Elapsed Time 18:00

Progress Report
Time Reading: 10:30

Pages Read: 592. (That's about 56 pages an hour.)

Books Finished: 3. (Helen of Pasadena by Lian Dolan, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future by Michael J. Fox, and Summerlost by Ally Condie.)

Time on Social Media: 3:00 (I'm @utahalison on both Instagram and Twitter.)

Time Napping or Otherwise On Break: 4:30

Frame of Mind: It's definitely past my normal bedtime, but I'm hoping for more of a feeling of success before I call it quits. I've changed into pajamas, but I still have my contact lenses in. I'm feeling a bit melancholy about the whole day.

Cans of Diet Coke with Lime Consumed: 4 1/2.

Food Consumed: Pretzel Crisps. Oatmeal with walnuts and brown sugar. Leftover steak and baked potato from Texas Roadhouse. Crab cakes. Red Vines. Steak enchilada with rice and beans from Cafe Rio.

Elapsed Time 13:00

Progress Report
Time Read: 6:30

Pages Read: 290. (That's about 45 pages per hour.)

Books Finished: 1. (Helen of Pasadena by Lian Dolan.)

Time on Social Media: 2:00 (I'm @utahalison on both Twitter and Instagram.)

Time Napping or Otherwise On Break: 4:30

Frame of Mind: I've been much more tired than I hoped to be - but I guess the long workdays over the past two weeks have taken a toll. I'm hoping to pick up the reading pace in the second half of the read-a-thon!

Cans of Diet Coke with Lime Consumed: 4.

Food Consumed: Pretzel Crisps. Oatmeal with walnuts and brown sugar. Leftover steak and baked potato from Texas Roadhouse. Crab cakes.

Elapsed Time 6:00

Progress Report
Time Reading: 3:30

Pages Read: 157. (I am a little more than half done with Helen of Pasadena by Lian Dolan.)

Books Finished: None yet.

Time on Social Media: 1:00 (I'm @utahalison on both Twitter and Instagram.)

Time Napping or Otherwise On Break: 1:30

Frame of Mind: I was feeling quite sleepy a while ago, so I didn't fight it and just went ahead and had a nap - likely the first of several.

Cans of Diet Coke with Lime Consumed: 2.

Food Consumed: Pretzel Crisps. Oatmeal with walnuts and brown sugar.

Intro Meme

What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
The suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
I've got so many options, but let's go with Summerlost by Ally Condie.

Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Crab cakes. Red Vines. Pretzel Crisps.

Tell us a little something about yourself!
Although I work with numbers, I love words! I learned to read with Dick and Jane when I was six years old, and I've not stopped since. I participated in the very first Dewey's Read-a-Thon in 2007, and this is my twelfth - although it's been a couple of years since I've been able to join the fun. I am @utahalison on Instagram and on Twitter, and I'm alisonwonderland on goodreads.

If you participated in a previous read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?
My strategy today is to keep changing things up - book choices, reading locations, snacks, and reading mediums - to help me keep the read-a-thon momentum going!

My Read-a-Thon Pile

For me, half the fun of any upcoming event is the planning! Planning my to-read pile for Dewey's Read-a-Thon is no exception. Here are the forty-two books I collected for today's festivities - twenty-one on my Kindle, eighteen from my county library, and three (just three!) traditional books from my personal collection.

I won't get through all of these, of course. (My lofty goal is one-third - including the five picture books.) But like I said, half the fun is in the planning!

Elapsed Time 0:00

Here We Go!
It's still dark, early on a Saturday morning, and yet I'm awake. It must be Dewey's Read-a-Thon!

I participated in the first Dewey's Read-a-Thon in October 2007 and in many of those since. In fact, this is my twelfth read-a-thon - and I'm looking forward to a great day of books. Good luck to the other read-a-thon participants, and a big thanks to the hosts, the cheerleaders, and all the other helpers! Happy reading!

If you're just stopping by and want to know more about what's happening, check out the read-a-thon blog or Twitter.

The Read-a-Thon is Tomorrow!

For the first time since October 2013, I'm going to read-a-thon! This is my twelfth Dewey's Read-a-Thon - and I was among the small group of participants in the very first one in October 2007.

Follow my progress here and on Instagram (@utahalison) and on Twitter (@utahalison) and on goodreads (alisonwonderland)!

Happy reading!

Final Read-a-Thon Post

Final Report
Time Read: 13:00

Pages Read: 892.

Books Finished: 6.

Time Blogged and/or Tweeted: 7:00

Time on Break: 4:00

Frame of Mind: I'm really pleased with the outcome - and I'm also very ready to sleep for a while!

Cans of Diet Coke with Lime Consumed: 4.

Food Consumed: A mug of hot chocolate. Some raspberry-flavored almonds. A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich and a hashbrown from McDonald's. A few Pretzel Crisps. Some E.L. Fudge cookies. A bowl of honey dew melon and raspberries. A chocolate croissant. Two crab cakes with Japanese sticky rice. Two pieces of pizza with pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms. Another mug of hot chocolate. Some Heath Pieces.


Traditional End-of-Event Questionnaire
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour 19 - 1:00 a.m. in my time zone - when I finally decided to take a nap. I slept for about two-and-a-half hours - but then I resumed participation, finishing my sixth book and a little bit of blogging and Tweeting.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Young adult novels are great read-a-thon picks. Ann Dee Ellis' Everything Is Fine. and Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally were good ones for me this year.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

I thought things went quite well this year. I didn't have as many visits from either cheerleaders or other participants as I have in the past, but that's probably a function of the high number of people involved.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

I enjoyed Tweeting and reading Tweets about the #readathon.

5. How many books did you read?

I finished six books.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

• The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel
• Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
• Everything Is Fine. by Ann Dee Ellis
• Just Being Audrey by Margaret Cardillo and Julia Denos
• Lulu and the Brontosaurs by Judith Viorst and Lane Smith
• Who's on First? by Abbott & Costello and John Martz

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

They were all great - but I think my favorite was Everything Is Fine..

8. Which did you enjoy least?

Not applicable.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

Not applicable.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

If at all possible, I will participate in the next read-a-thon - although April has been a hard month for doing that the past two years. I'd like to be a reader again - but I'm also thinking that it might be fun to try cheerleading.

Yet Another Mini-Challenge

"Turn to Page"
Hosted by Reflections of a Bookaholic
For this challenge, I had to turn to page 32 of the book I am currently reading and find the most entertaining phrase to complete the following sentence:

"I would rather read than ________ any day!"
From The Astronaut Wives Club, modifying the tense and a pronoun, I ended up with this:

"I would rather read than invite some of the wives over to my house in Stoneybrook to try out a facial mask any day!"

Elapsed Time 16:00

Progress Report
Time Read: 9:15

Pages Read: 587.

Books Finished: 2. (I've finished Everything Is Fine. by Ann Dee Ellis and Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally.)

Time Blogged and/or Tweeted: 5:15

Time on Break: 1:30

Frame of Mind: I'm really pleased that I've read two complete books plus more than half of a third. I'm getting tired, though, and although I'm definitely a night person, I'm not so good at late nights when I've woken up before 6:00 in the morning. I guess we'll see what the next few hours bring.

Cans of Diet Coke with Lime Consumed: 3.

Food Consumed: A mug of hot chocolate. Some raspberry-flavored almonds. A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich and a hashbrown from McDonald's. A few Pretzel Crisps. Some E.L. Fudge cookies. A bowl of honey dew melon and raspberries. A chocolate croissant. Two crab cakes with Japanese sticky rice.

Another Mini-Challenge

"Best of Your Reading Year"
Hosted by Lisa's World of Books
I'm all about book lists, so I'm happy to share a few of my "bests" of 2013 (so far):

Best YA Book of Your Reading Year
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow RowellAn almost perfect read, this is a gritty yet tender YA love story set in the mid-1980s (when I wasn't much older than the main characters are).

Best Non-Fiction Book of Your Reading Year
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunnI was first exposed to this important book at a women's retreat I attended in 2010, and I was deeply moved when I "read" it on CD at the beginning of this year. By Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, this is a call to action I can't forget.

Best Children's Book of Your Reading Year
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin LevineI absolutely loved this exploration of racism in the late 1950s. The main characters - Marlee and Liz - are terrific, and Marlee's "voice" is just perfect. I highly recommend this to both middle grade students and adult fans of historical fiction.

Best Fiction Book of Your Reading Year
Flight Behavior by Barbara KingsolverI've been a fan of Barbara Kingsolver's fiction for a long time, and her most recent novel did not disappoint. It's beautifully written as well as a meaningful exploration of today's social issues.

Best Title Character of Your Reading Year
The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel SimonSpanning 50 years, the story of Beautiful Girl - and those in her life - is a compelling tale of love, social justice, faith, and choices. I loved this one!

What are the "bests" of your reading year?

Mid-Event Survey

Now that we're almost halfway through, we have a survey to complete:

1. How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?
My eyes are starting to feel tired - even though I can't believe we're almost to the halfway point!

2. What have you finished reading?
I finished Everything Is Fine. by Ann Dee Ellis. I have two other books in progress - The Astronaut Wives Club and Catching Jordan. I hope to finish both before we're done, although I may mix things up in a little while with a trio of picture books.

3. What is your favorite read so far?
I'm enjoying everything I'm reading .

4. What about your favorite snacks?
I just finished eating two crab cakes with Japanese sticky rice. Delicious!

5. Have you found any new blogs through the readathon?
I've not taken much time to visit blogs (yet). Maybe during the second half!

Read-a-Thon Mini-Challenge

"Mad Libs"
Hosted by Mia and Jessica at Nisaba Be Praised
The paragraph I started with, from Lily Koppel's The Astronaut Wives Club, is as follows:

The seven wives hosted their ghostwriters at their homes and let them tag along as they went about their daily routines. The girls found their real selves disappearing behind Life's depiction of what it meant to be not only the perfect fifties housewife, but the perfect astronaut's wife, molded like the popular Barbie doll that had first appeared on store shelves that spring.

I asked my fourteen-year-old son for a number, a plural noun, another plural noun, a place, the name of a magazine, a noun, an adjective, another noun, a children's toy, and a season. After plugging it all in, we ended up with this:

The 43 chocolate bars hosted their ghostwriters at their recreation centers and let them tag along as they went about their daily routines. The knee braces found their real selves disappearing behind ESPN Magazine's depiction of what it meant to be not only the perfect fifties spork, but the thorny nose's wife, molded like the popular model train that had first appear on store shelves that spring.

We were mildly amused.

Elapsed Time 5:00

Progress Report
Time Read: 3:25

Pages Read: 152. (I am a little more than half done with The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel.)

Books Finished: None yet.

Time Blogged and/or Tweeted: 1:75

Frame of Mind: I was feeling quite sleepy a while ago. I didn't put in my contact lenses when I woke up - trying to keep my eyes from getting too buggy too soon as the day progresses - but I've since put them in and that woke me up a bit. Eating breakfast also helped, I think. I do want to take a break for a shower before too much longer.

Cans of Diet Coke with Lime Consumed: 1.

Food Consumed: A mug of hot chocolate. Some raspberry-flavored almonds. A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich and a hashbrown - brought to me by my husband from the McDonald's drive-thru.

Introductory Questionnaire

What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
The suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel.

Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Crab cakes. And Hershey's Heath Pieces. And microwave popcorn. And ...

Tell us a little something about yourself!
I learned to read with Dick and Jane when I was six years old, and I've not stopped since. I work with numbers in my professional life, but I love words!

If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?
I've got a lot of very short books in my read-a-thon pile, including two or three picture books. I'm hoping that I can feel like I'm really making progress in my overall reading goals - which will help me keep the read-a-thon momentum going!

Elapsed Time 0:00

Here We Go!
It's dark and cold on a Saturday morning, and yet I'm awake. It must be Dewey's Read-a-Thon!

I participated in the first Dewey's Read-a-Thon in October 2007 and in most of those since. In fact, this is my eleventh read-a-thon - and I'm looking forward to a great day of books, blogging, and snacks. Good luck to the other read-a-thon participants, and a big thanks to the hosts, the cheerleaders, and all the other helpers!

If you're just stopping by and want to know more about what's happening, check out the read-a-thon blog or Twitter or Facebook page.

Read-a-Thon End-of-Event Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour 21, when I decided to call it quits, was the hardest hour for me. I just wanted to lay on the sofa and "pretend" to read!

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Young adult novels are great read-a-thon picks. Memoirs are also a good choice.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

This was my tenth time participating in the Read-a-thon, and I thought things went well.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

I enjoyed the visits from the Cheerleaders.

5. How many books did you read?

I finished two books - and I also read parts of three others.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

The Year My Son and I Were Born by Kathryn Lynard Soper and Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead.

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

Both books were great!

8. Which did you enjoy least?

Not applicable.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

Not applicable.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

If at all possible, I will participate in the next read-a-thon! This is one of the few things I do that is just for me. I'd like to be a reader again - but I'm also thinking that it might be fun to try cheerleading.

Elapsed Time 16:30

Progress Report
Time Read: 10:15 (This includes about three hours of "reading" via CD. I'm currently listening to two audiobooks - U is for Undertow and Between the Lines. The former has keep me company for a couple weeks while I've done kitchen chores, and the latter has been my commute companion this week. Today I've listened to a bit of both books.)

Locations I've Read: 3. (In addition to reading at home, I spent a little time at the library this afternoon and then read while I ate a sandwich and some soup at Café Zupas. Oh, I guess listening to a book on CD while driving between locations means I actually "read" in four places!)

Pages Read: 516.

Books Finished: 2. (The Year My Son and I Were Born by Kathryn Lynard Soper and Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead.)

Time Blogged and/or Tweeted: 6:15 (One of the things I did was work on some long-overdue reviews that I hope to post this coming week.)

Frame of Mind: It was great getting out of the house for a while. I'm now in my PJs, and my contacts are starting to make my eyes feel "buggy." I'm not sure how much longer I can leave them in - but once I take them out, I think my body will expect that it's time for sleep.

Cans of Diet Coke with Lime Consumed: 3.

Food Consumed: A mug of hot chocolate. A bowl of microwave popcorn. A small cup of clam chowder from Thursday's dinner. A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit, a hashbrown, and a small orange juice - brought to me by my husband and daughter from the McDonald's drive-thru. Some chocolate Twizzlers. A Rice Krispy treat. A dinner of soup and sandwich (Yucatan Chicken Tortilla and Ultimate Grilled Cheese, respectively) - plus a piece of bread and a chocolate-covered strawberry. Some Hershey's Nuggets (with almonds and toffee).

Read-a-Thon Mid-Event Survey

Now that we're more than halfway through, we have a survey to complete:

1. How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?
I didn't go to bed early enough last night, so I'm definitely starting to feel tired. I left the house for several hours, though - spending some time at the library and then at a favorite restaurant - so I'm hoping that change of scenery will carry me through the next little while now I'm back home.

2. What have you finished reading?
I read The Year My Son and I Were Born by Kathryn Lynard Soper this morning. I haven't finished anything else yet.

3. What is your favorite read so far?
I'm enjoying everything I'm reading - even though I've only finished one book so far.

4. What about your favorite snacks?
I love chocolate Twizzlers!

5. Have you found any new blogs through the readathon?
I've visited a few that I'm going to add a few to my blog list: YA? Why Not?, The Allure of Books, and Mom is Reading.

Another Read-a-Thon Mini-Challenge

"Book Puzzle"
Hosted by Melissa at One Librarian's Book Reviews
This is the title of one of the books in my read-a-thon pile. Do you know what it is?

Image by lioness_graphics.

By the way, my entry in this mini-challenge a year ago is here - and it's a book I finally read this morning!