Hosting my Own Readathon? (Update: Names and Dates)

It is a sunny day in July and what am I going to do? Announce the name and dates of my Halloween readathon.

Yes the readathon that I made a post about last month is actually happening. There was so much positive feedback about the idea that I decided to actually do it. I would have made this announcement sooner but I didn’t have a name for it until today. Naming a readathon is surprisingly difficult. I now I have several sheets of paper covered in scribbled out potential names.

So without further a do:

Welcome to Spook Stock 2017!

Dates: 23rd – 30th of October 2017

Feel free to use the tile I made during the readathon. I might make a banner or two. I havent decided yet.

The Rules are simple:

1. Just read as much as you can in a week.

2. You can read whatever you like but there has to be at least ONE Halloween appropriate book in your To Read Pile, whether it be a horror novel, dark thriller or simply has monsters in it. It has to be fitting for Halloween. The horror genre is shrinking in shops due to lack of interest so why not show it some love in October.

There will also be a new blog prompt every day of the week. You don’t have to take part in these but who doesn’t like the occasional meme or prompt for blog ideas. These prompts will be based on monsters and gothic literary figures.

I will be setting up a sign up page closer to the date so if you are interested keep an eye out for the registration opening announcement. It will be at the start of October.

This is my first time organising and hosting a readathon so feel free to tell me what you think. And most importantly, will you be taking part?

Hosting my Own Readathon?

Jun2

This is an idea that has been floating around in my head for a while. …What if I created my own readathon?

I have been trying to come for an idea for something to do on this blog for Halloween. I know it is currently June, but I like to plan things in advance. It also gives me time to create graphics and come up with post ideas for it. This is a horror and generally dark themed book blog, should it not have something special for Halloween?

The main reason behind writing about the idea so far in advance is to ask a simple question:

Would you take part in a Halloween themed readathon in October?

The rules would be simple

It would last one week (Dates not yet decided but at some point in October)
Simply read as much as you can in a week.
You can read whatever you like but there has to be at least ONE Halloween appropriate book in your To Read Pile, whether it be a horror novel, dark thriller or simply has monsters in it. It has to be fitting for Halloween. The horror genre is shrinking in book shops due to lack of interest so why not show it some love in October.
There will be Halloween themed post ideas pitched throughout the week for bloggers.

The only issue I have with this readathon hosting idea is that my Octobers are so bloody busy. I generally live like it is Halloween every day all year round so you can imagine how busy my life gets when October shows up. I am basically the queen of Halloween Town every year. I could spare a week though, especially if I plan things out carefully in advance. It would be possible.

Watch this space for more updates. I will be designing graphics and setting up hashtags for the readathon closer to the event.

Don’t forget to answer my question: Would you take part?

The Bout of Books Readathon (4th – 10th of January 2016)

Dec29

I cant think of a better way to start the year off than with a readathon. It is time for another Bout of Books challenge and I am super excited for this one. I don’t know about you but I received far too many books for Christmas and my to-read pile is now looking a little insane, so I need a reading challenge to get some books off that pile.

Bout of Books is a reading challenge that occurs several times throughout the year. It lasts a week and your goal is just to read as much as you possibly can. There are also mini challenges throughout the week of Bout of Books hosted by various bloggers where you have chances to win fabulous prizes. You can find out more information and signup at their website.

You have until Tuesday the 5th of January to signup and I think if your New Years resolution is to read more this would be a great place to start.

An extract from their website:

“The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 15 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team”

I will be reading:

Locke and Key volume 1 by Joe Hill
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab

I know that is a little smaller than the 6 books in a week challenge I attempted last time but the books are a great deal fatter this time around. If you want to follow my progress throughout the challenge you can follow me on GoodReads here. I will also be Tweeting and Instagramming throughout the challenge as well. I will also keep you all updated on here.

Is anyone else doing Bout of Books this week? If so let me know, I would love to keep track of your readathon progress.

Bout of Books: Day 3 Progress

Aug19

It is day 3 of the Bout of Books readathon! (If you don’t know what that is check out my previous post here) I thought I would give you all a quick update on how I am doing so far since we are now at the half way point. And speaking of half way points, I have finished three out of the six books I planned to read.

I am rather proud of myself because I managed to finish both The Vile Village and The Hostile Hospital today. My goal for the rest of the evening is to finish The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, which is a brilliant book. You can expect to see a review up for that one shortly.

So here we go!

~~The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snickett~~ (Finished)
~~The Vile Village by Lemony Snickett~~ (Finished)
~~The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snickett~~ (Finished)
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (192 pages read)
Vicious by V.E Schwab

If you want to follow my progress and challenge entries a little more closely you can follow them on Twitter and Instagram. I have been keeping those updated with my progress every day.

If you are taking part in Bout of Books this week let me know you progress down below. We can cheer each other on.

The Bout of Books Readathon (17th – 23rd of August)

Aug13

It is Bout of Books time again and this time I am planning on reading more books than I have ever read in a Bout of Books readathon before!

If you don’t know what Bout of Books is, it is a reading challenge that simply asks you to read as much as you possibly can over a week. There are also various mini-challenges hosted throughout the week of Bout of Books which allow you to win fabulous prizes…mostly Amazon vouchers but who does like a good Amazon voucher?

If you want to find out more and sign up to take part check out their website here.

And here is a little introduction from Bout of Books themselves:

“The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 14 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team”