Hello and Welcome! The August 2021 Reverse Readathon is at hand! And it’s THIS. WEEKEND!
So quick, tell us, can you read with us? We’re so sorry for the late notice, but, things have been a bit crazy around here. We honestly expect NO ONE to hang out with us the full 24 hours. Who are we kidding? We won’t hang out with us the whole 24 hours! Yet, can you read for an hour? Two? If so, join us! Sign up! Meet us here! Meet us on Twitter! Meet us on Instagram! And guzzle what few or many pages you can with us, this weekend. August 6th 8pm EST to 8pm on the 7th. There is a handy-dandy page right here (<-updated link) to tell you what time that is where you are.
And if you can do anything to help out, please hit us up by DMing us on Twitter or emailing at deweyreadathon @ gmail.com. We can’t wait to read with you this weekend!
Welcome back to Dewey’s Readathon! We had some changes to the administration of this much loved, long-lived reading institution after the last Spring Readathon. The new leadership team is coming together as we prepare for our most casual Readathon event of the year, the Reverse Readathon. For folks who have never done this one, we start at 8pm instead of 8am, so this year the Reverse Readathon starts August 6th at 8pm EST. We read, chat about reading, add far too many new titles to our TBRs, and whatever else we enjoy doing during readathons. All our events are about having fun and reading, but this one is more casual, at least so far.
So, the Pre-Readathon Challenge for this readathon is also more casual. Starting Sunday, July 11th, keep track of how many hours you read. This can be on social media, or in a notebook, or on a spreadsheet, or wherever works for you. Over the next 4 weeks leading up to the Readathon itself, see how many of these prompts you can check off. There are only 8 prompts, so if you aim for 2 per week you can finish all of them, and it is up to you whether you count the same book for multiple prompts.
Read a murder mystery/crime novel OR romance novel set in a place you’ve never visited.
Read a book in which at least one character is non-binary gendered, where this is a character trait, NOT the central conflict of the narrative.
Participate in a book-related Goodreads, Facebook, or other social media group (not Dewey’s).
Add a book to your pre-readathon TBR that is mentioned in a book blog, booktube, or other bookish social media site. Read the book.
Read a science fiction/fantasy novel, OR if you mostly read sci-fi/fantasy anyway, read a Western or cozy mystery.
Read a non-fiction book.
You can keep track of your progress online or on paper or wherever, but if you post your progress online, feel free to use the hashtag #2021ReverseReadathon .
Dewey’s is truly sorry for any harm caused by choosing Harry Potter as a theme for the Reverse Readathon. There was never any intention to hurt anyone or make anyone feel excluded. The reasoning behind trying a theme was to bring something new to the readathon and try to bring in more participants as the last Reverse readathon had half the number of readers as in previous years. The purpose in choosing Harry Potter as a theme stemmed from the love of the story and was in no way in support of the author. This was a mistake and for that we offer our sincerest apologies. Dewey’s denounces any hate or abuse that is directed towards the trans community and never wanted anyone to feel unsafe.
Upon noting the feedback, it was requested that the readathon be cancelled, as it was not reflective of what Dewey as a person would want. Out of respect for all, the readathon was cancelled. We wanted to hear from the community and allow people to have the space to express themselves and their concerns, but an apology should have been issued sooner.
As for the comments, please know no comments were deleted. Dewey’s has always had and will always have a belief in the freedom of speech. WordPress has some sort of algorithm that automatically approves some comments and puts others into pending that must be processed manually. Unfortunately, this is why certain comments were posted late. All voices should be heard.
There have been requests for new hosts and we would love for volunteers to take over. If you are still wanting to participate in a readathon over the summer @transathon is hosting a readathon to help support trans and nonbinary authors.
Dewey’s is meant to bring us all together to share in the joy of reading and we hope this will continue for many years to come.
***Make sure to enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!
Thank you so much for joining us on this amazing and fun Read-A-Thon!
Our next Read-A-Thon will be on Friday October 22rd! We will be formatting the October Readathon as a Reverse Readathon. So start time will be at 7pm CST. We are excited and hope you can come join us!
A) like you scaled Mt. Everest– quick someone take a picture!!? or
B) like you’re a drained AA battery?
Everyone approaches the readathon differently, and I’m starting to learn that life has to get in the way, so this wasn’t the go-for-gold kind of readathon but an I’ll-read-as-much-as-I-possibly-can. And the benchmarks along the way are what we can celebrate. This book community is to be applauded for their tireless preparation (here’s looking at you hosts!), the pre-readathoners, and readathoners themselves. Plus the every day readers.
I hope you made a connection or two along this twenty-four hour journey. You might have found a new bookish friend on Twitter or a reading twin on Goodreads. If not a person, maybe someone shared your next great read and a recipe to try (thanks BINGO board square).
Regardless of how much you read- be it pages or books- you are to be applauded for being here. For showing up. For reading. For snacking while reading. We are a community of readers. It’s our identity. Tattoos. Sagging bookshelves. Swag. It represents us.
We know we are each others cheerleaders throughout this 24-hour readathon, but who do you have close to you? Including the furry, scaly, or stuffed kind too.
My dad wasn’t a book reader, instead he was a magazine and newspaper guy, but he was a learner. Every day it was understanding something new and asking plenty of questions about anything. As he’s gotten older, he’s reading more books in addition to his traditional items and he’s a big fan of a good conspiracy theory.
My mom was the bodice-ripper romance novel reader. She always had a bookshelf downstairs and picked them up at garage sales as I was growing up.
My brothers- one was a reader of the science fiction variety, the other one preferred to be outdoors and barely read what he was asked to in school, let alone on his own.
This was what surrounded me growing up. It was more about ways to learn which included books rather than daily and weekly trips to the library and massive bookshelves at home. But there were plenty of visits to the library and bookshelves nonetheless. I became a reader and a writer because I liked what I explored in those mediums and here I am decades later. This includes acting as my two boys’ and husband’s cheerleader. They’re audiobook listeners including mysteries and nonfiction. Plus what middle school boy doesn’t have an obsession with Dog Man, Hilo, and Harry Potter? In turn, they can always be counted on to leave me alone (especially during readathons) but check in on my progress, and usually for an hour or two, will participate themselves.
And as long as our 130-pound dog can be underfoot, he doesn’t really care what we’re doing, but he’s okay if I have my headphones on when I’m walking him because he knows I’m reading. He’s a good dog like that.
We make time for reading. Before bed. If it’s a casual weekday or weekend, it definitely happens at the table while eating. We go to the library… often. We know our indie bookstore sellers by name.
Think about who surrounded you growing up. Did they provide support for your reading or have you come into reading later in life and was lured in by another reader who provided the support and recommendations that you needed? Who surrounds you now to cheer you on?
Maybe when the clock strikes hour twenty-four, you can put down your book and say thank you to those cheerleaders in your life.
Holy wah, it’s Hour 22! Look at how far you’ve made it! Whether you’ve been awake and reading this whole time, took some naps, or kept your sleep schedule, thank you for participating as much as you have!
If you find yourself needing some encouragement, let us know! We’re happy to help remind you to:
1) Drink water 2) Stretch your legs, walk around a bit 3) Put down a book if you’re not enjoying it 4) Eat some food 5) Pick up another book 6) If you can’t find another book you want to read, go ahead and buy another. You deserve it.*
*Read-A-Thon is not responsible for you spending your entire paycheck on books. No matter how much fun book shopping is.
I really hope you’ve had fun these past 24 hours and I’m looking forward to seeing you all next time. We’re almost to the finish line! Just remember:
I’ve been participating in the 24-hour Read-A-Thon for at least 8 years and for every Read-A-Thon, I always bake up a little special something for my snacking. The first couple of years I made homemade hot pockets; carbs, protein, etc. to keep the body going. After that I started making cheesecakes for the sugar rush. Now I’m making granola bars and rye bread. Can you tell I’m getting a bit old? 😉
But one of the things I love about baking is how well it can mix with reading. Sometimes the recipes are too involved and you have put on an audiobook, but others are more relaxed and you can get in some reading. Seriously, today’s rye bread recipe requires the dough to sit overnight. I can get in so much reading during that time! And if I decide I want to do something fancy, maybe decorate some cookies, I can put on an audiobook and just relax.
But this has me wondering: do you mix your hobbies? Do you sometimes use one hobby as an excuse for another (i.e. “I need to crochet so I’ll put on an audiobook”). Are you doing any non-reading hobbies today?
We have been reading for 20 hours. Well most of us probably haven’t actually been reading for that long straight. But if you have, ALL the power to you. I will probably have slept at least 5 hours because I don’t think messing up my sleep schedule completely is a reasonable idea for me. How about you? Did you sleep? Are you planning to?
But back to the reading for 20 hours… I know there have already been some posts on moving. Walks, dance parties etc.
What I (would) like to focus on is some stretching. I might even do a little live session over on Twitter. We’ll see. But let’s also do it on here. I am recycling my mini challenge from the last round of Dewey’s.
This challenge is called bake and stretch. So we'll be making a mug brownie and stretching our bodies a bit.
As for the ingredients I think most people will have these things at home. If not, feel free to just get a snack and stretch with us. If stretching isn’t your cup of tea, also totally fine. We’ll need flour, sugar, cocoa, water, oil and vanilla.
step 1: Add 4 tsp flour to your microwave-safe cup
stretch 1: alternately raise your hands over your head and stretch your sides
step 2: Add 4 tsp. sugar
stretch 2: try to touch your toes. Don't worry if you can't reach them, I can't either most of the times.
step 3: Add 2 tsp. cocoa
stretch 3: stretch your hips from side to side
step 4: add 2 tsp water and 2 tsp oil
stretch 4: cross your fingers behind your back and raise your hands
step 5: add 1/4 tsp. vanilla and mix
microwave for 30 seconds
My name is Flavia and I am a reader from Germany. This year marks my 5th anniversary of participating in the Dewey’s 24-hour readathon.
The first time I participated it was quite last minute and I didn’t really expect much.
As I’ve participated more and more and had more “successes”I started to put more pressure on myself. To accomplish more and be better.
But that is not always possible. You might not sleep well the night before the readathon. You might have had a stressful week and just not have the power to really read much this weekend. Your mental or physical health might not be as good as you had hoped. Maybe something came up.
And if you are like me that might be frustrating. And to be honest I don’t have the patented recipe to deal with that frustration. But I do encourage you to change your perspective if you are in a situation like that. What can you do to feel better now?
And that might just be to give up and ditch this readathon!
To be honest I did briefly consider that in the course of today since I felt disappointed in myself. But then I really got into another book and now I’m over 200 pages into that (I’m writing this in hour 11).
Another option is to just change your focus. Focus on self care, Focus on quality time with your partner/fam/animal, Focus on bingeing “Shadow and Bone”.
We are living through the apocalypse. Don’t beat yourself up and if you need someone to hype you up, comment here or join me on twitter for some sprints and fun 🙂
