This weekend, I participated in my first ever readathon, Dewey’s reverse read-a-thon. As a wrap up, I’m going to answer the questions from the Hour 24 Closing Survey.
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
I have a regularly scheduled appointment on Saturdays from 10-11:30 a.m., which is fine, but after that, instead of going straight home, I decided to run some errands which both ate into my reading time (though I did listen to an audiobook in the car) and also exhausted me, which led to me falling asleep for the last three hours of the read-a-thon when I intended to take a 10-minute nap.
2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read!
Okay, as a reminder, I planned to read the following books:
- Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
- Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc by Dara Marks
- Alex + Ada Vol. 3 by Jonathan Luna
- Ms. Marvel Vol. 6: Civil War II by G. Willow Wilson
Here’s what I actually read and how long I read:
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Night 1, Part 1 = reading for a little over 1 hour
Night 1, Part 1: I settled in to read Emergency Contact (starting with page 258) and finished it, which was one of my goals for the read-a-thon. Success!
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Messy, complicated characters with messy, complicated lives = yes, please. My biggest issue with the book is that I wasn’t always clear on who was who in the text messages. But, man, this is really a book about FEELINGS, so. Messy and complicated.
Also, and it must be said, but I am so in love with that cover. Everything about it is perfect.
Night 1, Part 2: I really wanted to do some cleaning, but I didn’t want to stop reading. That’s when I remembered that I have an audiobook in my car (on CD–old school) so couldn’t bring that upstairs. Off to Overdrive I went and checked out a book not on my list: The Wig in the Window by Kirsten Kittscher.
The Wig in the Window by Kristen Kittscher
I was listening to the audio version of this while I cleaned and made it all the way until the end of chapter 6, but I have no real desire to listen to more of it. I mean, it’s fine (and I like the narrator); it’s just not intriguing enough for me to continue.
Night 1, Part 3: The rest of the night was dedicated to reading Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc by Dara Marks. My goal for this book was to put a significant dent in it, which I did because I started the ebook at 10% and read up to 23%. More success!
Then, it was time for bed. So, all in all, on the first night I got in about 3 hrs and 50 minutes of reading. Not bad.
Day 2: As already mentioned in my answer to #1 above, I ran some errands, which means I went off plan again (also, I forgot I would be listening to an audiobook in the car–I have no idea why). And when I got home, I had to cook, which meant another Overdrive audiobook. So these two books are now added to my stack:
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (on CD)
- Whatever After: Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski (via Overdrive)
Day 2, Part 1: This was all about An American Marriage since I was all up in my car. I listened to about 40 minutes of it, and I am super into the story so far. I do have some issues with a production choice, but I’ll talk about that in my actual review.
Day 2, Part 2: So, like I said, I spent about 10 minutes reading with my eyeballs (more of Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc by Dara Marks) before sliding in for a nap, which means that the other 20 minutes were spent on the beginning of Fairest of All, which is super adorable and I will continue to listen to in the house when I do chores.
Overall, I read for 5 hrs 10 minutes, which is way more than I would have done. Oh and somewhere in there, I did read about 20 pages of Ms. Marvel in the bathroom.
3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners?
Of the books on my list, definitely Ms. Marvel, An American Marriage, Emergency Contact, and Fairest of All. If you’re into screenwriting (or fiction writing), I would also recommend Inside Story, especially if you struggle with plot the same way I do.
4. How did you feel about this first-ever Reverse Readathon? Should we do it again?
I loved it! I hadn’t participated during the October and April ones because they’re during the middle of the semester and I am always swamped, but this summer one was perfect. So obvs, yes, do it again.
5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep in October?
Now that I know how easy it is, I would definitely do this again–maybe even during the regularly scheduled ones. I am not sure if I would be able to help in October because of my schedule, so that’s a no for me right now. Maybe in the future.
Thanks to the organizers of this event! It was super fun, and it was so nice to just sit and read for a (very dedicated) spell. I need to make more time to do so in the future.
The Englishist 
Interesting approach to reading. I’m glad it worked for you. Good job!
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Sorry that I didn’t realize you were doing it too. I would have been over here to cheer you on a little more, but glad you were able to get some quality reading (and listening) in.
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I have never done a readathon before, but it really does seem like fun, and I’m guessing that some of my college students would be super into the idea too. I’ll need to try to keep up with the dates for the fall one. I tend to always be behind with social media and catching up to news way too late…. I also love the cover of Emergency Contact, and I’m eager to get my hands on it.
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