Dewey’s Read-a-thon, April 2018

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon badge

Dewey’s 24-hour Read-a-thon took place on Sunday, Australian time. For those who have somehow managed to miss my incessant posting about it, the event is basically a chance for book geeks across the world to get together and read as much as possible. It is also held in honour of its founder, a book blogger who went by the name Dewey, who passed away several years ago. I participated in my very first read-a-thon in April 2011 and haven’t looked back since.

The event kicked off on Saturday at 10PM, local time. Which was about the time I was getting to bed. Back pain had me up at 6 AM, though, so I got an early start. I’ve been very focussed on the Hugo Award nominees lately and had a few of them on loan from the library. My aim was to get through as many of them as possible.

I started out with City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. It’s the first book in The Divine Cities, which has been nominated for Best Series and came highly recommended by Sam Hawke. It’s a fantastic story with an Eastern European vibe, a complex political landscape and a protagonist who drinks as much tea as I do. Despite the great plot, I got off to a slow start as I tried to wrap my fatigued mind around all the different names.

I perked up a little after toast and tea at 9:30. However, I had to stop again at 11 AM to co-host the read-a-thon blog and Twitter account. This was my third time co-hosting and I felt a little underprepared this time around. The Read-a-thon had close to 2000 participants this round (it gets bigger every time) and the Twitter community is very active. It’s also very friendly and supportive, so I had a lovely time. But by the end my mouse arm was a bit sore and I was feeling the beginning of eyestrain. Lunch made a welcome break.

Earl Grey Editing, Dewey's Readathon, dogs, dogs and booksAfter that, I dug solidly into my reading. The weather was cool and wet, so my dogs took great delight in cuddling with me under a blanket on the couch. Fatigue continued to be a struggle. It was 8 PM by the time I finished City of Stairs. I read a few pages of My Favourite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris (nominated for Best Graphic Story), but eye strain continued to be a problem and I called it an early night.

All up, I read around 500 pages, which is significantly less than usual for me. However, I’m pleased with the progress I made towards conquering the Hugo shortlist.

Once again, a big thank you to Andi at Estella’s Revenge and Heather of Capricious Reader for the tireless effort they put into organising the read-a-thon. It is my favourite reading event of the year and they work so hard to make it happen.

The next read-a-thon will be taking place on 20-21 October 2018. Don’t forget to mark it on your calendar. It has a great sense of community that keeps me coming back. I do hope you’ll join us next October.