It’s been just over a week since the end of #24in48 and your hosts are just now picking themselves up off the book-strewn floor to provide an update on the ‘thon.

First of all, thank you everyone that participated. We had a record turnout with 1398 readers participating. (I’m sure there were a couple of readers who jumped in without officially signing up, so I’m calling it 1400 even.)

We’ve got just a little bit of business to get through, before I announce the winners of the four prize packs. I appreciate everyone’s patience if you won a prize; as I noted in the post-readathon email you received, unless there is an issue (or your prize requires you to choose something) you will NOT hear from us confirming which prize you won. With close to 150 prize winners, I just can’t email everyone individually.

I also want to apologize again to all of the international prize winners who missed out on choosing a prize because we didn’t have enough for you. We work directly with US publishers for the US prizes and for a variety of reasons, they will not ship outside the country. International prizes are donated by your fellow readathoners and hosts and we rely on this generosity to make any international prizes available. Your hosts are brainstorming ways to expand the number of international prizes before January’s event (prize donations are always welcome – email us at 24in48readathonofficial@gmail.com if you want to contribute). If you have suggestions, please leave a comment or send us an email. (Question: if we opened up a PayPal donate button, specifically dedicated to international prize shipping costs, would you be willing to donate?)

Also, if you haven’t filled out the closing survey yet, please go do so (in particular, we’re interested in how the readathon can improve for next time).

Now, for your prize pack winners! (Winners, you should expect an email hitting your inbox shortly).

Prize Pack #1 ($100 Book Riot Gift Card and Virginia Woolf Obvious State print)

Rachel Wright

Prize Pack #2 ($50 Gift Card to Litographs.com, Herman Melville print, & Graywolf Press tote)

Shawntaye Hopkins

Prize Pack #3 (Kindle Fire 7, $25 GC to Amazon.com, Book Riot tote bag)

Kendra Winchester

Prize Pack #4 ($50 worth of books from BookDepository.com, Your choice of mug (up to EUR 15) and your choice of tote (up to EUR 15) from The Literary Gift Company)

Lizpixie

Congrats to all of the winners and thank you to the prize sponsors who made these prize packs possible.

If you have any additional questions or suggestions, please drop us an email and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Otherwise, prize winners, keep an eye on your mailboxes!

 

WE DID IT! We made it the full 48 hours! I’m so thrilled for every last one of you. More than 1,300 readers participated this weekend and I hope you all had a great time.

Before we can wrap this thing up and put it (and ourselves) to bed, we’ve got a few last things to take care of. Namely, winners of the Hour 42 Literary Dinner Party challenge:

Heike (@inwhichHeikereadsharder on Litsy)

Katy Alice (@thegirlinthegarret on Instagram)

Ashley McMillan (@swishandflick on Litsy)

Jocelyn Bailey (@thebookhooker on Instagram)

Kathy W. (@MsWebberUC on Twitter)

Alisha Soto (@endlessreader on Twitter)

Kaitlyn Dawn (@121books on Twitter)

Jessica (@JPeterson on Litsy)

Frank McGeough (@fmcgeough on Twitter)

Lynn Andryshak (@lmandryshak on Instagram)

If you can, I’d love to know how this readathon went for all of you, anything you’d change, your favorite books, etc. So leave a comment with answers to this closing survey:

1. How many books did you read? Pages? (If you didn’t keep track, tell me that too!)
2. How many hours did you read?
3. What do you think worked well in this readathon?
4. What do you think could be done to improve the readathon for next time?
5. Will you participate in a future 24in48 readathon?

And thanks to our friends at Book Riot, all readathon participants will be getting an email with a 25% discount code for their store. So keep your eyes peeled for that. Thank you to the whole BR gang for going above and beyond for this ‘thon.

Since I know you’re all dying to mark your calendars, the next 24in48 readathon will be on….

January 27-28, 2018!!

Lastly, if you finished a full 24 hours of reading, you’re eligible to win one of four amazing prize packs. Fill out this form, including your proof of hours read, before midnight ET on Tuesday, July 25th.

Thanks once again for joining me and my fellow co-hosts Kristen and Kerry. It’s been a great time.

ou’re so close to the finish line, guys! Can you smell it? That’s the smell of success (unless you didn’t take a shower today… then maybe that smell is you….)

A super quick reminder to double-check all the previous posts to see if your name has been announced as a prize winner this weekend. If it has, you’ll need to go hit up the Prize page and make your selections. And if you’ve hit the 24-hour mark or think you’re going to, don’t forget that you’ll need to record proof of your time in the Hour 48 post after this thing is all over and you’ll only have two days to do so.

And don’t forget you’ve got three more hours to enter the Hour 42 Literary Dinner Party Challenge.

Time for the last door prize winners of the readathon, and one more shout out to all of our amazing prize sponsors for providing such great giveaways. Give them a thanks when you can! This wouldn’t be possible without them.

Heather Gorman (@heather_ogorman on Twitter)

Deborah (@beatccr on Twitter)

Michelle (@gruxita on Twitter)

Sarah (@Sarrie on Litsy)

Shona Lawrence (@anovelobsession on Litsy)

Rebecca (@rebeccamc_00 on Twitter)

Jana Christensen (@jananzareads on Instagram)

Danielle C (@perseph0neinnana on Instagram)

Three hours to go, kids! You got this!

One of the very best parts of readathon is the food (trust me on this). I am all about planning my snacks and meals in advance, and the name of the game is, ALL THE CARBS. I try to eat healthy, I promise, but then again,  mac & cheese exists in the world. It’s only a problem if you say it’s a problem, right?

I say, combat the sneaking suspicion that food and books are not as closely related as you might think by dreaming up your perfect dinner party. Who would you most like to attend a bookish dinner party with? Authors (living or dead), fictional characters, anything goes. That’s your next challenge: which five bookish people (or animals, I’m not picky) would be around your perfect literary dinner table?

Post a comment with your dinner party guest list; you have until Hour 48 at midnight ET tonight to enter.

And now for the winners of the Hour 36 Swagilicious challenge:

Devin (@devinfeyded on Instagram)

Benni (@books.and.coco on Instagram)

Nicole Dunton (@nickelgrl1986 on Twitter)

Katja Nielsen (@Kalalalatja on Litsy)

Andrea C (@acc5446 on Litsy)

Christina (@CAhnBooks on Twitter)

Sarah @ Reviews & Readathons

Marisa (@marisagbooks on Instagram)

Janet Goodell (@jangoodell on Twitter)

Jenna (@novels_netflix on Twitter)

Congrats and head over to the Prize page now to pick your swag.

Okay, maybe don’t read your pants off if you’re in public, but like, stretchy pants are for sure encouraged. We’re just under 10 hours until this readathon thing wraps up and things are getting crazy up in here. There’s been a lot of wonderful chatter, some very hardcore reading, and participants from all over the world, some of whom are already done with their readathons. It’s the middle of the afternoon for official readathon clock watchers, and if you’re blessed with lovely, not miserable weather right now, do the rest of us a favor and take your blanket and do a little of this (full marks for swapping a puppy in for a heteronormative bae):

Don’t forget, you can still post your bookish swag photos in the Hour 36 challenge for another three hours.

We’ve still got plenty of prizes up for grabs, so let’s give away some more!

Cloud (@cloudsriser on Instagram)

Carolyn (@carbail on Litsy)

Kate Keehan (@preteavivre on Twitter)

Jade (@jade.elizabeth.c on Instagram)

Melissa Baron (@melissabaron4 on Twitter)

Vicki (@escreations on Twitter)

Samantha (cozyafternoons.wordpress.com)

Tamara (@northerngrl on Litsy)

I’ll see you back here in three hours!

I LURVE good bookish stuff. Like, absolutely adore it. (If you needed proof of my adoration, check out my weekly Book Fetish column over at Book Riot.) My closet is practically overflowing with the literary tees and totes (seriously, Rach, how many bookish tote bags do you need?) But I can’t stop, won’t stop.

Some of my favorite bookish swag enablers (ahem…retailers…) have been kind enough to donate some amazing prizes to this round of readathon, and I figured I can’t be the only one that loves their bookish swag. For this hour’s challenge task, post a picture in the comments with all your best bookish gear. Mugs, tees, totes, jewelry, show me what you got! This challenge will be open until Hour 42.

(My poor wallet is going to weep, isn’t it?)

It’s noon on the official readathon clock. Which sounds like prize time to me. Here are the challenge winners from our Hour 24 Spine Poetry challenge.

Daan (@TheLibraryMonster on Litsy)

Natasha Krahn (@tashajk72 on Instagram)

Sarah Yarbrough (@sarahy531 on Instagram)

LizPixie (@lizpixie on Litsy)

Pauliina Vuorinen (@puna_bella on Instagram)

Soubhi (@soubhiville on Litsy)

Angela (@proudbookjunk on Twitter)

Jennifer Singh (@jas16 on Litsy)

Matilda H. (@matilda_the_dandelion on Instagram)

Maggie Dodge (@mdodge on Litsy)

We’re 3/4 of the way done, people! You can do it!

You wouldn’t think that you’d be sleepy first thing in the morning, but then you do the 24in48 readathon and you realize that you can be sleepy and/or hungry ANY TIME. So start your day with some simple stretches or a little exercise to get your blood flowing and help you stay awake and ready to go for the rest of the day.

Throw an audiobook in your ears and take a walk or run or do a simple vinyasa yoga sequence if that’s your thing. I like these if you’re looking for something new.  Whatever you do, I promise you’ll feel better once you’ve gotten your heart rate up.

Know what else gets the heart rate up? Winning some prizes! Here are a few more door prize winners. If you’ve won, don’t forget to go over to the Prize page and pick your spoils in the form.

Jolene Foster  (@p_j_foster on Twitter)

Sheryl (@Ubookquitous on Litsy)

Charlotte (@Charl08 on Litsy)

Melissa (@meldaunt on Instagram)

Sheila Bigelow (@sbigelow4kids on Twitter)

Stephanie Broad (@timetoread___ on Twitter)

Cherie Lampley (@cheriedlampley on Instagram)

Vanessa (@neverbefore on Twitter)

And don’t forget you’ve got another three hours to enter the Hour 30 Spine Poetry challenge!

Good morning, fine people! It’s 6am by my watch and we’ve got a WHOLE ‘NOTHER DAY OF READING IN FRONT OF US! ISN’T IT EXCITING??

I’m super pumped (especially since Sunday is usually the day I actually get to read things). It’s a much more chill day, as readers either buckle down to try to hit 24 hours or realize they’ll probably fall short and decide to just read for the sake of reading. Whichever you are, just know that I’m super proud of you and there is no failure in spending the whole weekend reading. So keep going, turn those pages, and keep cheering each other on.

One way to wake your brain up and get ready for the new day of reading is to make some art. Specifically, give me your very best spine poetry. What is spine poetry? It’s using the titles of books on the spines to create a little verse. Here’s one of my favorite examples in recent memory:

Leave a comment and include a photo (or a link to a photo) of your best spine poetry. You have until Hour 36 to enter!

Now for the winners of Hour 24’s Snack and Stacks challenge:

Meg L  (@Ebooksandcooks on Twitter)

Chessa (@chessakat on Twitter)

Katarina Pearson (@katthekittycat on Twitter)

Tonya (@the_hero_of_books on Instagram)

Nina Carboni (@yeah_i_read)

Dayna Smith  (@Iceangel9)

Rachel Purtteman (@DGRachel on Litsy)

Ann Cox (@ferskner on Litsy)

Lesley (@eyelit on Litsy)

Tracy (@tracy_anne8 on Litsy)

If you didn’t win here, don’t forget to go back and check the other posts to see if you won earlier. Then head to the prize page to pick your spoils!

It’s the early, early morning hours on the readathon time clock, but we are still moving and grooving all over the world. As I mentioned, early in the ‘thon, I’m normally the only one behind the scenes for 24in48, which means that there are many hours here where nobody is manning battle stations. But because of the magic of pre-scheduled content and alarm clocks every three hours, I was able to squeeze by. Now that I work on the other side of the world from the official readathon time zone, you’ve got someone here 24/7 keeping the lights on.

Here’s a few more random door prize winners if you’re still awake slash in the middle of your day like me.

@gillyreads

Jenni Sweeney (@NeeSwee on Litsy)

Amanda (@Amandajoy on Litsy)

Tana (@pageta23 on Instagram)

Sumaiyya (@sumaiyya_ on Twitter)

Karen Eisenbraun (@HaveANamaste on Litsy)

Sabella Dunne (Sabelladunne.tumblr.com)

Sharlize dsouza (@intellectual_badass on Litsy)

You’ve also got three more hours to enter the Hour 24 Stacks and Snacks challenge.

Guys, you’re halfway there!! (Okay, the official timeclock is halfway there.)

You’ve totally got it under control. But, ya know, Sunday is notoriously harder than Saturday on the readathon calendar, deceptively so. You think you know what you’ve got left, you probably got a lot of reading done, and you’re feeling confident. But Sunday is the day when responsibilities that were neglected creep back in, the lethargy from sitting and reading can spell unexpected naps, and you might have trouble getting into that next book because you’ve had a good run so far. So give yourself permission right now to go to bed if you need to, take a break, get some sleep, and start fresh tomorrow.

If you’re a night owl or if you’re not based on the east coast of the US (which is probably most of you), I’ve got another challenge for you. In the comments, leave a photo (or a comment) of your snacks or your stack of books for this readathon weekend. I want to see what’s on your TBR and your TBE (that’s To Be Eaten, obvi). Mostly I want to live vicariously through all of your yummy food and your pretty, pretty stacks. You’ve got until Hour 30 to enter (that’s six hours from now).

Oh, but before you go, the winners of the Hour Zero Intro Challenge are:

Jessica Jones (@coverdinrust on Litsy)

Steven Karalash (@mysternightowl on Twitter)

Joshua Peacock (@lightwoodreads on Twitter)

Caryn Livingston (@ughnowayicant on Twitter)

Jessica (@irishmlsmrose on Litsy)

Dodibus (@dodibus_ on Instagram)

Leah Weyand (@leah on Litsy)

Dani Park (@danipark__ on Instagram)

Ruzaika (@ruzaikadeen14 on Twitter)

Jen Greenlees (@reader44ever on Twitter)

And the winners of the Hour 18 Diverse Books challenge are:

Kayli Enterline (@chasing-pages on Litsy)

Melissa (@kangaj1 on Litsy)

Sarah vanOphuijsen (@hardcoverhearts on Litsy)

Christine Croft (@christine on Litsy)

Nephele Tempest (@nepheletempest on Twitter)

Emmy at Beaches and Books

Vera L (@verasbroccoli on Instagram)

Dominique Marlow (@piratesnpixdust on Twitter)

Candice Zablan (@booksbaconglttr on Twitter)

Laura Krossner (@hardcoverharlot on Litsy)

See you in three!