The Countdown has Begun; the Stack has been Assembled

Bookish types everywhere suffer from a disease.  It often goes undiagnosed, but it is highly prevalent among those folks who consider reading one of their favorite activities.  It is called packingforatripitis.  This recurrent disorder manifests in the days or weeks leading up to travel involving long (or even medium-length) a plane or train or any transportation where the reader won't be involved in steering the transportation or any vacation involving extended times of relaxation.  Symptoms include agonizing over what to read, wanting to have lots of options, overestimating the amount of reading material necessary, considering 2 long versus several short books, waffling over lightweight paperbacks and new, exciting hardbacks, feeling guilty over taking library books to the beach, and last minute adding of a book (or two) to a handbag just-in-case.  This disorder usually resolves with the patient realizing that he or she did not need to take 4 books and an ereader and several magazines on a long weekend away.

Turns out, the read-a-thon causes a similar series of problems: Lots of short pieces (to maintain interest) or one long work (to become completely immersed in)?  Audiobooks or not?  Fiction or non-fiction?  What about the ereader?  I have made my decisions, and just like with packingforatripitis, I have WAY overestimated my abilities in this thing.  Here's the stack:

The stack includes fiction, non-fiction, short stories, and poems; young adult books, magazines, and even a set of final exams (it's reading, and I might as well be a little productive after all!).  There is NO.WAY. I will cover all this material even if I did somehow read for 24 hours straight, which I do not plan to do.  There will be periodic napping and sleeping at night, I'm sure.

But, still.  I have hope.  I am excited.  AND, I am motivated because I have decided to add a fundraising aspect to the deal, and I want you to help.  Through DonorsChoose, I have found a classroom literacy project just around the corner from my home.  The teacher is requesting around $450 for a classroom library for early readers.  So, here's where I (and YOU) come in:  I am going to make a donation for each page I read.  You may agree to "sponsor" me per page just like the old school read-a-thon days (and make a donation in that amount) or you may choose to agree to donate only if I reach certain levels.  For instance, you could give $5 if I get to 100 pages, $30 if I get to 500, or $100 if I get to 1000 pages.  These kids deserve a quality classroom library, and I am anxious to get started.  Comment below or send me an email if you'd like to get in on the action.  Let's do this!