Saturday, September 8, 2012

The Read-a-Thon is coming!

It's almost heeeeeere! Yes, I know, there are other read-a-thons, but this is THE read-a-thon. Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, obvs. The date has been set. The next read-a-thon will take place on Saturday, October 13, 2012. If you're in my time zone (Winnipeg, Chicago, Houston, Mexico City, etc.), it starts at 7:00 am on Saturday, and runs until 7:00 am on Sunday.

This will be my third 24 hour read-a-thon. I did my first one last October, and it was what inspired me to start this blog. If you're not already a regular participant, I strongly recommend you try it out! It's the bee's knees, you guys. There are already 87 people signed up, and the date was just announced three days ago!

So, it's time for me to start getting my pile together. What I've learned over the last two read-a-thons is this: Non-fiction = very bad. Graphic novels = very good. YA = very good. It's not about how long the book is, but how long the pages are (seeing low page counts is what got me down last time). This is why YA is your friend!

Also, I hugely enjoy reading other people's updates. I tend to stay away from Twitter, just because I find it too overwhelming and hard to follow, but if you're blogging your updates, let me know and I'll follow you! I have a system: I keep a tab open for each blog I'm following during the read-a-thon, and each time I take a blogging break, I refresh each tab and read everyone's updates.

Oh, and whether or not you're able to participate as a reader, please consider volunteering some of your time as a cheerleader, or donating a prize for a mini-challenge! See here for more details. Volunteers are what make the read-a-thon awesome!

6 comments:

  1. I'm not sure I'd be up for a read-a-thon. Are you allowed to do anything else? :-)

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    1. There are no real requirements! A lot of people read the whole time except for a few hours of sleep, some people have to take care of kids, do grocery shopping, etc. Not everyone has the lifestyle to be able to read for 24 hours straight, lol. I definitely do, though! :D

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  2. I started my blog 3 years ago this month because of Dewey's Readathon too! I really wish I'd been book blogging back when Dewey was around, but I think it's awesome that her legacy continues.

    Graphic novels, YA, and verse novels are my favorites to read during readathons too. I also like to throw in an old favorite (like Bunnicula or The Giving Tree) from my childhood. Although I enjoy the April Readathon, it's really the one in October that I look forward to the most- partly because it's so close to Halloween that can read scary novels and munch on mini-candies and partly just because I love Fall.

    As for Twitter, I'm not a huge twitter (twit?) but I do like tweeting during the readathon. I simply just leave up the search for #readathon, make sure the setting is on All and not Top. I've found so many wonderful book bloggers thru that. And I follow just about everyone that's participating. And because I normally sign up to be a cheerleader, I like tweeting some cheers too. Late into the readathon it's a good way to connect to the people who are still going strong.

    This past April, I actually hung out with two bloggers for Readathon (Kim from On the Wings of Books and Steph from The Fake Steph) and we had a lot of fun. We'll be doing it again this time around, along with Katie from KT's Reading Rainbow, only hopefully this time we'll read more and talk less. ;)

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    1. I, too, wish I'd known Dewey. She's certainly had quite an effect on the book blogging world!

      Reading an old favourite for a read-a-thon sounds like it would be nice. Those tend to be the books I'll sit down and read for hours anyway!

      Halloween mini-candies really are excellent read-a-thon food. :D

      I think the word you're looking for it "tweeter". I just find Twitter overwhelming when there are so many people tweeting! I think I'm not really a great match for Twitter, because I like to catch everything, and on Twitter that's just impossible.

      Wow, you must follow a LOT of book blogs! I sometimes pick up another blog or two during events like this, but mostly I stick to reading, and following the updates of people I follow already. I wish I had people to read-a-thon in person with! I don't know any other readers who are hard-core enough for it. :P Sometimes my fiance reads with me for an hour or so, so at least I get some company.

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  3. I can't wait! I'm not sure how it will be for me this time around since I don't know where I'll be. I'll make it work somehow.

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    1. You can do it! I'll be there cheering you on again!

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