24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 24

So I managed to fall asleep for a while, which is not too surprising. I'm pretty happy with my overall progress this challenge, though!

This hour
Book read: The Underdog by Marcus Zusak
Pages read: 53
Time spent reading: 33 minutes
Food and drink consumed: 

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, Battling Boy by Paul Pope, The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski, FBP by Simon Oliver, The Underdog by Marcus Zusak
Pages read: 1043 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 8 hours 41 minutes

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? 20, clearly, because I fell asleep ;)
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Maggot Moon was a quick and captivating read. Also, I added graphic novels to my list this year, which definitely helps time (and page count) fly.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I'd love to see start times change each Read-a-thon (ie not always 8-8 for US east coast)/
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I loved having people cheer me on on Twitter.
5. How many books did you read?4 complete, 2 partial
6. What were the names of the books you read? Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner (complete), Dodger by Terry Pratchett, Battling Boy by Paul Pope (complete), The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (complete), FBP by Simon Oliver (complete), The Underdog by Marcus Zusak
7. Which book did you enjoy most? The Winner's Curse - so. damn. good!
8. Which did you enjoy least? Battling Boy just wasn't my style
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I would love to read again. Hopefully I won't have to work on the same day.

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 19

This hour
Book read: FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics, Vol 1 by Simon Oliver
Pages read: 154
Time spent reading: 47 minutes
Food and drink consumed: chocolate covered raisins

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, Battling Boy by Paul Pope, The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski, FBP by Simon Oliver
Pages read: 990 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 8 hours 8 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 18

Finished my third book, but I'm hitting that sleepy wall. Going to try another graphic novel next, in hopes that it will keep my eyes moving faster than just text.

This hour
Book read: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 30
Time spent reading: 21 minutes
Food and drink consumed: 

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, Battling Boy by Paul Pope, The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 836 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 7 hours 21 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 17

This hour
Book read: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 73
Time spent reading: 51 minutes
Food and drink consumed: 

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, Battling Boy by Paul Pope, The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 806 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 7 hours 

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 16

This hour
Book read: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 65
Time spent reading: 43 minutes
Food and drink consumed: 

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, Battling Boy by Paul Pope, The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 733 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 6 hours 9 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 15

Guys, The Winner's Curse is GOOD! Really good! I'm sailing through but I don't want it to end!

This hour
Book read: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 71
Time spent reading: 47 minutes
Food and drink consumed: 

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, Battling Boy by Paul Pope, The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 668 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 5 hours 26 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 14

I'm steadily plugging along on The Winner's Curse, and have found myself sidetracked only slightly by playing Bite and Sting online, the same game the characters play in the book.

This hour
Book read: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 63
Time spent reading: 34 minutes
Food and drink consumed: dangerously delicious Grand Slam snack mix from Trader Joe's (basically, fancy Cracker Jacks)

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, Battling Boy by Paul Pope, The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 597 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 4 hours 39 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 13

I started reading The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski this hour, and I'm entranced. The vaguely Greco-Roman world, the alternating chapters between slave and master, the beautiful descriptions - this is definitely a good book for this challenge!

This hour
Book read: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages read: 53
Time spent reading: 34 minutes
Food and drink consumed:

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, Battling Boy by Paul Pope
Pages read: 534 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 4 hours 5 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 12

I managed to play a little catch-up this hour by reading a graphic novel, Battling Boy by Paul Pope. I was not impressed with it - I found it to be too frenetic and disjointed - so I'm not going to bother with a proper review for it.

This hour
Book read: Battling Boy by Paul Pope
Pages read: 202
Time spent reading: 36 minutes
Food and drink consumed:

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, Battling Boy by Paul Pope
Pages read: 481 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 3 hours 31 minutes

Mid-Event Survey
1. What are you reading right now? Just finished Battling Boy by Paul Pope
2. How many books have you read so far? 2 completed
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I think I'm going to start Winner's Curse right now!
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Sadly, I had to work today, but I'm here uninterrupted for the rest of this challenge!
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Just work.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Nothing so far
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Everything looks like it's going smoothly!
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? So far, so good...
9. Are you getting tired yet? Yes, and I shouldn't be!
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? Nope

Review: Maggot Moon

Title: Maggot Moon
Author: Sally Gardner
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year Published: 2013
Source: Library book
Rating: 4/5 stars

I wasn't sure what to expect from Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner. I picked it up because it is a Printz Honor book this year, and I'm making my way through the YALSA Hub Challenge. I was intrigued by the cover and the description, but really had no idea what I was getting into.

Standish, the main character, is an odd duck, and he describes his dystopian world in a way that is strange yet heartbreaking. The reader spends much of the book thinking about Soviet Russia, but is that really the world this is taking place in? The Motherland is about to land on the moon for the first time, but Standish and his Gramps are among the few who know what's really going on.

While I found the story compelling and Standish to be a great narrator, what won me over about Maggot Moon was the simplistic sentences that still managed to knock me over. Case in point: "Gramps was the only person that still pulled at the gravity in me." That one sentence speaks volumes about their relationship, and I found myself rereading that one line over and over. It was the tiny gems like that that made me really appreciate this book.

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 11

Yay! I finished my first book of the read-a-thon!

This hour
Book read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Pages read: 79
Time spent reading: 25 minutes
Food and drink consumed: pad thai and beef satay

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: 279 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 2 hours 55 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 9

So I just got home from work, which means the real reading can start now!

This hour
Book read: Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: 1/2 disc
Time spent reading: 40 minutes
Food and drink consumed: venti caramel macchiato 

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: 200 (plus 1 a disc)
Time spent reading: 2 hour 30 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 7

So obviously I missed a few hours here, but no worries! There's plenty of time left to read. And clearly everyone else has had that same idea, because it's been a busy morning at the circulation desk!

This hour
Book read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Pages read: 82
Time spent reading: 30 minutes
Food and drink consumed: hummus and crackers, vanilla protein shake

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: 200 (plus ~ 1/2 a disc)
Time spent reading: 1 hour 50 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 3

Just drove to work this hour, so it was audiobook instead of regular book.

This hour
Book read: Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: ~1/2 a disc
Time spent reading: 35 minutes
Food and drink consumed: coffee, toast, green juice

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: 118 (plus ~ 1/2 a disc)
Time spent reading: 1 hour 20 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 2

This hour's mini challenge is to pick a quote or paragraph from the current book you're reading. I went with "Gramps was the only person that still pulled at the gravity in me." because that sentence stopped me in my tracks as I was reading.

This hour
Book read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Pages read: 118
Time spent reading: 45 minutes
Food and drink consumed: 

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Pages read: 118
Time spent reading: 45 minutes

Let the 24 Hour Readathon Begin!

It's that time of year again - that time when I (and many others across the internet) ignore everything for 24 hours and just READ! I sadly can't just drop everything, since I have to work today, but I will be doing as much reading as possible.

This is my third time participating in Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. I have far, far too many books stacked up, waiting to be read. So many, in fact, that I'm sure I could read for a WEEK straight and still have plenty left.

I'll be trying to update here hourly (not really until after 5pm eastern, though, since work), and I'll be on Twitter as well.

And to get me started, here is the kick-off meme:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I'm just outside Boston, MA.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Probably The Winner's Curse. I've been hearing so much good buzz about it!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Thai food for dinner!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I'm a Young Adult librarian (which is why the majority of the books I'll read tonight are YA).
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. The biggest thing, I think, is to remember to get up and walk around frequently.