Yesterday I participated in my first 24 hour read-a-thon! I didn’t get to start reading until 7 hours after the official start time, but I ended up reading for about 10 hours straight, so I felt satisfied with that :)
End of Event Meme:
- Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 18. That’s when I decided to call it a night. I got to that place where I kept having to refocus my eyes and my thoughts kept wandering :/ Next time I may drink some coffee or do some jumping jacks.
- Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Anything fast-paced or action packed. My husband, who rarely reads, starting reading The Maze Runner yesterday and he was up as late as I was because he couldn’t put it down. Next year I’ll try reading something more suspenseful.
- Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No, not really. I didn’t do any of the mini challenges or tweet much with anyone online, so I can’t really give any input in that area. I’m sure everything was great though :)
- What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The advertising and preparation leading up to the big day.
- How many books did you read? I finished the second half of one book, read the first half of another, and read the first several chapters of a third.
- What were the names of the books you read? Lola and the Boy Next Door (finished), Peter Pan (read the first half), and Isla and the Happily Ever After (started).
- Which book did you enjoy most? I enjoyed them all, really.
- Which did you enjoy least? ^^
- If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I saw lots of praise for the cheerleaders so that’s good :) I only blogged once during the read-a-thon so I didn’t really hear much from any cheerleaders. If I had blogged more I’m sure that would have been different.
- How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? 100% likely! The next read-a-thon in April will probably be easier for me…Saturdays in autumn are usually filled with football games, and yesterday was a big game day for my Alma Mater FSU :)
Did you participate in the Read-a-Thon? I’m so happy I did! The next one is in April and I’m already excited about it :)
macarons & paperbacks 
I have never heard of a read-a-thon, but I am really intrigued by the idea, particularly from a teacher’s perspective. Can you imagine making it a school-wide event, with snacks and lounging area and everything, and allowing students to connect with other readers on social media?! You’ve really got my wheels turning now…
Oh my gosh that’s such a great idea! In one of my American Lit classes at FSU our professor would hold a nonstop public reading of a classic each semester. For my class it was Moby Dick, and she held it in the library and groups from all over campus signed up to read aloud specific hours. I thought that was a fun event too.
This readathon is interesting because it’s global. There were 900+ participants from all over the world. It’s cool how reading can bring people together.
If you end up planning something like that for your class, I’d love to hear about it!