Saturday, April 18, 2009

Dewey's Read-a-Thon: Mid-Event Survey

We're at the start of hour 13. The Girl is doing pretty good; she's read 7 books so far. She's been taking a lot of breaks, but hey, she's 8. Right now she's playing Mario baseball on the Wii (she keeps telling us she's playing "hardcore," and I'm not sure where she learned that word LOL), the men are out getting pizza, and Serena is lounging on the couch reading.

I'm not reading as fast as I'd like, but I'm having lots of fun. I'm about halfway through The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and I at least hope to finish that book before I crash. I pulled out 10 books from which to choose, but I knew I'd be lucky to get through 1. But I'm fine with that since my only goal was to enjoy the day.

Anyway, I thought I'd participate in the Mid-Event Survey, so here goes:

1. What are you reading right now?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's really good, and I wish I was reading as fast as I normally do on the train.

2. How many books have you read so far?

Um...I finished Coraline with The Girl this morning. Guernsey is my second book for the day. Let's hope I actually finish it.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

I just want to finish the book I'm reading now. I have a whole stack of great-sounding books that I won't get to.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Not really. Just had to make sure hubby was willing to take care of the household chores. So far, so good. :)

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Well, The Girl is an interruption, but she's not too bad. She'll read a book, then go play for a bit, then come back. The men are chatting, but it's not so bad. The biggest distraction was Serena popping Twilight into the DVD player to entertain The Girl. I've seen the movie 4 times and I thought I could block it out and read, but I wasn't that strong. LOL

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

That it's so hard to stay focused. But I figured it would be a challenge with a kid in the house.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Not at this point. I'm having a great time.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Spend more time reading and unplug the DVD player.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Um...I haven't had a single weekend nap. I did doze off for about 30 seconds, but woke myself up with a snore. That cracked Serena up. But I find that checking out the hourly updates and blogging here and there gets me going again.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

Really, I don't think I'm qualified to offer advice since I'm a first-timer and I'm still on book 2. LOL But I will say having fun is the most important.

Not sure when the next update will come, but if I fall asleep, I'll be sure to post a wrap up when everything's said and done.

For those of you in the midst of the read-a-thon, I hope you're having a good time and making good progress toward your goal! And for those of you cheering us on, thanks so much!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I read Coraline too today, and I just loved it! I'm curious about the "Potato" book, I've seen it around a lot recently!

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

My reader must be off because I haven't seen the mid-way survey yet. :(

Let us know how Potato Peel goes. I have it in my stack, but I don't want to pick it up if it isn't going to be super quick.

Serena said...

Great survey answers...I figured if I brought the movie that The Girl would be less disruptive, not that she's all that bad at all. LOL But then it backfired and we got really distracted by hot EDWARD! LOL

I think we should transfer this to my house and we can finish up the read-a-thon there!

Laura said...

Don't you wish someone could figure out a way to read multiple books at the exact same time? It's hard to look at a stack of books and want to move on. I hope you're liking Potato Peel, even if it isn't going as fast as you'd like.

Darlene said...

Glad you're having fun. Hey The Girl is doing way better than me! She's doing awesome. I'll be back later.

Unknown said...

Just wanted to stop in and say hi! We got back from the cabin a few hours ago so I'm just getting caught up on my blog reading.

Tell Serena and The Girl that I said Hi too!

Keep having fun!!!

Sandy Nawrot said...

First of all, I don't know if you realize how lucky you are to have a blogging friend at the ready, surviving this event with you. The average kid is probably going to be more of a distraction than a partner, but she will have memories of this! (I told my daughter about the read-a-thon, and she is totally pissed I didn't do it!) If you read one book over the weekend, I would consider it a success, with the way my weekends go.

Kailana said...

yeah, I think variety is the key to staying awake! Happy reading!

Lightheaded said...

I'm a newbie read-a-thoner too!!! But I'm listening mostly to audiobooks now but I plan to read after lunch (in three hours time).

Gwendolyn B. said...

I loved the GUERNSEY book, and I think it's a fast read, too. Looking forward to hearing what you think.
You're doing great! Keep it up!

Anonymous said...

I loved Guernsey... I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Keep up the good work, happy reading!!

Care said...

I am looking forward to the Guensey book - I've only read good reviews. CHEERS!!!

Eva said...

lol @ hardcore!!!

Serena said...

I hope you haven't fallen asleep since I left!

Teddy Rose said...

It sounds like you are really getting a lot of reading in! Way to go!

Lenore Appelhans said...

Naps are what always derail me in my reading. The kitty cuddles next to me and then, zzzzzzzzzzzz....

Becky said...

Looks like you're doing great! Good luck. :)

Anna said...

Thanks everyone for stopping by and cheering us on. I'll be doing an update post soon. Sorry I'm not responding to comments individually for the read-a-thon. I'm too tired. LOL But I appreciate each and every one of you.

Staci said...

Glad to know that I'm not the only one who awakes themselves with their own snoring!!! You and The Girl and Serena did a great job!!!

Anna said...

Staci: Thanks! I actually wake myself up snoring a lot. It's quite embarrassing. lol