Author: Kristen Coates

Kristen Coates

HOUR 36: What’s Your Favorite Food-related Book? [Challenge]

OK, y’all. It’s the final countdown. We’re 3/4 of the way through this thing, and are amazed by every single one of you. Whether you’ve read for two hours or 20 so far, you’re a champion in our eyes, and we love hanging out with you. If you haven’t been, be sure to drop in on the hashtag (#24in48) every once in a while to see what your fellow readers are up to and cheer them on!

Before we continue, it’s time to announce the winners of our Hour 30 challenge! Give your best gif celebration to these readers, and if you see your name below head over to the prize page to stake your claim:

Gretchen Larson

Rachel Purtteman

Allison (@technoblueberry)

Thea Fransen

Susy (@salsa_susy)

Jennifer Edwards

Lynne Kramer

Erin Coughlin

Chessa Hickox

Amanda Leff

Kara Middleton

Brianna Flores

Now is the point of the ‘thon where my brain gets consumed by all the snacks I’ve eaten thus far, and whatever meal is coming next. This year, I’m hanging out in Kerry’s house in the woods, which is always the best because her partner spends the whole weekend leaving us alone to read while making us gads of food.

It usually looks something like this (and yes, that bread is also homemade. I mean, c’mon):

inkedscreenshot of kevin's bread_li (2)

A screenshot of an instagram post of a charcuterie board

Since I’m thinking about food already, for today’s recommendation challenge I want to hear about your favorite, most loved, best ever food-related book.

This can be a food memoir, a collection of food writings, the cookbook that is so food-splattered and stained and falling apart but you’ll never replace it and can’t live without it, the cocktail recipe book that lives on your bar (and that you actually use). Here are a few of ours:

food posts

If you’re posting a photo of your entry on social media, don’t forget to use the official hashtag #24in48 so other readers can find you and add your series to their TBR, and tag us so we can see!

For this challenge entry, like the others, post your entry on social media/your blog and drop the link in the form. Don’t forget to identify yourself and jot down where we can find you this weekend to validate your entry. We’ll post the winners of this challenge in six hours (Hour 42), so make sure you check back after you entered to see if you won!

Don’t forget to check past posts to see if you’ve won, and visit the prize page if you have!

Reminder: This 24in48, we’re trying to log every book read this weekend! Track your books as you finish them here, and follow along on Goodreads!

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HOUR 30: Your Favorite Series [Challenge]

Hello, hello, hello, readers! I hope you can hear me over the sound of the coffee percolating, or the kettle boiling, or whatever other morning ritual you’re in the middle of.

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A cat leaning against a counter with a cup of coffee

By the official timeclock, it’s 6AM on day two, my favorite day of the readathon. Day two feels a bit cozier, as we all hunker down and try to hit 24 hours (or whatever our personal goals are). Currently, Kerry and I are hunkered on a couch in her house in the woods, buried under blankets and dogs and cats and consuming all the coffee.

Like I said last year, over the years, your three hosts have progressively retreated from everyone who isn’t ‘thonning on 24in48 weekend…and I’m not mad about it. This community and these weekends are our favorites; reading for the sake of reading with readers the world over is the most important aspect of this weekend. You’re here because you want to read and connect, and that’s a beautiful win, no matter how many hours you read or don’t.

 

Janet from The Good Place clapping
Janet from The Good Place giving a thumbs up

All smooshy feelings aside, it’s time to kick off our day two challenges! Today, we’re gonna follow a bit of a theme: book recommendations.

First up, we want to hear about your favorite series. YA, SFF, Mystery, Kidlit, it doesn’t matter. We want to see and hear about your favorite series, and what makes it so wonderful.

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Cohost Kristen’s challenge entry: NK Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy

If you’re posting a photo of your entry on social media, don’t forget to use the official hashtag #24in48 so other readers can find you and add your series to their TBR, and tag us so we can see!

For this challenge entry, like the others, post your entry on social media/your blog and drop the link in the form. Don’t forget to identify yourself and jot down where we can find you this weekend to validate your entry.

OK here we go TGP

Michael from The Good Place saying “Here We Go”

 

We’ll post the winners of this challenge in six hours (Hour 36), so make sure you check back after you entered to see if you won!

Hit us with those recommendations, and get back to the books!

Reminder: This 24in48, we’re trying to log every book read this weekend! Track your books as you finish them here, and follow along on Goodreads!

HOUR 18: #WeNeedDiverseBooks…on your shelves [Challenge]

READERS! It’s time for another challenge already! I hope the time is flying for you the way it is for us; don’t forget to stretch those page-turning fingers every once in a while, and to hydrate!

 

A frenchie stretching on a yoga mat
A cat rolling over and stretching

This is a perfect time to take a stretch break while we share the winners of our Hour 12 challenge and I tell you about our final day one challenge. If you see your name below, head over to the prize page to stake your claim!

Chris Myers

Amy Goldsmith

(Maggie @MDodge)

Erin Klinar

Samantha Marshall

Vanessa J (@twistedreads)

Meghan Griffin

Amanda Rodriguez

Jailynn G

Kayla Gallup

Heather Padgett

Rita Cunha

If you joined us this past July, you (hopefully) remember that we talked about 24in48 with intention, and bringing the same personal attention and intention we (as three white, cis women) apply to our personal reading lives to the ‘thon. (For a refresh, check out this post.) In keeping with that goal, we wanted to highlight a grassroots organization that is near and dear to our hearts: We Need Diverse Books.

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In a nutshell: WNDB is a nonprofit organization birthed out of a Twitter conversation about the lack of diversity in kidlit between Ellen Oh and Malindo Lo. Things exploded from there, and what started as a hashtag campaign is now an organization that partners with authors, bookstores, and libraries, providing resources and amplifying marginalized voices, all with the aim of:

“Putting more books featuring diverse characters into the hands of all children,” to bring about “A world in which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book.”

It’s hard to distill these efforts down into a challenge for our small event, but worthwhile. For the next six hours that this challenge is open, we want to see and hear about the diverse books you love, and the ways you work to diversify your bookshelves.

If you’re looking for a definition of diversity, WNDB offers a great one:

“We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities*, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities.

*We subscribe to a broad definition of disability, which includes but is not limited to physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental illnesses (this may also include addiction). Furthermore, we subscribe to a social model of disability, which presents disability as created by barriers in the social environment, due to lack of equal access, stereotyping, and other forms of marginalization.”

Since this challenge is a bit open ended, we came up with some ideas to get you started (this is not an exhaustive or fully representative list of possible entries; you can interpret this challenge however you wish):

  • Do you have a book on your shelves that expanded your understanding of a social justice issue? Show us, and tell us how/why it did so.
  • Do you have a specific title that opened you up to ideas, persons, struggles, settings, etc., in a new way (read our blurbs from the last ‘thon if you want an example)? We want to see/hear about it.
  • Share a story of encountering a book by a certain author that blew your mind wide open to the importance and impact of #ownvoices representations of life experiences.

We’ll share some of our favorite entries on social media to draw attention to the diverse, representative titles recommended by your fellow readers.

If you’re posting a photo of your entry on social media, don’t forget to use the official hashtag #24in48 so other readers can find you, and tag us so we can see! We’ll post the winners of this challenge in six hours (Hour 24), so make sure you check back after you entered to see if you won! You’ve also got until then to enter the Intro Survey!

Reminder: This 24in48, we’re trying to log every book read this weekend! Track your books as you finish them here, and follow along on Goodreads!

HOUR 12: Show Us That Bookshelf(ie) [Challenge]

Ring that challenge bell, readers, because we’re one whole quarter of the way through this winter ‘thon, and it’s time for me to interrupt your reading again.

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April Ludgate throwing a pencil at Ron Swanson

I’ve got a good reason, though. I’m up and showered and dressed in my 24in48 swag/finery, and it’s time for us to show off our bookshelfies.

For this challenge, all you gotta do is snap a picture of yourself in front of your bookshelf (or shelves, or stack of books threatening to bury you, or at your local library, or next to your nightstand TBR…you get the idea). Strike a pose, include your coffee / snacks, force your furbabies into the photo with you, however the book spirit moves you!

Here’s me and mine!

 

Host Kristen Coates in front of her bookshelf
Host Kristen Coates in front of her booksshelf

For this challenge entry, post your bookshelfie on social media/your blog and drop the link in the form. Don’t forget to identify yourself and jot down where we can find you this weekend to validate your entry.

If you’re posting a photo of your entry on social media, don’t forget to use the official hashtag #24in48 so other readers can find you, and tag us so we can see! We’ll post the winners of this challenge in six hours (Hour 18), so make sure you check back after you entered to see if you won! You’ve also got until Hour 24 to enter the Intro Survey!

Before you run off to enter and hit the books again, take a moment to cheer on the winners from our first challenge (Hour 6: What Your Book Starts With):

AmbWitch

Tori M. (@tori_flies)

Coleen Burns

Kay Will

Suzanne Wiggins

Diane Lupton

Tamine Rasse

Dani Moth

Monica Corwin

Cinda Schulberg

Crystal Cline

Caroline Ward-Nesbit

🚨 You must be officially signed up to be eligible for door prizes and challenge prizes, and you have until the end of day one to do so. You can search the participant list here to make sure you’re signed up, or if you know that you aren’t, go right to the sign-up form. 🚨

Reminder: This 24in48, we’re trying to log every book read this weekend! Track your books as you finish them here, and follow along on Goodreads!

HOUR 6: What Your Book Starts With [Challenge]

Y’ALL. It’s time to yell about the fact that we’re six hours into this thing (if you’re following the official readathon timeclock it’s 6AM ET)!

The winter 24in48 always feels so cozy, and makes that first, early morning, steaming cup of coffee taste more delicious. Whether you’re just waking up continuing your streak after starting at midnight/Hour 0, we’re so thrilled to have you that we are celebrating with OUR FIRST CHALLENGE.

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A gif of Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness, and Tan France from Netflix’s Queer Eye celebrating gleefully on a couch

🚨 One quick note before I give you the deets: you must be officially signed up to be eligible for door prizes and challenge prizes, and you have until the end of day one to do so. You can search the participant list here to make sure you’re signed up, or if you know that you aren’t, go right to the sign-up form. 🚨

This year, I wanted to kick our challenges off by having you turn to the beginning of whatever book you’re reading now—or any book in your 24in48 stack. Flip through those opening pages, and read over any dedications, epigraphs (a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter), and opening lines you find.

Pay attention to which ones stir something in you, whether it’s a short laugh, a deep breath, an extra heartbeat. That, right there, is what we want you to share with us.

Sawkill Girls Dedication

The dedication to SAWKILL GIRLS by Claire Legrand

For this challenge entry, you can either post a photo of your chosen book-opening text or first line on social media/your blog and drop the link in the form, or type up the text itself and submit it that way.

No matter which way you choose, don’t forget to identify yourself and jot down where we can find you this weekend to validate your entry.

If you’re posting a photo of your entry on social media, don’t forget to use the official hashtag #24in48 so other readers can find you, and tag us so we can see! We’ll post the winners of this challenge in six hours (Hour 12), so make sure you check back after you entered to see if you won! You’ve also got until Hour 24 to enter the Intro Survey!

Reminder: This 24in48, we’re trying to log every book read this weekend! Track your books as you finish them here, and follow along on Goodreads!

Snacks, Stacks, & Community: Readers share how they #24in48

Every few rounds of 24in48, we update our How To Readathon: #24in48 Style post. But since we did that this past July, this year we wanted to do something different. We talked to some of our bookternet friends, and asked them what they love about 24in48, how they approach the weekend, and if they had any unique advice, tips, or experiences they wanted to share.

They delivered and then some, so whether this is your first time or your tenth (this has been going since 2012, y’all, wut), be sure to check out what your fellow readers have to say.

At the end of this post, we also round things out with some specific tried and true book recs for your readathon stack from your #24in48 cohosts. You can download a PDF of our recs here!

Don’t forget: You can find our how to post here, FAQs here, sign-ups here, and participant list here! Don’t be afraid to DM us on social media or send us an email at 24in48readathonofficial [at] gmail [dot] com if you have any questions you can’t find the answer to!

💖 From Michele (@ultrabookgeek):

24in48 is definitely a classic example of it’s about the journey not the destination. It’s not about how long you read or how much you read. It’s about setting aside time to do one activity you really enjoy and making it as simple or extravagant as you wish. You can read in bed for 4 hours or make it to 24 with a million snacks, and tracking systems while ensconced in your coziest chair. As someone who participates time again the best advice I have to offer is to read in blocks of time, have some breaks for eating and napping, stay updated on social media for prizes and other peoples updates and have lots of snacks and drinks on hand. Lastly, make sure your family knows what you’re up to and knows to give you space as needed. Pick some books you’ve been meaning to read, find a cozy spot and happy reading!

😻 From Melissa (@balletbookworm):

How to have a successful 24-in-48 Readathon (from a reader who has both read for the full 24 hours…and has not even been close on occasion):

  1. Pick out an over-ambitious TBR “stack” (digital and paper and audio formats included): Choose a wide variety of lengths, formats, and genres—this narrows your actual TBR list and prevents aimless meandering around your house wondering about to “read next.” You can even start by knocking off books you have already started (finishing a book right away is a great boost to the start of Readathon). And don’t forget books that aren’t usually considered Readathon fodder like big poetry collections, classroom reading/textbooks, etc. – all reading counts in a Readathon.
  2. Have your favorite junk food at hand, if you like, but don’t forget to have a balanced meal, too: 24in48 isn’t a good time to gorge yourself on junk just because READATHON OMG or try out those new lobster-cheddar balls in the freezer case at the grocery store (trust me, both of those things lead to 2am indigestion regrets). Pick up some trail mix with dried fruit so you can have a snacky/crunchy good time to mix with your favorite candy. Have water standing by as well because as much as many of us are COFFEE DEATH BEFORE DECAF FIGHT ME, hydrating does help with the late-Readathon bleahs. A little advance prep for a stew in the CrockPot or a lasagna in the oven also helps cut down on aimless wandering at mealtime (this time in the kitchen, haha).
  3. Don’t sweat errands/chores, etc. because it’s 24in48: you’ve got 48 hours to play with here, but if you are out and about for periods of time (the kids have a soccer match, or you have to take the car to the mechanic, or do the grocery shopping, etc.) bring along a kicky book (or two) or fire up an audiobook on your phone or tablet (I’m extremely partial to my library’s Overdrive/Libby collection). Audiobooks also make great road companions if you have to drive around for a while and if the kids are in the car, or if the grownups can’t agree on what to listen to, a children’s book like Matilda or the Lemoncello series can keep everyone entertained for hours. And, like I said, all reading counts in a Readathon.
  4. AND IF YOU DON’T GET 24 HOURS OF READING DONE, CELEBRATE WHAT YOU DID READ! The biggest point of Readathon is just reading and sharing that love of reading with the rest of the 24in48 community. So if your plans didn’t work out or someone got sick or you fell asleep or it just worked out to only a few hours of reading time scraped together here or there, that’s OK. Gremlins won’t come after you (and if they do, we’ll fight them for you). Readathon is for having fun. But if you did make it to all 24 hours of reading….HIGH FIVES FOREVER

📚 From Sue (at Doddyaboutbooks):

The 24 in 48 is my very favourite readathon (you always have a special place in your heart for your first, right?) I have never made the full 24 hours (I made it to 19 once which I was totally stoked about). For me the readathon experience is about getting a bunch of reading done, and however much that is is great.

Here are some of my hot tips for a successful readathon:

Have lots of choices available. You will want to feel like you are getting somewhere, so if you have some poetry, novellas and graphic novels on your TBR, now is a great time to tackle them. This will also help keep your attention when you’re feeling tired. Audiobooks are also great for when your eyes get tired or if you have to do chores. Leave the Odyssey and Don Quixote fo another time – you will thank me.

Don’t be afraid to nap! Don’t keep dragging yourself on if you need match sticks for your eyelids! Sleep at night and nap during the day if you need to – it will help you concentrate.

Check in on social media. The blog has 3 hourly check ins, which is s nice time to give yourself a bit of a break and see how others are going. Plus there are prizes!

Snacks. I’m not much of a snacker, but staying hydrated is super important. I tend to stick with water and tea. Also, premake any meals so you just need to reheat them 😉

Last but not least – have fun! That’s the whole point right?

✨ From Sarah:

How I Readathon:
I’ve been most successful by choosing a stack of short (under 200 pages) books to have on hand, as well as a regular length engrossing audiobook. Every time I need to get up to do something, I put in my headphones and switch to the audiobook. This allows for almost continuous reading. The stack of books helps because then I can just grab whichever one looks good next instead of having to go choose from a larger selection. Having shorter books allows for a feeling of accomplishment throughout the weekend. Finishing a book every few hours motivates me to keep going!

💻 And finally, from Katy’s “So you want to do a readathon” post following our July 24in48 (at thebookishcronk):

Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Great Selection of Snacks

My very first readathon I had no snacks or really any food in my house. This was a mistake. You have to have some snacks or meals planned out or at least some easy finger food like a sandwich. I tried to eat ramen my first one readathon and it was Not Good. (Picture a book with broth on it. Sad day indeed). Also I tried to read and cook at the same time and I tripped over my cat. True story.

Preparing a Book Stack and Sharing it with Your Friends is Fun!

I actually really enjoy this part even though I haven’t had a chance to create my stack until this evening. For me, it’s the dream of books I could get done this weekend, but don’t feel like you have to stick to it if something on your bookcase appeals to you after a really intense book. I also recommend that you have a few shorter books and/or graphic novels included. Sometimes, that’s a perfect break from novel-reading that can get you across the 24 hour mark.

We’ll see you in a few weeks, ‘thonners! (We can’t wait)

12

 

Get your 24in48 swag!

I’m not even going to write up a whole preamble here, folks, because… IT’S SWAG TIME.

We’ve set up our teepublic shop, which is full of shirts and mugs and stickers and totes; all the 24in48 merch your heart desires! We commissioned two “My weekend is all booked” designs, and also have some shiny new logo merch available!

Screenshot one

Screenshot of the 24in48 storefront on Teepublic showing our designs on three mugs

You can find our storefront here, and click around by way of desired merch (e.g., click mugs if that’s what your heart desires, crewneck sweatshirts if you wanna be cozy, or onesies if you have a tiny reader spending the weekend with you).

 

My Weekend is All Booked with 24in48 Baseball Tee
My Weekend is All Booked with 24in48 Hoodie

Teepublic handles all order fulfillment and shipping (they ship internationally, too!)

We’re SO EXCITED to share this with y’all; you know what to do. Get your ‘thon swag on.