#Readathon October 2016 - End of Event Survey

This is posted a bit later than planned, as I had to actually complete some of the work I postponed to get my indulgent reading on. I'm so glad I allowed myself the time to read, as for the next week, I'll be lucky if I get much spare time set aside to read for pleasure.

Here is the traditional end of event survey:
1) Which hour was most daunting for you?
Probably hour 21 (10am to 11am here in Oslo), when I'd just woken up and had to struggle to get back into reading.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I didn't read them myself this year, because I've already read both books twice, but I can highly recommend Act Like It by Lucy Parker and The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. They are pretty much romantic comedies in book form, and very entertaining.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
No, not really. It's already a pretty well-oiled machine.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year's Read-a-thon?
I focused more on actually reading and spent less time being distracted online. Instead of updating my blog all the time, I just sank back into reading after updating my spreadsheet to work out how much I'd read.

5. How many books did you read?
Three and two thirds

6. What were the names of the books you read?
The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You by Lily Anderson
Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
Rock Wedding by Nalini Singh
Two thirds of Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison

7. Which book did you enjoy the most?
The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You by Lily Anderson. It's a really fun and creative modern YA retelling of Shakespeare's romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing, where the quarrelling protagonists are both super geeky teenagers at a private school for genius kids. It was so well done, and apart from one Doctor Who reference that felt like a sudden record scratch and brought me completely out of my happy reading reverie, because it was just so objectively WRONG, I had a very fun time reading the book.

8. Which book did you enjoy least?
Rock Wedding by Nalini Singh. The fourth and final book in her Rock Kiss series is one that others will probably be fine with, but I really should have read a couple of summaries before starting it. As I recently went through my second round of unsuccessful infertility treatment, reading about someone who is so crazy fertile she can apparently get knocked up both from one night of unprotected sex, and later while she is on the pill(!) just felt a bit like it was pouring lemon juice in my already stinging paper cut. It was nice to see all the various couples tie the knot (so many rock star weddings, you guys), but the book was not what I needed right now. Only stubbornness made me finish it.

9. How likely are you to participate in Read-a-thon again? What role will you be taking next time?
There is not a shadow of a doubt that I will be taking part in the next Read-a-thon - I managed to do it last year even when I was concussed and had to do it mainly with audio books. I will, as always, be a reader.

Total books read: Three and two thirds
Total pages read: 1086 pages
Total time spent reading (according to my spreadsheet): nearly 11 hours