Discussion between Mari & P.E.
I'm a big fan of YouTube so naturally I went through the phase where all I watched was booktube vlogs. Lately, I've been noticing many book-a-thons. They're aren't just limited to YouTube, there are some around in the blogosphere as well. How do you feel about book-a-thons? Would you ever join one?
What in the world is a book-a-thon?
Did I call it the wrong thing? A book-a-thon or read-a-thon is when readers set a goal to read either a set number or as many books as they can in a given period. So its a race to read as many books as possible. What do you think?
Ohh, a read-a-thon. I've never heard of it being referred to as a book-a-thon but I guess you learn something new everyday! I've actually participated in one before in the very early days of blogging on Tantalizing Illusions. I even participated in the Twitter chat. I think in theory, they're great, but they're a pretty big commitment that I'm not sure I want to make. How about you?
I never knew you were into doing that, wow you learn something new everyday! I have a commitment issue to things like book clubs and read-a-thon/book-a-thons, so I like the idea but I can never join one. I agree that it's a huge commitment and I find that it takes away from the reading experience as I start trying to read as fast as possible when I should be taking my time and enjoying what I'm reading.
That never bugs me because it's not like I speed up for a read-a-thon. I'm naturally a fast reader anyway so I don't feel pressure to speed up in any way. Also, when I go to my dad's house I don't really have much to do besides read. You could actually say that I'm already doing a read-a-thon every week because I often stay up late to continue reading on Friday, then read another book by Saturday evening. So, I'm totally fine with allotted times to read. It's the blogging parts, like the book chats and buttons and scheduled posts that don't appeal to me.
I'm not as organized a reader as you. I tend to surf the web until the urge hits me to read. When it does, I read at a moderate pace, ingesting everything. I agree that the extra work that comes with read-a-thons can be a little too much too. However, I feel that challenges and book-a-thons are meant for people who enjoy challenging themselves and seeing results. It depends on the personality. I'm not one of those people. I got so annoyed by the Goodreads challenge last year that I changed it to 1 book.
I don't know. I love challenges, but I don't feel this is that challenging. I mean, all you need to do is read. Excuse me, but how hard is that? Usually if I have the time, I'll be doing it anyway. And I don't know, I never want to read for the sake of reading. I want to read because I enjoy the book, and I don't feel I can do that if I'm making a commitment to read five books in two days. The biggest reason though is that I usually write my reviews directly after reading and read-a-thons, if you do them properly, require constant reading. Also, sleep. I like to sleep a good eleven hours when I can. There's that cliche of staying up all night to read a book, and that doesn't apply to me because I know it will be there when I wake up, and I love sleep.
I agree for the most part, though I have to say there is another feeling when a book make you stay up late!
Ohh, a read-a-thon. I've never heard of it being referred to as a book-a-thon but I guess you learn something new everyday! I've actually participated in one before in the very early days of blogging on Tantalizing Illusions. I even participated in the Twitter chat. I think in theory, they're great, but they're a pretty big commitment that I'm not sure I want to make. How about you?
I never knew you were into doing that, wow you learn something new everyday! I have a commitment issue to things like book clubs and read-a-thon/book-a-thons, so I like the idea but I can never join one. I agree that it's a huge commitment and I find that it takes away from the reading experience as I start trying to read as fast as possible when I should be taking my time and enjoying what I'm reading.
That never bugs me because it's not like I speed up for a read-a-thon. I'm naturally a fast reader anyway so I don't feel pressure to speed up in any way. Also, when I go to my dad's house I don't really have much to do besides read. You could actually say that I'm already doing a read-a-thon every week because I often stay up late to continue reading on Friday, then read another book by Saturday evening. So, I'm totally fine with allotted times to read. It's the blogging parts, like the book chats and buttons and scheduled posts that don't appeal to me.
I'm not as organized a reader as you. I tend to surf the web until the urge hits me to read. When it does, I read at a moderate pace, ingesting everything. I agree that the extra work that comes with read-a-thons can be a little too much too. However, I feel that challenges and book-a-thons are meant for people who enjoy challenging themselves and seeing results. It depends on the personality. I'm not one of those people. I got so annoyed by the Goodreads challenge last year that I changed it to 1 book.
I don't know. I love challenges, but I don't feel this is that challenging. I mean, all you need to do is read. Excuse me, but how hard is that? Usually if I have the time, I'll be doing it anyway. And I don't know, I never want to read for the sake of reading. I want to read because I enjoy the book, and I don't feel I can do that if I'm making a commitment to read five books in two days. The biggest reason though is that I usually write my reviews directly after reading and read-a-thons, if you do them properly, require constant reading. Also, sleep. I like to sleep a good eleven hours when I can. There's that cliche of staying up all night to read a book, and that doesn't apply to me because I know it will be there when I wake up, and I love sleep.
I agree for the most part, though I have to say there is another feeling when a book make you stay up late!
Well, I find, ever since I started my blog, I'm always on this read-a-thon thing. Always trying to reach my goal. I must admit that I was such an overachiever on my first year of blogging. I read 289 books. So the next year, I decided I definitely could reach 300 (which I failed. I read 250). This year, I went for the conservative approach of 150. I guess my point is, aren't we always on a read-a-thon thing? Even without us knowing? :)
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion post, ladies.
Wow! I will never know how you guys do that. I know P.E. hit 305 in 2011 (I had to check that, P.E. you're crazy!) My record was 96 in the same year but ever since it's been falling. Anyways, I understand what you're saying and I agree. We definitely are always on a mental read-a-thon but sometimes it feels like if it isn't written down then we can act like it doesn't exist. Kinda-sorta?
Delete-Mari
Sarah's the only really fast reader among us... so yeah, read-a-thons are probably not our thing. Furthermore, we read for pleasure first and foremost, and while some probably get a lot of joy out of challenges like this, for us it would feel like pressure.
ReplyDeleteI think you said that perfectly. They definitely add pressure and sometimes that's not what some readers want.
Delete-Mari