Sunday Salon: I didn't read *all* day, but I did...

Happy morning after read-a-thon, everyone! I had a wonderful time reading and tweeting yesterday. Of my giant pile of 26 books, I managed to read three of them. I started with Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel Lost at Sea. I tend to begin a read-a-thon with a graphic novel because it brings such joy and accomplishment early on. When I finished it, I also noticed #readathon was trending on Twitter, which is awesome. Before the second hour, I was onto book number two: I Was Amelia Earhart by Jane Mendelsohn. I spent about three hours reading it, and it was fascinating. Plus, it brought me my favorite moment of the read-a-thon:

Cheer Bear as Amelia Earhart

The mini-challenge was to take a photograph of something that represents a character in the book you're reading. Yes, in only hour two, I was loopy enough to make flying goggles out of an index card (why an index card? I'm still not sure) for a Cheer Bear and stand on my dining room table to get maximum clouds. Also, it gave Mr. Nomadreader a hearty laugh when he got home.

After the smashing success of the first two books, I began Crawling at Night by Nani Power. I'll save my thoughts until my review, but I will say I wouldn't recommend it as a read-a-thon pick next time. I managed to finish it, however, and was in the mood for something a bit lighter. I sat down with The James Joyce Murder by Amanda Cross only to discover it's the second in her Kate Fansler series. Thankfully the first novel, In the Last Analysis is available for the Kindle for only $5.99 (a bargain!) While I was enjoying it, my brain was also tired of processing new characters (one downside to the graphic novel/novella approach to read-a-thoning). I took a brief magazine respite and indulged in the new issues of US Weekly and Entertainment Weekly (my typical Saturday morning ritual). Then Mr. Nomadreader came home from work, and I decided three books in one morning was an accomplishment, so we left to go on a long walk and enjoyed a beautiful day (seriously, October is my favorite time of year: highs in 60's and lows in the 30's is the best of both worlds.)

I didn't meet my goal of reading until six, but I did a fantastic time reading, tweeting, tumbling quotes from I Was Amelia Earhart, and snacking. The organizers, cheerleaders and hosts did a fantastic job, and although I didn't win any prizes, I had fun. The best part of the read-a-thon is often the non-reading parts. In my typical fashion, I spent 10-15 minutes at the top of the hour reading the hourly post, tweeting and deciding if any of the mini-challenges spark my interest. Then I sit back and read for the next 45-50 minutes. It's a nice breakdown for me, although when I'm nearing the end of a great read, I'll wait to finish.

Hats off to those who read for far more hours than I did and those who volunteered their time to cheer, host mini-challenges or host the read-a-thon itself. I thoroughly enjoyed a day of no responsibility, and I have you all to thank! I'll look forward to the next one in April, but until then, I still have that pile of 23 other books to make it through.

Happy reading!

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