Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon Wrap-Up

After 24 hours of ruthless reading, fighting sleep and trying to remain focused, Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-A-Thon has come to an end. I’m actually really happy with what I was able to read throughout the duration of the read-a-thon especially because I wasn’t reading during the entire 24 hours. I did sleep a few hours every now and then, so I could have read more, but I do feel like I did okay with my reading.

There was one thing however, that was a bit different this year than last year, and that was that I didn’t participate in any of the hourly challenges this year. Last year, I made an effort to try to get every single one of the challenges completed. However, this year I just wanted to focus on my reading, and it really did pay off!

Overall, I was able to read a total of 642 pages, which I am really happy with, as I was reading for just under 24 hours.

I was able to read:

Last half of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by JK Rowing. (397 pages)

A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket (162 pages)

A Little Wanting Song, by Cath Crowley (83 pages)

As you can see I only fully started and finished one book, The Bad Beginning, however I also read the last half of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as well as the first 83 pages of A Little Wanting Song.

Now that I’ve gotten all of the amount of pages that I read, and which books I did read out of the way, I thought that I would answer the few questions that the Dewey’s page left for us to complete for the end of the read-a-thon if we wanted to.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

I would have to say that the hour that was the most daunting for me was definitely around hour five. Since I am in Australia, hour five was two in the morning for me. Last year when I participated, I was able to stay straight up until around five in the morning but this time around I ended up falling asleep around two, and then waking up an hour later and continuing reading. So, I would have to say around hour five because I was drifting off to sleep and I was finding it really hard to stay focused on the words on the page.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

My answer for this question is going to stay the same as it was last year, and that is that you should choose shorter books because you will feel more accomplished when you finish them. I made the mistake of choosing a longer book, Allegiant, last time for the read-a-thon, and for some stupid reason I made the mistake again this time around, with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. However, I did enjoy reading Harry Potter and it kept me focused on it for the most part, so it was all okay in the end as I did end up finishing it.

However, if I were to choose a few specific books that could keep somebodies focus during the next read-a-thon, I would have to go with books like A Series of Unfortunate Events, or Percy Jackson, or any other short, fast-paced, middle-grade novels. This is because they will keep your attention if you’re interested in them, and it will allow you to feel more accomplished when you finish multiple shorter books, rather than spending the entire 24 hours reading one longer book, and then possibly not even finishing it in the end.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-A-Thon next year?

Honestly, I loved this read-a-thon just as much as I did last year, and last year I didn’t have any suggestions on how I would improve the read-a-thon, so that is going to be my answer once again. I love this read-a-thon and there really isn’t something that just jumps out at me that needs to be fixed about it to make it any better.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-A-Thon?

I    I would say that the way that all of the social media was engaged in this year’s read-a-thon worked really well. I was able to follow what others were reading through twitter and Instagram, which was really exciting. Also for me, I felt like I got a lot of reading done, which was just a nice accomplishment for me.

5. How many books did you read?

As mentioned above, I was able to read one full book, I finished half of another book, and read the first part of another book. So altogether, I did read three books, I just didn’t finish them all.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

One again, as mention above, I was able to read:

 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by JK Rowling

A Little Wanting Song, by Cath Crowley

The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

I would have to say that the book that I enjoyed reading the most was definitely Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Even though it was long, and it wasn’t the best pick for a short read-a-thon like Dewey’s, I still enjoyed it a lot. I mean, it’s Harry Potter. I’ve read Harry Potter since I was little, and although this was a re-read times one hundred for me, I just enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time I read it.

However, I also really did enjoy The Bad Beginning, and I really cannot wait to purchase the rest of the books in the A Series of Unfortunate Events series, so that I can continue on reading it.

8. Which did you enjoy least?

I think that I would have to say that the book that I enjoyed the least was A Little Wanting Song. Although it was contemporary, and I do tend to like most contemporary books I just really didn’t connect to any of the characters in the book. It’s also told from dual points of view, and sometimes it got confusing as to who I was reading, as the two main character’s voices weren’t very different. However, I am only 83 pages into the book, so I may change my mind later on and end up really liking it.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

So, I wasn’t a Cheerleader this year round for the read-a-thon, but I really enjoyed having them add to the experience of the read-a-thon for me. They were all cheering for me on Twitter, and just encouraging me to continue reading. I feel like the Cheerleaders should continue doing exactly what they are doing, because it really did tend to help me continue reading.

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 say that I am definitely very, very likely to participate in the read-a-thon again. I absolutely love this read-a-thon and after doing it for my first time last year, and then doing it again this year, I can’t image not doing it again next year. I will definitely be taking up the role of a reader for the read-a-thon, but who knows, I may also sign up to be a Cheerleader. It really just depends on if I’m going to want to spend all of my attention on reading, or if I also want to help others continue to read as well. Although, Cheerleaders are really helpful and I feel like it could be rewarding if I did become a Cheerleader next year, so I may be taking up that role as well as being a reader.

Alright then, that is it for all of the questions! I really enjoyed answering these, as well as participating in the read-a-thon! I really can’t wait for April to come around, and to spend another 24 hours reading.

Did any of you participate in Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-A-Thon? Let me know! What was your favourite book that read? What was your least favourite? What books did you read? I’d love to know!

Thanks for reading, and I will talk to you all next time!