welcome to my first read-a-thon

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In case you haven't heard, there's a 24-hour Read-a-thon going on this weekend. If you don't care about the read-a-thon, please feel free to ignore this blog until Monday. I'll post a few times while I'm reading Saturday, then I'll post a wrap-up post on Sunday. Come back Monday for a review a day!

It's finally here! I'm excited and nervous to embark on my first 24-hour Read-a-thon. I'm not even going to attempt to read for the entire 24 hours for two reasons: one, it's the Kansas-Oklahoma game, and my beloved Jayhawks might actually have a chance to win this year, so I'm breaking for the game at 3:30 p.m; two, I work all day on Sundays, and I don't think I'd be a very good reference librarian if I stayed up all night reading.

My goals:

1. Read from 8 a.m. (start time!) until 2 a.m. (except for the KU-OU game).

2. Read 800 pages: I typically read about 60 pages/hour (or a page/minute). I'm giving myself 70 minutes off to blog, tweet, eat, etc. Plus, I have some kids books and graphic novels in my pile, and I tend to read those more quickly. If I can read this many pages, I'll probably read 3-4 books, and that's not bad for a Saturday! On the other hand, if I get sucked into a Sarah Waters novel, I'll still feel accomplished.

My plan:

1. I've got lots of books on hand. I can't possibly be in the mood for something I don't have.

2. I have a mix of kids, young adult, graphic novels, and fiction. I've also included a mix of genres and plenty of authors I always enjoy and book from several series I'm enjoying.

3. Have fun!

The books:
My list hasn't changed too much from my initial post, but here are the ridiculous piles:


Pile One (kids and YA):
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
  • Spellbinder by Helen Stringer
  • Fallen by Lauren Kate
  • Nerds by Michael Buckley
  • Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (reread)
  • Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
  • L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
  • Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
  • Rescuing Seneca Crane by Susan Runholt
  • First Light by Rebecca Stead
  • Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron
Piles Two and Three:
  • Stupid and Contagious by Caprice Crane
  • The Professors' Wives' Club by Joanne Rendell
  • The Last Judgment by Iain Pears
  • Heart Trouble by Kathy Hogan Trocheck
  • Death at LaFenice by Donna Leon
  • The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
  • The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
  • You Must Be This Happy to Enter by Elizabeth Crane
  • The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
  • Sweet Love by Sarah Strohmeyer
  • The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
  • The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
  • The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton
  • Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
  • Storm Front by Jim Butcher
  • Double Love (Sweet Valley High #1) by "Francine Pascal"
  • Me and Orson Welles by Robert Kaplow
  • Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain
  • The Complete Perseplis by Marjane Satrapi
  • Watchmen by Alan Moore
I will not even read all these books in 2009, but I will have options! Happy reading!

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