Dewey’s 24 hour readathon is coming up on Saturday the 17th! Have you signed up? If you’ve never participated I strongly urge you to do so. It is a fun event for readers of all ages and if you love to volunteer your time they could really use all the help they can get! You can sign up here and poke around to see how you can get involved if you’re into that 🙂

I first heard about the readathon last October via Rincey of Rincey Reads on YouTube. I wasn’t sure I could participate but I ended up reading the entire day and had a lot of fun reading updates and blog posts from readers around the world. If you’ve never done a readathon I think Dewey’s is the perfect place to start because it’s all about having fun. You don’t have to read for the full 24 hours (although you certainly CAN) and there are lots of bookish activities and challenges going on for the full 24 hours. A celebration of books and reading is the best way I can describe the readathon.

How do you prepare for a readathon?

Personally, I like to prepare my stack in advance. My first readathon was spent with The Mists of Avalon. I devoted all of my reading time to just the one book and that’s a valid plan of action. The following readathon I lined up a variety of books of varying lengths which resulted in completing a couple of books. That made me feel accomplished. My advice would be to have a variety of books to choose from. You just never know what you’ll be in the mood for once you get going. I’m firmly on team print books AND ebooks. I love my Kindle and I have a few books to choose from on there, too.

Visit your local library

If you have a reading list bigger than your bank account you are not alone! If I were to purchase every book I wanted to read I would be broke. In planning your reading for the readathon I would suggest visiting your local library if you’re able to do so and if your library has Overdrive (or has some other way to loan ebooks) take advantage of that as well. I now have a to be purchased list of all the books I borrowed that I now want to own.

Don’t forget to shop your bookshelves and even your friends bookshelves. Just make sure to take excellent care of their books. Nobody likes to get dog eared copies back. There are also plenty of books in the public domain that are available in ebook format for free.

If you have some coin to spend check out thriftbooks.com. I recently purchased a few books from them and although visibly well loved they are still in great reading condition.

Plan ahead

This might sound like overkill to some but I like to plan for the readathon by making meals ahead and basically having nothing to do but read. Of course this is all relative as I have a toddler and so diaper changes and as of recently, potty visits will be happening throughout the day. I also think it’s important to take breaks, rest your eyes, stretch your muscles etc. And of course we need to eat! Snacks are a must and they can be as healthy or junk-y as you want.

Have fun

I think the most important aspect of the readathon is to have fun. Get your whole family involved. Pick up a comic or graphic novel. You aren’t limited to any format either, ebooks, print books and audiobooks are all readathon material.

I will be hosting a mini challenge on Saturday. There will be prizes! I am so excited to cheer, read and keep up with readathon happenings. I probably won’t finish a book but I sure will have plenty to read.