Hour 24 – Wrap Up

Hello Readathoners! This is your host, Kate, and I cannot believe that we are already on our last hours. I have to say, this has probably been my most successful readathon ever! I started and read at least 100 pages in 10 books! I probably shouldn’t have agreed to 7 different Buddy Reads, but it kept me motivated. I only managed to finish 2 of the 10 books, but I am still really proud of my achievement this year.

I think that the Bingo board was a huge part of my success. I really wanted to achieve a Blackout and so I spent a couple hours on Friday combing through my books and making a plan. Then I create a spread in my Bullet Journal (see pictured above) and this helped keep me motivated and on track of reaching my goal. Anyone else use a Bullet Journal? Did you make a spread for the Readathon? I would love to see what yours looks like!

Speaking of Bullet Journaling and Planning, Gabby and I are super happy to announce the date of the next Readathon… April 24th!

So make sure to mark that date down on your calendars! In addition, we will be putting the call out for volunteers at the beginning of March, so if you want to volunteer in any capacity, keep your eye out for that post. And finally, we will be having another Warm Up Reading Challenge. This time, however, I will be posting it in mid-March, so there will be more time for everyone to complete the challenges!

We hope that you enjoyed this readathon and that you will join us in April 2021!

Mini-Challenge:

Closing Survey

1. How would you assess your reading overall?
2. Did you have a stategy, and if so, did you stick to it?
3. What was your favorite snack?
4. Wanna volunteer for our next event? Stay tuned for the recap post!

Link up below or leave a comment!

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Check out the Bingo Board!

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

Hour 23 – Book Trivia Anyone?

Hello Readathoners! This is your host, Kate, and I am here to host your last couple of hours! During this pandemic, my family has made it a point to attempt to do an online family game night every Friday night. We are spread out across the global (California, Washington State, Germany, and Singapore) so it isn’t always easy to schedule a block of time that works for everyone, but this experience has brought us all closer.

We really enjoy playing the Jack Box Party games and one of the family favorites is Murder Trivia Party. We love trivia in our family! I thought that perhaps some book related Trivia might be fun, here, at the end of the readathon. So, without further ado, here is some random book trivia:

*The fear of running out of something to read is called Abibliophobia… I am happy to say that this is not a fear I have. I have the more common book lover fear of running out of time to read all the books I want to read.

*Lord of the Ring author, J.R.R Tolkien typed the whole trilogy with just two fingers! Considering the manuscript for the trilogy is over 1200 pages, that must have taken a really long time and been really exhausting.

*A study found that you are 2 ½ times less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in later life if you read regularly… I hope that audiobooks count for this as well!

*The library at Saint Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai is the oldest currently operating in the world, and has the second largest collection of ancient manuscripts and codices, just after Vatican City. It was established in AD 565

*There are more public libraries than McDonald’s restaurants in the United States… This one was really surprising to me. I see way more McDonald’s than I see libraries. But this is also really cool!

What book trivia do you know? Share something with us in the comments below!

Mini-Challenge:

Scooby Doo Gang Mini Challenge with Rachel Noel on Reddit

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Check out the Bingo Board!

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

Hour 22 – Reading Mediums

Hey welcome to the last eighth of the readathon. My name is Flavia and I am an enthusiastic reader from Germany, you can find me mostly on Twitter under the username flaviaaalouise.

We’ve all been reading for quite a while now. And at least in my experience the exhaustion might start to settle in now. Whether it’s from not sleeping (enough) or from training your eyes on a book for hours.

What I like to do to help with this and mix up my reading formats, physical books, ebooks and audiobooks. Different genres, fiction and nonfiction, graphic works, poetry. All these things are my friends.
Especially in 24 hour readathons time is valuable, so having an audiobook to listen to while having to do chores or going outside (if corona permits) is amazing. Graphic works are super useful becuase they are fat to read and help you feel accomplished.

What is your take on reading in different formats? What is your favorite format?

I hope your reading is going well and even if it’s not, don’t beat yourself up. And always remember to be kind to yourself.

Mini-Challenge:

This or That with Bre – Feel free to post your answers on the platform of your choice.

Twitter Party – Hosted by Rachel Noel

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Check out the Bingo Board!

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

Hour 21 – When the readathon isn’t going your way

Hi, my name is Flavia and I’m an enthusiastic reader from Germany. You can find me mostly on Twitter under the username flaviaaalouise.

We are 20 hours into this readathon and for some of us it won’t have gone as well as we had hoped.

Between doing lots of lab work last week and starting an internship this past week I haven’t really gotten to read that much which frustrates me a lot so I can very much relate.

And I know that especially in a readathon format not reaching your goals can really get you down.

So you have lots of options of how to address that frustration. I mean you could just flat out give up on this whole endeavor and that is super valid. There is so much going on in this world. So if it doesn’t serve you, let it go!

So let’s assume that is not what you want to do. You’ve been excited about this event for weeks and you want to persevere. Alright I like your approach!

First of all, you still have 4 hours. That’s a lot of time. Get reading! Tell the other people around you, you need that time for yourself. Throw your phone in the bin or just download Forest or a similar app that allows you to focus better.

Other option. This readathon is not JUST abot reading. Engage with us on this blog or social media, meet new people and just be excited about the fact that it unites so many people all over the world.

And if the readathon is going great for you, all the better for you! 🙂

Mini-Challenge:

Book Spine Poetry Mini Challenge with Ellie

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Check out the Bingo Board!

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

Hour 20 – Until We Meet Again: Farewell from Mr Geek

Hi there fellow readers! Thank you for sticking with me for these last couple of hours! I figured now was the perfect time to reflect on the day!

While I have participated in numerous read-a-thons in the past, I’ve never had the chance to co-host. This was an all new experience for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I loved seeing all the likes, comments and interactions with my posts/tweets throughout the day. It was great chatting with everyone both on the Dewey blog and mine (www.TreatYoShelf.blog), plus on Twitter (@ItsMrGeekToYou), about the books you’re reading. This has been such a great community to be a part of! I also wanted to give Kate a shoutout! She’s the mastermind behind the 24 Hour Read-A-Thon and did a fantastic job organizing everything! I’m already looking forward to joining in again in 2021!

Personally, the best part of my day was when I took a walk on the local trail near my home. I decided to veer off my standard route, sit near a river and enjoy my audiobook for awhile + the crisp Autumn air! It was an extremely scenic spot, very peaceful and quiet. It was also great getting out of the house for awhile and enjoying the great outdoors!

Since I’m being reflective, you should be too! What was your favorite part of the day? Did you read a truly amazing book? Did you participate in a Mini-Challenge? Did you take your self on a socially-distance adventure and read somewhere fun? Let me know in the comments!

Like I said, I’ve really enjoy my time co-hosting today! I hope you’ll stay connected with me either at my blog (www.TreatYoShelf.blog) or on Twitter (@ItsMrGeekToYou)!

Until Next Time,
Mr Geek

Mini-Challenge:

Dewey’s Wordsearch with Kate

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Check out the Bingo Board!

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

Hour 19 – You Got This! Motivation by Mr Geek

Hello fellow Read-A-Thon Readers! Let me start off by introducing myself. My name is Shawn but my friends call me Mr Geek. I am an avid reader and also love the occasional round of golf, latest gadgets, delicious coffee and fine wines! I’m the author behind www.TreatYoShelf.blog. A blog dedicated to books – recommendations, reviews, TBRs, recaps and more! I’m also a frequent Twitter user, so feel free to connect with me there – @ItsMrGeekToYou. I love discussing books with anyone and everyone!

At this point, it’s starting to get pretttttttttttttttttttty late! I’m sure you’re starting to get tired and your motivation is waning. Well, I’m here to say YOU GOT THIS! Push through and squeeze in those last few pages! Overall, I’ve had a pretty productive reading day. I was able to finish Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and have nearly finished my audiobook (Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay). By the time this post goes live, I’ll have started up my next book, City of Ghost by Victoria Schwab. My October TBR has revolved around spooky / creepy / scary reads (if that’s your thing, check out my post: October ’20 TBR).

This year has been such a weird reading year for me. I have really had to stick with fast paced, edge of your seat novels or I just can’t focus on them! A similar theme to what I’m dealing with tonight (since it’s getting late here on the East Coast and I’m pretty tired)! How has your reading day been? Were you able to finish any books? Anything I should add to my TBR (or move to the top)? Let me know in the comments!

I’m also going to be leading some reading sprints over on the Readathon account on Twitter, so be sure to stop over there! See you soon for my next check in!

Until Next Time,
Mr Geek

Mini-Challenge:

Bookish Best Friend Mini Challenge with Starlight System

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Check out the Bingo Board!

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

Hour 18 – Staying Awake When You Don’t Want To

Hiyo! It’s Steph again! (find me on Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.)

How’s everybody doing? You’re almost there!!! Can you believe it? These are going to be toughest hours for many of you.

I’ve been participating in this event for over a decade and my ability to stay awake for 24 hours has truly gone downhill ever since. 

I’m shocked that I’m even up this late! It’s a real accomplishment for me.

It’s really hard to stay awake but I also know how great it feels to finish a whole 24 hours of reading without ever dozing off. You feel like a beast, a champion—dare I say, superhuman? 

Some people, though, are better at keeping their eyes open than others. My number one tip is to STAY AWAY FROM CAFFEINE. It is your enemy. Especially if you’re a regular caffeine drinker. You’ll be temporarily wide-eyed, but soon you’ll be traipsing off to dreamland. And if you do manage to stay awake, you’ll probably get a headache.

So here are a few non-caffeine-related tips to keep you up and flipping through pages.

Staying awake when you don’t want to

Injure yourself. I know this is effective because I stubbed my toe so hard two weeks ago that I broke it. It was right before bedtime and I ended up staying up because it jolted me awake. I don’t condone purposely hurting yourself, so instead, just pinch your arm—and don’t be gentle.

Read something that infuriates you. Getting mad can really get your blood pumping. If none of your current books are pissing you off, reach for an article online. There’s a lot out there that’s bound to make you rage.

Get frisky. A little bit of sexy time can help you stay awake, but careful, release can also encourage you to doze off.

Take a cold shower. Feel your eyes slowly shutting while you try to re-read the same page for the 6th time? Jump in the shower and turn on the cold water. Instant wake up!

Ask someone else to nag you. If you have a partner or family member who easily stays up past their bedtime, ask them to give you a hand in staying awake. They can physically nudge you or send you texts to keep your mind alert. 

Talk to yourself. Give yourself a pep talk. You won’t go to sleep because you’re better than that. You can stay awake. You know it’s going to suck tomorrow, but if you finish you will revel in the pride of having read for 24 hours. YOU ARE A WINNER. 

Set a million alarms. Something I do every readathon is set an alarm for every hour during the 24-hour period. It’s extremely annoying but it reminds me to check on mini-challenges, blog posts, and pop in to see how other readathoners are doing.

Source: https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2017-09-18/8-wildly-unconventional-tricks-for-staying-awake-when-sleep-isnt-an-option 

Mini-Challenge:

Song to Match Your Book Mini Challenge from Jenna

Twitter Party – Hosted by Nicole

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Check out the Bingo Board!

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

Hour 17 – MIDNIGHT SNACKS

OMG it’s MIDNIGHT HERE!!!!!!!

The spookiest hour of them all! 

I’m Steph and you can find me on Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

What time is it where you are? I’ve been reading spooky fare all day and I’m excited for the late-night hour because I rarely read in the middle of the night. I’m currently reading Spook by Mary Roach and loving it. I can’t believe I’ve finished 3 books so far! I really wasn’t expecting to. In fact, I’ve had a bit of an off day today. It’s my first full day off in weeks but it didn’t end up feeling as relaxing as it should have. Thankfully, I started the day with a great read that I really recommend called ‘Ring Shout’. Definitely check it out!

It’s probably about time to start thinking about a midnight snack. What have you been snacking on? Not too much sugar I hope. Sugar is great, don’t get me wrong, but during a 24-hour event, relying on sweet treats can leave you with a headache, which isn’t conducive to reading. 

Shockingly, I’m not really a snacky kinda gal. I prefer meals to snacks, which is why I’m likely going to munch on some pizza when my tummy starts to rumble in the middle of the night. 

I hope you’re staying strong and ready to fight through the next several hours. I can’t promise I’ll be as successful, but I’m so excited to be here hanging out with you tonight.  I vow to stay awake ’till at least 2AM! But maybe I can make it ’till 3AM? Time will tell!

My challenge to you for this hour is to text, message, or poke a friend who is also participating to make sure they’re still awake.

Mini-Challenge:

Make Their Dreams Come True Mini Challenge from Azuki

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Check out the Bingo Board!

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

Hour 16 – all the reading nooks

It is officially Sunday in my neck of the woods. What part of the day is it for you? Have you been napping already or taken any other breaks?

I have been pretty consistently reading with some short breaks to pet my dogs (for they demand attention!), get some more snacks, make fresh coffee, or to stretch. I am currently lounging on my daybed in the living room (thank you pandemic for making me realize that a futon couch makes an excellent daybed instead) and listening to an audiobook and of course chatting with you. What is your favorite reading nook? Do you tend to move around or stay put? I usually start the readathon off in the guest room (during the reverse readathon in August I had even made a blanket fort there) but once my house is quite in the middle of the night I generally move to the living room because that’s closer to the kitchen where the snacks and the coffee live.

Tell me about your reading spots. And don’t forget to refresh your body, mind and soul during this hour’s mini challenge.

Juli from ichlese.

Mini-Challenge:

Refresh Your Body, Mind, and Soul Yoga Challenge with Angie

Twitter Party – Hosted by Starlight System

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Check out the Bingo Board!

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

Hour 15 – yummy, yummy snacks in my tummy

Hour 15, you guys!!!! This is Juli from ichlese and I’ll be hanging with you over the next two hours here, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

How are you holding up? I’m definitely chugging coffee at this point. I also switched to an audiobook to continue my reading but also be able to chat with everyone.

Since, this hour’s challenge is all about snacks, I thought we could tell each other our favorite, maybe even weird, snack recipes or combos. I personally love eating sweet and salty things and you bet I have chocolate covered pretzels right next to me this very moment. I think they are the perfect snack for our October readathons. During the summer reverse readathon, I usually have fresh watermelon, to which, you guessed right, I add some sprinkles of salt. In April, I frequently enjoy some crackers with jam and cheese.

What are you snacking on? What are your weird combinations? Leave your recommendations in the comments.

Mini-Challenge:

Snack Attack Challenge from Kristen

Enter your finished books into the DATABASE here!

Check out the Bingo Board!

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