Readathon Wrap-Up

So, I am feeling a little bit guilty and disappointed this morning. That we didn’t make our fundraising goal. (Yet?) That I bailed and went to bed at a weak 1 a.m. That I only read eight books. Did we have a nice time reading as a family? Yes. Absolutely. Did we still raise extra funds for Imagination Library that wouldn’t have been raised otherwise? Yes. Did I sleep until 10:30 a.m. this morning, suggesting that I really did have some serious sleep debt from this week? Yes.

So… I’m getting over it. Mostly I just wish I could have stayed up later, but real life happens. The kids had a good time, and while they appreciated that we made better snack decisions this time (less sugar overload), they were both disappointed that there were no pop-tarts in the morning.

Closing Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
For me, the most daunting hour was actually midnight (sixteen hours in), when I was SO TIRED. I made up my mind to finish my book though, which I did, but then I had to go to bed.

2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read!
I read The Polysyllabic Spree, A Country Doctor’s Notebook, Lumberjanes vol. 3, America vol. 1, A Cup of Rage, i be but i ain’t, Jonny Appleseed, and BLACK vol. 1.

Jefferson (my twelve-year-old) read Word of a Mouse, Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware, Hopeless Savages vol. 1, Tik-Tok of Oz, most of Bud Not Buddy, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and started Space Opera

Solomon (my eight-year-old) read Wings of Fire, Fluffy Fluffy Cinnamoroll vol. 4, Yo-Kai Watch vol. 5, Sticks and Stones, Garden Warfare, Meanwhile, Pokemon Adventures: Black and White vol. 4, and Unicorn Crossing

3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners?
I loved starting off with The Polysyllabic Spree — a collection of essays on reading life. I also loved A Country Doctor’s Notebook and Jonny Appleseed. Graphic novels are always a good idea — my favorite this time around was BLACK.

I should be linking these all but I am far too lazy. Scroll back through my posts from yesterday for the links.

Jefferson says his favorite book from yesterday was The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and Solomon’s favorite was Wings of Fire.

4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you smile?
Just keep making these happen, please.

5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep?
ALL THE READATHONS, FOREVER. I should probably be able to help prep next time around, assuming I don’t foolishly schedule another book release the week before.

Seventeen Hours In

Stick a fork in me, I’m done.

I finished BLACK and just didn’t have the motivation to pick up a new book. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends already this week what with the book release and all, so I just don’t have the reserves to dig any deeper tonight.

I made my goal though, which was to finish eight books.

We didn’t meet our fundraising goal, at least, not yet. I’m hoping if I keep talking about this tomorrow, we can pick up a few more supporters. Plus finish the final math from our pledges and see how that shakes out. So just because we’re done reading, doesn’t mean that you can’t still donate!

Final tally:

Jen: 8 books, 1109 pages
Jefferson: 5 books, 1555 pages
Solomon: 8 books, 1113 pages

Money raised: $115 in flat donations
pledges earned so far: TBD

Please support our fundraiser!

I am going to bed! I’ll do some final wrap-up in the morning. Thanks for your support, whether it was donations, supportive comments, or even just liking our updates. We appreciate it, and it really did keep us going. We couldn’t do this without you!

Sixteen Hours In

And then there was one.

Both of the boys dropped relatively recently. Solomon kept teetering and almost going to bed, but then he’d come back and pick up another book. I think he was strongly motivated by the per page pledge, actually, because I gave him a wrap-up on how much he “earned” the first time I thought he was going to bed, then the last thing he said to me before finally going upstairs was to ask me how much he’d earned now.

I told him I would tell him in the morning. It is late. Too much maths.

I’m pretty tired, myself. Hoping for a third wind, but we’ll see. At the very least I would like to start this book that I started. After finishing Jonny Appleseed (so good!), I picked up the graphic novel BLACK.

(this is not the version I have, I have the kickstarter paperback, but bless them, that version doesn’t have an isbn)

Jefferson went to his room and picked up Space Opera and made some progress before heading off to bed.

And then Solomon just kept plowing through book after book like some kind of machine. Meanwhile, then Pokemon Adventures: Black and White, vol. 4, then Unicorn Crossing. It was amazing.

Totals so far:

Jen: 7 books, 1005 pages
Jefferson: 5 books, 1555 pages
Solomon: 8 books, 1113 pages

Money raised: $100 in flat donations
pledges earned so far: IT IS TOO LATE FOR MATHS — I SHOULD HAVE MADE AN EXCEL FORMULA AGES AGO, IT IS TOO LATE NOW

Please support our fundraiser!

Fourteen Hours In

As a reminder: Every $2.10 donated buys a book for a child! Even small donations can made a big difference. Given this rather obvious math, I myself am pledging $2.10 for every book all of us finish.

It’s getting late, but we had a good solid two hours of reading! Both kids are still up, we’ll see how long that lasts.

I am still reading Jonny Appleseed.

Jefferson finished The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and is kind of floating around, not settling into anything else just yet.

Solomon finishes Sticks & Stones and read all of Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare. I’m pretty sure he’s crashing soon, but he had an impressive run at it!

Totals so far:

Jen: 6 books, 828 pages
Jefferson: 5 books, 1417 pages
Solomon: 5 books, 757 pages

Money raised: $50 in flat donations
pledges earned so far: $62.63 (assuming I’ve done my math right)

Please support our fundraiser!

Twelve hours in — halfway there!

Not that any of us will necessarily make it 24 hours, but we’ll see.

After the evening slump, everyone is back on the couch and starting new books. The kids played outside for a while, and then we all had dinner (fake chicken nuggets and fresh veggies with dip), and now we’re back in the game.

I finished i be, but i ain’t, and started Johnny Appleseed, which I am really liking so far.

Jefferson laid aside Bud, Not Buddy for the moment and picked up The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

And Solomon started Sticks & Stones.

Totals so far:

Jen: 6 books, 722 pages
Jefferson: 4 books, 1354 pages
Solomon: 3 books, 502 pages

Money raised: $50 in flat donations
pledges earned so far: $21.89 (assuming I’ve done my math right)

Please support our fundraiser!

Ten hours in

It is that time of day. The time when everyone is a little wander-y and spending less time reading on the couch. Typically we buckle back down in the evening. We’ve all been here before.

I read all of the Brazilian novella A Cup of Rage. Which left a weird taste in my mouth, so I decided I needed some poetry next, so I started i be, but i ain’t, which also started off kinda rage-y, so I took a little break before I went back to it.

Jefferson is still making progress with Bud, Not Buddy.

Solomon returned long enough to pick up and finish Wings of Fire.

Totals so far:

Jen: 5 books, 649 pages
Jefferson: 4 books, 1335 pages
Solomon: 3 books, 485 pages

Money raised: $50 in flat donations
pledges earned so far: $21.05 (assuming I’ve done my math right)

Please support our fundraiser!

Eight hours in

A third of the way through! How did that happen?

I hit my middle-of-the-day, time to hit some graphic novels and boost my books read count phase. I finished A Country Doctor’s Notebook and then powered through Lumberjanes, vol. 3, and America, vol. 1. I think after this I’ll probably pick up a novella.