Ever since I started book blogging, I have wanted to participate in Dewey’s 24-hour Read-a-Thon. Since next April is going to involve me not sleeping for a totally different reason, I figured I needed to clear my calendar for October 13th and try this out for once. (Kyle‘s prodding also helped.)
Here is my list of books for the Read-a-Thon:
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson– It’s been years since I’ve read this, so I really wanted to read it again in time for Halloween. Also, it is short and that will make me feel accomplished.
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt– YA usually reads pretty quickly and I’ve been meaning to get to this one for a while.
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons– This is supposed to be a creepy one. I have no idea of the length because the library only had it in large print… so this will make me feel like I’m getting more done than I actually am. Which might be ok as the day wears on.
The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart– I’ve been meaning to read the Ruby Oliver series for months now. Also, it is short and YA, so hoping I can breeze through it!
Paper Towns by John Green– This has been sitting on my shelves for a while now and remains the only John Green book I haven’t read. It’s on my list of alternates, should my library stack become unappealing.
Where Are The Children? by Mary Higgins Clark– I found this on a list of recommended read-a-thon title and I was looking for something a little suspense-y to add to the mix.
Revenge of The Spellmans by Lisa Lutz– I’ve been really enjoying this mystery series about a quirky family of PIs and it reads pretty fast.
Asylum by Patrick McGrath– I have just started this one. It is intriguing, but reads a little slowly, so I may or may not continue it in the read-a-thon.
I also have a couple of pregnancy/motherhood books I might read if the mood hits. I figure they will offer up something a little different.
Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott– This is the story of the first year of her son’s life. I heard it has some good stories in it and I’ve been meaning to read something by Lamott for years now.
Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother by Beth Ann Fennelly– My sister recommended this book to me after reading about it on another blog. Supposedly this is the good stuff about being pregnant/being a mom and I really want to hear more about that and less about being uncomfortable and how I should sleep more/exercise more/eat better.
I know I won’t even come close to finishing all of these. I am planning a sizable break to watch the Oklahoma-Texas football game. (Though, if Oklahoma starts losing badly, I may retreat to the bedroom with a book.) Also, I will probably need to sleep and eat at some point and maybe do some chores. But I’m going to do my best to read as much as I can in the 24 hours and to post updates on an hourly or bi-hourly basis (not sure how fast the time will fly). I think it will be fun to keep track of my progress this way and to see what I can do with a day dedicated to reading!
Are you participating in the read-a-thon? What books have you chosen?
Don't Take My Books Away 
I kind of love that we both have The Boyfriend List in our lists! I picked it for the same reasons you did: it was on my TBR and it’s short! I’m thinking about starting with that one or maybe Forever by Judy Blume, since it’s short as well and that will make me feel more accomplished 🙂
I loved Paper Towns when I read it last year. It’s fun and seems like a good choice for readathon. Having a lot to pick from is a good idea and I like that you have some nonfic too like I do, although mine is not about pregnancy 🙂
I’m thinking of starting with The Boyfriend List or The Haunting of Hill House because both are pretty short and would make me feel accomplished. I’m not sure which, though, guess I’ll see what I’m in the mood for tomorrow!
I want to read the pregnancy books, but they keep getting kicked to the bottom of the list because I’m busy with fiction, so I figure this gives me an excuse to actually read something relevant.
Can’t wait to check in with your progress. I’m going to try to tweet things, too, but I’m not sure how good at multi-tasking I am!
I haven’t read any of these, so looking forward to hearing what you thought about them – if you review/share your thoughts with us, that is!
And yes to reading more about the good stuff to being a mom instead of all the gripey things (nothing about hearing how your hormones mess you up entirely makes me want to have kids!). I like to hear the good things, like how sweet it is when your baby smiles or whatever. 🙂
I’m hoping I’ll have some time to write up reviews after the readathon because that would help me get way ahead on the blog!! haha
I had a couple of feeling sorry for myself moments early this week when everything hurt and I was tired and hormonal and it was just like… the really good part isn’t happening for six more months, I need to remind myself that this is all worth it!
Oh Man! I wish I could participate, but as it’s the Husker bye week of course I have a wedding to attend (and a rehearsal dinner tonight).
I haven’t heard of quite a few of these so I’ll have to check them out! Good luck to your Sooners.
You mean you can’t sneak a book into the wedding? (just kidding, don’t really do that)
Thanks for the well-wishes to my Sooners! I’m actually not feeling too confident in them after that loss to K-State, but we’ll see. It’s always such a heated game that anything can happen!!!
As much as it pains me to say this I think KSU is legitimately good. But rivalry games can go either way.
Good luck with your first time participating in Dewey’s Readathon! My daughter and I have done this together several times, and it’s always great fun. Looks like you have some good candidate books for the day.
How fun that you do the readathon with your daughter! I am looking forward to this for sure. Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you! I am hoping some day I’ll be able to do like the previous commenter and readathon with my child, but it’s going to be quite a few years before that happens!