The final stretch...

I fell asleep!!!!!

And stayed there. I sort of remember looking at the clock around 5 AM, and thinking that I needed to get up, and then suddenly it was 9:30. Shoot! Some of my favorite RATs were ones where I either stayed awake the whole time (no longer an option) or took a short nap and then forced myself to stay awake for the final hours. I'd like to get back to that. 

image from quotesgram.com

Despite my missing the end, I had a really fun time! I felt more relaxed about it all, which was a nice change from normal life. While, yes, I do wish I had read more (and not gotten hooked into TV at lunchtime) and been able to stay awake longer, I had so much fun! My favorite Readathon Pal, Sherry Ann, helped me get through it all. Thanks, buddy! I don't think I could do this without you! And being on Instagram was a blast too, it was great chatting with other readers in a more casual setting. And one of my favorite bloggers left me a comment, which made me happier than it maybe should have. But I love her and think she's great, so nyah. 

It also helped to have done a big cleaning binge over the last week at my house so I didn't notice the paperwork clutter quite as much as usual. But in April I'll have to do a better job and figure out some places to take pictures ahead of time so I'm not scrambling, turning in a circle in my living room, going "Uuuuhhhhh..." for a long time. 

One of the many nice things about the 'thon, though, is that for the day after it's over I read like crazy, trying to finish up the things I couldn't or didn't get to. And who couldn't use some renewed reading vigor?!? Here's what the rest of my day looks like - plus coffee, of course, or I'd sleep for long stretches again. I'll see you all in the spring!

Closing Survey

1. What hour was most daunting for you?
For sure Hour 19, or 1AM - that's when I fell asleep and passed out for 8 hours! Not good, and unlike me to not wake up in that time.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books to keep a reader engaged for next year?
Any kind of graphic novel is a good choice, so pick what sounds good to you. This time around, I really enjoyed reading Mindy Kaling's latest book. I partially listened to it and partially read it, and I like having that option for one book. It ups my chances of finishing it in time to count it!

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the RAT next time?
No! You guys do such an amazing job and work so dang hard. It feels like a nicely oiled machine at this point, thrumming along happily without any major hiccups.

4. What do you think worked really well this RAT?
The cheering seemed to be happening on a good schedule all over the place - did you guys do something different there? I suspect yes, but you've always been good at it, so what do I know?

5. How many books did you read?
I finished four and read from two more.

6. Which book did you enjoy most?
One of the ones I didn't finish, "The Haunted Looking Glass" by Edward Gorey. This collection of classic ghost/scary stories was just right, I could pick it up and leave it at any point, and it was perfectly creepy for this time of year!

7. Which did you enjoy least?
"Sex Criminals: Volume 2" by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky. I really enjoyed the first trade edition of this series, and this second volume seemed to shift gears somehow. I'll be interested to see how they develop The Quiet a little more next time (and with some awesome new characters - I love Robert Rainbow!), and how or what they can do to deal with the Sex Police. Like, how in the heck did they even become who they are? I dunno. It was still a solid read, but I was expecting more bank robberies like the first time. Also, this sounds like a supremely dirty book, but it's really not. If you can handle some fairly honest things about sex, and a few drawings of naked people, you'll see that it's really not a filth-fest like it sounds. 

8. If you were a Cheerleader...
I wasn't.

9. How likely are you to participate again, and in what role?
Of course I'll be back again! You'd think that after all of these years I'd have it all figured out by now, but I really don't. I really need to sleep, and while I did so this time right when I should have, I forgot to set an alarm, so I just stayed asleep. 

Hour 19

...or, here's hoping I'm still awake! 

It's nearly 1 AM, the start of hour 19, and I'm really getting tired. I think I'll take a nap after this update and then be back at it in a couple of hours. The longer I resist sleep, the more I'll wipe out. After dinner (at 10 PM), I put the TV on to help give me something else to concentrate on and keep me going. It's worked so far, but I'm starting to nod off and I don't want to lose my place. Aside from being awake for this long, Time Team may be an excellent Readathon companion!

Pages read: 124

Time reading: 90 minutes

Total pages read: 491

Total time reading: 7.5 hours

Challenges completed: 7 (Intro, Mid-event, and Hours 2, 6, 7, 8, 11, & 12)

Books finished: 4 (Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling, A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson, Sex Criminals: Volume 2, and Immortal In Death)

And now, time for a Disco Nap!