Dewey's Readathon: Wrap-up

Here's my final reading activity for this spring's Dewey's Readathon. With the 150 pages or so of Broken Monsters that I read to finish the book, I read much less for this readathon than the last one, but I'm not stressed about it. Any reading activity is good!

Stories I read from the Spring/Summer 2015 issue of Glimmer Train:
"Window" by Lee Montgomery
A young girl tries to deal with her older sister running away, leaving her to a sad home life.

"The Bears" by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
A highly interesting take on the classic Goldilocks story: a young woman recovering from a miscarriage finds her way back to health (and fecundity) via a strange encounter with a bearish stranger whose home she invades.

"Slaughter" by Jon Chopan
Young American soldiers preparing for war in Iraq deal with life and death, including an oddly humorous undercurrent of a soldier constantly looking for the head of a decapitated woman (which he finally finds).

"A Dispatch from Mt. Moriah" by Daniel Torday
Mount Moriah was traditionally the site of Abraham's attempted sacrifice of Isaac in the Bible. This is the compelling story of a young Jewish man, Jacob, who meets and falls in love with Rachael, the daughter of a famous astrophysicist. However, she is being slowly "sacrificed" through her father's dominating manner and insistence on religious purity.

Stories I read from Fifty Years of Crime and Suspense:
"Not a Laughing Matter" by Evan Hunter
A famous actor is brought low by his drinking problem and is forced to work as a department store Santa Claus. But he has plans for the manager who constantly makes fun of him.

"Recipe for Murder" by James Holding
A famous retired chef is held hostage by his conniving niece and her husband in order to obtain his world-famous soup recipe. He is forced to give it to them, but not without a few "special additions" to the recipe.

And that's a wrap for this spring's readathon!

Dewey's Readathon: Update 3

I finished Broken Monsters in a page-turning gulp just now. It turned out to be really good, although it had a supernatural twist to it that I wasn't expecting. What seemed to be just a regular (if ultra-creepy) tale of a Detroit serial killer turned out to be something much more bizarre and interesting. I'll be writing a regular review of the book soon, but for now, I highly recommend it.

The storming outside has stopped, so I think I will take a break from the house and go do some non-reading things for a while. But next up, when I return to the readathon, I'll be dipping into my copy of Glimmer Train!

Dewey's Readathon: Update 2

Well, I must say, if there was ever a suitable day for a readathon, it's the one I am having. Where I am today, it's rainy and a little stormy -- not so stormy as to worry about it, just stormy enough to keep one indoors in a comfy chair, reading.

Progress: 94 more pages in Broken Monsters -- and I should have no trouble finishing it today, then moving on to some of my short stories, which I am more than eager to get to.

Dewey's Readathon: Update 1

I'm off to a slow start for my participation in Dewey's Readathon this year, but I'm not stressing about it. So far (about three and a half hours in, at this point), I have done just a little bit of reading (see below), and no challenges. But I have to remember......

Reading so far:

• Completed my Deal Me In Challenge story for this week: "The Prophet from Jupiter" by Tony Earley (I have a separate review forthcoming, but this was a very interesting and captivating story.)
• About 35 pages in Broken Monsters -- still resisting reading it for some reason, but I am enjoying the story, which now around page 300, is really beginning to heat up big time.

So I will leave you with this:

Twas the Night Before Dewey's...

Tomorrow Dewey's Readathon starts at 7 AM in my time zone. I feel like it has snuck up on me this time, even to the point of my thinking I had signed up for it when I really hadn't. I'm not quite sure what I was waiting for, but I rectified that problem today.

As usual, I don't feel like I have enough time to actually do the readathon justice, but I'm not letting that stop me. I figure I will read what I can read, and have fun with it, and that will be enough. Mainly, I don't want to be left out!

I'm being as modest as I can with my Dewey's TBR list this time around though:

First up, I am taking this opportunity to finish Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes. This is actually a holdover from my TBR Double Dog Dare earlier in the year, at which I failed miserably (more about that in another post). I like this book but I have been very slow reading it. I'm about halfway through it. I think it's because the subject matter is not entirely pleasant, and I think I am subconsciously resisting reading it. So at the very least, Dewey's will help me break through this block and finish this book.

Second: the current issue of Glimmer Train came to my mailbox the other day, and I haven't had two spare minutes to rub together and open it, so Dewey's is going to give me a chance to dip into this issue and read some of the stories therein. I don't have any idea that I will be able to finish all the stories in this issue tomorrow (I think I counted 17 stories), but I figure I should be able to pick it up and put it down at will -- which fits my readathon style perfectly. I am NOT a person that has the desire or the luxury of reading for 24 hours straight. So I need more "bite-sized" reading material.

In the same vein, I checked out this book, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine Presents Fifty Years of Crime and Suspense, from my local library a few weeks ago, and have not cracked it open. I renewed it today for the express purpose of using it in the Readathon also. I won't be reading all of these stories either, I'm 100% confident, but it's more short stories to keep me going!

I'll be posting updates periodically throughout the day and night tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Wrapup Post

As I anticipated, I woke up this morning around 6 AM and had an hour to read some more as the finish for the readathon.  So I took that opportunity to read my R.I.P. Deal Me In Lite stories for the upcoming week.  They were (are): "Reports of Certain Events in London" by China Mieville, and "Orchestra" by Stephen Mark Rainey.  I'll be posting about these at more length during the upcoming week, of course, but I liked the Rainey story much better than the Mieville story.

So this brought my read-a-thon activity to a close.  I accomplished a lot more than I thought I would, so I would say all in all, my read-a-thon was a success.

Here's my end-of-the-event meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?  Oddly enough, it was along about hour 8 or 9 -- the middle of the afternoon.  I think it was probably just a normal middle-of-the-afternoon slump, and easily remedied with coffee and a snack.  I didn't stay up all night but if I had, I have no doubt that some of the higher-number hours would just about have killed me.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?  None of my books were super high-interest, although once I got into the Gaiman, it chugged along pretty well on the interest meter.  I noticed that a lot of people were reading graphic novels this year, and I expect those would work pretty well for those times where interest might be flagging.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?  Nope, this was my first read-a-thon so I don't have many expectations that were not met.  Maybe next time. :-)
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?  The cheerleading and posting at the main website seemed to go off really flawlessly.  I'm sure there must have been quite a bit of hair-pulling and cussing behind the scenes, but it was not at all evident.
5. How many books did you read?  Two, and two standalone short stories.
6. What were the names of the books you read?  All Hallows' Eve by Vivian Vande Velde; The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman; and the two short stories mentioned above.
7. Which book did you enjoy most?  Definitely the Gaiman.
8. Which did you enjoy least?  This doesn't really apply since I had only two books.  I really liked both of them.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?  N/A
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?  Very likely.  I would love to be in the situation where I could actually try to read for the whole 24 hours -- maybe next time.  And next time, I might be willing to be a cheerleader.

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Hour 15

Progress: After supper, and after watching a couple of episodes of 24 season 5 (my guilty pleasure), I resumed reading the Gaiman.  And I did it -- I finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane.  I'll be reviewing it properly in the next few days, but for now, all I can say is...

WOW.

What a ride.  At first I was unsure of what to think about the story.  Everything seemed so weird and alien and not-quite-right.  But then (very quickly) the story heated up and it became one of those books that is hard to put down.  And it's also one of those stories that gets inside your heart and soul -- as I finished the story, I felt my chest getting tight and I was being overwhelmed with the beauty and bittersweetness of the ending.  I'm glad I read this book, and I hate that I put it off for so long.

Now what?

I did something today I didn't think I would do, at least not this early: I got through both of my books.  And it's just now 10 PM.  Granted, I am planning on being asleep for most of the remainder of the readathon (no staying up all night for this puppy, at least not this time around, maybe in the spring), but there's time to read a little more before bed this evening.  I think I may read a short story or two before bed, and then another short story in the morning, perhaps, before the end of the readathon at 7 AM.

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Hour 11

Progress: I am on page 107 of The Ocean at the End of the Lane.  It started out kind of rough, and slow-going, and then it totally sucked me in.  I shouldn't have any problem finishing it this evening, but for now I am going to take a supper break and do some other things, perhaps.  Back to the reading later!

Dewey's Read-a-thon: "Show It Off" Mini Challenge

OK, this one spoke to me so I am participating.  One of the Mini Challenges for this current timeframe is Show It Off!  The idea is to show off a book from one's shelves that one is proud of, or it's the book(s) that one would grab in case of a fire.  I don't know about any of that, but my entry is this:

It's a 4-volume set of The Count of Monte Cristo, published in 1900, that I picked up for a relative song in an antiquarian bookshop back when I lived in Nashville.  I would reckon I've had this set for 25 years or maybe a little more.  It's in good shape and even though I have thought several times about getting rid of it, I just can't.  Plus, I have actually read this edition -- it's not just taking up space on my shelf, looking pretty.  I have several signed editions of books that I also treasure, but for some reason this set has a special place on my bookshelves and in my heart.

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Hour 8

OK, I am back in the saddle again.  After lunch I started half-heartedly reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.  I am not sure why I have been resisting starting this book, except that so many other people like it, I am afraid I am not going to.  And so far, I am on page 47 and it's... interesting.  Too early to say anything more about it, but it's not at all like I thought it was going to be.  I'm going to keep at it and see what develops.

In other news, I have been keeping up with everyone's progress and activity on all the mini-challenges, and Twitter, and Instagram -- and it's all a little overwhelming.  I haven't done anything with any of it myself, except maybe a little Twittering.  But it's all been fun so far!

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Hour 5

Progress: I finished All Hallows' Eve.  A magnificent choice of book to start off my read-a-thon, if I do say so myself.  Most of the stories were pretty short, and reading them was like eating a fun-size chocolate bar out of the bowl of Halloween candy (which I conspicuously DON'T have around the house yet, because I have no sense OR self-control and would eat the whole darn thing in one sitting).

I'm going to take a break from reading right now and pick up again after lunch by starting the Neil Gaiman book.  Hope the read-a-thon is going great for everyone else!

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Hour 4

Progress: None.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.

But I have an excuse!  I spent the hour working on my R.I.P. Deal Me In blog post for the week.  So it was still spent in books and writing about reading and books.  So it's all good!

I'm going to try to spend much of the fifth hour getting back into my book and hopefully finishing it before noon.  We'll see!

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Hour 3

Progress: I'm on page 177 of All Hallows' Eve.  Really enjoying this book.  I forgot to mention in my last post that all the stories take place on Halloween.  I'm thinking I may break this book back out on Halloween night in case I want a little atmospheric reading.

So far, my favorite story in the collection has been "Pretending."  It's one of those stories where the protagonist (and the reader) is constantly kept off-guard, wondering what's real and what's not.  In the end, the pretenders are NOT what the reader has been assuming they are all along... because they're something MUCH WORSE.  A good, shivery story.

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Hour 2

Progress: Now on page 113 of All Hallows' Eve.  Still enjoying it -- these stories have quite a few murderous ghosts, which is a kind of interesting twist.  It's a YA book so all the protagonists are teenagers, but I don't mind that too much.

I made a little less progress this hour because I had to stop and eat breakfast.  At the breakfast table.  Breakfast that my sweet wife had made for me.  So the smart man stops his reading and goes to eat.

In the next hour, I might take a break from the short stories and start on the Neil Gaiman.  I love short stories, but sometimes I find it hard to read a bunch of them in a row -- the continuous jolt with changing characters and plots is a little irritating.  But so far, overall, I am enjoying my first Dewey's read-a-thon!

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Hour 1

Progress: I've read 60 pages of All Hallows' Eve.  The stories are quick reads, as I anticipated, and they are super creepy.

Second cup of coffee now.  All is right with the world.

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Opening Meme

It's 7 AM Central time, so here we go!  I have a trusty cup of coffee at my side (the brain simply doesn't do ANYTHING without coffee at this time of day), a comfy chair, and a book.  First up: All Hallows' Eve by Vivian Vande Velde.  I'm hoping it's a quick read -- we'll see.

So here's the opening meme:

1. What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
South Mississippi, just outside of Hattiesburg

2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
The Ocean at the End of the Lane -- everybody RAVES about this book, so I might hate it.  (ha) But I want to read it!

3. Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I didn't really lay in any snacks for this, but I'm sure there will be some.  There's always some snacks when I'm reading, somehow....

4. Tell us a little something about yourself!
I have recently been getting back into paper books (rather obsessively, as is my fashion), after quite a long time of preferring nothing but ebooks.  But now I am finding a pleasant balance between the two.

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?
First Dewey's Readathon here, so I am a blank slate.  I think I am most looking forward to just the immersion in reading and finishing my two books in 24 hours, something I have never done.

Dewey's Read-a-Thon is this Saturday!

In the book blogging world, possibly no event is bigger than Dewey's Read-a-Thon (link to the FAQ page on the official blog).  It's a twice-a-year 24-hour reading orgy, with prizes, mini-challenges, and cheerleaders (people who are assigned to visit your blog and cheer you on) and everything.  I have observed the goings-on each time they hold it, but have never jumped in and participated, mainly because I find it hard to do anything for 24 hours.  Plus, in the past, the date was never a convenient one for me.

This year, however?  It's this Saturday, October 18, and I'm jumping in with both feet.  One of the nice things about this read-a-thon is that it has no hard and fast rules about how one participates.  Of course, the ultimate goal and expectation is that people will stay up for 24 hours and read as much as they can in that timeframe.  But really, it's all about personal goals.  So participants have carte blanche to modify the rules to suit their own ends.  Some prizes are available only to people who partake of the full meal deal, of course, but there seems to be something in the read-a-thon for everyone.

So the other day, about 24 hours before signups closed, I signed up.  (Anyone can participate at any time, but to be guaranteed to get on the list for being visited by cheerleaders, prizes, etc., there was a signup deadline.  At last count, over 700 bloggers have signed up for the read-a-thon.)  But I am approaching the read-a-thon on a personal best level, at least this time around:

1. I won't be staying up the full 24 hours.  I'm not sure I could have done that when I was young and foolish, so I'm pretty sure I can't do it now that I'm old and foolish.  Plus, I have a church job that requires me to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed pretty early on Sunday mornings, so I need my beauty rest for that.  The read-a-thon starts on Saturday at 7 AM in my time zone, so I am envisioning that I will probably read most of the day, stay up reading as late as I can on Saturday night, and then get up early Sunday morning and finish off the read-a-thon before it ends at 7 AM.
2. I'm not even sure I can put my life on hold enough to do nothing but read all day and all night on Saturday, so I am going to commit to reading as much as I can, but when I need to do something else, I am going to do it.  Baby steps!
3. The conventional wisdom from bloggers who have done the read-a-thon for years is that the best approach is to choose short, captivating books that will keep you pressing ahead, and not heavy, boring, complex tomes that will bog you down.  Accordingly, I have chosen two books that should fit the bill:

All Hallows' Eve by Vivian Vande Velde

OK, I do realize this is pretty low-hanging fruit.  It's a book of YA short stories.  So it shouldn't make me even break a sweat.  However, it's the right time of year for this kind of reading, and I need something that will be an easy start.  I should be able to finish this book no matter what else I do during the read-a-thon, and that's kind of the whole idea.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

I bought this book a few weeks ago on the strength of all the fantastic reviews it was getting, but I wasn't quite sure when I was going to read it.  Plus, I have never read any Gaiman before, so I wasn't sure if I would like it or not (despite the rave reviews).  BUT.... it's a small book (around 180 pages).  And it's supposed to be a really, really good story.  So I am adding this to the read-a-thon list also.  I might actually be able to finish it as well.

And that is that.  Two books.  No sense in shooting myself in the foot before I begin.  And if I read these two books in the space of 24 hours, that will be a first for me in my reader's life, so that will be something of an achievement all by itself.  And if I do by some miracle get through these two books and have gobs of spare time left, I bet I can find another book to read in the ever-growing TBR pile.

Is anyone else joining me in the read-a-thon?  If so, what are your plans and what are you reading?  If not, has anyone read these two books before (especially the Gaiman), and what did you think?