(Extended) Readathon Wrap-up: Three Books, Plus Some

I didn't exactly keep my reading mojo after this morning's post. I went to the grocery, ate at a new Japanese hibachi that opened near us, and went to the movies to watch The Cabin in the Woods. When we got home, I stuffed eighty-two Ziploc baggies with "TCAP Survival Kits" for my students, who are taking the state standardized tests this week. I haven't read a word, although I'm about to begin lazing around with a book in my hand.

Here are my answers to the wrap-up questions posted on the official Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon page:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? I suppose I should say hours 17+, since I went to bed by 11pm! If I had stayed up, it wouldn't have been pretty! I was ready to rise and shine a little after 7am this morning, though, and I finished listening to an audiobook then.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? My theory proved to keep me reading. That theory was to differentiate my genres. Too many of the same kind of books would only cause boredom. I read the latest books by authors I already knew I loved -- Sophie Kinsella & Sue Grafton. I also spent the readathon finishing books I'd already begun -- also key, I think, because I already had an interest in them.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? None at all. I didn't participate in any mini-challenges, so I wasn't as community-driven in my readathon participation as I could have been. In readathons past, I've thought that everything was very well done, and that goes for this year, too.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Again, I didn't participate enough with the hourly contests, etc. to give an opinion.
5. How many books did you read? I finished three. All of them were books I had previously started. I finished about 500 pages altogether and about two hours of listening to an audiobook. Outside the books I finished, I read about 200 additional pages in two separate books that remain unfinished.
6. What were the names of the books you read? I finished Sophie Kinsella's I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER, Sue Grafton's V IS FOR VENGEANCE, and Sherman Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN. I read some of Sara Roahen's GUMBO TALES: FINDING MY PLACE AT THE NEW ORLEANS TABLE and Jonathan Tropper's THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? I really enjoyed all the books I read. I'm the kind of reader who abandons books fairly easily, so you don't often find me reading something I don't enjoy. If I were rating them, I might rate Alexie's the highest. It was deeper than the other two, although I loved all of them.
8. Which did you enjoy least? Again, I liked them all. I am having difficulty really engaging with Roahen's book, but only because it is in nonfiction essay form rather than fictional plot form. It is extraordinarily interesting, but not a page-turner.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn't, but I love when they cheer me on both on my blog & on Twitter!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I certainly hope so, although the next time it rolls around I will have a newborn, so it might be more challenging! I will probably just be a reader again (due in part to the aforementioned baby's arrival).