 |
| Columbus Before the Queen Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze Brooklyn Museum |
This coming Saturday I am going to participate in my first 24-hour read-a-thon. I have observed them before and always felt a little left out . So this time around I was happy to see that it worked out with my schedule. In fact, it works out perfectly because Monday is Columbus Day and I don’t have to go to work. So even devoting one whole day to the read-a-thon I will still have two more days of weekend.
This particular read-a-thon is dedicated to the memory of Dewey, a book blogger beloved by many who passed away late in 2008. I first came across Dewey’s blog very soon after she passed away. I was just beginning to discover the world of book blogs and was saddened to come across her blog only to find out that she was no longer with us.
I would by lying if I didn’t admit that I have qualms about participating in the read-a-thon. I am notoriously bad at challenges. I tend to love the idea of them and the build-up but when it comes to the actual challenge I tend to fail spectacularly. I am easily annoyed by expectations even when they are my own.
In order to feel like I have had a successful read-a-thon I have implemented the following ground rules for myself:
1. I am going to read from 10:00 AM Saturday to 10:00 AM Sunday. I plan, however, to get a regular night’s sleep. I absolutely hate the “I stayed up all night” feeling and don’t want to ruin my Sunday. So the plan is to go to bed midnight-ish on Saturday and then get up 6-ish on Sunday to get in a final four hours of reading.
2. Even though part of the fun of the read-a-thon is seeing what other bloggers are up to, I am going to refrain from browsing all of your blogs until after the read-a-thon is over. I know once I start checking up on my blogroll I will get way too distracted and then won’t get any reading done.
3. I tend to read in short spurts. Even when I am enjoying a book I tend to need breaks pretty fequently. So I am going to institute a 45 minutes on, 15 minutes off reading schedule. Even that is subject to change. I love spending time with John so much that I wouldn’t be surprised if he proves to be a distraction.
4. I don’t think I am going to build in any book completion expectations. I think that would make it seem too much like work.
Coming Soon: The pile of books I am going to choose from.
hogglestock 
I'm seriously tempted to participate in this read-a-thon but (a) it's a little intimidating and (b) it's homecoming weekend and I'm planning to celebrate. Good luck though!
LikeLike
I would be participating in this one too but have planned a trip to Carmel, CA and the weather is just too glorious for me to miss it. I look forward to your posts and all of the other participants. I always get great reading ideas from the read-a-thon.
LikeLike
I just realized yesterday that the readathon is on Saturday and for some reason I've been thinking it was on Sunday which meant I couldn't do it. Now I can- yay! This will be my third or fourth readathon but I won't be participating as much as normal because I have some papers to write and Sunday is going to be a super busy day for me.
The key is just to not take it too seriously, pick some books you want to read but that will also be pretty quick, and you'll do great!
LikeLike
This will be the first time I'll be able to fully participate. I seem to always have theatre commitments on readathon day, but not this year. I like your ground rules. Mine are similar, except that I do plan to do a bit of checking in on others. I'll probably do most of my updating on Twitter and Goodreads, with just maybe one or two updates on my blog–all in one post.
But I don't have any specific goals, just to enjoy what I'm reading.
LikeLike
Brenna: Thanks for stopping by. I agree with the intimidating part, that is why it took me a while to join in. Since you have homecoming this weekend you aren't going to read a thing. Have fun!
Kathleen: Of course Carmel is a beautiful place to read, but probably not to devote a whole day. Enjoy yourself.
Ash: I can't imagine trying to do the read-a-thon with school work (or any work) hanging over my head.
Teresa: I can't wait to see how you spend your 24 hours.
LikeLike