Thankfully Reading – the readathon hosted by Jenn’s Bookshelves over the holiday weekend – wrapped up yesterday. And you know what that means: It’s stock-taking time.
Between family time and the Gilmore Girls revival, reading had some competition this weekend. I loved having the incentive to carve out pockets of time to read.
My final book tally: I finished Suddenly, Love by Aharon Appelfeld and Where I’m Reading From by Tim Parks. I also read Ill Met By Moonlight by W. Stanley Moss, Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies, and Pym by Mat Johnson.
Four out of five books were my own (yay for #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks). All but one were on my original reading list. I added Miracle on 34th Street on a whim because it’s in my library and opens on Thanksgiving. I don’t have cable, so the opening scene gave me the parade experience, ha.
Thankfully Reading is a readathon hosted by Jenn’s Bookshelves. It begins on Friday and carries on through the weekend. Thankfully reading is also a state of being, but I don’t usually capitalize it as such.
For the parameters of capital-T, capital-R variety, here is a bit more about the event courtesy of Jenn’s Bookshelves:
“There are no rules to the weekend, we’re simply hoping to devote a good amount of time to reading, and perhaps meeting some of our reading challenges and goals for the year. We thought it’d be fun if we cheered each other on a bit. […]
We’ll also be checking in on Twitter using hashtag #thankfullyreading. Join in for the weekend or for only a single day. No rules, no pressure!”
As I like to say – possibly exhaustively – every weekend I can swing it becomes a de facto readathon for me. And when I’m reading, I’m thankful for the time to do so. The distinct pleasure of group readathons is, of course, sharing the experience – hearing what books others are reading, offering inspirational messages, and my favorite: that heartening feeling of connection.
That’s what reading is about, isn’t it? Seeking connection with human experience and hopefully growing in compassion and empathy from connecting with that experience. Yes, I will be reading thankfully and Thankfully Reading this weekend.
As for what I will be reading, I’m currently engrossed in Suddenly, Love by Aharon Appelfeld and Where I’m Reading From by Tim Parks. After these two, the next titles on my reading list are Ill Met by Moonlight by W. Stanley Moss, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, Saving Lucas Biggs by Marisa de los Santos and David Teague, and Pym by Mat Johnson.
Will you be readathon-ing alone or with others this weekend? What books are on your reading lists?
Yay!! So glad to have you!
Thank you for hosting! I’m looking forward to it!
I love this idea! With a two-year-old and just being in a busy time in my life right now, I’m definitely thankful any time I get a chance to sit down with a good book. Sadly, though, I’m currently between books – trying to find one that would be a good fit with all the pre-holiday chaos and everyday chaos going on, and that I’d be able to finish – not quickly, but “on time” – before I leave for a trip to see family for the holidays (during that time, I plan to read “A Street Cat Named Bob”, which I’ve been looking forward to for a long time and which should hopefully be a nice mix of fun and moving, but a light read that I won’t have to focus too much attention on).
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you enjoy this weekend of thankful reading. And thank YOU for being such a wonderful book blogger and making me think so much more about books and the reading life, and for helping me to escape my reading rut earlier this year. Not to mention being a lovely friend.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Alysa! And for always giving me something to think about. I read “A Street Cat Named Bob” a while back and absolutely loved it. It was lovely – definitely moving and always fun. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about it! xo
Five books? That seems pretty good. I finished two and started a third. The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly and Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, the ones I finished. Leaves of Grass, the one I began.
Nice collection! Happily, I had several hours on a train to bulk up my reading time. Thank you for visiting and sharing!