Once Upon A Read-a-Thon: Mini Challenge + Prize

If you missed my earlier post, there is a Once Upon a Read-a-Thon going on which is hosted by Pure Imagination, Reading Angel, and Candace’s Book Blog! I’ve been asked to host a mini challenge so check it out and find out what you can win!

Lets just have a little fun:

1. Pick up 6 random books from your bookshelf (and/or use the books you’re reading)
2. Take the first sentences from them.
3. Come up w/ the best 4 sentence opening paragraph to a book you can manage.
4. YOU GET A BONUS POINT IF IT INVOLVES VAMPIRES!
5. Leave your paragraph in the comments.
6. This could get interesting!

Prizes:

Vampire Prize Pack

• Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta
• Midnight Brunch by Marta Acosta
• Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block
• blood splatter temporary tattoo
• bookmarks

To Win:

1. *Must be participating in the Once Upon A Read-a-Thon* (sign-ups are HERE)
2. Open to US only. Sorry international followers!
3. Leave a comment following the instructions above & leave your email. :)

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon Possible Reading & Day 1

Today through Wednesday, July 14th, is Once Upon a Read-a-Thon hosted by Pure Imagination, Reading Angel, and Candace’s Book Blog. To find out more info, you can go HERE and to sign-up go HERE! Some amazing prizes are going to be given away as well! You can check those out HERE.

I was lucky enough to be asked to host a mini challenge for the Once Upon a Read-a-Thon, so make sure if you’re participating, you stop by on Wednesday and check that out!

Now this is a 3 day read-a-thon, so sleeping will be needed at some point no matter what. You can read as little or as much as you like, and take part in as many of the challenges as you wish (especially mine ;)), but I will make one recommendation for this. If you’re going to try to stay up and read as long as possible, you might want to chill on the coffee and processed sugar. I’d go with tea and maybe fruit for snacks w/ natural sugar. Those seem to keep me going longer than about anything else when I need to stay up.

On to my reading choices. I’ve got a nice pile of books sitting here waiting for me ranging from young adult to adult, urban fantasy to paranormal romance, romance to steampunk, and whatever else my heart desires. I’m sticking to shorter books so that I feel like I’m accomplishing something during this read-a-thon. I also have a few ebooks and audiobooks ready in case the mood strikes. So hopefully I’m prepared.

Here’s my list of books I’ll probably choose from:

• Hunger by Barbara J. Hancock
• Avalon Revisited by O.M. Grey
• The Society of S by Susan Hubbard
• Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Wiengarten
• Blue Bloods by Melissa de le Cruz
• Take Me If You Dare by Candace Havens
• Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward
• A Season of Eden by J.M. Warwick
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
• Blood Vice by Keith Melton
• The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman
• Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine (audiobook)
• Superstition’s Desire by Lisa M. Campbell (ebook)

I’ll update this post later today as I read! Wish me luck!

Oh, and those of you that have participated in read-a-thon’s before and who want to share tips for others, please do so!!

Read-a-thon: The End

I fell asleep! Ha! It’s all good though, I feel so much better today!

I finished reading 2 2/3 books:

• Beautiful Dead: Jonas by Eden Maguire (271 pages)
• Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block (195 pages)
• Embers by Laura Bickle (228/359 pages)

Making my total pages read: 694 pages

Total time spent reading: approx. 19 hrs & 45 min

Mini-Challenges Entered: 1 (Yeah, could have done better with those)

Comments left: 5-10 (Not sure, my internet crashed a few times in the process of leaving some comments & I was too scared to go back & see if they made it through or not. I’m sorry if they didn’t.)

All in all I had a lot of fun reading all day! It’s not often, that I just lay around and read book after book. Turned out to be a decent day for it though because I kinda felt like crap, so it was a nice lazy day.

I’m hoping next year to be more involved & (on a better behaved computer) to be able to see more of what read-a-thon has to offer! I felt so disconnected yesterday. Stupid computer.

I hope you all had fantastic experiences w/ Read-a-Thon, and I’ll try to get caught up on everyone’s posts!

Much love to everyone who organized it, organized their own challenge/contest, hosted, cheerleaded, and read! Everyone was great!

Read-a-thon Hour 14

To bad I didn’t see this a little while ago, I would have posted it then. Here it is none the less. It gave me a chance to move around for a few minutes and stretch my back and legs. :)

Mini-challenge

Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now? Embers by Laura Bickle

2. How many books have you read so far? 2

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? The one I’m reading!

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Not really, this came on a great day!

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Just a few with family, but they were pretty understanding.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I’m actually kind of wishing that I had planned ahead more to contribute & participate w/ everyone else. My computer is too slow to try to read and comment and do challenges, I was getting frustrated and just had to go back to reading.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I wish I had known more about how to contribute, but I think participating in it for the first time is the best way to really see how it all goes.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Next year I’ll probably read a lot less and cheerlead a lot instead. Maybe even try to host a challenge or something.

9. Are you getting tired yet? Yes, my migraine medicine, is putting me to sleep. That was not a good plan!

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Don’t use a slow computer. :)

Read-a-thon Hour 12: Half-way!

Two books down! Woot! Way too much coffee down. Ugh. Not enough commenting done. Sorry.

In case you’ve missed my updates so far, I’m now done reading

• Beautiful Dead: Jonas ARC by Eden Maguire (271 pages)
• Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block (195 pages)

Hours read: approx. 11 1/2 hrs

Just had a quick dinner break & now I think I will start Embers by Laura Bickle!

YAY for all the cheerleaders!! Thanks you guys for the great comments so far! Loving the little poems & cheers & such!

Happy Reading!

Hour 9 of the Read-a-thon

Ok, my slow computer, does not work very well for trying to comment, enter contests, and reading. I’m having issues…LOL

Anyway. Stay up to date on all the latest goings on here at Dewey’s Read-a-Thon.

Also, Princess Bookie is still having her Contest Craze, with tons of amazing prizes! So check it out.

I’m on page 56 of Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block.

Way too early in the morning….

Alrighty! This is earlier than I want to be up on a Saturday, and I did not sleep long enough, but at least I am now caffeinated! COFFEEEE!!!! Anyhoo, I’m sometimes a bit silly first thing in the morning (ok all the time, I meant a bit sillier).

Ahem! *clears throat* It’s time to start reading! Woot! I’ve been thinking I’m going to start with Beautiful Dead: Jonas, but I’m not positive, and I added a few more books to the possibilities for today. They are:

• Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block
• Shade Fright by Sean Cummings
• First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost
• Break of Dawn by Chris Marie Green

So what am I going to read? I don’t know. I’ll see what I pick up when I sit down! O_O

The Read-A-Thon!

Well everyone! It’s almost time for the Read-a-Thon! Woo hoo. I can’t wait. This will be my first year participating. Hopefully some of you all are too! I hoped to be a bit more organized for tomorrow, but my errands today took longer than I thought and other such stuff, so what else is new. I do at least have a stack of books picked out. Now I in no way plan to read even half of these books, I just want a variety at hand tomorrow.

• Beautiful Dead: Jonas by Eden Maguire
• The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge
• Love Fang by Susan Blexrud
• Road Trip of the Living Dead by Mark Henry
• Embers by Laura Bickle
• Take Me If You Dare by Candace Havens
• A Season of Eden by J.M Warwick
• Shadows of Myth and Legend by E.J. Stevens

I wanted to have a wide variety of things to read at my fingertips. I think I’ve got that covered. If I need more, it’s not like I have to go far. I’ve already warned my family and friends who are used to me ignoring my phone when I have a migraine, so this won’t be anything too out of the ordinary.

I have some snacks handy. Cheezits, popcorn, fruit, and my ever present need for chocolate! :)

Some easy microwave meals are around too, so I’m set. Oh, and COFFEE!!!

If I didn’t plan for something, then I’ll know for next year. I’ll be around tomorrow every 4-6 hrs, not sure yet, for updates & to stop by a few blogs.

So, even though I’ll be updating a lot, I won’t be quite as accessible as I usually am, but I’ll catch up Sunday and Monday. If you really need something DM me on Twitter, that’s the fastest way, or email me, that’s the easiest way. :)

If you’re participating let me know so I can drop by your blog tomorrow on one of my breaks!

Happy Read-A-Thon-ing! :)