The Only Kind Of 'Thon I Like

So I've never thought of myself as a marathon person. Even though I love the idea, the reality is that I can't even run 5km so 42km is (probably) out of reach. However, I have discovered a kind of 'thon which I do love and can really get into and that's a readathon.

The first one I ever did was Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon. Dave gave it to me as a birthday experience and I read for 23 1/2 hours straight. It was awesome :) You can read about some of that experience here, as well as in the blog posts surrounding that post. I have since done four other Dewey's Readathons, although not reading for 24 hours straight. And as those who follow me on Instagram well know, I just participated in another one this past Saturday.

I also did my first 24in48 readathon this past January and I loved that too! It's a readathon where you track your actual reading time to read for 24 hours out of 48. For Dewey's I spend a bit of time on Instagram cheering on other readers which is so fun! For 24in48 I do that too, but it doesn't count towards my 24 hours of reading time. I'm really excited to participate in my next 24in48 in July!!!

One thing I like about Dewey's is that the organizers have worked it out so that everyone is reading for the same 24 hour period. So some people are starting at midnight, others at 8am, others at 6pm. For the past few readathons, our whole family starts off reading at 8am (my start time) and Dave brings us breakfast in bed. It's been a super-fun tradition and the kids really love it! I started this readathon off by reading Red Queen, the first book in Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen series.

Then usually Dave takes the kids to the synagogue for the morning, and then Dave's parents take them for the afternoon, and sometimes the night. They did this in October so Dave could join me in some evening and late night reading.

Another readathon tradition is that Dave brings me a sandwich from my favourite sandwich place. Yum Vincenzo's! By lunch I had finished Red Queen and started Al Capone Does My Shirts, a book Janice recommended to me. It's about a twelve year old boy who lives on Alcatraz (his dad works there) in 1935. It is the first in a series, and it was good.

After the first readathon, Dave has supported me in participating as much as possible but also encourages me to not shut everything out. And also to get at least a little bit of sleep. This time around I took pictures at Tessa's 16th birthday party for a bit in the afternoon. Then I walked home, reading The Circle by Dave Eggers.

After Dave brought the kids home, I read a chapter of Ramona the Pest to Rachel. I've really enjoyed rediscovering this series by reading it to her! Then I settled back in to finish The Circle. I was pretty tired so I headed off to bed around 1am.

I woke up the next morning around 6am and was fairly tired. I cheered on other readathoners on Instagram for a bit and then realized that Rachel had woken up and stolen my reading chair. Gasp!

However, I picked up one more book, the graphic novel, Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, and raced through it, finishing it at about 8:10, just after the official readathon ended. And here is my final tally of books. I read Have You Filled a Bucket Today? to Rachel sometime in the early morning, at her request.

I love reading so much and getting to sit and do nothing but read for a whole day, or a whole weekend, really is bliss! If you are at all interested, there are a ton of readathons. Some of the ones I've read about recently (but not participated in) are Bout of Books, Tome Topple (where you read books which are 500+ pages), and Spring Into Horror. And I think there is probably always a Harry Potter readathon going on :) Here's a fun article about readthons.

Besides reading ALL THE BOOKS, one of my favourite things about readathons is connecting with other readers all over the globe. I get so many great book suggestions, and when you see the same book popping up all over the place, you know it's going to be a good one. Instagram accounts of book lovers I've met through doing various readathons is my main source of inspiration for books to read.

I also love that Sam and Rachel are growing up knowing that not only is reading important, but it's also important to make intentional time for your passions. After all, I may not be a marathon person, but maybe they will be.