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Fall Read-a-Thon 2021: Wrap-Up
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1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read? 10 books, 2053 & 16 hrs.
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
Yes
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
Yes
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
So many good ones, can't choose just one. Probably With the Fire on High or A Cup of Silver Linings
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
Great job by the moderators, can't think of any suggestions.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
Probably
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read?12 books, 2294 pages, 14.49 hours
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
I actually surpassed my goals. I was hoping to read eight books this week. Most of the distractions were due to having to work, but I was able to get around that by listening to audio books.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
Yep. Having something to put my focus on reading (so the prompts) was my favorite part.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
This is a hard one...I think it is a toss up between The Hero and the Crown and Escape From Zarahemla. Although Into the Fire did make me cry.
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
You might want to post clearer instructions for the spreadsheet. Also, there was a lot of cover prompts this time around...maybe have a little more variety on the types of prompts you present. Other than that, you all did an amazing job! It is so much fun to do these read-a-thons.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
Most likely...it depends on what else is going in my life at the time.
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read? 4 books. 1,259 pages2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions? Yes I met my goals. I wanted to finish 4 books, participate in the team challenge & finish the individual challenge. My biggest distraction was getting my house ready to sell.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts? Yes I had fun. Our team decided to rehab the monsters instead of kill them. I enjoyed winning badges & team work.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon? The Obelisk Gate
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons? I have really enjoyed our last two read-a-thons. I don't have a suggestion.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons? Yes. I love read-a-thons. I'm sad when they end.
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read? 6 books finished. 1,211 pages plus 14 hours of audiobooks2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions? Yes, I finished my ATY challenge and knocked off a few prompts for the popsugar challenge. My only real distraction was friday I had a wedding to go to so I got no reading done that day.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts? Yes! As always, I love the team challenge.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon? Probably French Exit
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons? It was so fun! The mods did a great job as always. The only thing I miss was my favorite game, the title scramble (unless this was posted and I literally missed seeing it).
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons? Of course!
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read? 6 books; 816 pages; 21 hours2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions? I was really tired after work.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
The team interaction.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
Seeing all the books my team read.
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
The team challenge felt cover heavy this time.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
I plan too.
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read? 9 books, 2,969 pages2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions? Exceeded my goals. Biggest distraction was my book club
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts? Yes I had fun. Enjoyed the team challenge and the daily fun activities
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon? Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons? No suggestions
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons? Definitely!
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read?I finished 11 books that counted, 2 graphic novels that were too short to count and I almost finished off one more book. I ended up with a final page count of 3642
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
I had some family drama earlier in the week, and then today was just a disaster from start to finish so didn't end up reading much. But I read all the books I had been seriously planning to and I had fun.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
I love the adventures Jackie comes up with for the miles of pages post.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
The Magic Fish I wasn't sure about this, but it seemed perfect for the read-a-thon so I read it. It was just so sweet and lovely and the artwork was gorgeous.
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
There were too many pages to update on the spreadsheet when you finished a book. But I still love having groups of prompts that achieve a goal rather than having a whole list to complete before you earn points.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
Of course!
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read?4 books and about 1400 or so pages (including books I still haven't finished).
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
I had planned to read 4-5 books and ended up finishing 4 and being in-progress on 3 more so I'd say yes - even though I only read 1 of the books I had initially planned out! I had a super packed schedule this week so it was difficult to find time to read except for late at night.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
Yes! I loved the team communication, and just the layout of the challenge itself with slaying (i.e. rehabilitating) monsters based on reading prompts. I also liked the prompts themselves. Perfect level of difficulty since I usually had a few but not an overwhelming number of options for each prompt.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh!
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
Maybe if the announcement could be posted in other active threads, such as the Wild Discussion (if it occurs during the voting period again)? Or send out in a mass email? I didn't get any notification that the read-a-thon had started so I joined it late. Maybe there's another thread I should have subscribed to?
Being a naturally competitive person, I would love some sort of "prize" for the winning team, like the team being able to come up with a theme or even just one prompt for the next read-a-thon.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
Yes, assuming I'm not super busy that week!
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read? I read 294 pages and a bit over 20 hours of audiobooks. (around 1250 pages if my math is correct!)2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions? I would say yes, there was a family situation that wiped me out this week but the readathon gave me an excuse to sit down and focus on a book which was helpful.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts? It was my first time doing a group challenge that included a spreadsheet. That was fun.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
I think Rolling in the Deep
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
I was happy with how this one went.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
Probably
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read? I read three books and a total of 950 pages. I also listened to 4.75 hours of audio (which is low for me)2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions? My kids and doctor appointments.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts? I always have fun. I thought slaying monsters with books was a fun idea.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon? Such a Fun Age and We Are the Ants - they are both so different that I can't pick between the two. Each of them I wasn't expecting much from and they were unexpected finds this year.
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons? No suggestions. I don't know how you guys come up with the ideas that you do. They are always fun.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons? Yes they are a great way for me to get inspired with what books I have to read.
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read?I finished 9 books! (The last team read-a-thon in which I participated I completed 10 books, but none was over 500 pages in length as was A Gathering of Shadows which I read for this event.) A total of 1949 pages read and 3.25 hours of audiobook listened to. More than I thought I might complete given the busy week I've had.
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
Ha!Ha! I never reach my "reading goals" because I always have so many more books that I also really really wanted to read! LOL I am not a realistic goal-setter when it comes to reading!
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
As always, communicating with team members and trying to plan a strategy. Providing encouragement and information are fun! I love making lists of books!
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
Oh no! I'm terrible at selecting just one book as a favorite. But...I guess A Gathering of Shadows would be my top pick. Though Elsewhere, Home surprised me by being very enjoyable! Love Story held up as a reread for me some 50 years later and Of Mice and Men was just as amazing as I thought it would be! (I love John Steinbeck's writing!)
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
I liked the fact that we could only complete the highest-scoring category once! I think I might appreciate a listing of possibilities for further individualizing the spreadsheet organization, if possible. Every team has its own way of doing it, but I think it might be helpful if a listing of some basic organizational tactics employed by teams in the past could be listed as suggestions. But that may be way more trouble than it is worth...
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
Just try to stop me! LOL 🤗
Mod
I finished 6 books and read1140 pages, listened to 10.5 hours audio
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions? I am trying to get over shingles but have a lot of pain which sometimes makes it hard to concentrate and to sleep. Also I was a team captain while also posting some games and running suggestions/voting for the 2022 list, so I think I took on too much at once. Luckily my team was great and very self-motivated.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts? I liked the variety of prompts and the whole fantasy theme.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
The Mountains Sing, although sad, gave a picture of the life of Vietnamese women during the momentous times of the 20th century. The audio added a lot.
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
The spreadsheet was a challenge. We kept needing to add more columns, and the team members either didn't know how to do this or didn't have access, so I had to remember to keep checking it. Also I only realized today that I had added several books twice, because there were so many columns that I lost track of them. I liked the fact that everything counted and there were multiple places we could apply most books. The theme was creative and fun!
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
Of course!
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read? 6 books, 864 pages, 23.5 hours of audio2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions? My goals were just to read as much as possible and complete the individual challenge, and help my team for the team challenge. My distractions were just that my Saturdays are shot due to kid activities so I lose a lot of reading time, but I managed to squeeze some in.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts? Yes, fun as always. I loved the monster slaying theme. I also really liked the new Completed tab, definitely helped keep the Plan tab organized. I also liked that there were less prompts all around, allowing us to complete multiple monsters.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon? I really liked The Royals Next Door but I enjoyed all of the books I read.
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons? My only suggestion is it would have been good to have a formula to put a "1" when all prompts were filled for a monster. I tried to create one but my spreadsheet skills aren't strong enough for that. The less manual the process the better! Other than that the spreadsheet is easy to use, in my opinion.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons? Absolutely.
GREAT JOB MODERATORS. Thanks much.1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read? 5 books 1,333 pages
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions? My main goal was to pick up my pace of reading so I could catch up on my Goodreads goal for the year and to contribute 3-4 books to the team total. Both were accomplished. The biggest distraction this time was a online hidden object game which I love.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts? Yes, it was, as always, fun. I love to see what others are reading.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon? Their Eyes Were Watching God
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons? I thought the prompts were a bit narrow (cover prompts) and weren't quite as diverse or interesting as they have been in the past. How about some genre prompts that have you read science fiction or non-fiction or romance whether or not the cover is green?
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons? Absolutely.
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read?16 books. 1064 pages, 79 hours.
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
I didn't really have other than to read as much as I could and contribute to the team, both of which I hoped I did. Life, having things to do that took us out of the house, which meant less reading time.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
This was my first read-a-thon. I poked my head in a couple of previous ongoing ones and was confounded. I'm glad I found this when it was starting. So much fun. I loved seeing what everyone else was reading.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
Can't pick just one. I loved Illuminae, and Jason Reynolds's Ghost and Long Way Down.
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
Yes.
Mod
I read 4 books which is great, since I don't think I've read that many books in a week in a long while.
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
I did! I was hoping to read 3-4 books and make at least a small dent in my tbr. My biggest distractions were all the threads; how come those don't count as reading lol?
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
I'm biased, so I'll skip this one ;)
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
Dearly
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
Note to self: double check that they're not all cover prompts, haha.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
Of course!
Mod
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read? == 6 books plus half of a long book. 379 pages, 57 hours. This showed me just how much more time it takes to listen to a book than to read it. 2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
== I exceeded my goals. I expected to only finish two or three books since I was limited primarily to audios (due to vision issues) and I had family arriving from out of town (I was way behind on cleaning).
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
==Yes, I enjoyed the game, and my team (Wonderland) was incredible. They were so well organized and on top of everything, they made me want to do more. Jackie's story gave me some entertaining breaks, and I loved the ending. I wish I had time to do the daily games too. I didn't even notice them until late in the week.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
== Top 2: 1. When We Believed in Mermaids (a beautiful book set in New Zealand). 2. Shockingly The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, even though it was the longest and is non-fiction. I think the time pressure helped me stay focused, and I really enjoyed it. I struggled more with a shorter YA book. My last book was a slow sad slog and I might never finish it.
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? === I would avoid narrow cover prompts that don't have tags or lists, unless you provide some advance notice for research time. But the challenge made me really grateful to my teammates who rose to the occasion.
What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
=== Maybe some interesting concept prompts that can be interpreted in many ways. Team Wonderland did some great things with colorcoding on the spreadsheet that might be helpful for everyone next time. As a newbie it was nice to have some experienced pros on the team. I appreciated that you took care when forming the teams.
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons? Absolutely . I was wowed by the amount and types of work that went into this whole thing. Great job!
Mod
It's not too late to do the daily games, feel free to participate now if you want to. I'm impressed with all your audio hours, it's true it takes longer but it's such a great option for anyone with vision issues or who has to do other tasks like driving, cleaning, etc.
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read?Only three books, but two of them were quite long. It was 1484 pages in total.
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
I didn't really set goals, but I guess I technically did since I got enough points to enter the raffle and also finished off the Serpent & Dove series. My biggest problem was that it was literally the worst week in the month for me for the readathon since it's when I had the least free time, and I'd also forgotten that it was the week that was chosen, so I was in the middle of a long series when it started. I guess I could have put that on pause for the week, but I prefer to read series in a row.
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
I had fun with the parts that I was able to participate in, and I thought my team (Earthsea) was great and very supportive! I liked some of the daily games too.
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
I guess technically it was The Maidens but it feels silly to choose from just three.
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
I think it's more on me than on the challenge itself, but I got a bit confused partway through about what was actually needed. I think I had convinced myself for a while that we need to read just one of the prompts per monster to defeat it. I think that's mostly because I'm not great with spreadsheets though. If I'd had more time, I probably would have had a chance to review the instructions again and remind myself. I really loved the theme this time though!
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
I think so. I generally find them fun, but I've been starting to find them harder to keep up with the past few times.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Maidens (other topics)When We Believed in Mermaids (other topics)
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz (other topics)
Dearly (other topics)
Ghost (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jason Reynolds (other topics)John Steinbeck (other topics)
Susanna Clarke (other topics)
1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read?
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
4. What was your favorite book of the read-a-thon?
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?
Don't forget to update your Individual Challenge on the Raffle Entries thread for a chance to win a pick on our 2022 Reading Challenge List!