Read-a-Thon hours 21-24: 3:00 - 7:00

Currently reading: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

Pages read these hours: 286

Total pages so far: 1109

Books finished:

The Stranger by Caroline B. Cooney

Saga, Vol. 10 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The Return (Animorphs #48) by K.A. Applegate

A Summer to Remember (Lumberjanes #19) by Shannon Watters

The Girl Who Cried Monster (Goosebumps #8) by R.L. Stine

Unicornado (Phoebe and Her Unicorn #16) by Dana Simpson

Skeletons Don't Play Tubas (Bailey School Kids #11) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Snacks: Early on, my last sips of caffeine, and then after that just herbal tea.

Current state of things: It became clear that I was not going to finish Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency before the end of the read-a-thon (or if by some miracle I did, I wouldn't get any other books read), so I decided to take a break from it and read the two shorter books still on my stack. I'm glad I did, because it gave me more variety in the final hours. And I ended up reading about half of Dirk Gently. All in all, a pretty solid read-a-thon!

Read-a-Thon hours 17-20: 23:00 - 3:00

Currently reading: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

Pages read these hours: 49

Total pages so far: 823

Books finished:

The Stranger by Caroline B. Cooney

Saga, Vol. 10 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The Return (Animorphs #48) by K.A. Applegate

A Summer to Remember (Lumberjanes #19) by Shannon Watters

The Girl Who Cried Monster (Goosebumps #8) by R.L. Stine

Snacks: Tea, and then more energy drink.

Current state of things: Definitely had some of my weakest hours in there. Lots of distractions and lots of struggling to keep my eyes open, reading the same paragraph over and over again. But the caffeine is getting me focused again now! Time for the final stretch!

Read-a-Thon hours 13-16: 19:00 - 23:00

Currently reading: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

Pages read these hours: 141+

Total pages so far: 774

Books finished:

The Stranger by Caroline B. Cooney

Saga, Vol. 10 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The Return (Animorphs #48) by K.A. Applegate

A Summer to Remember (Lumberjanes #19) by Shannon Watters

The Girl Who Cried Monster (Goosebumps #8) by R.L. Stine

Snacks: Some more bread and butter. I had some really good homemade (not by me) bread to finish today.

Current state of things: Still going strong! I'm on to the biggest book on my stack for the day, so I'm settling in for the long haul now. I'm 20 pages in and liking it so far!

Read-a-Thon hours 9-12: 15:00 - 19:00

Currently reading: The Girl Who Cried Monster (Goosebumps #8) by R.L. Stine

Pages read these hours: 214

Total pages so far: 633

Books finished:

The Stranger by Caroline B. Cooney

Saga, Vol. 10 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The Return (Animorphs #48) by K.A. Applegate

A Summer to Remember (Lumberjanes #19) by Shannon Watters

Snacks: Gummy worms, and then a flatbread pizza for supper.

Current state of things: Plenty of energy! And happy with my pace so far, as we hit the halfway point!

Read-a-Thon hours 5-8: 11:00 - 15:00

Currently reading: The Return (Animorphs #48) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 244

Total pages so far: 419

Books finished:

The Stranger by Caroline B. Cooney

Saga, Vol. 10 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Snacks: Some bread and butter, and I started my Monster.

Current state of things: Doing fine! I'm surprised I haven't been sleepier.

Read-a-Thon Hours 1-4: 7:00 - 11:00

Currently reading: The Stranger by Caroline B. Cooney

Pages read these hours: 175

Total pages so far: 175

Books finished:

none yet

Snacks: Raspberry pomegranate Greek yogourt with chocolate granola for breakfast.

Current state of things: So far so good! This first book is taking slightly longer than I'd hoped, but I haven't been struggling too much to stay awake, at least!

Ready, Set, Read!

I don't love autumn, but I do love Halloween, Comic Con, and Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, so all in all October's pretty good!

Nothing too out of the ordinary in my book stack for today. Emboldened by my completion of a novel written for adults during the April read-a-thon, I have included one again this time. We'll see how things go!

• Saga, Vol. 10 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (160 pages)
• A Summer to Remember (Lumberjanes #19) by Shannon Watters (112 pages)
• Unicornado (Phoebe and Her Unicorn #16) by Dana Simpson (171 pages)
• The Stranger by Caroline B. Cooney (198 pages)
• The Girl Who Cried Monster (Goosebumps #8) by R.L. Stine (137 pages)
• The Baby-Sitter III by R.L. Stine (183 pages)
• The Return (Animorphs #48) by K.A. Applegate (148 pages)
• The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (183 pages)
• Skeletons Don't Play Tubas (The Bailey School Kids #11) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones (73 pages)
• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (247 pages)

That's a total of 1612 pages, consisting of 443 pages of graphic novels, and 1169 pages of standard text. That's quite a bit more than I read last time (the first time I ever finished my stack and had to look for another book!) so this should be plenty to get me through the day.

Read-a-Thon hours 21-24: 3:00 - 7:00

Currently reading: nothing because I'm done!

Pages read these hours: 246

Total pages so far: 1383

Books finished:

Help! I'm Trapped in an Alien's Body by Todd Strasser

Pirates Don't Wear Pink Sunglasses (Bailey School Kids #9) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Come Closer by Sara Gran

Saga, Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The Resistance (Animorphs #47) by K.A. Applegate

Witches Don't Do Backflips (Bailey School Kids #10) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Let's Get Invisible! (Goosebumps #6) by R.L. Stine

Dr. Stone, Vol. 7 by Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi

The Substitute Creature (Spinetinglers #1) by M.T. Coffin

Saga, Volume 8 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Snacks: none

Current state of things: Finished strong! Got through my whole stack plus one more book for an even ten! And now, sleep.

Read-a-Thon hours 17-20: 23:00 - 3:00

Currently reading: The Substitute Creature (Spinetinglers #1) by M.T. Coffin

Pages read these hours: 188

Total pages so far: 1137

Books finished:

Help! I'm Trapped in an Alien's Body by Todd Strasser

Pirates Don't Wear Pink Sunglasses (Bailey School Kids #9) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Come Closer by Sara Gran

Saga, Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The Resistance (Animorphs #47) by K.A. Applegate

Witches Don't Do Backflips (Bailey School Kids #10) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Let's Get Invisible! (Goosebumps #6) by R.L. Stine

Dr. Stone, Vol. 7 by Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi

Snacks: An everything bagel with peanut butter, mainly to wake myself up. Also started my second energy drink (which I'll only drink half of and save the rest for tomorrow after my sleep).

Current state of things: Midnight to 2:00 were my weakest hours. I spent a lot of time with my eyes tracking over the same page over and over again, so it took me a little over 3 hours to read a manga. But I seem to have come out the other side of it and am able to focus again! I'm currently reading the last book on my pile and will certainly finish it early, after which I'll probably read another volume of Saga.

Read-a-Thon hours 13-16: 19:00 - 23:00

Currently reading: Dr. Stone, Vol. 7 by Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi

Pages read these hours: 247

Total pages so far: 949

Books finished:

Help! I'm Trapped in an Alien's Body by Todd Strasser

Pirates Don't Wear Pink Sunglasses (Bailey School Kids #9) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Come Closer by Sara Gran

Saga, Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The Resistance (Animorphs #47) by K.A. Applegate

Witches Don't Do Backflips (Bailey School Kids #10) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Let's Get Invisible! (Goosebumps #6) by R.L. Stine

Snacks: Ramen for supper. Also finally drinking some water.

Current state of things: Feeling a bit sleepy but still mostly good. I did the hour 16 reading sprint and that made me feel more focused. I'm back to a nice easy graphic novel now!

Read-a-Thon hours 9-12: 15:00 - 19:00

Currently reading: Witches Don't Do Backflips (Bailey School Kids #10) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Pages read these hours: 293

Total pages so far: 702

Books finished:

Help! I'm Trapped in an Alien's Body by Todd Strasser

Pirates Don't Wear Pink Sunglasses (Bailey School Kids #9) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Come Closer by Sara Gran

Saga, Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The Resistance (Animorphs #47) by K.A. Applegate

Snacks: Just random nibbles. An apple. More cookies. I'm getting so hungry so I think I'll eat a proper meal right away.

Current state of things: Still going very strong. Five books done already! I'll even take a moment to do the 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? I've finished five books, and am ahead on my goal to finish 9 books!
2. Have you eaten real food today? (Not just junk food, ACTUAL HEALTHY FOOD) What was your favorite food or beverage so far? I did have cereal, and an apple. Definitely need to eat more, though. It's easy to forget to eat in the earlier hours when you're just reading.
3. Have you been participating in any of the activities on our social media (sprints, photo challenges, discussion questions, BINGO, etc.) I've popped into a couple discussions on Goodreads, but mostly I like to spend my time reading more than doing other stuff.
4. Are you growing sleepy? Do you plan to nap, or stop early, or are you extending the readathon hours to include sleep? Never! I do not give in! I'll sleep when the read-a-thon is over.
5. Have you been outside yet today? Have you had much exercise (besides the heavy lifting required to hold your book)? I haven't been outside, but I do have my balcony door open for the first time this year, so that's been refreshing! I haven't done any exercise.
6. How is your readathon going, overall? Excellent!

Read-a-Thon hours 5-8: 11:00 - 15:00

Currently reading: Saga, Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Pages read these hours: 194

Total pages so far: 409

Books finished:

Help! I'm Trapped in an Alien's Body by Todd Strasser

Pirates Don't Wear Pink Sunglasses (Bailey School Kids #9) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Come Closer by Sara Gran

Snacks: A few gummy candies, some chocolate cookies, and I have started my Monster.

Current state of things: Come Closer took me way less time to read than I expected! It was a real page-turner. I'm very glad I added it to my stack for today! I just finished it and am now moving on to Saga.

Read-a-Thon hours 1-4: 7:00 - 11:00

Currently reading: Come Closer by Sara Gran

Pages read these hours: 215

Total pages so far: 215

Books finished:

Help! I'm Trapped in an Alien's Body by Todd Strasser

Pirates Don't Wear Pink Sunglasses (Bailey School Kids #9) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Snacks: Honey nut cheerios for breakfast, and orange juice.

Current state of things: A good start! The first hour is always tough as I struggle to wake up, but I'm feeling good now and have had a good pace. So, I'm gonna be bold and jump right into my most challenging book of the day right now while I'm feeling strong!

'Tis the Season to Read-a-Thon!

It's time for my 24th Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon! That feels like a milestone.

As usual, I have struggled to pick out my book stack, and ultimately ended up with something very similar to past read-a-thons. What can I say? I know what works! I did include one novel written for adults this time. Risky, I know! But I managed a YA novel last time so I guess I'm feeling bold.

• Saga, Vol. 7 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (152 pages)
• Dr. Stone, Vol. 7 by Riichiro Inagaki and Biochi (192 pages)
• Come Closer by Sara Gran (194 pages)
• The Substitute Creature (Spinetinglers #1) by M.T. Coffin (119 pages)
• Let's Get Invisible! (Goosebumps #6) by R.L. Stine (139 pages)
• The Resistance (Animorphs #47) by K.A. Applegate (141 pages)
• Help! I'm Trapped in an Alien's Body by Todd Strasser (137 pages)
• Pirates Don't Wear Pink Sunglasses (The Bailey School Kids #9) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones (78 pages)
• Witches Don't Do Backflips (The Bailey School Kids #10) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones (85 pages)

That's a total of 1237 pages, consisting of 344 pages of graphic novels, and 893 pages of standard text, which is less than I read last time, but quite short on graphic novels, which does worry me a bit. I do have more volumes of Saga out from the library right now, so those are an option if I need them.

Finally, here's my opening survey:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Winnipeg, Manitoba

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Let's Get Invisible!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Is it bad if I say the Monster? Haha! Honestly I don't really do special read-a-thon snacks anymore. I just eat whatever.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I will soon be playing the xylophone in a staff band at the school talent show.