The 24-hour read-a-thon is almost upon us! This was the first read-a-thon I did, last October, and all read-a-thons thereafter have seemed a little bit wimpy. (Kidding!) But honestly, I had a blast, despite the fact that I started dying of exhaustion around hour 19/20. So I'm very excited to be doing it again this Saturday!
As sort of a prelude to the RAT, I thought I'd do a post explaining all the things I was totally confused about last time before I started, in the hopes that this will help people who are new to the fun.
How it works
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| That's all. Go to it! |
Basically, you start reading at noon GMT on Saturday and stop reading at noon GMT on Sunday. You are, of course, welcome to participate for as much or as little of that time as you want, but I think it's more fun and satisfying to complete the whole thing! You can sign up by clicking the link at the top of this post, and then you don't really have to do anything until the RAT starts.
Updates
You can update your blog as often or as rarely as you like during the RAT. There is a mini challenge every hour, but normally they stay open for several hours to give everyone time to enter. There are also many, many prizes for participating in the mini challenges, and they make a great break from reading, especially when you start hitting the wall of exhaustion.Last time I created a new post for the RAT every time I finished a book, but for this one I think I'm going to just have one or two posts that I update periodically throughout the day to cut down on clutter.
General tips
-Pick books that are on the shorter and lighter side. Reading more books makes you feel more accomplished, which is important when you haven't slept in twenty-three hours and your veins are filled entirely with coffee.
-The RAT is not the time to struggle through a book. It doesn't go well. You can always get back to it later, when things are back to normal and disinterest doesn't just make you want to go to sleep.
-Move around occasionally! If the weather's nice, read outside for a few hours. Visit a coffeeshop. Sitting around in my apartment for a long time makes me slightly claustrophobic, which is not conducive to reading.
-Have delicious snacks prepared ahead of time. You will need energy.
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| Not that much energy. |
Have any other questions or advice? Leave me a comment!
This sounds fun! I was wondering though - the website you link to doesn't give an exact date, do you know what it is? I really hope it's a day I'm not working so I can participate! I could use the boost to get through my TBR pile =P Good luck!
ReplyDeleteLike I said, it's this Saturday :)
DeleteYeah, I can't wait for it. It will be my 5th time participating in this read-a-thon :) Happy reading & have fun!
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite bookish event all year! I'm glad that you'll be participating as well. I've got quite a stack of possibilities ready to go!
ReplyDeleteWow, sounds like a ton of fun. Thanks for the heads-up :)
ReplyDeleteAngela @ AJ Arndt Books
Good readathon advice! I may or may not participate in this...depends on if my friend comes in to town or not. But I will let you know if I do. =)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a lot of fun! If I didn't have a research project and a paper to work on, I would be all over this. Maybe the next one!
ReplyDeleteOhh, even though I've been known to read that long, I've never done it intentionally. It sounds slightly intimidating. I don't think I'm ready for that kind of thing. I wonder, though, can you combine audiobooks too when your eyes get tired? I'm blind as a bat and I can't really read too long, with or without my glasses.
ReplyDeleteI'll be keeping an eye out, though. I'll be very interested too see your progress, Kate.
Thank you for all the tips, as this is my first time reading, they are very much needed. Good luck with all the reading yourself :)
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