This post is inspired by the Spoopathon, which is a readathon I am currently taking part in. If you want to know more about it and what I'm reading for it, then click here. In today's post, I want to talk about the power of readathons and how they've made me motivated to read.
Prior to this, I have taken part in one or two readathons during my time in the book community. I like the ones where you can fit whatever books you want to read to prompts, rather than having a specific group book to read. In recent years, there hasn't really been a readathon that has captured my attention. Either the timing didn't work for me or the premise wasn't one I was interested in. Then Spoopathon came along, created by the wonderful Holly from @spoopyhol. A Halloween themed readathon? Sign me up. What was great about this one was that I could already fit my TBR plans for October around the prompts. The prompts are very generous and you can get quite creative with how you pick books for them.
Since taking part, I've noticed that I am more motivated to read. In the first week of October, I read three books. I don't remember the last time I read that many books in one week. Compared to normal months, where I'm just reading for me, I'm more likely to pick up a book. I think that's because of two reasons. One, I have a goal to complete and two, I want to collect points for my teams. This is the first readathon I've taken part in where there's a bit of a competition element. It feels like I'm working towards something and that at the end, there's going to be a reward.
Readathons are a community event. I know for this one, there are reading sprints you can take part in at certain times, where everyone reads at the same time. There's teams and obviously, you want to see to see your team win. You can interact with other people and see what they're reading or what content they're making around the readathon. I think the community spirit created around readathons makes them a wholesome event to take part in.
The Spoopathon isn't finished yet, but I'm certain I'd take part in more readathons in the future. I've had so much fun challenging myself to read more this month and it's given me a chance to create content that's a bit different from what I normally do. Readathons are very powerful and lovely events. I'd recommend taking part in one.
These were my short and somewhat ramble-y thoughts on readathons.
