Is it just me, or has 2020 been the longest year ever? I know for me personally, I have really craved a sense of normalcy; I would love to go sit at the coffee shop for a bit of reading, or to browse the shelves of my local library. I just miss being around people, outside of my home. One thing I have found really helpful during this time of self-isolation is the online book community, in particular the different Readathons I’ve been participating in.Â
Here’s the scoop on Readathons.
At any given time, there is a Readathon happening. Literally all you have to do is go into your Youtube App and search Readathon Announcement and BAM!Â
The lengths vary. Some readathons are month long while some are as short as a weekend.
They are typically announced with enough time for you to prepare your to-be-read list.
Prompts! They usually come with prompts! Want to participate but have no idea what you want to read? More times than not, the hosts will have prompts or challenges that help you tailor your reading list. Most hosts will let us know that the prompts aren’t mandatory though, they are simply guides to help you figure out what to read.
Readathons are an amazing way to interact with other readers, whether via Instagram or Twitter and some hosts will even utilize Goodreads to allow interaction between participants.
For romance readers specifically there are a couple of Readathons coming up that I’m aware of and wanted to put on your radar. Seriously Babes, if you haven’t participated in a Romance Readathon yet, they are So. Much. Fun. They are an awesome way to find new to you authors, book titles you may never have heard of and find other readers to swoon over romances with!
HEA-athon kicks off June 1st and runs through June 7th. This romance readathon is hosted by Cassidy @Cassidyreads and Alexandria @beautifulbitchbookreviews on Instagram. Cassidy can also be found on her Youtube channel, Cassidy Reads. I chatted a bit with both hosts and they created the HEA-athon with the hopes of bringing people together and for readers to read the genre they love! Have a taboo/forbidden romance still unread on your Kindle? Been stepping outside of your comfort zone this year and have a romance with a trope you don’t typically read? These are just two of the nine amazing prompts the hosts have come up with. Cassidy and Alexandria have been doing weekly Instagram Live videos sharing recommendations, so I highly recommend checking both of them out. I’m totally joining, and I hope you will too!
Romanceathon runs June 22nd through June 28th and is hosted by two wonderful Youtubers, Jacqueline from the channel We Be Book’N and Gabby from Gabby Reads. These two friends decided to create the Romaceathon last year because at the time, they weren’t seeing many readathons dedicated to reading romance. If you’re like me, you’ve probably hauled a new romance release and not read it yet. If so, save it for the readathon! Read a romance published in 2020 is one of the five reading prompts the hosts have created for us. Want to show your favorite trope some love? Reading a romance with your favorite trope is another prompt. Jacqueline and Gabby will be hosting two live shows during the readathon and they have a book picked as a buddy read which literally fits all five prompts and that is If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane. I feel like now more than ever, we could all use more romance reads and with being isolated for so long, to read and chat with friends! I really hope you’ll look more into Romanceathon and participate.
Romance Book Bingo kicks off June 20th and runs through September 22nd! This is a really fun, summer romance reading challenge started by Sarah from the Youtube channel, Steeped in Books. This is Sarah’s third year hosting and she has over 80 prompts for participants to choose from for their nine squared Bingo Board. You can attempt to complete your one card over the entirety of the event, or one card per month, it is completely up to you and what you can handle! Last year I attempted to read a book that fit into all 80 of the prompts and I was so close! You’d be surprised at how much you can read when participating in a Readathon along with other readers; it really keeps the reading exciting and momentum up! Definitely go check out Sarah’s channel and stay tuned for more information as it comes. I’ve participated all three years that Sarah has hosted and every year it absolutely makes my summer!
Reading and chatting about romance has definitely been getting me through the crazy times we are living right now, so I really hope that you will take place in these romance reading opportunities and have fun with them! Stay safe and well Frolic Readers!
