Cathy‘s Readathon Log

[Jennifer]

Great readathon Cathy. See you in October.

[Susy]

Cathy wrote: "So, another readathon has run its course. I wasn‘t very focussed this time around, but I did put in some more serious reading time on Saturday evening. I finished Golden Fool during the readathon a..."

Looks like a successful readathon nonetheless Cathy!

[Vicki Willis]

Sounds like a good time!
See you in October!

[Cathy]

October 2025 Pre-readathon Challenges

🍊👻 Mysteries Challenge 👻🍊
Seasonally Mysterious

🍊 1. Read three fictional mysteries. (For an additional challenge, read different genres/subgenres.)
- Black Butterfly by Mark Gatiss, 224p., started for various challenges. Historical, humour, espionage.
- …
- …

—> I moved this to the pre-readathon challenge thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Cathy]

Dewey‘s October 2025 Readathon Log

October 18-19, 2025.
Start 8am Eastern Time October 18th: 2pm CET Saturday
End 8am October 19th: 2pm CET Sunday
I will try to take part in as many sprints as I can manage.

Hours
Saturday
Before hour 1: finished Shōgun, Part One, read the prologue of Tower of Thorns and started Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 228, September 2025
1: 2pm-3pm—Sprint: meeting friends, coffee and walkies and some grocery shopping. Started 🎧 Magic Shifts on the way over.
2: 3pm-4pm: out
3: 4pm-5pm: out
4: 5pm-6pm—Sprint: came back shortly before 6, listened to 33m of 🎧 Magic Shifts in total… 😂
5: 6pm-7pm: Replacement SPRINT, as I only just missed the last one. 🎧 Magic Shifts, 1h 20m at 1.4x speed. Listened to a total of 1h 53.
6: 7pm-8pm: Taking a break to watch the news and eat dinner. Listened to the first story of Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 228, September 2025, 20 pages.
7: 8pm-9pm: catching up with notifications and surveys from our community.
8: 9pm-10pm—Sprint: 📖 Tower of Thorns, read chapters 1 & 2, 31 pages (3-10%).
9: 10pm-11pm: took a small Instagram break, checked notifications. Listened to 54m of 🎧 Magic Shifts at 1.4x speed.
10: 11pm-12am: 1h 12m of 🎧 Magic Shifts at 1.4x speed.

Saturday total:
1 Sprint
📖 75 pages
🎧 4 hours 46 minutes

Sunday
11: 12am-1am: catching up with notifications & 📖 Tower of Thorns, 17 pages (14%).
12: 1am-2am—Sprint: 📖 Tower of Thorns, 22 pages (19%) & 🎧 41m of Magic Shifts at 1.4x speed (45%).
13: 2am-3am: notifications & going to bed with 📖 Tower of Thorns and 🎧 Magic Shifts.
14: 3am-4am: sleep
15: 4am-5am: sleep
16: 5am-6am—Sprint: sleep
17: 6am-7am: sleep
18: 7am-8am: sleep
19: 8am-9am: sleep
20: 9am-10am—Sprint: 📖 Tower of Thorns
21: 10am-11am: 📖 Tower of Thorns (31%) & Instagram
22: 11am-12pm: 🎧 Magic Shifts, 1h 16m at 1.4 speed (57%)
23: 12pm-1pm: 🎧 Magic Shifts, 34m
24: 1pm-2pm—Sprint: a few pages of 📖 Tower of Thorns and 57 minutes of 🎧 Magic Shifts (71%).

Sunday total until the official Readathon end:
3 Sprints
📖 92 pages
🎧 3 hours 28 minutes

Grand Total total until the official Readathon end:
4 Sprints
📖 167 pages
🎧 8 hours 14 minutes

I only started in hour 5 and slept for 6.5 hours. Deduction roughly 3 hours in total for updates and notifications gives me around 10.5 hours of reading.

Maybe less time on checking notifications and hourly discussions next time around?

I am enjoying 📖 Tower of Thorns a lot and I am happy that I got a third into it thanks to the Readathon.
🎧 Magic Shifts is a fun audio re-read. At the speed I am going I might even finish it today.

[Cathy]

TBR

currently reading:
🎧 Shōgun (Oct/Nov), re-read, 53h 34m (1608p.), at 44% at the start of the readathon. Focussed on my other audio for the Readathon.
📖 🎧 Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 228, September 2025, read the first story.
📖 Tower of Thorns (Blackthorn and Grim #2), 439p., read around 140 pages or so. 31%
🎧 Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels #8), 10h 27m, Graphic Audio (Storytel), reread, listened to around 7h 30m. 71%

planned next
📖 🎧 Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 229

[Cathy]

Next most-wanted in ongoing series / Inspiration!

PRINT
- All the Weyrs of Pern (Dragonriders of Pern #11), 478p., paper owned, reread
- Canticle (Forgotten Realms / Drizzt), tolino, TBR pile
- Some Things Transcend (Princes‘ Game #2) by M.C.A. Hogarth, 430p., ebook owned

owned in print, but also audio on Storytel:
- Fool's Fate (Tawny Man #3) 928p.
- Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake #5), 22h 42m (Storytel), 730p., paper owned
- Hidden (Alex Verus #5), 353p., ebook owned

AUDIO
- Fool's Fate (Tawny Man #3), 31h 41m (928p)
- Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake #5), 22h 42m (Storytel), 730p., paper owned
- Sapphire Flames (Hidden Legacy #4), 12h 32m (Storytel), reread
- Hidden (Alex Verus #5), 10h 53m (Storytel), 353p., ebook owned
- Blood and Gold (Vampire Chronicles #8), 18h 37m, Audible owned.

[Cynda]

See you next weekend! You have a good.variety of options to read:)

[Jennifer]

Lots of options Cathy. I really enjoyed Heartstone

[Cathy]

Cynda wrote: "See you next weekend! You have a good.variety of options to read:)"

Let‘s hope that not too many unplanned things pop up with my friends! I‘m an expert on doing lots during readathons… 😂

Jennifer wrote: "Lots of options Cathy. I really enjoyed Heartstone"

Thanks! I‘ve been meaning to continue with Sansom for a long while now. Let‘s see when I‘ll get around to it…

[Susy]

Cathy wrote: "Dewey‘s October 2025 Readathon Log

October 18-19, 2025.
Start 8am Eastern Time October 18th: 2pm CET Saturday
End 8am October 19th: 2pm CET Sunday

I will probably just consider all of Saturday a..."

Good luck Cathy!

[Cathy]

I finished 📖 Defiance by C.J. Cherryh last night and 🎧 Shōgun, Part One by James Clavell just now. I will pick another audio for the readathon, before diving back into the 2nd part of Shogun. Probably something shorter from my ongoing series list.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Going strong already, Cathy, great work!

[Cathy]

This is me so far: I will probably just consider all of Saturday and Sunday as my Dewey‘s. I will try to take part in as many sprints as I can manage.

Before hour 1: finished Shōgun, Part One, started Tower of Thorns and Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 228, September 2025
1: 2pm-3pm—meeting friends, coffee and walkies and some grocery shopping. Started 🎧 Magic Shifts on the way over.
4: 5pm-6pm—came back shortly before 6, listened to 33m of 🎧 Magic Shifts in total… 😂
5: 6pm-7pm: Replacement SPRINT, as I only just missed the last one. 🎧 Magic Shifts, 1h 20m at 1.4x speed. Listened to a total of 1h 53.
6: 7pm-8pm: Taking a break to watch the news and eat dinner. Listened to the first story of Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 228, September 2025, 20 pages.
7: 8pm-9pm: catching up with our community and maybe do some surveys.

[Cathy]

Opening Survey:

I just managed to loose my post, so here is the short version:

1. How many Dewey's Readathons have you participated in?
A few, but I have only been tracking them here since 2023.

2a. If this is not your first Dewey's Readathon, what are your favorite things from past Dewey's readathons? Are you trying anything new or different this time?
Concentrate on reading, no TV, less time online.

2b. What are your goals, and what are you looking forward to during this Readathon?
Making a dent in my Clarkesworld magazine and Tower of Thorns.

3. What are you looking forward to eating and drinking during this Readathon?
I never make special plans for food and drink during readathons. The usual.

4. Are you sticking to our official Readathon times or adjusting for your schedule/preferences/etc.?
I missed the first 4 hours, as I had plans with friends. I‘ll see how long I‘ll last into the night. I will most likely extend my reading until the end of Sunday, to make up for it.

5. Where are you reading from today?
Germany. The readathon started here at 2pm on Saturday.

[Susy]

Cathy wrote: "This is me so far: I will probably just consider all of Saturday and Sunday as my Dewey‘s. I will try to take part in as many sprints as I can manage.

Before hour 1: finished [book:Shōgun, Part O..."

Sounds good Cathy!

[Cathy]

Thank you!

Hour 3: Favourites of 2025

I had a few 5-star reads. Here are some highlights of those:

Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Inheritance by Ilona Andrews
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

[Cathy]

Hour 6: Do I DNF books or struggle through?

I used to be a struggler, but life is indeed too short. If it‘s a buddy read, I will make an effort to at least skim through it.

So far I DNFd 7 books this year. The latest one was Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne.

[Cathy]

Hour 8: 9pm-10pm—Sprint: 📖 Tower of Thorns, read chapters 1 & 2, 31 pages (3-10%).

[Cathy]

Hour 9: 10pm-11pm: took a small Instagram break, checked notifications. Listened to 54m of Magic Shifts at 1.4x speed.

[Jana]

Cathy wrote: "Hour 6: Do I DNF books or struggle through?

I used to be a struggler, but life is indeed too short. If it‘s a buddy read, I will make an effort to at least skim through it.

So far I DNFd 7 books..."

This one was so disappointing! I finished it, but only barely.

[Cathy]

Yes, sadly… I made it halfway, before I gave up. It was allover the place and didn‘t do anything for me.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am hopeful for the new Baldree in a few weeks… Brigands & Breadknives.

[Cathy]

Hour 10: 11pm-12am: 1h 12m of Magic Shifts at 1.4x speed.

Saturday total:
📖 75 pages
🎧 4 hours 77 minutes

[Cathy]

Hour 11: 12am-1am: catching up with notifications & 📖 Tower of Thorns, 17 pages (14%).

Hour 12: 1am-2am—Sprint: 📖 Tower of Thorns, 22 pages (19%) & 🎧 41m of Magic Shifts at 1.4x speed (45%).

[Cathy]

Hour 12 Halfpoint Progress Report

1. How is your Readathon going? Have you finished 12 hours of reading so far?
I missed the first 4 hours, but have been steadily reading since then.

2. Have you eaten real food yet in the past 12 hours? How much water have you drunk so far in the past 12 hours? (Maybe drink some water now just on principle...)
Yes, I have eaten sandwiches and a tomato salad. I‘ve had some coffee, white wine and some water.

3. Are you doing a Bingo board or other specific challenge during this Readathon? How is that going so far?
Nope. Taking too much time from my reading. I am not much of a challenge person, I am already pretty booked with lots of buddy reads.

4. Have you finished any books so far in this half of the Readathon?
No. I am 19% into my ebook and 45% into my audio.

5. Are you on track to finish what you want to this weekend? What are your plans for the next 12 hours?
I might finish my audio by Sunday evening, I‘ll see. Making it halfway through my ebook would be nice.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

I need to drink some water myself, was just thinking that.

[Cathy]

Not me, going to bed now! 😏
All caught up with notifications, will read a few more pages in bed… See you in about 7 hours!

[Susy]

Hope you had a good night's rest! I'm ready for the last 6 hours...

[Cathy]

Good morning, Susy! I did and you as well, I hope, in your cabin!

I went to bed after the HOur 12 sprint, read a few pages and got up shortly before the Hour 20 Sprint.

20: 9am-10am—Sprint: 📖 Tower of Thorns
21: 10am-11am: 📖 Tower of Thorns (31%) & too much Instagram
22: 11am-12pm: 🎧 Magic Shifts, 1h 16m at 1.4 speed (57%)

[Cathy]

Hour 23: 12pm-1pm: 🎧 Magic Shifts, 34m
Hour 24: 1pm-2pm—Sprint: a few pages of 📖 Tower of Thorns and 57 minutes of 🎧 Magic Shifts.

Sunday total until the official Readathon end:
3 Sprints
📖 92 pages
🎧 3 hours 28 minutes

Grand Total until the official Readathon end:
4 Sprints
📖 167 pages
🎧 8 hours 14 minutes

I only started in hour 5 and slept for 6.5 hours. Deducting roughly 3 hours in total for updates and notifications gives me around 10.5 hours of reading.

Maybe less time on checking notifications and hourly discussions next time around?

I am enjoying 📖 Tower of Thorns a lot and I am happy that I got a third into it thanks to the Readathon.
🎧 Magic Shifts is a fun audio re-read. At the speed I am going I might even finish it today.

[Vavita]

Very nice!

[Susy]

Cathy wrote: "Hour 23: 12pm-1pm: 🎧 Magic Shifts, 34m
Hour 24: 1pm-2pm—Sprint: a few pages of 📖 Tower of Thorns and 57 minutes of 🎧 Magic Shifts.

Sunday total unt..."


Im actually thinking on increasing my Discord and GR time as that's a unique aspect of the readathon (I spend most weekend reading...).

Happy to hear you got to enjoy the readathon. See you back here in April hopefully!

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

I went through updating spurts myself then disappeared like seven hours reading, sometimes its hard to do a quick balance and actually get it done either direction. I enjoyed your updates.

[Cathy]

Thanks, @Vavita!

@Susy, I don‘t like Dsicord and I don‘t use it, if I can avoid it. So Deweys really only happens for me in this group. True though about the social aspect. It‘s a chance to meet people I don‘t usually interact with. A nice mixer. Considering that I always read, maybe the social part really is the main event.

I will be here again in April!

Thank you, @Erin!

I think my best decision this time around was to not switch on the TV during the readathon, with the exception of one quick look at the news. Saturday evening was just me, my sofa and my books…

[Cathy]

Hour 24 Closing Survey

1. How did your Readathon go overall? What were the highlights for you? Disappointments? Things you might do differently next time?

Good! Not to switch on the TV at all was a good decision. Keeping up with notifications and hourly discussions meant that I spent quite some time online instead of reading. But maybe that is the charm of a readathon.

2. Are you continuing to read for the rest of the weekend?

I needed to do a little housekeeping and then went out to meet a friend, which resulted in dinner at the Balkan restaurant across the street. Watching some TV now. I do want to finish my audiobook though—maybe tomorrow…

3. How many books have you read in this Readathon? How many have you finished? Which was your favorite?

I mainly read one ebook and one audiobook. I finished neither, but I made good progress. I am pleased with what I read and am pleasantly surprised by Tower of Thorns.

4. Do you plan to do other reading events or readathons between now and October 18th (our next Readathon)?

🤔 Do you mean April? Yes, probably.

5. Have you added any tempting books to your TBR during this Readathon?

I try not to add anything. My shelf is overflowing…

[Cathy]

Cool Down Week

Status at the official end of the readathon:
📖 🎧 Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 228, September 2025, read the first story.
📖 Tower of Thorns (Blackthorn and Grim #2), 439p., at 31%.
🎧 Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels #8), 10h 27m, Graphic Audio, at 71%.

Rest of Sunday, after the readathon:
📖 only 13 more pages
🎧 1 hour 28 minutes more

Went for drinks and dinner with a friend after the readathon…

Monday:
🎧 Magic Shifts finished, +1h 32m
🎧 Shōgun, restarting at 44%.

Tuesday:
Not a lot of reading was accomplished, I was out with friends the whole evening.

Wednesday:
🎧 Shōgun, I listened to a little over 4 hours! Only 23 hours left… 😏
📖 Tower of Thorns (Blackthorn and Grim #2), read another 10%.

Thursday:

Friday:

[Lamilla]

You are doing a cool down week as well! Cool

[Susan]

Looks like you had a successful readathon!

[Cynda]

Cathy and Lamilla, I have opened a Cool Down Week thread among the October 2025 Readathon discussions. Hope to see you there!

[Cathy]

Lamilla wrote: "You are doing a cool down week as well! Cool"
I read every day anyway, might as well! 😏

Susan wrote: "Looks like you had a successful readathon!"
Could have been more, but it was nice. 😊

Cynda wrote: "Cathy and Lamilla, I have opened a Cool Down Week thread among the October 2025 Readathon discussions. Hope to see you there!"
Thanks, will look for it.

[Cathy]

Here it is: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Status at the official end of the readathon:
📖 🎧 Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 228, September 2025, read the first story.
📖 Tower of Thorns (Blackthorn and Grim #2), 439p., at 31%.
🎧 Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels #8), 10h 27m, Graphic Audio, at 71%.

Monday:
✅🎧 Magic Shifts finished, +1h 32m

Before the end of the month would be nice for these three:
🎧 Shōgun, restarting at 44%. I have another 29+ hours to go.
📖 🎧 Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 228, September 2025
📖 Tower of Thorns, at 35%

[Cathy]

Tuesday:
Not a lot of reading was accomplished, I was out with friends the whole evening.

Wednesday:
🎧 Shōgun, I listened to a little over 4 hours! Only 23 hours left… 😏
📖 Tower of Thorns (Blackthorn and Grim #2), read another 10%.

[Vicki Willis]

What a great job you did with your RaT. I also don't turn on TV during my RaT and it is nice to have the break!
I like how you recorded all your progress along the way.
See you in April.

[Cathy]

Thank you, see you in April!

[Cathy]

The cool down week was a bit of a non-event. I had a family emergency. I will take a look at that other reading event Cynda started and I‘ll see you all in April.

[Cynda]

Take care Cathy.

[Cathy]

Thank you!