If you haven’t already, check out “24 Hour Read-a-Thon | Part 1: Participation” here!
It’s 1,012 pages, 1 read-a-thon, 24 hours, and 2 naps later. I want to yell, “I am reader!” Now, participating in a read-a-thon doesn’t make me a reader, nor does reading a thousand pages, but Saturday reminded me of the joy I find in reading. There’s a lot distracting me right now – a thesis, moving out, graduating college, oh yeah – and COVID-19. But for a full 24-hours (okay not quite, but we’ll get to that), I dove into words and stories and other worlds. Don’t get me wrong – the day did not go as expected and there were some challenges, but it was good and encouraging, which is very much needed.
My reading day started at about 8 AM, which, in light of my current sleep schedule (which is non-existent), was pretty good. I start every day by journaling and reading a non-fiction book, so I worked that into my reading plan, finishing the last 68 pages. As I suggested in my last post on preparation, I was excited to dive into a reread: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. Even though I knew the basic plotline and twists, I was still hooked. The series has expanded so much (if you know, you know) that it was fun to go back to the beginning and see how Maas began building the world of Erilea, putting key figures and plot devices into place. I was fangirling all over again when some of my favorite characters met for the first time, thinking “if you only knew what would happen by book eight.”
After finishing its 404 pages, I decided to keep going and read the sequel, Crown of Midnight. That gave me another 418 pages. At this point, I decided to look back at my original plan. I finished with the first 122 pages of Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. While I will soon return to Celaena and the perils she faces in Erilea, this was a nice break. The YA mystery novel begins with a murder in 1936 – the founder of Ellingham Academy gets a note detailing his wife and daughter’s deaths. I’m only 7 chapters in, but it jumps between this timeline and present day as current Stevie Bell takes it upon herself to solve the case. While some people might appreciate reading lighter contemporary novels, the books I read sucked me in and kept me in the story.
Throughout this COVID season, I have been a ball of anxiety, and I often don’t know what to do with myself. I have a huge to-do list, but every task is exhausting and stressful. With everything going on – a pandemic and schoolwork and everything – I have felt almost guilty for taking time to read. Like I should do something else instead. But, on Saturday, that all changed. I had a goal – I was going to do what I love: read! I still took breaks (It’s really hard to live with your three close friends and not hang out with them) and slept and went on a walk, but reading was the main event. It was encouraging and normal. It reminded me that I am a reader. And I like that.
PRR Writer, Anna Gerwig
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