2022 Inter-Readathon Summer Reading Challenge

Keep track of your progress on your blog/social media sites, or wherever you like to track your readathons. Post images and discussions related to this challenge on Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, etc. Yes, you can change stuff to fit your needs, no there are no prizes or rules, and yes this is just for fun. This is a new feature in the Dewey’s universe, and if it proves entertaining enough we will most likely do it again for the winter inter-readathon gap.

• Go to your local library, bookstore, freecycle book source, thriftstore that sells books, etc. Pick a book at random and check it out/buy it/adopt it. Read it.
• Get book recommendations from someone on social media. Pick 3 of those recommended books, get them, and read them.
• Choose a book with at least 300 pages, and a notebook/reading journal. Read the book, stopping every 20-30pgs to journal about your reading(pictures, quotes, reactions, etc.).
• Read a book published between 2020 and 2022.
• Read a book originally published before 1950.
• Browse the current world news. Choose a country/region/issue from the news that interests you. Find a book related to your chosen topic/location, and read it.
• Read a book set during a world war.
• Write and post a review for a book you enjoyed this year. (This can be on Goodreads, Amazon, your blog, etc. We will have a folder in our Goodreads group where you can post these, too.)
• Make a 6-book rainbow (stack up books with a red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple spine). Take a photo and share on social media. Then read those books.
• Read a book that was selected for a book club or group. 
• Complete the 2022 Spring Readathon pre-readathon challenges (located in our Goodreads group).

Dates for our Upcoming Readathons

Our 2022 Reverse Readathon will start at 8pm July 22 and run through 8pm July 23.
Our 2022 Fall Readathon will begin at 8am October 22, and end 8am October 23.

Yep, you read that right. Our Reverse Readathon starts at 8pm on Friday, July 22. It is still a 24hr readathon, but it starts in the evening and runs overnight, for us folks in the US time-zones. This event is our youngest, and is quite popular with folks who hate getting up super early, as well as folks in non-US timezones where an 8am EST start time translates to a more obnoxious time. As a night owl, I personally like this format a lot, but don’t let it fool you. The staying awake and reading for 24hrs part is still hard (and fun).

For our traditionalists, our Fall readathon will be on October 22, starting at 8am EST. This is our other long-standing readathon event, pretty much the same as our Spring readathon, just in October.

Our official pre-readathon challenges will be posted in late May for the Reverse Readathon. In addition we’ll have a new Inter-Readathon Reading Challenge starting this year, for folks who need something to fill the long, slow months between our events(more info coming soon).

-Jamie Barringer

2022 Spring Readathon Cool-Down

Congratulations to all our readers. Another great Spring Readathon has come and gone, and hopefully we have all read a few more pages or books than we had before this weekend.

If you haven’t yet, stop by our Goodreads group and chime in on some of the hourly discussions, get some ideas for next readathon’s snacks, books, and strategies. If you use tumblr and have not yet followed our tumblr page, make sure you do. Our facebook group is usually a bit active during the months between readathons, too. We have a pretty solid admin team at the moment, but if you are interested in how you may fit into our admin team, be sure to join/follow Dewey’s 24hr Readathon on all our sites that you are on, and keep an eye out for our call for volunteers for our Reverse Readathon -dates for this and our Fall Readathon will be announced later this month. We may also have an inter-readathon reading challenge coming soon, to help dull the ache of post-readathon let-down.

Also, of course, if you haven’t yet posted your readathon wrap-up for this readathon, on whichever sites you were using to participate, you should. Brag about how much reading you finished, tell us about the books you read, the snacks you enjoyed or disliked, etc. Inquiring minds want to know!

-Jamie Barringer 🙂

Hour 24

We are not quite done yet. In some readathons this is where my brain really starts to tune out, just before the end. But, in one more hour, we’ll be done, reading champions for another season. I’ve tried using an audiobook for the last hour-long sprint, which works IF you can stay awake. I also have tried putting on an album of music that is an hour long, not classical music, to mark the hour. I am leaning towards a David Bowie album, or maybe Queen or Led Zeppelin. Something familiar enough to be background, but noisy enough to not lull me to sleep. I also am switching to a new book for this hour, something easy and fun (a Doctor Who novel, actually), so my brain will be super happy to stay alert and reading for one more hour.

Have you settled on your last reading sprint plan? Ok.

On your marks …. Get set …. Read!

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Hour 20

This is our second to last reading sprint. How has your readathon gone so far? When did you start reading? Have you really been reading for the past 19 hours? Fantastic! If you have adjusted your readathon plans to fit around other stuff, but are joining us for this one, that’s great too. I love reading sprints, and am looking forward to this one for a chance to refocus my rather tired brain. I am picking up a fresh book for this one, switching genres too, and yes, I have a snack and beverage (and a couple kittens) at hand so I can read without needing to get up for much during this next hour. I picked an hour-long piece of music on youtube so I can hear when the hour is over, and I’ll stop reading when the music stops. It’s tricks like that that keep me engaged during these last few hours of the hardcore 24hr readathons.

Are you ready for this reading sprint?

On your marks …. Get set …. Read!

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Hour 16

If you’ve been with us for the past 15 hours and are still reading, you are one of the dedicated. Seriously. I have a lot of friends who consider themselves readers, but most of them could not handle even 15 hours of readathon reading. I can’t imagine how reading would work as an Olympics event, or how NBC would cover readathons. ….

(It appears as if Reader 15 has dropped her book … and she’s snoring! Tough break for Uzbekistan. At least their other reader is still going strong. … Oh, no! Reader 3 is drooling in her book. We usually expect the Canadians to stay awake a lot longer than this. … She’s nodded back awake! The refs agree she was not quite asleep, so she is still in, but with a slight penalty for the drooling. Canada may not be taking home the gold in this event, but she is still in the running for bronze at the moment. … )

Anyway …

Have your book ready for this hour-long spring?

On your marks …. Get set …. Read!

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Hour 12

We’re at the Half-Way Hour, Hour 12, which is our next hour-long reading sprint. How have you done so far? Still awake? Still reading? If your eyes are getting tired, maybe try a graphic novel, or poetry, or read a play out loud to your pets, or listen to an audiobook(but actually listen- using audiobooks as background noise doesn’t count for a sprint). If you have tricks you’ve discovered for maximizing your sprint performance, leave them in the comments so your fellow readers can improve their own reading sprint experience.

Ok, have you picked your book? Great!

On your marks …. Get set …. Read!

Mid-Event Survey!

• What are you reading right now?
• How many books have you read so far?
• What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the readathon?
• Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
• What surprises you most about the readathon, so far?

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Hour 8

We’ve reached hour 8, and another of our scheduled hour-long reading sprints. 8 hours is a full workday, so if you have not yet finished and healthy food, perhaps grab a healthy snack and some water or other non-sugary beverage to enjoy while you read for this next hour. Stand up, stretch, take some nice, deep breaths, and then grab your book for our Hour 8 reading sprint.

Ready? On your marks …. Get set …. Read!

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Hour 4

How have your first 3 hours gone? Well, if you need a bit of focus to kick your reading into higher gear, now is your chance. I often find that switching books every hour or two helps me stay focused on reading, so if you are finding your mind keeps wandering, maybe try picking up the next book from your TBR for this hour-long reading sprint. Ready?

Ok, on your marks …. Get set …. Read!

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Hour 1

What better way to get started with our 2022 Spring Readathon than with a reading sprint? If you have never done a reading sprint before, it is super easy- pick up your book (or turn on your audiobook), tune out all distractions, and just read/listen for the duration of the sprint. Can’t make it a whole hour? Try to hold your focus for as long as you can. Reading sprints are great exercise for your brain, and a great way to make progress reading a book you’ve had languishing unfinished for a while. Traditionally we do an hour long reading sprint every 4 hours, plus our initial one in hour 1, so if you missed this sprint, try again during hours 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24.

So, on your marks …. Get set …. Read!

Opening Survey!

What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Tell us a little something about yourself!
If you participated in the last readathon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first readathon, what are you most looking forward to?

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!