48-Hour Bookoplathon Wrap up
A live 48 hour readathon hosted by Becca and The Books on Youtube took place last weekend. The prompts were:
- Book with a dark cover
- Read a fantasy
- A book with POC rep
- Contemporary
- First book in a series
- Chance card – pile of books you want to read and ones you’re less excited about, use a random number generator to pick one
- Book set in present day
- A book from a genre you don’t typically read
I completed all prompts and read 7 books, had to double up on one book as I was too tired to attempt another book.
Prompt plus book breakdown as follows:
Book with a dark cover
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
I practically flew through this audiobook, I’ve been making my way through the series in anticipation of the Netflix adaptation coming in April.
I did lose some interest in this last book in the trilogy but I’m excited to read Six of Crows at some point as well.
Read a fantasy
Fortuna Sworn by K.J. Sutton
The first book I read for the readathon, I did cheat a little bit whereby a read 50 odd pages before the readathon started on Friday, however, Becca said that’s allowed.
Speaking of Becca, this is a book she highly recommends so I decided to give the ebook a go.
Unfortunately this was a big miss for me, the romance were cringy and and the fantasy didn’t interest me either.
A book with POC rep
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Talk about a gorgeous cover! This has been on my most anticipated books of 2021 and I happy I read it during the readathon.
Whilst the premise is intriguing and the fantasy setup is fascinating, at the end of the day it’s still a YA book and I haven’t had much luck with those recently.
I’ve also been reading far too much epic and high fantasy, those tend to make more of an impression on me, this one pales a bit in comparison.
Contemporary
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
What a little gem this as!
Love the Brown sisters, in fact, after the readathon I continued reading book 2 and I’m reading book 3 as we speak.
Quirky characters, witty banter, building up the suspense, romance and a happy ending? What’s not to like here.
Not to mention to own voices and chronic illness, chronic pain and fat rep.
First book in a series & book set in present day
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
Good overall, but not my favorite middle grade I’ve ever read.
I think the hype gave me some unrealistic expectations on this one, there’s some weaknesses in the plot as well and things wrapped up rather conveniently.
Had a been within the target age range, I probably wouldn’t have noticed any of those weaknesses an probably would’ve adored this to pieces.
Chance card
Светулка за Ханука од Томислав Османли
This is only published and available in Macedonian.
It translates to ‘Lights for Hannukah’ and includes 9 heartbreaking stories about Jews and their life on the Balkan peninsula (where I’m from) in the period leading up and during the World War II.
I read a friend’s copy as it’s sold out, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to track down a copy as it’s a book I’d like to have in my own collection.
Book from a genre I don’t typically read
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber
Listen, when you’re running low on energy yet still want to complete a reading challenge, short audiobooks are you best friend.
Happy to have found this recording on LivriVox. It’s a story about a henpecked husband copes with the frustrations of his dull life by imagining he is a fearless airplane pilot, a brilliant doctor, and other dashing figures.
Overall, this was the most fun I’ve ever had in a readathon. Paired with the fact that I’ve been loving live reading sprints lately and there were sprints for the full 48 hours…this was fantastic.
I’m also impressed with myself for having read so much yet still gotten a decent amount of sleep, only moderate quantities of coffee were consumed which is not an easy feat with readathons. Once again, I’ve confirmed audiobooks (specifically 2x speed audiobooks) are my best friends for such challenges.
Fingers crossed that Becca hosts another one in July.
Did you participate in the readathon? What did you read?
English 
Macedonian