark chocolate truffles. 🙂

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Hour 10 Mini-Challenge: Shelfie

This is my office where I keep the new books that I haven’t read yet. I need to read faster or buy more shelves.

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Hour 11 Mini-Challenge: First Editions

Take your current readathon book, find the copyright page, and attempt to identify its edition.

This is a First Edition of The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher published in May 2014 which I finished reading earlier today. (My current read is an ARC).

For an explanation of how to determine what edition your book is, hop over to The Bluestocking Society to read the post.

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Hour 14 Mini-Challenge: Your Name in Titles

Spell out your name in book titles.

L – Last Enchantments by Charles Finch
E – Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey
S – Sea Garden by Deborah Lawrence
L – Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
I – Icons by Margaret Stolh
E – Enduring Courage by John F. Ross

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Hour 20: Update

It’s almost 3am and I’m dozing off again so it’s time to call it a day.

Books Finished:
William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher (print)
My Wish List by Grégoire Delacourt (audio)

Now Reading:
The Here and Now by Ann Brashares (print)
A Nice Little Place on the North Side by George F. Will (audio)

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