This past weekend, I participated in the 24in48 Readathon. I posted about what the readathon is and how I was heading into it on Friday, before it started. If you’re interested in more details about the readathon, you can check out that post.
Here’s a little reminder of my TBR stack for the weekend.
I never intended to read all of them, because that would have been impossible, but I wanted to have a lot to choose from so I could mood read as I went.
So, how did it go?!
This is a wrap-up post, so of course it’s all about how the weekend went. Obviously, the overarching goal of the readathon is to read 24 out of 48 hours. Spoiler alert, I didn’t read for that long. But it was still an awesome weekend! So let’s get into it.
Duration and Quantity
In total from Friday at 9pm to Sunday at 9pm, I read for 17 hours and 27 minutes! During that time, I read 3.5 books. Here’s my stack, basking in this morning’s sun:
I was pretty happy with how long I managed to spend reading. I did the 24in48 Readathon for the first time in January, and I read for 13 hours. So I bested that time by 4.5 hours this go around!
A breakdown of the order of operations
I started the 24in48 weekend off by finishing the last 3/4 of Austen’s Northanger Abbey. I was only intending to read a chapter at a time, as I tend to do with classics, but I really got into it about halfway through and just kept going. I loved it, and there will be a review up soon!
Then I found myself inspired by a newfound Bookstagram friend and fellow ‘thonner, Kasturi (@bruadarachreads) to start Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which serendipitously also happened to be in his TBR stack. I finished that one on Saturday night and wanted something a bit lighter. So, I started with the children’s series and began The Diamond in the Window.
After finishing the children’s book on Sunday morning, I found myself really wanting to finish the Rebel of the Sands series, so I grabbed Hero at the Fall from my stack. I ended the ‘thon at 9pm Sunday having read almost exactly half of it.
Things that weren’t so great
I’ll start with these, so I can end the post on a more positive note.
First, I felt super sick on Sunday, so that was probably the low point of the readathon for me. It was also really hot in the apartment, so I was pretty uncomfortable all around. I was literally sitting on my chair on top of a towel, soaking through my clothes and feeling crappy. It made it hard to focus on reading, and I ended up watching a lot of rugby instead.
Also, I didn’t meet the 24-hour target. I hadn’t really been expecting to anyway, but I’m a super competitive person. I also didn’t win any door prizes, sad face. Again, not unexpected.
Finally, the 7s Rugby World Cup was a good and a bad thing. Going into this weekend, I was incredibly excited to have the weekend absolutely full of two of my most favourite things: reading and rugby. But looking back, I think I would have preferred having the two on separate weekends. I stopped reading completely to watch each of Canada’s games, which was fine and in the plan.
However, I had all the other games on in the background, and it meant that I wasn’t entirely focused on either rugby or reading. I think I would have finished more books if I hadn’t been watching rugby in the background, because I would have read faster. Oh well, it is what it is! I have no control over scheduling for either of these events, obviously. And I still really enjoyed both watching hours and hours of amazing rugby and reading for hours and hours. Which brings me to the great stuff!
Things that were awesome
First, I read 3.5 books in a weekend! In the summer, I generally try to read a book a day (unless I’ve got events or things going on) because I have so much free time. So to read almost double that was a great accomplishment for me.
I also got to make connections with a couple of awesome people through the readathon, Kaitlin (@bookedandready) and Kasturi (who I mentioned above). I have been virtual friends with Kaitlin through Bookstagram for a while now, and I discovered that she was also doing the readathon. Kasturi found me somehow on Bookstagram shortly before the ‘thon, and we decided to share in the experience together as well, with Kaitlin! It was totally organic and fantastic. We supported each other throughout the weekend, tagging each other in posts and stories, and generally motivating each other to keep going.
Last, I had a serendipitous reading moment. I posted about it on Bookstagram already, but it needs to be shared here too! On Saturday night, I finished Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and it was past my bedtime, but I really wanted to start the first few pages of a new book anyway. As I outlined above, I started The Diamond in the Window. As it turns out, both authors chose a Ralph Waldo Emerson poem for their epigraphs.
Also, Emerson features heavily in both books! How cool is that? I love book magic like this.
So that’s a wrap on 24in48 for 2018!
The next 24in48 Readathon is scheduled for January 26-27, 2019. I can’t wait!
Happy Reading!
– Paperback Patronus