October 2021, readathon

Hour 12 – Reading Games

It’s the halfway point (yay!) and if you’ve been with us since the beginning of this readathon, your eyes may be getting tired, your brain may feel a bit overstuffed, and even the occasional break for stretches and snacks may not be helping much. What do you do to keep going? One of my favorite ways to boost my reading is with a sort of reading game I worked out a few years ago (probably for a Dewey’s readathon). I pick out 5-10 books, set them up in some sort of order, and then challenge myself to read the next 20/50 pages, the next chapter, etc. of each one, in un-timed reading sprints. By breaking up my reading into smaller chunks rather than tackling whole books, and changing books at each increment, I find I don’t start tuning out while reading so much. If I find a particular book really tedious, I can adjust the amount I aim to read of it so that I don’t run out of steam before the end of the allotted segment. The game I have chosen to play with my reading during this readathon is another way to keep myself reading. I can get bogged down easily deciding which book to pick up next. So, I have my TBR in 3 stacks, with the top-priority books on top of each stack. Each hour of the readathon I can switch books once, but only to another book on the top of a stack. As I finish books, new ones become the top for each stack. This way I get a lot of variety, but without the paralyzing situation of having too much to choose from. I also have audiobooks lined up, so that if none of the books on top appeal to me enough I can listen to an audiobook and work on a crochet project for an hour. What are some games, tricks, or strategies you find helpful to help you stick to reading during readathons? While you are here, don’t forget to post your answers on your social media site/blog for the Mid-Event Survey. If you chose to do the Hour 12 Sprint, you can of course post your survey answers at the end of the hour or whenever you get to it, but do let us know your answers.  🙂 Mid Event Survey 1. What are you reading right now? 2. How many books have you read so far? 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? 4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? 5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here! Cheer your fellow readers! Join our Goodreads or Facebook or Reddit groups! Watch for posts and stories on our Instagram! Tag your posts with #Readathon on all your social channels 
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10 thoughts on “Hour 12 – Reading Games”

  1. 1. the same two books I started with.
    2. see above.
    3. I am about to finish one of them. Not sure yet what I will pick next.
    4. I made dinner, received some texts, etc. I will go to bed now and when I wake up, I will be busy with other things than reading. It is unlikely that I will get much reading done in the second half of the readathon. Maybe I will continue with the audiobook a little.

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  2. Right this moment I am alternating between Reckless, Glorious, Girl–a nominee for the Cybils award and E. L. Doctorow’s short stories.
    I have finished one and read two poetry books. Soon I will finish the two I am reading now.
    I am still hoping to read from the Jemisin book I was looking forward to reading at the beginning. Haven’t picked it up yet today.
    I had a long interruption. I had to make a trip to Houston. It took a good two hours all together. See http://powerfulwomenreaders.wordpress.com for details.
    The only surprise is how sore I am from sitting. In the words of my 90 year old neighbor, “I’m stove up!”

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  3. Mid Event Survey

    1. What are you reading right now?
    Current Read: Loss (Riders of the Apocalypse, #3) by Jackie Morse Kessler
    Current Listen: Death’s Mistress (Dorina Basarab, #2) by Karen Chance

    2. How many books have you read so far?
    one finished
    Books finished: Rage (Riders of the Apocalypse, #2) by Jackie Morse Kessler

    3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
    Finishing the Riders of the Apocalypse series and finally getting Death’s story.
    Breath (Riders of the Apocalypse, #4) by Jackie Morse Kessler

    4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
    the fur kids constantly interrupt me. I just adapt and overcome.

    5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
    nothing really.

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  4. 1) Home Sweet Murder James Patterson
    2)2 ish
    3) Know my name
    4)Yes, work, took care of it, back to the readathon
    5) Nothing, is the best time of the year!

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  5. 1. I’m alternating between two books : The Art Forger by BA. Shapiro and James Potter and the Hall of Elders Crossing by Norman Lippert . Probably won’t finish either during the Readathon .
    3. I’m looking forward to making some progress in the BA. Shapiro book .
    4. Yes ! I’ve had a lot of interruption this particular Readathon . Hopefully
    the interruptions are over and I can sprint .
    5. I’m surprized the Readathon hasn’t been discontinued .

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  6. What are you reading right now?

    Currently reading The High Mountain Court by A.K. Mulford and listening to Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind

    How many books have you read so far?

    Read five, finished two

    What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

    I’m not really sure. All of them!

    Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

    There were instances where my family wanted to chat with me. I talked a bit and then reminded them of readathon and went back to reading.

    What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

    How well I’ve been doing and how focused I’ve been!

    Follow me everywhere: https://linktr.ee/StarsBooksAndTea

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