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This week ended RYBSAT 2015 (hosted September 22- September 29) which was my first ever read-a-thon. RYBSAT (Read Your Bookshelf-A-Thon) is an annual event that goes a little something like this:
Photo Credit: Kaylan Dula
You pick any point on your bookshelf, choose a direction (left or right), and read as many books as possible in the order they appear on your shelf. Readers have one week to power through their bookshelves in order to knock some books off of their TBR (to be read) pile. This, essentially, is one of the main points of any read-a-thon.
I was hoping to get through five books, which is more than I knew would be possible for me. But hey, any good TBR pile is a little bit out of reach. I managed to barely get through three books, and I actually, maybe, cheated.... just a little bit.
Let me clarify.
I began reading a library book right before RYBSAT, and I didn’t want to stop a quarter of the way through. (I also had a looming book return date to keep in mind.) I included this book in my TBR pile, even though it was never technically part of my shelf. I’m not sure how big of a rule breaker that was, but I can definitely live with my decision to include it in my RYBSAT pile.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass
Saga Volume I by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Listed above are the books that I am proud to say I completed during this RYBSAT.
For many people, this would be considered pathetic. Those of you who keep up-to-date with read-a-thons, and even participate yourselves, know that these read-a-thons are no joke. People get SERIOUS about reading marathons, going as far as changing their daily schedule to fit in extra reading time, and also hosting reading “sprints”. These took place over on Twitter, where readers would tweet what time they were going to sprint (quickly reading for a certain period of time), using hashtags to spread the word. Readers would then host a discussion via Twitter on how many pages they read during “said sprint”, what books they were reading, etc.
I would like to take this space to make an announcement to all the people that lost sleep during RYBSAT: You are amazing.
I could never imagine, even as much as I love reading, waking up EARLY to read. Never. Nope. Not doing it.
As I mentioned before, I am very proud of my RYBSAT outcome. Considering that I spent one night in the hospital with my sick roommate, and many more nights working on group projects, papers, and trying to catch up on sleep, 3 books (Ok, 2 books and 1 graphic novel) isn’t all that bad.
Going into the read-a-thon, I knew that putting a due date (so to speak) on reading was not something I thought I would do well with. I was right. Personally, I love reading because I have the ability to draw out the time I have in any given world or storyline. Movies happen way too quickly for me. But it isn’t just that. I’m also a slow reader. Even if a story is part of a series (examples including Harry Potter, Twilight, and Throne of Glass) I would never want to marathon a series. Just thinking of rushing through a book gives me a headache.
Lastly, trying to marathon books gave me a tremendous amount of anxiety, which is something that I did not expect at all. The guilt I had stemmed from having so many school assignments due that I felt guilty for spending my time reading. Even more guilt stemmed from the fact that I graduate in two months and ten days. I would get anxiety that I should be perfecting my resume, creating a portfolio, or doing something that will better me for the “real world”. This guilt ultimately won. I would put my book down after one chapter and go stress out over my lack of job experience and indecision on what I want to do with my life.
Despite the negatives, I really did have a fun first read-a-thon experience, but I don’t plan on participating in one for quite some time. I definitely think, though, that the best time for a read-a-thon is in the colder months, not only due to weather, but also considering more frequent holiday vacations during this time of year. Which hopefully means more reading time!
Follow me on Twitter to keep up with what I’m reading and the dates for more read-a-thons (even though I may not be participating).
Until next time, Happy Reading!
Currently Reading: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King