Dewey's 24-hour Readathon: TBR pile, Updates and Mini-Challenges

It's Readathon season once again! I am so very excited about this year's readathon. For starters, I am going to be hosting a challenge at Hour 20 - stay tuned for that, it will be brilliant! - and I have decided to ignore all my regular TBR books, and focus on some that have been on my shelves for ages. It's really rather self-indulgent of me - I can't wait to get started!

No idea what I'm on about? Head over to http://24hourreadathon.com/ to find out more and to sign up! Then check out twitter and follow #readathon @readathon and #RahRahReadathon for more updates.

So, what's on my TBR pile?

I've chosen a really diverse set of books this year; I've got anthologies, a graphic novel, some contemporary YA, a few next-in-the-series, and a first-in-the-series. Diversity is key for readathons - you always need that back-up novel for when things start to turn south.

This pile is also a shout-out to my very first Readathon back in 2010, when I read Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles and Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow. Now I've the sequels to those books on my pile for this readathon! Symmetry, guys, symmetry.

• Corsets and Clockwork (Anthology)
• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (Graphic Novel)
• Enthralled (Anthology)
• The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
• Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
• Defiance by Lili St. Crow
• Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Updates

Hour 2 - I've just started Defiance by Lili St. Crow. And... I'm a wee bit lost. I really loved the first three books in this series, but I think it's been almost 2 years since I read them! I'm starting to get back in the swing of things now though...

Still, I think only in the Big Apple could you drop a huge white-pillared school for the half-vampire and werwulf hunters of the dark forces onto a big piece of prime parklike Manhattan real estate and nobody even care.

- p.25 Defiance

Hour 5 - I'm about half way through Defiance now - enjoying it but I get rather frustrated with Dru and Christophe. *sigh* Will have to take a quick break for work purposes, then back to reading!

Hour 8 - OK, I did take a bit of a break to eat and whatnot, but I have been reading. And I can't firmly tell you that the Christophe/Dru business going down in Defiance is crazy.

Hour 9 - Well, that's Defiance done. I really love how this series stars a properly tough female character, and how Lili St. Crow doesn't shy away from the scary stuff. But the love triangle? Bloody annoying.

Now reading the Vampire Academy graphic novel - really enjoying revisiting this world!

Hour 10 - Graphic novels are awesome. They're proper reading but are short enough to get through quickly. Think I will read Chain Reaction now!

Hour 12 - OK - nap time. But this will set my alarm so that it's 100% Just. A. Nap.

Hour 18 - I BACK and read to rumble read!

Hour 21 - To be honest, I've spent the majority of the past few hours just commenting on posts. There have been so many great challenges and challenge entries - especially to my Show it Off challenge. Some of the books people have shared have been beyond stunning. ❤

Hour 22 - OK, so I am 33 pages into Chain Reaction and it is so adorable. OMG.

Hour 24 - I fully plan to continue reading Chain Reaction after the readathon ends. It's super addictive and I don't think I want to put it down quite yet.

Mini-Challenges

Hour 1 - Starter Questions

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

Today, France!

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

Probably Chain Reaction... though I've started Defiance, and it's fantastic.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

The Big Bar of Chocolate I bought this morning.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

Erm, hi. Kay here. UK blogger who has somehow ended up in France (at least, for now!). Lover of bookshops (especially second-hand ones) and an avid reader. When I'm not reading books, I read a lot of fanfic... which basically means I read non-stop.

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 third readathon, but I haven't participated in one since 2010! They are fantastic experiences, but for some reason the last three never fit into my schedule. Rats...

This time, I am not going to get too stressed about how much I read. While, yes, one of the objectives of the readathon is to read a whole lot, it's also a community experience.

Hour 18 - The "Challenge your Brain" challenge

A challenging book on my shelf: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell - This non-fiction exploration of myth has been on my shelf for a while now. It was a gift from my mother and has been described as a rather life-changing book. But its weighty-ness has made it a rather difficult one to approach!

A challenging word: This one I spotted in Defiance; I understood it off the bat from the context, but the word itself was new to me!

   di·ur·nal 
   adj.

1. Relating to or occurring in a 24-hour period; daily.
2. Occurring or active during the daytime rather than at night: diurnal animals.

Hour 19 - Book Sentence!

I love this challenge - I managed to give my sentence an environmental message and show off my Edgar Allen Poe doll. Mission Accomplished.

Stolen, beautiful creatures forever fade.

Hour 22 - Diagram a Sentence

OK, over at Word Lily we're being asked to diagram a sentence - something that I had never even heard of! This will be my very first attempt at venturing into the terrifying land of grammar, but I thought I should give it a try.

Hour 23 - Book to Movie

Crystal Reed as Dru (Strange Angels).

We've been asked to cast a book from our readathon pile over at Reading Through Life. I usually love this challenge, as I usually have an actor on the tip of my tongue... but not this time for some reason. So I had a good, hard think about it and... BAM. Got it!

My choice of actress to play Dru from the Strange Angels series would be... Crystal Reed.

She plays the fabulous Allison Argent on MTV's Teen Wolf, and suits Dru perfectly. She's a lean brunette - just like Dru - who already plays a character that can kick ass and take names as well as any man.

Seriously, she's perfect. I have stars in my eyes just thinking about her starring in a Strange Angels adaptation. ❤_❤

Hour 24 - End of Event Meme

Which hour was most daunting for you?
Probably waking up at Hour 18 - I'm still pretty impressed that I did it.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Nothing specific, but people: graphic novels. Buy them/Borrow them/Steal them from your younger brother for the next readathon. They are awesome and make you feel super productive.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope! You guys were absolutely awesome!

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Not sure if you did this last readathon, but I really appreciated the tweets and retweets. It was a really useful way to stay on top of all the mini-challenges

How many books did you read? What were the names of the books you read?
Two: Defiance by Lili St. Crow and Vampire Academy Graphic Novel by Richelle Mead. I also started Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles which I plan to finish today!

Which book did you enjoy most?
Hmm... well, probably Defiance. But I have a feeling that once I finish Chain Reaction, that will be the favourite!

Which did you enjoy least?
I guess that leaves Vampire Academy - which I really did like, but it didn't have quite the same gravitas as the novel.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I really hope I can do the April 2013 readathon - it depends on my schedule! This is such a fun community event and hosting a challenge made it all the more enjoyable for me. Plan to host another if I can!