The third and fourth quarters

Hour 24 - it's over :(

from genius.com. this is one of the many reasons I love "Black Books"!

After my last post (just before Hour 15), I laid down on the couch to read some more. Usually, I can stay awake like that for hours, reading and shifting positions as needed. Last night, though? Nope. I got an hour in before I dropped my kindle on my face for the third time and gave it up for a nap. That nap turned into waking up an hour later and thinking that I'd read in bed for awhile. Once again, nope! The last few months I've been waking up (wiiiiiiide awake) between 3 and 4 in the morning, falling asleep anywhere between a half hour and 4 hours later. So, banking on my new "sleep" schedule, I thought it would be safe. Of course, last night was the first night I've slept straight through since probably the beginning of February! Dang it! But I did get another 22% read in my book in that last hour I was awake, so I suppose that's something. 

Final totals
Pages read: 228
Percentages for e-books: 60%
Audiobook time: 3 hrs 55 min
Total time reading: 8 hrs 16 min
Books finished: 3 ("The Martian" by Andy Weir, and "The Spiderwick Chronicles" books 1 and 2 by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black)
Challenges Completed: 8 (Intro, Hours 3- Four Seasons, 5- Casting Couch, 8- Book Spine Poetry, 12- Mid-Event Survey,14- Bookish Brews, and 24- End of Event)

I'll have to go back and count, but this is the latest in a long stretch of Dewey's, and this may be the least amount of time that I've spent reading yet. And while I only finished 3 books (of which 2 were short and the other was almost finished when I started listening), I did make some very good progress in other books that I was already reading. I just didn't stay awake long enough to finish them. But today is always a day of catching up on sleep and powering through books that I either didn't get to or didn't get to finish. 

End of Event Meme
1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 15. Seriously, I don't know why last night was the one night my body decided to sleep like a normal person! And I wouldn't say that that time was particularly daunting, just that I'd gotten used to this new sleep schedule and was counting on it to do what it does. And it didn't. :(
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged  for next year? I think the St. Mary's series by Jodi Taylor is just about the perfect thing. There are currently 5 books and 3 between-the-numbers novellas, and with all of the history and literature and fun and pulse-pounding moments in them, there's got to be something for nearly everyone. They read quickly and really hold your attention. And, they're in print and on kindle/e-readers, so you have your choice of format!
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the read-a-thon next year? No, you guys work your butts off, and it gets smoother and more fun every time. You're all Amazing!
4. What do you think worked really well this read-a-thon? Not that this ever works poorly, but I liked the variety and new people that did the mini-challenges this time. (And I'm so glad that book spine poetry was still around!)
5. How many books did you read? I finished 3 of them, and read big chunks out of two more.
6. What were the names of books read? I finished "The Martian" by Andy Weir, and the first two books in the "Spiderwick Chronicles" series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. I read chunks in "Naked in Death" by J.D. Robb and "A Second Chance" by Jodi Taylor.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? It's a tie between "The Martian" and "A Second Chance".
8. Which did you enjoy least? Oddly enough, the first "Spiderwick" book. I'd tried reading it before and it didn't grab me, so in the name of reading and getting rid of books I own, I plowed through - and it turned out to be good. And the second book was even better, so I'm glad I finally read it!
9. If you were a Cheerleader... N/A
10. How likely are you to participate again, and in what role? Hell yes I'm doing this again, for sure as a Reader, and maybe I'll cheer a bit next time too. After this one and how little I read, maybe purposely taking time out to cheer would keep me more focused on reading when I had the time. 

Thank you to every who sets up and runs this event behind the scenes in any way, and to all of my fellow Readers and Cheerleaders out there, thanks for making this the great event that it is! I'll see you in October!

Hour 14

Really? We're already this far into the day? Doesn't seem possible. I've gotten some decent reading in in the last couple of hours, and I finally had to stop to turn on lights since it was nearly pitch black in here.

Hour 14 Challenge
Hosted by Amanda at Fig and Thistle (one of my favorite blogs, by the way), this is a Bookish Brew challenge. Take a photo of your current drink and your current read.

Here's my vanilla frappuccino, my worry stone (shit just got real in this book!), and my current read, "A Second Chance" by Jodi Taylor. Do yourself a favor and start this series with book #1, "Just One Damned Thing After Another". It's so good! 

Totals
Pages read: 228
Percentages for e-books: 38%
Audiobook time: 3 hrs 55 min
Total time reading: 7 hrs 16 min
Books finished: 3 ("The Martian" by Andy Weir, and "The Spiderwick Chronicles" books 1 and 2 by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black)
Challenges Completed: 7 (Intro, Hours 3 Four Seasons, 5 Casting Couch, 8 Book Spine Poetry, 12 Mid-Event Survey, and 14 Bookish Brews)