Warm-Up: Goodreads Group Scavenger Hunt

Hi Readathoners! This is Kate. I co-host the final hours of the readathon. In addition to that, I am the moderator of the official Goodreads Group and Facebook Group for Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon. If you haven’t joined either group, I really encourage you to join in on the fun.

The facebook group is a great place to go and interact with other participants. People share pictures and comment on each other’s posts. It is a lot of fun and I love moderating the group. The group is active throughout the year and its a good place to be to stay informed about other readathons and reading related activities throughout the year.

The Goodreads Group is a more organized place to go for readathon activities (as opposed to the facebook group). Every readathon, we have 3 “pre-readathon” readathons to get in the spirit of the actual event. During the readathon, we have hourly co-moderators who post hourly discussion threads to encourage discussion and community building. We also have threads related to what’s currently on your plate, what you’re reading, and tips and tricks to the readathon.

This year, on the Goodreads Group, we are doing something completely new. During Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon, we are hosting a Scavenger Hunt. Gabby, my fellow moderator of the group, and I have come up with a list of 30 tasks that as a group, we are going to try to complete via the books that we read. The number of books to be read for each category varies and will be posted within the next few days. The categories vary from attempting to reading books set in each of the 50 states to reading a books set in 50 different countries. We have tasks for reading children’s books or books with orange covers. There is a great variety of tasks and your book is sure to fit at least one task (though it’s allowed to count for however many tasks you can make it fit into). Before the event begins, Gabby and I will go through and create individual threads for each category and you’ll post your completed books on the relevant threads.

We would really love for as many people as possible to participate in the Scavenger Hunt with us. This really is a case of the more people who join in, the more fun it will be. It’s an awesome community to be a part of and everyone there is so friendly and willing to help out. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me (KathrynCA on goodreads) and ask your questions or voice your concerns. Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon is an event that we all look forward to every April and October and I hope that you will join in with us and share in the community!

Happy reading and happy readathoning!!!!

Warm-Up: Things We Love About Readathon

The first time I participated in Dewey’s 24-hour readathon, I thought… oh no, how could I ever read for 24 hours? Or even 12? Many readathon later, I still haven’t! But it’s still a blast and I enjoy it every time. And even after the 24 hours is up, I just want to keep reading more!

Living in Finland, my 24-hours doesn’t begin until 3pm. But that’s not a problem, since readers worldwide are reading ahead of me or with me. It’s so great that this is a world-wide event, and I can be reading with others from Australia to California.

I enjoy planning and organizing, and the Dewey’s 24-hour website has everything to help a reader. Tips and advice on how to readathon (use a stopwatch app and take regular screenshots), a printout for you to keep track of your books and snacks (it’s fun to look back at my old bookmarks and see what I read), and how to have a healthy readathon (stock up on fruit and veg, and take a walk with an audiobook). This time, I’m going to be using my bullet journal to track my progress too.

Dewey’s 24-hour readathon is a great way to make new reader friends. Every readathon I look up other accounts that are participating and follow the winners from the challenges using my social media of choice. I get to find people that read similar books as me and learn about new-to-me books to add to my TBR list.

There is no wrong way to readathon. If you only finish one book, or even part of a book, that’s awesome. Dewey’s 24-hour readathon is laid back and relaxed and all about celebrating and enjoying reading. At the end of the 24 hours, there’s no guilt or shame if you didn’t read as many books or as many hours as someone else. So remember to have fun, live in the moment, and enjoy the book you are reading!

Whether this is your first readathon or your twenty-first welcome and happy reading!!!

Thank you @Katie.Cat.Books! You nailed so many of the things we love about Readathon!