So, it’s Saturday and I’m hoping to get a lot of reading and cheering done. I’ll be updating this post throughout the day and, as you know, I intend to begin earlier than the official starting time. I’ve scheduled this post a short time before waking so that those of you who subscribe via email receive the link to it.

10am: 3 hours before the official start time

Ready to read. I think I’m just going to pick up Maile Meloy’s Half In Love, one of the books I included in yesterday’s photo, because it’s short (short stories, actually), and I’ve dipped into it many times without reading it completely, so I think I should use today to try and read it from start to finish. I’m hoping to have it finished before the official start time as I would like to cheer for longer than I’m signed up for.

Saying this in advance, I’ve turned off comment moderation today (I usually have it set to send any new-to-my-blog emails to moderation) so there may be some spam on various posts. Good luck to everyone who is reading today!

1pm: the first hour

I’m about 40 pages from the end of my first book and getting ready to cheer. Haven’t had lunch but will eat in a bit. Reading: Half In Love

4pm: 4th hour

Had lunch, spent a while cheering, finished the book. Thinking of starting Shields Of Pride next.

9:30pm: 9th hour

I’ve cheered, I’ve had dinner, and I’m on page 68 of Davina Blake’s Past Encounters. As much as I love Elizabeth Chadwick, her book wasn’t appealing to me at that moment. Starting Blake’s book, which I was thinking of leaving because my review’s not due until December, I was hooked from the first chapter. Enjoying it very much at the moment. Now I’m off to make a coffee, cheer a little more, and then carry on reading for a couple of hours. Reading: Past Encounters

12:30am: 13th hour

Mid-event survey

1. What are you reading right now?: Past Encounters by Davina Blake
2. How many books have you read so far? 1
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? More of the one I’m currently reading
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Parents wanting to chat – it was very early on so it was okay
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? The number of people, it’s awesome! As for personally, I’m surprised I’ve managed to read a fair amount given I’m enjoying cheering so much

If I’m going to take part in the last few hours tomorrow, I had best get some sleep. I’m over a quarter of the way through my current book and loving it. Reading: Past Encounters

9:30am: 17th hour

Back, reading, cheerleading. Went to sleep at 2am in the end so have read a fair amount. Reading: Past Encounters, 152/428 pages

12:30pm: 24th hour

Spent the last couple of hours reading, now back for a last bit of cheerleading before the end. Reading: Past Encounters, 225/428 pages

Last meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? 13th. 2am here and I had to finally stop for the night. Daunting because I worried I’d sleep in too late the next morning!
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I think any high-rated book would be good, The Hunger Games for instance.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Everything’s been so organised and well done, so no.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The organisation has been excellent.
5. How many books did you read? One and a half, around 400 pages.
6. What were the names of the books you read? Half In Love and Past Encounters
7. Which book did you enjoy most? Past Encounters, really loving it.
8. Which did you enjoy least? No choice here, really, with only two books, though I didn’t enjoy Half In Love all that much.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Know that there’s a lot to do but that it’s a lot of fun; make ample time to cheer because often you’ll have people on your team starting to read later so you have to check back.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Very, and both roles – reading and cheerleading.