Books, General

24hr Readathon: A progress report

Welcome friends to the 24hr readathon. Yes, that’s right, the time where we strap our selves into a chair, surround ourselves with books, and read until we can read no more. (No, not any other ordinary Saturday, we’re doing it for a reason this time). I signed up here yesterday, when I was feeling like the world was against me and was moping in a world of sicky despair. I am glad to say that I am feeling marginally better yesterday. My voice is still far from normal, my nose is running faster than Usain Bolt, and my head feels like there is a constant samba party using my eyeballs as a steel drum, but I am feeling less, well, bleurgh.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am reading from a wide range of books, and through a few methods, to try and keep me interested and engaged for as long as possible. Now as I know I am off work today, I have tried to rest up as much as possible and do as little as possible, whilst reading, so that today is my last sick day. I have still managed to get off to an OK start. I’m going to try and do regular updates below, but if that fails, you can also follow my progress through my Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Updates

Hour 1: I’ve showered, which has made me feel a little more clear headed (always a positive step in the illness progression) and I have put some laundry in (#adultingatitsfinest) and I have progressed with reading Six of Crows. I’ve read 37 pages, or 3 chapters, so it’s started. I’ve started. I need coffee….

Hour 2: I probably should read and not blog, I know, but the washing machine was bleating like an annoying child to tell me that it has finished the cycle, and I was at the end of Chapter 5, or page 75, of Six of Crows, so it seemed like a good time to stop and do things that need to be done before I can get down to the reading thing again. I need to replenish my snacks too, they’re all a little sweet. I need me some cheese….

Hour 3: I’m struggling with toe-ing the line between interacting with other readathon-ers, and actually reading (translate as: I find twitter very distracting!) I’m trying to minimise the amount of things I am doing, because I feel like my throat is sandpaper and my vocal chords are chainsaws, but I’m reading. I’m up to page 111 or Six of Crows. I don’t think Emma needs to worry about whether I am actually going to like it or not. I feel like it’s A Storm of Swords time. I feel ready….

Hour 4: I’ve done another lot of washing. Emma guilted me into doing some the other day, and since I have been ill, and I have only just got round to it. A lack of clean underwear will do that! I’ve made more progress with Six of Crows, page 128 already. I’ve also finally read some more of A Storm of Swords. It was about time. I don’t know if it is because I’ve taken a break, or maybe it’s because I am determindaly reading, but I feel like I can alternate between these two books enough to read more than 32 pages I have already read. We’ll see….

Hour 5: Good news my dear reader friends, I have progress further with A Storm of Swords (another 30 pages to be precise) and not only that, I am enjoying it again. I am also progressing nicely (another 39 pages to put a number on it) with Six of Crows. I knew I’d like it, because Emma did and thought I would, but I really am enjoying it a lot. I feel like the nearly 250 I’ve read is a good amount to go into dinner time, and to consider Strictly Come Dancing blogging. There is going to be a break in the blogging. See you in a short while my pretties, and good look with you reading endeavours over the next hour or 3…

Hour 7: Well we’ve had dinner and we’ve watched Strictly Come dancing, but as it is my week to blog, I’m going to be limiting my reading capabilities. To combat this, I am going to listen to Harry Potter. It’s high time for a re-read, and I do love Stephen Fry’s audiobooks…

Hour 9: I’ve got the Strictly blog post done, written, sent to the world! (To read it, click here). I’ve also read (listened) to the first few chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (amounting to 49 pages no less) so it wasn’t completely wasted readathon time!!

Hour 10: Well, I am almost there. I almost at my target of 400 pages today, and I have read pretty much half of Six of Crows. I feel like I need to shift through it just so I can talk to Emma about it to be honest!! I am loving it though, it’s going with me to work tomorrow!! Right, another 22 pages and I am at part 4. Not quite 400 pages, but a logical place to stop…

Hour 11: As hour 11 draws to an end, so does the day here in the UK. We’re almost at midnight. I’m back in work tomorrow (barring a severe decline in my health overnight), and it’s a 6am start. Yes, it’s going to hamper my progress throughout this readathon, but I am planning to listen to my Dracula audiobook on the way (if I can find my phone) and take Six of Crows with me to work, to see if I can get some pages read. Here’s a pre bedtime round-up of what I have read today:

  • Six of Crows Leigh Bardugo: 275 pages
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone J K Rowling: 49 pages
  • A Storm of Swords Part 2: Blood and Gold George R R Martin: 63 pages
  • Total so far: 387 pages.

Hour 16: I’m up, and I’m showered, and I am on the way to work. I am listening to Dracula to squeeze in some extra reading on my commute, and I have optimistically packed Six of Crows in my bag. We’ll see how that goes…

Hour 19: I’ve had my break in work, I’ve read (maybe, kind of optimistically) 10 pages of Six of Crows. Yes, that is not much, but let’s remember I am in work here guys!

Hour 24: I’ve read no more of Six of Crows, and as I am driving home, the total sum of pages that I have read (well, listened to) from Dracula only amounted to 50. I mean, it’s 50 more than I would have read had I listened to Disney tunes, but it is only 50 more pages none the less!

Wrap

I know that I want to start this with a work disclaimer, mainly to justify that I haven’t done as well as I wanted to, but, to be honest, I didn’t do too badly. I went to bed feeling happy with my progress, and now as I look back, reading another 60 odd pages today whilst in work, has been a successful day. The only bit of disappointment has come with the challenges, as I completed none of them during the course of the readathon. Next time, I’ll have the make an effort to do them, and interact a little more on twitter.

Not only have I read a lot, which has done me the world of good, it has opened me up to a new author and world, and it has revitalised my like for A Song of Ice and Fire. I am hoping to get the Six of Crows duology finished a.s.a.p (and if we’re honest that will be the end of the week so that Emma can talk to me about it) and also to finish A Storm of Swords (finally) and Dracula. I know I am not going to finish Victober, or my Victober TBR, but I have done a lot better with that than I thought I would, and I am hoping the success of this readathon will spur me on to complete as much as I can for both #Victober and #readASOIAF.

I don’t think my first 24hr readathon went too badly at all really, how did you get on?

1 thought on “24hr Readathon: A progress report”

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