Booked!

1.Which hour was most daunting for you?

None. I started 2-3hours late and didn't read between 3-12am my time. So roughly participated for 12 hours. It's my lowest :(

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

Definitely Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

3.Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?

No, it's perfect.

4.What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

I was more... relaxed. I have a competitive nature so I always want to read more and more during readathons. This time I knew I wasn't going to make it full 24 hours. So enjoyed it more.

5.How many books did you read?

Finished 2. Partially read another 2.

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

Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Turkish Awakening by Alev Scott
The other 2 are written by Turkish authors and no English translation

7.Which book did you enjoy most?

See #2

8.Which did you enjoy least?

It wasn't bad but as a nonfiction book Turkish Awakening didn't tell anything new to me. But I'm a local and can feel how informative it can be to a foreigner.

9.How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Will definitely participate in RaT again! As a reader.

1. What are you reading right now?

Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

2. How many books have you read so far?

Haven't finished a book yet but very close to finish 2 books and partially read a graphic book.

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

I look forward to next chapters of Haunting of Hill House the most. Will go to bed soon. Don't know what I will pick tomorrow morning to read.

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

I started 3 hours late. I had a meeting and then had an easy jog. I listened to audiobook while walking my dog and taking a shower.

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

It was hard for me to sit and read for hours for me when I was a smoker. I just had to give breaks, go out and smoke and come back to keep reading. I can concentrate for longer periods now as a nonsmoker!

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

Istanbul, Turkey.

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

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It’s been sitting on my shelves, collecting dust for years. My favorite Goodreads group is reading it at the moment, it’s a 1001 BYMRBYD book and it’s October! Bingo!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

 I hope not to snack much. Pomegranate, tangerine, Granny Smith apples with peanut butter and very dark chocolate are the options. I’m definitely a coffee person but will limit my coffee consumption this time. I don’t want increase in my heart rate before a race.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

 Besides my job and love for reading, I run.  5K, 10K and Half Marathon. Love trail running as well. I’m not a seasoned runner, started running this year after giving up smoking and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Will be running at Istanbul Marathon in Nov to raise funds for a charity. Hope to break my Personal Bests in the next few races!

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?

 This is my 8th readathon. I participated for 24 hours my first 6 readathons, eventhough I live on GMT+3—which means readathon starts at 4pm for me. I slept for 5 hours last readathon, because I was going to start a new job on Monday. And I plan to do the same again. I’ll run a 10K race on Sunday. It’s not a goal race for me, more like a training before more important races, but still want to sleep a good 5 hours at night.

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

Istanbul, Turkey.

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

All of them. Reading A Midnight's Summer Dream by Shakespeare will be special, because today is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death! I am looking forward to read Bonzai by Alejandro Zambra too. I've been on a Latin American Literature kick lately and also have Open Veins of Latin America(non-fiction) by Eduardo Galeano in my stack, which I started a few days ago and already tackled the first 100+ pages.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Fudgy Brownie I just baked.(Used Valrhona 70% bitter chocolate for this special day. My favourite!)

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I am going to start my first ever job on Monday.*nervous*

Normally I read very frequently but in short sessions. I just can't keep doing anything for hours and hours. I never read  100+pages in one sitting. I don't know why, but only 2 days every year(April and October) my attention span never burns out! Can't get enough of reading on Readathon days.

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?

This will be my 7th or 8th readathon. I am a hardcore thoner. I always make it  24 hours(actually more than 24 hours). This time I won't. I am gonna start a new job on Monday and last thing I want is a bad sleep pattern. Plus, I live on GMT+2, which means readathon starts at 3pm for me. So, I will go to bed around 11.30pm. Will get up around 6am. Will be going to another city on Sunday morning, but luckily I won't be driving so will be reading on the way too. I will have less hours to read, but if I can plan it I can read and enjoy as much as previous readathons.

1. What are you reading right now?

The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman

2. How many books have you read so far?

1,5 + 20% of an audiobook

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

Persepolis! I've heard A LOT of positive things about it. I'm saving it for hard times(19ish-th hour).

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

Not really. I had a break for dinner. and I took my dog out for a walk. I listened to audiobook when I couldn't read.

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

I'm reading more than I anticipated which is fantastic! And I'm feeling less tired than I anticipated, wgich is more fantastic!

“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”

Virginia Woolf - A Room of one's own

There is censorship in Turkey, and this is the best answer!

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

Istanbul,Turkey.

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

Persepolis and Graveyard book.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

I baked a brownie!!! I never cook and I used the stove for the first time in my life.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm half Portuguese half Turkish, 26y.o guy, studying a Masters Degree in Economics. 

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?

This is my 4th time and I chose easier,shorter books from different categories and formats. I used to read Nabokov, Georges Perec in the previous thons and that was a very bad idea. 

1) What are you reading right now?

Up Pohnpei by Paul Watson

2) How many books have you read so far?

Zero. I am close to finish one, hope to finish in the next 2 hours. Partially read the other two.

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

The Urban Revolution by Henri Lefebvre and stories by R.L Stevenson.

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

I was out, at a pub watching a very important soccer game during 5th,6th,7th hours. I am going to take my dogs out soon and I will listen to an audiobook during the walk. I give short smoking breaks, and they are essential for me since I have a short attention span.

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

--

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

Istanbul, Turkey.

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

I don't really have a stack. I have an assignment for Research Methods course, so unfortunately reading it will take a lot from my fiction-readathon time. But I will try to sprinkle some short stories in between( Poe or Salinger or both) and a genre literature book (Stanislaw Lem maybe..). I also have some audiobooks to listen while walking or washing the dishes.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Cookies my mother sent me earlier today.

4)Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm a full time student(Economics), living with my 2dogs and cat. The other thing I love besides reading is clicker training my pets.

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?

This is my 3rd readathon. First one was awesome. I couldn't read much in the 2nd. I hope this one to be like the first one.

My copy of The Tiger's Wife- First Edition Mini Challenge.

1. What are you reading right now?

I'm switching between The Pickwick Papers by Dickens and The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obrecht. My pattern is like reading a chapter from PP and reading TW till the next hour.

2. How many books have you read so far?

Finished 1. Partly read other 2.

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

Want to listen some audiobooks since my eyes got tired. Planning on Twelve Angry Men or Will Grayson Will Grayson on audio.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

I didn't go to a concert with friends and they were shocked when I turned them down and will be reading at the weekend instead.

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

I have two dogs so had to take them out twice, they need to make their "businesses". Also gave few smoking breaks. I think they are very essential.

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

I don't have appetite and I'm not eating snacks at all! That's pretty unusual.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

It's perfect so I'm afraid it's impossible to improve.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

I will do this again next year if life doesn't act like a... Would do exactly the same. Maybe I would socialize more.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Little bit. It's 2:30am here. But I survived last Readathon and I will survive again.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

Nope. Everything is just perfect!

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

Istanbul-Turkey.

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

I'm about 70% of the way through The Road by Cormac McCarthy, so I will read and finish it first. I'm also planning on reading chapters from The Pickwick Papers by Dickens. And I want to start and read The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obrecht--which is a prize I won last readathon- as much as I can

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

I can't cook, so I will eat a lot of unhealthy stuff. M&m's, Oreo, some Swiss Chocolate, strawberries...

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm a 25 y.o student. I'm not a native speaker of English language and haven't been using it for years, so hope everything I write is clear.

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? This is my 2nd readathon, and I really enjoyed the first one. I survived 24 hours. This time, I want to read more and surf less. I'm a slow reader with a short attention span, and thons are great opportunities for me to read all day, very motivating. Let the party begin!

The way things are going, I'm expecting to get my Goodreads account closed down next week. It would of course be a pleasant surprise if GR management decided to back off and reexamine the goals they're trying to achieve here; I don't actually understand what those goals are, and maybe they don't either. But realistically, I think the most likely thing is that I'll get closed down. They warned me that my account would come under review if I continued to post material criticizing GR policy; I did continue; now they pretty much have to follow through, otherwise they expose their threats as empty.

I really appreciate all the kind words I've received. I love this place, and I am extremely sad about what's happened to the Goodreads community. One obvious response is to draw a line and go find something else to do, but I am inclined to fight while that's possible. Several people said they'd miss seeing my reviews. Well: I've backed everything up using the Export function, and I have a full set stored in a 3 MB CSV file. If anyone wants it, just mail me at mannyrayner@yahoo.com. You are then welcome to repost some or all of the material as you see fit, in accordance with the Hydra principle. I believe it's even possible (I haven't tried this yet) to create a new account and import the whole set.

The thing that makes me feel that the situation isn't hopeless is that it's become almost impossible to delete information permanently. GR management can remove reviews and close down accounts, but it's easy to repost and reopen. It basically comes down to the question of how many of us are prepared to take a stand. If even 1% of the site's members are willing to fight, I'd say we're unstoppable. GR management can try various tricks, but if you have 200,000 people creatively modifying and changing and trying new lines of attack, there'll be nothing they can do. GR won't have enough staff to check everything manually. Automated deletion scripts are possible, but they'll cause so much collateral damage that everyone will leave; the site will become uninhabitable.

The issues are partly at the ethical level. Do Goodreads management have the moral right to do what they want with the site? Some people clearly feel the answer is yes: they built it, they can do whatever they like. Another way to look at it, though, is that Goodreads wouldn't be worth anything without the content that users have created for free, relying on promises that the site existed for the benefit of readers and would operate on policies of freedom and lack of censorship. You can make a case that GR management have sucked people in on false pretentions and have an obligation to honor their promises. In the end though, my feeling is that the real question is which side is strongest; who has the cleverest strategy and the toughest fighting spirit. Maybe we're seeing the start of the first social network war. If the grassroots users can win against a big, unscrupulous multinational like Amazon, that would send a really interesting signal to the world.

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Source: http://mannyrayner.booklikes.com/post/599628/post

1)Hour 21&22

2)Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut. Some short stuff by Poe.

3)It's PERFECT, already!

4)I took frequent and short breaks, and I believe that really helped. Breaks are essential, and 5 x 10min breaks(smoking on the balcony) works better than 1 x 60 min break for me.

5)Finished two. And read parts from another three.

6)I finished Frankenstein and Great Gatsby. I also read parts from Cat's Cradle, The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe and Kalemimin sapını gülle donattım(Turkish)

7)Mmm, don't know. I enjoyed Frankenstein and the book I read in Turkish equally.

8)The Great Gatsby. I really loved some bits, but it was 'meh' overall.

9)Cheerleaders are motivating. Keep up the good work.

10)100%. I will never ever miss a readathon as long as I am alive. I can't wait for the next time. Probably reader.

It was so much fun. Thank everyone, and Thank you Dewey!

Best book of your reading year: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Best fantasy book of your reading year: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

Best main character of your reading year: Yedigei in The Day lasts more than a hundred years by Chingiz Aitmatov