Mini Magical Readathon

It has been well over a year since I returned to blogging at Earl Grey Editing. In that time, I haven’t once written about readathons. There are a variety of reasons for this, one of which is some ongoing health challenges; it takes more spoons than I currently have to track which readathons are on and to squeeze extra reading time into my schedule.

However, there are two readathons that I still follow: Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon and the Magical Readathon. Both customarily run twice a year in April and October, often with smaller challenges at various points in between.

The Magical Readathon is run by G of The Book Roast. She recently mentioned that due to health issues, she was not confident April’s edition of the challenge would be ready in time (I can certainly relate). Instead, she has elected to run a smaller week-long challenge on 14-20 March.

The Magical Readathon is a unique challenge. Originally themed after Harry Potter’s wizarding tests, G elected to step away from that after J.K. Rowlings’s transphobia became obvious. To replace it, she has created her own unique fantasy world. The first readathon in this setting took place last year, as the students traversed a perilous path to the Orilium Academy. Themed reading prompts were offered for each of the locations along the way. Participants were also sorted into guilds based on the roleplaying options they chose.

Character creation is governed by reading prompts as well. Want to play an elf? Read a book with a moon or stars on the cover or in the title. Want to come from a city? Read a book set in a city.

The theme of the mini readathon is gear. It’s a chance to pick up a magic wand or a familiar… or a variety of other cool things. And if you’ve missed the previous challenges, it’s a chance to catch up.

If you think this sounds cool, but are feeling a bit intimidated, I promise it’s not as complicated as it sounds. G always emphasises that the readathon is meant to be fun and supports adapting it in ways that make it accessible for you.

You can find more information over at The Book Roast.

I hope you’ll join me on this adventure.