Catch 22

         My friend was working the sign in sheet for the Catch 22 reading so I decided to support her by showing up for an hour or so.  By the time I got there I was surprised to see that half the seats in the tent were full.  In addition there were people camped out in sleeping bags and relaxing.  The atmosphere was very pleasant and relaxing.  Anybody was allowed to come and camp out, even if they weren't reading.  I remember these three very odd people dancing to Gangnam Style and other various dances during the readings.  The tent had strung up lights that made the tent look really nice and suitable for a marathon reading.  I will admit that I am not into books nor did I really pay attention to the reading, but it was a very enjoyable experience.  There were a diverse range of ages who read.  From college students to senior citizens, many people came to read.  Students, teachers, and even random residents came by to read. Free t-shirts were given out to people who read, I was lucky enough to get one of the extras without reading.  I was actually really surprise by the quality of this event.  There were many boxes of pizzas from Papa Johns, even the t-shirts were from American Apparel, whose clothes are not cheap at all.  The quality of the reading marathon really made me think that Penn State doesn't mess around when it comes to events.  Coming from high school I was expecting a shanty atmosphere with four boxes of pizza, the university level is truly another experience.  I was also really impressed by the turnout of the event.  My friend and I attended thinking that we would be the only ones there.  Like I mentioned above, there was a decent turnout.  I also looked at the sign up sheet, and the sheets were almost full!  I even saw people that signed up as early as 5am.  The only times that were vacant were at like three and four in the morning.  Some people even signed up twice to read.  After one person was done their shift, the next person up would just pick up from where the last person left off.  This made it very interesting to hear all the different tones.  Hearing each person's different tones and levels of excitement made it more enjoyable.  The reading marathon had many issues of the book as well so people could follow along or read on their own.  Another thing that surprised me was the actual marathon part.  I did not actually believe that they would be reading for the whole day, into the next day!  That really surprised me.  I was told that the author was a Penn State graduate but I believe the author did not come.  Overall I thought this was a good experience.  It was my first college sponsored event, and honestly I had a decent time.  Even though I do not like reading, the atmosphere was so pleasant and relaxing that it made the experience enjoyable.