Winding it up

It's 6:40 in the morning, only 20 minutes more and I'm not engaged enough with my book to keep my eyes open. I finished reading Shakespeare's Christmas just a few minutes before 6 and took a very short break to update my master lists and check the 24-hour Read-a-Thon home page for any challenges for the last hour. By 6:15, I had picked out the next book I'd start—A Village Affair by Joanna Trollope—and settled back on the couch to resume reading. But, as some books do, this one is starting slowly and I'm struggling to stay awake. So, I decided to spend some time catching up my blog rather than run the risk of falling asleep in the last few minutes of the Read-a-Thon.

End of Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
5. How many books did you read?
6. What were the names of the books you read?
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
8. Which did you enjoy least?
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?

1. Until a few minutes ago, I was convinced that the hour from 2 to 3 am (hour 20, I think) was the most difficult. But now I'm not sure if it was then or now.

2. I'm not sure “high interest” for me would be the same for someone else. I found I read pretty fast in books that were part of a series where I already knew the main characters. Two of the books I completed during this Read-a-Thon were part of familiar series: Visions of Sugar Plums is a special holiday novella in Janet Evanovich's zany mystery series starring Stephane Plum and Shakespeare's Christmas is the third of five books in Charlaine Harris's cozy mystery series starring Lilly Bard.

3. This was my first year to participate. I picked up on some ways to improve it for myself, particularly the idea of using a template that would make it much easier to quickly post something on my blog and get back to reading.

4. I was glad to see comments posted to my blog by people who had never visited before. I don't know if these were from cheerleaders or readers, but it was encouraging to see that someone was noticing the newer postings.

5. I completed four books, one of which had been started before the Read-a-Thon began. I also read 63 pages in two other books.

6. I completed Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda, Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich, Bitten and Smitten by Michelle Rowen, and Shakespeare's Christmas by Charlaine Harris. I also read the beginnings of Wedding Belles by Haywood Smith and A Village Affair by Joanna Trollope.

7. I guess the book that was the most fun was Bitten and Smitten, though I'd also have to point out that Mark of the Lion is very high on the best books of 2009 list.

8. Surprisingly, Visions of Sugar Plums was not as much fun as I had hoped. I don't know if it was just my mood at the time or the book was too short or what, but it didn't have enough of the zaniness that I was anticipating. It was good for a smile or two, but not the full-on belly laughs in High Five where we meet Randy Briggs for the first time.

9. I wasn't a cheerleader, though I did stop by a couple of blogs and leave comments.

10. I'm definitely on for the next Read-a-Thon. I think I'll spend a little bit of time preparing so I can manage the role of reader more effectively.

In my next post, I'll summarize the whole she-bang.