I don’t know about you, but I’m thrilled to be participating in a favorite event that I would have stayed inside for anyway. Not only that, but someone counts the hours for you and reminds you that time actually has meaning. Can you believe it? How luxurious.
Like many of you, I’ve often spent time preparing for the readathon: going to the library (or two or three), preparing snacks, and finding the right playlist to listen to while I read. April 2020–for me at least–calls for an approach that’s a bit more relaxed. So today I’ve gotten up, I’ve had coffee, I’ve read a little bit, and I’m just happy to be here with all of you. How are you finding moments of joy today?
Enjoy the readathon!
And come hang out with me on the Readathon twitter!
Welcome to Hour 7! I’m Naomi, @bookladyreads on Instagram (my main home. I LIVE HERE), Twitter (my summer vacation home), Litsy (my weekend getaway), and Goodreads (the place I stalk all throughout the day).
Let’s talk DECISIONS! We’ve all presumably been reading for the last seven hours. Are you loving or regretting the book(s) you chose to read for this readathon? Hey, listen, there’s no shame here. This is a safe place.
Hello, everyone and happy Hour 7!! This is Julianne of Outlandish Lit here with you for some REAL TALK that is hopefully applicable to some of your lives.
I suck at relaxing. I really do. If you’re like me, you KNOW that relaxing is good for you and you encourage friends/loved ones to relax. But when it comes to relaxing yourself… it’s hard not to think of all the things you should be doing instead.
Readathon is the ultimate opportunity to spend time on your relaxation practice (I’m saying practice so you’re NOT TOO HARD ON YOURSELF if you don’t do it perfectly). We are all agreeing that spending time reading matters to us – enough to prioritize it over all of our other normal daily events. How bad*ss is that? It’s an amazing, communal time to say, “I’m going to let myself not think about all the other stuff.”
Sometimes that’s not what actually happens for me though. SO, something that I’m going to try to do this time around is NOT do other stuff while listening to an audiobook, unless it is a truly relaxing activity. I’m not saying if I need to walk around, I won’t. Please, everyone, move and do things you need to do! What I’m saying is sometimes I’ll get up and clean a few rooms while listening to an audiobook, but that’s not actually coming from a place of helping myself. It’s happening because somewhere in my brain I’m telling myself that I’m not doing enough. And the only way I’m used to quelling that voice is by doing exactly what it says, no matter how mean it is to me. So this time: no guilt-driven actions! Cleaning can wait! I’m going to fight the harsh voice and maybe try doing something low-key like coloring or knitting during an audiobook instead.
My best tiny tip for those of you who struggle to relax: have something to do with your non-book-holding hand. When I’m getting fidgety and having a hard time relaxing, sometimes the fact is the matter is that I NEED to be doing something. I find some sort of object/stress ball/whatever to fidget with with my free hand. Typically after a little bit, and after some deep breaths, I’m able to lean back into the relaxation.
HAPPY HOUR SEVEN, EVERYONE! It’s early on in the game and our reading energy isn’t waning just yet. I’m Julianne – I share jokes, things that I make, and places that I go on Instagram as @_ulianne.
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I think we need to take a moment to really appreciate the unsung hero of group Readathon parties. There’s always that special someone who loves to focus on, uh, the morale of the group. And…expressing themselves? Or something? Really, they will do nearly anything but read. It’s time for me to make a confession: I am that Readathon friend who never shuts up. And I will not let any of you shame me or my people. We are a vital part of the Readathon ecosystem. Here’s why you should consider incorporating an annoying slacker into your roster of reading friends ASAP.
Every group needs a diva. If I don’t complain constantly about any and everything, then who will???
Some jokes are so good they can’t NOT be shared. Your joy is my top priority. You giving me attention is my next top priority.
Somebody needs to make sure everyone has enough snacks. Every ten minutes. Your hydration is nearly as important to me as your joy – and both are certainly far more important than picking up my book.
If you’re feeling bad about not spending enough time reading, at least you’re not as bad as THAT person. Please don’t look at my phone timer to see how little I’ve actually read. That’s my own private business. The rest of my business is public during these 24 hours, however – what would you like to talk about now??
They remind you it’s good to take breaks and not take anything too seriously. Readathon is meant to be fun. It’s an opportunity to dedicate some time to frenzied reading in a life that certainly doesn’t hand out such opportunities readily. Us slackers are here to remind you that Readathon is just as much about the community as it is the books – and it has next to nothing to do with the numbers.
Hello All! Kendra from Reading Women here. How’s everybody doing?
It’s 2am here on America’s east coast, and since we started at 8pm this time around, I feel like I’m just hitting my stride. As a night owl, I enjoy settling in with a good book at this time of night, the quiet surrounding you like a warm blanket. Sometimes, I still stay up all night to finish a book. So in the spirit of late-night reading, I thought I would share some of the books that I’ve read through the night.
Most recently, I’ve read:
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert, a fairytale- inspired, whirlwind of a story,
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, a Russian fairytale-inspired story (I’m sensing a theme here),
and Emily Bitto’s Stella Prize-winning novel The Strays.
While all of these books involve different settings and time periods, each of them features a young, female protagonist coming of age. I definitely have a type. 😉
Now that you’ve learned about my kryptonite, what are you reading?! Are there any particular books you find yourself staying up all night read?
If you have just joined in then WELCOME! I am Fay and this is my final hour co-hosting with you fabulous people. If you haven’t already guessed from my previous hour I love a bit of social media so before we get into this hour it’s time to get snap happy folks! Whether it is twitter or insta it’s a READATHON so show us all what you are reading?!
I’m Currently Reading
I started this book a while back now but put it down knowing that there was a readathon coming up and it seemed like the type of book that you won’t be able to put down once you are in deep. I am only about a quarter of the way through (chapters have names etc!) and I am absolutely loving it. Despite starting off a little slow the storyline is extremely complex and really has me hooked.
How are you feeling about your current read?
Have you been in and out of Social Media or when you are reading do you ban yourself in case of distraction?
My final question before I go is are you a bit of a neat freak like me?! If so how do you organise your reading?
Well…. I LOVE a bit of organisation, any chance to write a list or use some beautiful stationery and I am there with bells on!
So, for starters – if you don’t have a collection of bookmarks then post-it notes or other cute little sticky notes will do the job (Even ripped up bits of paper). It will save your beautiful books from getting their pages folded. As I am away I don’t have access to sticky notes right now so shed a little tear for me whilst I use toilet roll as I don’t even have a notepad!
Right – you have your bits ready now it is time to separate. I like to separate by chapter – just think of each chapter as a little achievement and a chance to treat yo’self (I just can’t help myself!).
Thinking along the lines of achievement let’s talk treats of the quick and easy variety
5 Minute break from reading
Make yourself a nice smoothie or grab a beer/your favourite beverage.
If you aren’t already head outside and take some nice deep breathes
Add some tasty treats into the mix alongside regular food for the ‘thon’ have a couple of extra special treats on the side for moments like this!
Run yourself a hot bath (with a bath bomb or some nice bubbly stuff!) and when you get to the next chapter get in and indulge until the bubbles disappear or you start to resemble a prune!
Thank you for being gentle with me! And I am looking forward to the rest of the thon kicking back and relaxing reading my book with a little bit of sunshine!
Yay! Another hour down! How are y’all doing? Have you been having fun?
One of the most vital aspects of my Read-A-Thon regimen is to set up the right music playlist. I love having background music, but I gotta be careful to not get something that’ll distract me from my reading. I generally fall back on videogame and movie soundtracks. What I love about these as background music is that they’re written for action filled stories, which are the majority of what I read. It isn’t often that the music doesn’t match the mood of the book. Plus, there are almost no lyrics to distract me. I actually had this playlist figured out before I knew what I was going to read! That’s how helpful the right music can be.
Of course, I did (eventually) get some ideas for what to read. I’ve learned from previous Read-A-Thons that I am a slooooooow reader. More importantly, I’ve learned that that’s okay! The Read-A-Thon isn’t about who reads the most or the fastest. It’s about having fun reading and talking to other bookish people about bookish things. And, sometimes, winning prizes. Speaking of, don’t forget to double check the list of winners to see if you’ve won. You can also see which mini-challenges are currently still running. Good luck!
May your characters be relatable and your music never distracting!
Well, hello, book people! Welcome to hour seven of the ‘thon, hosted by me, Cass. Hello. Hi.
This is easily the luckiest hour of the event since it is imbued with the numerological power of the number seven, not to mention the luckiest occurrence of all: you get me! Ha! Stop throwing your bookmarks, ok. I don’t need anymore paper cuts.
Readathon legend has it that during hour seven, all the books you read and all the snacks you consume and all the friends you meet are the very best? It’s true. I know, because I just made it up. And just to help things along, here’s a four leaf clover.
I hope you’ll come hang out with me on Twitter @readathon and @bonjourcass and tell me what lucky hour seven has brought you. For your sake, I hope it involves chocolate and a five-star read.
This season we’re putting an emphasis on spreading bookish good deeds! See our GIVE! page for more details about how you can get involved!
Now you can celebrate the Readathon year-round withDewey’s swag! We use the earnings to cover charges associated with prize shipping, customs charges, and domain costs.
Hi, everyone! I’m Deb Nance at Readerbuzz, and I’ll be your host here for the next two hours. Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon was the first social blogging event I participated in, way, way, way back in June of 2008. I had only been blogging for twenty days. I, of course, didn’t get close to reading for twenty-four hours straight, but I had a fabulous time anyway. I’ve gone on to readathon-ize once or twice every year since. Whether this is your first or your twentieth readathon, I hope you have a great time and get lots of wonderful reading in.
Need a little encouragement in this, your seventh hour? Take a look at this fabulous infographic about the benefits of reading:
This readathon is like taking a multi-vitamin for your brain.
Now you can celebrate the Readathon year-round withDewey’s swag! We use the earnings to cover charges associated with prize shipping, customs charges, and domain costs.
Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon 