Sunday, April 15, 2012

Getting ready for the read-a-thon!

Who's ready for 24 hours of non-stop reading, blogging, tweeting, and general fun times?! I know I sure am! It's less than a week away; I'm so excited!

This will only be my second read-a-thon, but I wanted to share a couple of lessons I learned during my first one. So if you're participating for the first time this time, here are some thing to keep in mind:
  1. Read short, non-fiction books. I know some people prefer to read one long book, but I am not one of those people. So unless you have a crazy long attention span, I don't recommend it. And last time I read one non-fiction book, just a little short one, and it was horrible. I recommend middle grade or young adult books, graphic novels, or other very short novels. And graphic novels are especially nice for a change of pace if you're getting tired of looking at a wall of text.
  2. If you're going to drink an energy drink, drink it at the right time! Know how long that energy drink will last and plan accordingly. Last time, I drank one with about 4 hours to go, and I was still wired when the read-a-thon was over, so I had trouble sleeping! I hadn't realised that energy drinks have improved over the years (I only drink them at read-a-thons and programming competitions), and they no longer make you crash after a couple hours. So I'm thinking I'll try drinking one with around 8 hours to go this time.
  3.  Have so many snacks! I actually did have enough last time, but still, it's worth repeating. Your appetite will not be normal. You are staying up, hardly moving at all, for 24 hours. Your body will be confused and will want food.
I just started picking out my books yesterday! So far I've only got 5 books picked out, so I'll have to look for a few more:
  • Charmed Volume 1 (graphic novel)
  • Coraline by Neil Gaiman
  • The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl
  • The Twits by Roald Dahl
  • Against the Fall of Night by Arthur C. Clarke
So that's 1 graphic novel, 2 kids' books, 1 young adult or maybe easy adult book, and 1 short sci fi book. I should easily be able to get through all these, and hopefully more, so like I said, this pile is not final!

Have you started planning what you're going to read in this read-a-thon? It's worth doing ahead of time, so you don't waste time perusing your bookshelves when you should be reading! :)

2 comments:

  1. I'm getting so excited!! I've added you to my special list on my Google Reader so I can make sure to check on you. My pile isn't final either and my mom just sent me four more books to add to her list. Lol.

    I don't really do energy drinks because they make my stomach hurt. I'm planning on having plenty of tea and coffee handy.

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    Replies
    1. Yay! And you'll be one of my tabs that I keep open for easy flipping during blogging breaks! :D

      I've always been rather opposed to the whole idea of energy drinks (I don't even drink caffeinated things very often), but I once did a programming competition and one of my teammates was drinking one, and he shared with me. I'd never drink them regularly, but I find them perfect for rare occasions when you need a big burst of energy! (And wow do I ever sound like a drug addict in denial in that paragraph...)

      At least my snacks are usually pretty healthy, lol.

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