Happy Halloween!

Dewey's Readathon Update #3

I fell asleep at 6:00 am, right after I finished reading Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead by Michael Dougherty. I started reading All Hallow's Dead by Bryan Smith, but only read 10% before I had trouble keeping my eyes open and switched to a graphic novel.

Total pages read: 853

End of Event Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

6:00 am, when I fell asleep.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a reader engaged for next year?

Children of the Dark by Jonathan Janz, Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish, Incubus by Ray Russell

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the readathon next season?

No, I think everything was great!

4. What do you think worked really well in this year's readathon?

There was lots of activity on Twitter.

5. How many books did you read?

Four

6. What were the names of the books you read?

Trick or Treat by Richie Tankersley Cusick, Allhallow's Eve by Richard Laymon, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane by Laird Koenig and Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead by Michael Dougherty

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane by Laird Koenig

8. Which book did you enjoy least?

Trick or Treat by Richie Tankersley Cusick

9. How likely are you to participate in the readathon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? 

I will definitely be participating as a reader in April.

Dewey's Readathon Update #2

Mmm...pumpkin chai tea

I'm still awake...for now. I'm getting pretty tired and can barely keep my eyes open. I just finished my third book, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane by Laird Koenig. It was a really good book, lots of creepy moments. I haven't seen the film adaptation yet because I wanted to read the book first, so now I can watch it.

Next I plan on reading All Hallow's Dead by Bryan Smith. If I get too tired I might switch to the graphic novel in my pile, Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead by Michael Dougherty.

Dewey's Readathon Update #1

We're just after the halfway point and I've only read two books so far: Trick or Treat by Richie Tankersley Cusick and Allhallow's Eve by Richard Laymon.

I didn't enjoy Trick or Treat much because I thought it had too many horror cliches, but it is a young adult novel and intended for younger audience, so maybe I'm being too hard on it.

Allhallow's Eve was a bit of a disappointment. Although it's not terrible, it's nowhere near as suspenseful as other Richard Laymon books I've read.

Mid-Event Survey

1. What book are you reading right now?

I just finished Allhallow's Eve by Richard Laymon and I'm going to read The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane by Laird Koenig next.

2. How many books have you read so far?

Two

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the readathon?

Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead by Michael Dougherty - since it's a graphic novel, I'm saving it for when I'm too tired to read.

4. Have you have many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Not really, my boyfriend was at work for most of the day and usually he's my biggest distraction.

5. What surprises you most about the readathon, so far? 

How fast the time is going. I can't believe it's already 9:00!

The delicious dinner my boyfriend ordered: a panzerotti and a Dr. Pepper

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

It's that time again! Today is Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon and I will again attempt to read for 24 hours and try to get some books crossed off my TBR mountain.

What I plan on reading:

1. Allhallow's Eve by Richard Laymon
2. All Hallow's Dead by Bryan Smith
3. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane by Larid Koenig
4. Trick or Treat by Richie Tankersley Cusick
5. Halloween Night by R.L. Stine
6. Halloween Night II by R.L. Stine
7. The Haunted Forest Tour by James A. Moore and Jeff Strand
8. Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead by Michael Dougherty

Today I chose books that take place on Halloween because I've been trying to read Halloween themed books this month, but only managed to read one so far. 

What I plan on eating:

• Chex pumpkin pie crunch
• Halloween candy
• Bagel Bites
• Tostitos and mango salsa
• Iced coffee with pumpkin spice syrup

Opening meme:

1. What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Oakville, Ontario

2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Probably Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead by Michael Dougherty because I bought it on my birthday earlier this week to read today and I love the movie, Trick 'r Treat.

3. Which snack are you most looking forward to?

The pumpkin pie Chex mix that I made for today. It's just Cinnamon Chex with butter, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice, but it tastes so good!

4. Tell us a little something about yourself!

My boyfriend's cat, Timmy, was diagnosed with diabetes earlier this week and hasn't been eating, so I'll have to keep an eye on him today.

5. If you participated in the last readathon, what's the one thing you'll do differently today? 

I want to read more than I did last time. 

24 in 48 Readathon End Post

Total hours spent reading: 18
Total pages read: 827
Books read: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, Yellow Moon by David Searls, Blight by Mark Sonders and half of Incubus by Ray Russell

OK, so I didn't quite make it to the goal of reading for 24 hours, or my goal of reading five books, but I came pretty close. I only read about five hours on Saturday because my boyfriend had the day off and was a huge distraction. Next time I would definitely try to get most of my reading done on Saturday so I don't have to try and catch up an absurd amount on Sunday. I'm still proud of myself though because I read more pages during this readathon than any other I've participated in.

24 in 48 Readathon

Since I love readathons so much - and don't want to wait until October for the next one - I'm going to be trying a new one, the 24 in 48 Readathon. The idea is to read a total of 24 hours over an entire weekend as opposed to staying up a full 24 hours to read. I plan on reading 12 hours Saturday and 12 hours Sunday.

What I plan on reading this weekend:

1. Blight by Mark Sonders
2. Incubus by Ray Russell
3. Summer of Fear by Lois Duncan
4. Harriet Said... by Beryl Bainbridge
5. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
6. Yellow Moon by David Searls (on my Kindle)
7. The Manitou by Graham Masterton (on my Kindle)

My goal is to finish five books to catch up to my Goodreads Reading Challenge.

Intro Survey

1. Where in the world are you reading from this weekend?

    Oakville, Ontario, Canada

2. Have you done the 24in48 readathon before?

   No, this is my first time.

3. Where did you hear about the readathon, if it is your first?

    On the Dewey's Readathon Facebook page someone suggested other readathons.

4. What book are you most excited about reading this weekend? 

    Incubus by Ray Russell

5. Tell us something about yourself.

    I work at a thrift store and that's where I buy most of my books - at a 50% discount.

6. Remind us where to find you online this weekend.

    In addition to this blog, I'll be posting on Twitter. You can follow me at @LittlMissZombie.

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Wrap-Up

OK, so I fell asleep around 6:00 am - so close. I still managed to read five and a half books though - so close to my goal of six books. They were all short books so maybe that's not a big accomplishment, but even though it's not the most pages I've read during a read-a-thon, this is the most number of books I've read.

The last book I read before I fell asleep on the couch was half of the graphic novel, In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz and Queenie Chan.

I had so much fun and can't wait until the next read-a-thon!

Total pages read: 643

End of Event Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? I guess 6:00 am because that was when I fell asleep.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? All of the books I read this year (listed in question 6).
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season? No, I think everything was great!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I liked the addition of a Facebook group. 
5. How many books did you read? 5 1/2
6. What were the names of the books you read? Fairy by Shane McKenzie, Boom Town by Glenn Rolfe, Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish, Zero Lives Remaining by Adam Cesare, The Complex by Brian Keene, and half of In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz and Queenie Chan.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? I liked all of them, but I guess I enjoyed Linden Manor the most because I love a good ghost story.
8. Which did you enjoy least? I enjoyed them all.
9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I definitely plan on participating again in October as a reader.

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Update #4

I'm still awake! Just a few more hours to go, but I'm feeling pretty tired right now and I'm not sure I'll make it to the end.

I just finished my 5th read-a-thon book, The Complex by Brian Keene. It feels like it took me longer to get through this book than all the others I read combined and not just because it was longer, but because I was struggling to stay awake and had to read the same sentences over and over.

Since I'm exhausted, I'm going to read a graphic novel next: In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz and Queenie Chan.

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Update #3

I just finished reading my fourth read-a-thon book, Zero Lives Remaining by Adam Cesare. It was a fun novella that reads like an 80s B movie. The plot is like Ghost in the Machine in an arcade.

I'm starting to get tired already. That's OK though, I only have about nine hours to go. Maybe I'll have an iced coffee and see if that helps.

The next book I will be reading is The Complex by Brian Keene.

Mini Challenge: Weird Cover Hunt

What I'd like you to do for this challenge is dig through your bookshelves/bookpiles and find the weirdest book cover that you have. Take a photo of it and share it on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, or your blog!

I have so many 80s horror books with cheesy covers (like pretty much all the Zebra Horror books I have) that it was hard to choose just one, but I think this one is the absolute worst and it makes me burst out laughing every time I see it.

Dewey's Read-A-Thon Update #2

Since my last post, I've finished two books: Boom Town by Glenn Rolfe and Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish.

Boom Town is a fun novella about glowing blue alien slime taking over a small town, similar to the film, The Blob.

Linden Manor is a very creepy gothic horror novella about a woman investigating a nursery rhyme her great grandma used to sing to her.

Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now?

Zero Lives Remaining by Adam Cesare

2. How many books have you read so far?

Three: Fairy by Shane McKenzie, Boom Town by Glenn Rolfe and Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

The Complex by Brian Keene - I've been saving it for when I get tired of reading.

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

My boyfriend got home from work around 6:00 pm, so I stopped reading to talk to him for a bit and eat dinner, but now he's playing video games, so I think I'll be able to get back to reading.

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

How many books I've been able to read. I've already read three and I'm pretty sure I only read three total last read-a-thon.

The delicious dinner my boyfriend made for me -
pork tenderloin medallions, brussels sprouts and cauliflower. 

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Update #1

I finished my first book, Fairy by Shane McKenzie. It was a quick and creepy read about a woman who is so desperate to have a baby she turns to an evil fairy for help. It has a few gory scenes which you might not enjoy if you're squeamish, but I love gore so I just thought it added to the story.

I've also sampled quite a few of my snacks: Timbits, spinach dip and chocolate milk.

Mini-Challenge: Our Bookish Childhoods

Top 5 Bookish Childhood Moments

1. The first chapter book I ever read by myself was Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library! by Eth Clifford. I was in second grade and I remember being proud and thinking it was a huge accomplishment when I finished it.
2. Someone told me to read That Scatterbrain Booky by Bernice Thurman Hunter, and it became my favourite book and I didn't realize it had two sequels until I saw them at a yard sale. I was so excited, I bought them and started reading immediately. 
3. I always looked forward to Santa giving me books on Christmas. I remember getting a whole box of Christopher Pike books one year and a book in The Face on the Milk Carton series by Caroline B. Cooney, which I loved.
4. Fighting over Goosebumps books at the small school library with other kids in my class (they only had about 5).
5. Going shopping with my grandma in the city (I grew up in the middle of nowhere) and getting to choose one store to go to and always choosing Chapters. My parents would give me some money and I would get to buy one book. 

Dewey's Read-a-Thon

Today is Dewey's Read-a-Thon - an event where book lovers all over the world read for 24 hours straight. I think this will be the 6th time I've participated. I managed to stay up the full 24 hours almost every time, so hopefully I can do it again and cross some books off my giant TBR list.

My book pile

The books:

1. Fairy by Shane McKenzie
2. Boom Town by Glenn Rolfe
3. Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish
4. Zero Lives Remaining by Adam Cesare
5. The Complex by Brian Keene
6. The Manitou by Graham Masterton
7. Elizabeth by Jessica Hamilton
8. Out Are the Lights by Richard Laymon
9. Faint of Heart by Jeff Strand
10. In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz and Queen Chan

My food pile

The snacks:

• Spinach dip with pumpernickel bread and pita chips
• Timbits
• Tostitos and peach and mango salsa
• Cheesestrings
• Chocolate
• Iced coffee

Opening Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Oakville, Ontario

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

The Complex by Brian Keene - it came out in March and I've been saving it for the read-a-thon.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Spinach dip - it has become a tradition for me to make it every read-a-thon.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm addicted to buying books and was hoping to use today to make a dent in my TBR pile, but I bought five books just for the read-a-thon instead. Oh well!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I'm hoping to read more books than I have previous read-a-thons because I'm six books behind on my Goodreads Reading Challenge and I want to catch up. I chose four books that are around 100 pages or less, so hopefully that will help.