Though you are reading this Monday afternoon, I am writing it Sunday night and am still incredibly sleep deprived. Bear that in mind if this isn't particularly well written.
Now that I've had a little time to contemplate my reading challenge experience this year, I have to say I'm pretty pleased with my overall results. I removed caffeine from my diet for a week before the challenge so the 4 cups I drank during those 48 hours were far more effective. It also meant that when I had to work a 6 hour shift on Saturday (like I did last year) I was far more aware of what was happening around me instead of spending the shift in something of a fog.
Most importantly, I learned a lot last year about my to read pile. Last year I alternated longer books and shorter books so I'd feel like I was making more progress. It worked really well for the first 24 hours but that second day, with so little sleep, I struggled to process the longer books.
So, this year I built my stack with all of the long books to be read on the first day. For the most part, it was an effective strategy. I still struggled with the last few, but that was likely to happen no matter what book I was reading. I had a few longer books at the bottom of my stack because I honestly didn't expect to get that far. So, when I made it to Razorhurst at 3:00am Sunday, I made it maybe 2 chapters before I had to give it up and select something else.
In all, I think if I participate in this challenge again next year my approach will be pretty much the same. Its not easy but it's very satisfying when you hit one of your goals.
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