Completed 24-Hour Readathon – April 2023

Another Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon has ended. It was an overall great day! I went to bookstores for Independent Bookstore Day and then spent the rest of the day reading. Here is how I did on my reading goals for the day:

Goals

• Finish 3 books –  Finished 3 books and started 2 other books
• Read at least 800 pages – Read 623 pages
• Read for the full 12 hours – Read 12 1/2 hours
• Post at least 5 times to social media – Posted multiple times on blog, Litsy, and Goodreads
• Track progress in bullet journal – Yes – see image below
• Drink at least 100 ounces of water – Drank 47 ounces of water
• Get at least 1 bingo on each readathon bingo card – Did not get bingo

Closing Survey

1. How many books did you read during this readathon? Did you have any favorites? I read 5 books. I enjoyed Reading Quirks most, which I had just purchased in the last week.
2. How many books did you finish? I finished 5 books.
3. Did you accomplish your goals for this readathon? I did ok. I succeeded on some and not others.
4. How did your snacks and meals work out? Are there things you would change about the food and beverages side of your readathon for next time? I had a great amount of food, including some readathon traditions. I don’t think I would change anything.
5. Did you enjoy this readathon? What was the most successful part of your readathon? What would you change for next time? I always enjoy the readathon. Making progress on my reads and finishing multiple books was the successful part of the readathon. Also, I always enjoy puzzling while listening to an audiobook. (See the puzzle I am working on below.) I plan to do a lot of things differently next time. Next time I hope to dedicate the day to the readathon. That was hard to do this time, since I wanted to participate in the Independent Bookstore Day. I also want to spend more time preparing. Maybe I’ll take a day off of work to really look at the bingo cards and prepare to participate in sprints and other social media activities.
6. What Dewey’s social media sites did you visit during this readathon? What activities did you participate in? Do you plan to complete those activities over the remainder of the weekend? I posted on this blog (obviously), Litsy and Goodreads, but I would like to explore posting and checking out other sites as well.

Books Finished

Books Started

Did you participate in the readathon? If so, how did you do? Did you enjoy yourself? 

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24-Hour Readathon Halfway Point – April 2023

I’ve made it to the halfway point of Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon. I haven’t been reading for the full12 hours, as I took a break to attend the 2023 Independent Bookstore Day. See pics below highlighting this event. However, even with this excursion in the middle of the readathon, I have finished two books. I’m on track to meet my readathon goals for sure.

Independent Bookstore Day

Happy 10th Anniversary, Independent Bookstore Day! A friend and I got a delicious brunch at George’s Bistro and Bar and then visited two independent bookstores in Houston – Brazos Bookstore and Murder By The Book. Both are such amazing bookstores with the best staff.

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Mid-Event Survey

1. How many books have you been reading? Have you finished any? Are you on track with respect to your readathon goals so far? Finished 2 books. I’m in the middle of 3 other books. I am definitely on track to finish my readathon goals.
2. Have you eaten real food today? (Not just junk food, ACTUAL HEALTHY FOOD) What was your favorite food or beverage so far? I don’t know if the brunch picture above can be considered real food, but it was amazing! I also enjoyed a mimosa with brunch.
3. Have you been participating in any of the activities on our social media (sprints, photo challenges, discussion questions, BINGO, etc.) I’ve participated a bit, but intend to participate more during the 2nd half of the readathon before I get tired.
4. Are you growing sleepy? Do you plan to nap, or stop early, or are you extending the readathon hours to include sleep? I am not tired yet, but I do intend to stop early this time. 
5. Have you been outside yet today? Have you had much exercise (besides the heavy lifting required to hold your book)? I’ve had a couple of walks outside today. The weather has been cool but nice.
6. How is your readathon going, overall? I am loving this readathon right now and am looking forward to the next twelve hours.

Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon Begins! April 2023

It’s that time again! The semi-annual Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon begins now!!! This is my 12th time participating in this readathon. The last few times I have participated, I actually was able to read for the full 24 hours. However, this time I will not be doing the full 24 hours, but I will still get a lot of reading in and will be visiting my local independent bookstores for Independent Bookstore Day.

Goals

Here are my goals for the readathon:

• Finish 3 books
• Read at least 800 pages
• Read for the full 12 hours
• Post at least 5 times to social media
• Track progress in bullet journal 
• Drink at least 100 ounces of water
• Get at least 1 bingo on each readathon bingo card

TBR Pile

Physical Books:

• Our House by Louise Candlish
• Joyland by Stephen King
• Reading Quirks by The Wild Detectives
• Maus I by Art Spiegelman
• Maus II by Art Spiegelman
• Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter

Ebooks:

• Sweet Valley High #1: Double Love by Francine Pascal
• Sweet Valley High #2: Secrets by Francine Pascal

Audiobooks:

• Wilding by Isabella Tree
• Platonic by Marisa G. Franco
• The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone

Opening Event Survey

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I am reading today from my home in Houston, Texas, USA.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I am most looking forward to reading a book I just bought last weekend at an independent bookstore in Dallas called Reading Quirks.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I always make a taco dip during the readathon. It is now tradition, and I love it!

4) Tell us something about yourself! Obviously, you will know through this blog that I love reading and traveling. I also love to listen to an audiobook while I work on a puzzle. It really helps me relax.

5) What are your goals for this readathon? See my listed goals above.

Social Media

I will be posting updates on multiple social media outlets:

• Litsy – @Morr_Books
• StoryGraph – @morr_books 
• Goodreads – @Morr_Books
• My Blog – The Great Morrison Migration

Are you participating in this readathon? If so, let me know in the comments what you are most looking forward to and let me know what you plan to be reading. Are you visiting an independent bookstore today? What is your favorite local bookstore?

My Must Reads for 2023

Happy 2023! What books are you excited about reading in 2023? Here is the list of books I would like to read in 2023:

1. Homecoming by Kate Morton (2023)
2. Spare by Prince Harry (2023) √
3. Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby (2023)
4. Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez (2023)
5. Touch by Olaf Olafsson
6. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
7. Category Five by Ann Davila Cardinal
8. The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama √
9. Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton √
10. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

My Top Ten Favorite Reads of 2022

Out of the more than 100 books I read this year, here are the ones I enjoyed the most:

• If You Ask Me by Betty White
• Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
• The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
• Taste by Stanley Tucci
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
• Our Riches by Kaouther Adimi
• Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee
• The Book of Boundaries by Melissa Urban

Favorite Read of 2022:

                    Finding Me

                           by

                     Viola Davis

Completed 24-Hour Readathon – October 2022

I have completed Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon! To be honest, the last few hours were much tougher than in the past, so this might be the last time I do the full 24 hours. I am overall very happy with my reading progress during the readathon. I definitely made a dent in my TBR & currently reading book pile.

Goals

• Finish 5 books – I finished 7 books
• Read at least 1,200 pages – I read 1,227 pages
• Read for the full 24 hours – I did read for the full 24 hours
• Post at least 10 times to social media – I posted more than 40 times to social media (goodreads, facebook, litsy, instagram, & twitter)
• Track progress in bullet journal – I did this (see below)
• Drink at least 100 ounces – I drank 64 ounces
• Play bingo – I had multiple bingos on the below bingo card

Closing Survey

1. How would you assess your reading overall? I am thrilled with the fact that I finished 7 books, including finishing two books for November book club meetings. I will say that I wish I had picked a couple of better audiobooks. 
2. Did you have a strategy, and if so, did you stick to it? I actually 100% stuck to my reading plan that I put together the day before.
3. What was your favorite snack? I did enjoy my readathon taco dip.

Books Finished

Books Started

If you participated, how did you do? Can’t wait to do this again in the Fall!

24-Hour Readathon Halfway Point – October 2022

I’ve made it to the halfway point of Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon. I’ve been reading for 12 hours. I may not have finished that many books yet, but I am averaging more than 50 pages an hour. I think I am on track to completing my readathon goals. I also got to enjoy a fair amount of outdoor reading time too.

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now? I am reading It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis (audiobook) and Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig (physical book).
2. How many books have you read so far? I’ve finished 2 books.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the readathon? For many readathons now, I have had Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest on my TBR pile and never get to it. I will change that today.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? It is always a bit distracting to share a space with someone not participating in this readathon, but it hasn’t been bad.

Finished Reading

Currently Reading

Looking forward to the next 12 hours! Hope everyone participating is doing well and hitting all their reading goals!

Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon Begins! October 2022

It’s that time again! The semi-annual Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon begins now!!! As always I’ve been looking forward to this. My reading life has actually been struggling a bit recently, so I am exciting to get back on track. This is officially my 11th time participating in this readathon. 

Goals

Here are my goals for the readathon:

• Finish 5 books
• Read at least 1,200 pages
• Read for the full 24 hours
• Post at least 10 times to social media
• Track progress in bullet journal 
• Drink at least 100 ounces
• Play bingo

TBR Pile

Physical Books:

• Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
• The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl
• Our House by Louise Candlish
• Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
• A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
• Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Audiobooks:

• Unmasked by Paul Holes
• It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
• A Place in the World by Frances Mayes
• The Serial Killer’s Daughter by Kerri Rawson
• The Wilderness of Ruin by Roseanne Montillo

Opening Event Survey

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I’m reading from Houston, Texas today.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I’m looking forward to all the books in my stack and especially looking forward to finishing all the books I have started.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I tend to eat unhealthy snacks that I do look forward to: pizza, taco dip, and ice cream.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! My reading life has been put on hold lately to accommodate my second passion – travel. Glad to be traveling again!

Social Media

I will be posting updates on multiple social media outlets:

• Litsy – @Morr_Books
• Twitter – @Morr_Books
• Goodreads – @Morr_Books
• My Blog – The Great Morrison Migration

Are you participating in this readathon? If so, let me know in the comments what you are most looking forward to and let me know what you plan to be reading.

Completed 24 Hour Readathon – April 2022

I managed to read for the full 24 hours!!! I accomplished all my goals for this readathon as well. I do always wish I could have read more books, but I still did really well. I normally include the readathon’s closing survey as part of this post, but they haven’t put it online yet, and while I did survive the full 24 hours without too many issues, I am super tired right now and don’t want to wait for them to update the site. I will simply focus on how I did on my own readathon goals.

Goals

• Finish 4 books – I finished 4 books and started two additional books. See below.
• Read at least 1000 pages – I read 1,149 pages.
• Read for the full 24 hours – I made it the full 24 hours.
• Post at least 10 times to social media – I posted a lot more than 10 times to Litsy, Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.
• Track progress in bullet journal – I used my bullet journal to track my hourly progress. See below.
• Drink at least 100 ounces of water (gotta stay hydrated!) – I drank 102 ounces of water.
• Celebrate! – A full day of reading is always a celebration, but I also enjoyed reading outside for a while too.

Books Finished

Books Started

I rocked it! I met all my readathon goals. If you participated, how did you do? Can’t wait to do this again in the Fall!

24 Hour Readathon Halfway Point – April 2022

I’ve made it to the halfway point of Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon. I’ve been reading for 12 hours. I may not have finished that many books yet, but I have read more than 450 pages. I think I am on track to completing my readathon goals. I also got to enjoy a fair amount of outdoor reading time too.

Mid Event Survey

• What are you reading right now? The Monuments Men & A Tale of Two Cities
• How many books have you read so far? I have completed 2 books so far.
• What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the readathon? I should be able to get to Murder Book and The Importance of Being Earnest.
• Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I have not really had interruptions today. I’ve been given lots of space to read in peace. We shall see if that continues.
• What surprises you most about the readathon, so far? I was surprised that the readathon hosts decided not to do blog posts/updates. 

Finished Reading

Currently Reading

Looking forward to the next 12 hours! Hope everyone participating is doing well and hitting all their reading goals!