So I made it through the readathon. I have napped (not enough) and I am actually wanting to pick up my book again. Does this mean I am a glutton for punishment or just dedicated?
Anyway, thank you to everyone who has sponsored me for this. I have so far collected £118 on behalf of SAMH. I have a few sponsorship's to collect and a friend of mine took part for 6 hours (she's not a blogger so did this just to help raise money). This means that I will have beaten April's £130 for Crohns and Colitis UK. So big thank you everyone as the mental health charity means a lot to me and my family.
April I read 4 books and just over 1200 pages. This time I read 3 books and 1354 pages. I don't know if that means I beat last year on that front to or if it equals out. Either way I am chuffed with the results. Sadly I doubt I will be able to take part next April. If I can though I might join in for 12 hours at the most. Which means I won't be beating this years tally. The books I read were;
A Patchwork World - Anne Tyler
Monday Mourning - Kathy Reichs
Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked - Derek Landy.
Hopefully I will get reviews up over the next week. I did enjoy them all but the first one was a favourite. Every year I seem to make mistakes in my readathon choices so here are my tips if you decide to take part (ignore them if you want).
1. Remember to buy snacks. A mix of healthy and naughty works for me. Anything heavy just makes you all the more tired later on.
2. Start on the caffeine when you really need it. It will eventually lose it's effect if you start straight away (think that was my problem last night).
3. Have your books decided before hand. Don't go for a huge pile unless you won't be disappointed if you don't read them all. Can be off putting when you realise you will be lucky to finish half of them. Instead go for 3 or 4 and a couple reserves (if this wouldn't bother you then pile them on).
4. Go for light reads. Anything that doesn't require concentration and you know that you will enjoy them. I know some people choose classics but I personally wouldn't be able to concentrate on them when it's hour 20 and all I can think about is sleep.
5. Book size, here is the big mistake I made this year. I would recommend shorter books. 400 pages at the most. One of mine was just over 600 and in the end it felt like a slog.
6. If you normally like a mix of books then mix them. You don't want to get bored. Oh, and this is one I learned in April, do not leave the scary books until the early hours of the morning. Maybe that's just me but I have an overactive imagination. Books that wouldn't normally scare me in the light of the day had me wondering if there was a serial killer waiting for me outside the kitchen.
7. Find somewhere comfy to read where you are unlikely to be interrupted. Also if you can change rooms every so often.
8. The last couple of times I've had a yankee candle lit and it's been refreshing. Especially this years candle which was Garden Sweet Pea. However, if there is a chance you might fall asleep then put it out.
9. Face wipes! They do refresh you a little.
10. If you need to nap then nap. Set your alarm for a couple of hours and come back in. It's actually rare for people to manage all the way through with out a nap. You shouldn't feel you've let yourself down because of it.
Lastly, enjoy it.
No comments:
Post a Comment