This Saturday is the spring 2016 Dewey’s Readathon. I’ve never attempted a readathon before, and I couldn’t be more excited! So far, I’ve joined the Facebook and Goodreads group and it looks like there’s even more action on Twitter. And after checking out everyone’s picks for the readathon, I’ve finally gathered my own.

If you’d like to join the fun, you can still sign up here!

First Up, The Books:

I have a great selection of books for Saturday – I was really lucky with my library holds! I also have 2 books I own thrown into the mix. The other day I noticed I’ve only read 8 of my own books this year and the rest have been from the library. Hopefully a day of reading will knockout most of my library books and I can start reading from my own shelves a little more!

Here are my picks for the readathon:

• The Sage of Waterloo by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney – 368 pages
• Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash (author of Serena) – 252 pages
• The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson – 352 pages
• Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – 369 pages
• No One Knows by J.T. Ellison – 368 pages
• Jane Steele by Lindsay Faye – 432 pages
• The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert – 319 pages

My plan is to start the day with The Sage of Waterloo, a tale of rabbits and the effects of war, but mainly about rabbits. Sounds like a good pick for morning-time. From there I’ll finish some of my books in progress (Station Eleven and The Danish Girl) and move on to some more picks from my stack. Then in the afternoon I’ll work my way to Me Before You or Jane Steele. It’s really hard to decide which is a better fit for cocktail hour: romance or mystery? I guess I’ll have to see where the mood takes me!

I’m definitely not expecting to read for all 24 hours. I think it would be a little naive if I did. Instead, I’m hoping to read a solid 8 hours, enough to finish 2 to 3 new books. But if I feel up to it, I could finish all 7 books in the 24 hour time-span at a rate of 102.5 pages per hour.

Now, The Food:

For any kind of marathon, meals are key to sustaining energy throughout. Here’s what I’ll be eating throughout the day:

• Need This in Your Life “Best Chicken Stew” from Hip Foodie Mom – I’ve been wanting to make this for so long! I’m hardly ever just home all day on the weekend so this is really the perfect time for a crock pot recipe.
• Puppy Chow! What can I say, you can take the girl out of Indiana, but you can’t take the Indiana out of the girl. It’s a classic, and can’t be beat.
• Random snacks: white cheddar Skinny Pop and pretzels.
• Cocktail Hour: Shiner Ruby Red and a classic Salty Dog. Or I might get real fancy and try out this strawberry version! Can you tell I like grapefruit?

Everything Else:

The rest of my prepping has mainly been digging out my fuzzy socks and lining up a few candles to alternate throughout the day. I really like Target’s Sweet Spun Sugar and Bath and Body Works’ Pink Peony.

And last, but not least, stocking up on cat nip. Can’t forget your furry friends!

What will you be reading? Any tips for a first timer?