Read-a-thon Hours 19-24

And we're into the final stretch.

I read a couple of more chapters of Battle Cry of Freedom - I'm up to the lead up to the 1860 Presidential election. Political history is hard to handle on little to no sleep, so I'm going to be self-indulgent and read Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper.

With just over three hours to go, I've read just under 1750 pages, with 150 left to reach goal. If you include time spent blogging and doing mini-challenges, I've reached my target of 20 hours participation (a rough estimate, taking away time for eating, bathroom breaks and dozing off once).

And finished Silver on the Tree at 2:50am. I've got one more book in me, I hope, but only time to read about 200 pages, so I'll have to choose carefully.

Thanks to all the cheerleaders for the encouragement!

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
The last hour was pretty tough - I stayed awake, but it was hard to keep my eyes focused. I think I was asleep a minute after I was in bed.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?I think it helps to mix a variety of types of books, so that your mind stays fresh. But I found re-reading an old favourite here and there spurred me on. I find mysteries keep me engaged and wanting to continue on.
 3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?I thnk it's great in every way!
 4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?I think it was all great - the mini-challenges were lots of fun and very clever and the hosts and cheerleaders really encouraging!

5. How many books did you read?I read five books in their entirety and finished or started three more.

6. What were the names of the books you read?
Trunk Music by Michael Connelly (it was already in progress so I finished it first)
Solar by Ian McEwan
Somewhere in Ireland an Village is Missing an Idiot by David Feherty
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
The first six chapters of Battle Cry of Freedom by
The first five short stories in Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro

7. Which book did you enjoy most?High Fidelity - it's still my favourite Nick Hornby book.

8. Which did you enjoy least?A few of Feherty's columns made me roll my eyes (and not in the good way), but he ended with one that made me cry, so it was all good. I expect I'll enjoy the rest of the Alice Munro stories considerably more, given that I could barely see the page for some of them.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?N/A - but I very much appreciated the Cheerleaders who dropped by with encouragement.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I've already got it tentatively programmed into my calendar! As long as I don't have any conflicts, I'll be reading - and raising money.