Impulsive decision! I will take part in the 24-Hour Readathon tomorrow! I will not in fact be reading for 24 hours, alas: one, I’ve learnt that my sleep is too important to lose, so that’s 7-8 hours gone already, and two, I have work. But when I’m not doing other pre-scheduled things, I will try to read.

A speculative reading pile:

• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis) [reread]
• The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis) [reread]
• The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis) [reread]
• The Steerswoman (Rosemary Kirstein) [reread]
• Network Effect (Martha Wells)
• Digging Up Armageddon (Eric Cline)
• A Treacherous Curse (Deanna Raybourn)
• Think of England (K.J. Charles)

 

That’s probably enough to be going on with… and goodness knows I’m likely to pick whatever I feel like in the moment, which means I could end up reading almost anything.

Anyone else taking part?

Aaand it’s time:

13:37: I’m starting off with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, with the help of one very cuddly bunny…

 

And here’s the opening survey:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I’m in sunny(!?) South Yorkshire, UK.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Actually, it might be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, because it’s so cosy and familiar. But Network Effect is pretty exciting too!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I don’t particularly have snacks lined up, but dinner will be pasta carbonara and that will be tasty.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! My hair is supposed to be bright turquoise but it always fades to this green. If anyone’s a hairdresser or very experienced with dyeing hair, feel free to advise me on how to dye over it with my natural darkish brown! (I love my turquoise hair, but I leave it to hairdressers. And I have plans for my post-lockdown hair that mean going back to my natural colour anyway.)
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? I’ve participated before but not for a while, because I don’t do well without sleep or with feeling obligated to sit down and read specific books. So I’m gonna be super flexible, and sleep plenty.

15:01: There, finished my first book. Not sure what next… but probably The Steerswoman, as long as Lisa doesn’t mind me getting on and finishing it without her!

16:15: I ended up reading The Silver Chair, and I’m finished with that. Now it’s work time, for around an hour!

18:07: I did an hour’s work and then I finished up The Steerswoman! I put A Treacherous Curse on today’s to-do list for the next book, so… maaaaybe that next? 2h35m reading, so far.

19:25: I’m about 30% of the way through A Treacherous Curse! Then I stopped for a stretch to admire my wife’s tidying efforts. It’s time for me to do some blog stuff now, and then probably dinner, and then back to reading as long as I still feel like it.

21:46: I’m now about 60% of the way through A Treacherous Curse, and I’ve read 3h49m in total.

22:53: It’s bedtime soon, but I did finish A Treacherous Curse! 4h35m reading in total, and four books read. Not bad, though two were short and I was already 60% of the way through The Steerswoman!

10:26: Well, I’ve slept and done my morning’s work, and now I’m going to start on Martha Wells’ Network Effect.

11:27: I read for half an hour and then got a bit fidgety — I’m only 14% of the way through the book, and I’m being so fidgety about books lately that “long” books daunt me… even when I love them. I’m going to see if I can settle for another reading stint, though!

Compared to prior readathons, this one has been really quiet in terms of interaction for me, though. It doesn’t really feel like as much of a community event. I miss that.

12:04: I got more into that reading session! 29% of the way through Network Effect now. I think I’m going to take a short break to do some of my to-do list for the day, and then rejoin for the last half hour.

12:47: I didn’t get back to it, so that leaves me at a total of four books finished, and 5h25m of reading. That’s a lot more than I’ve been managing lately, so yay!