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!

We’re getting close to the halfway point, and hopefully by now you’ve found your rhythm, you know how much you’ve read and how much you still have left to read if you’re shooting for a full 24 hours of reading. If you’re planning on taking advantage of the quiet (if it’s late for you too), what are your late night evening rituals during the summer? Winter is easy: cozy blanket, slippers, warm drink. But summer evening rituals are tougher. Do you sit outside and listen to the crickets if you’re in the country? Do you find a porch to hang out on? How about a walk around the neighborhood with an audiobook to enjoy the late summer sunset?

Maybe some prizes will be a good way to keep you up for a little longer?

Adrienne Teague (@okcruegirl on Twitter)

Devan (@devan_chavez on Instagram)

Anne-Marie (@my_bookish_addiction on Instagram)

Charlene Prasad (@mybookbehaviour on Twitter)

Melissa (@meldaunt on Instagram)

Julie at Smiling Shelves

Sapna Sricharan (ijustliketoread.wordpress.com)

Nicole Shepard (@nicolani21 on Instagram

And don’t forget you have another three hours to enter both the Hour 18 Diverse Books challenge and the Hour Zero Intro Survey challenge.

We’re close to halfway on the official clock and I’ve been absolutely heart eyes emoji about the online #24in48 community today. Between Instagram, Litsy, Twitter, Facebook, and Booktube, you guys are really making this weekend a team sport. I love how inclusive and supportive everyone is and I am here for it. Keep going, guys, you’re doing great!

One of the best ways that the online readathon community works is by exposing your fellow 24in48-ers to books that they may not otherwise have heard of or thought they’d be interested in. Personally, I recommend using readathon to check out diverse titles and authors. We Need Diverse Books in particular is an organization that advocates for changes in the children’s publishing industry in order to promote and encourage greater diversity of authors, characters, and subject matter. Diverse books normalize, empower, and make visible people who otherwise feel invisible or forgotten. 

If you’re not familiar with it, #ownvoices describes books written by authors that identify with the same marginalized group as the protagonists that they’re writing. This could include authors that identify as and are writing characters that are POCs, disabled, LGBTQ+, non-cisgender, etc.

The intention is two-fold: 1) reading #ownvoices books sends a message to the publishing community (which is traditionally, white, able-bodied, straight, and cisgender) that these books have audiences and encourage them to publish more of them, and 2) reading about characters from marginalized groups expands your own awareness of diversity and empathy, something I think we can all benefit from.

So for this hour’s challenge, I want you to recommend books by diverse/#ownvoices authors. Either leave a comment with your recommendations or take a photo of some of your favorite diverse books and drop the link/image in the comments. Give your fellow readers some suggestions for diverse books, and think about adding #ownvoices books to your TBR stack for the rest of the ‘thon.

Here’s a stack of our favorite diverse titles that would be perfect for readathoning:

You have until Hour 24 to enter this diversity challenge. And now to announce prize winners for the Hour 12 roadtrip challenge.

Veronica Éles (@vveronica96 on Twitter)

Jess (b-ookaddict.tumblr.com)

Austin R. (@aerobins13 on Litsy)

Stephanie (@realbooks4ever on Litsy)

Karina (@karina.reads on Litsy)

Julie (@den_siste_heksa on Instagram)

Michelle Sorensen (@hikingnugg on Twitter)

Allison Ivy (@msallisonivy on Twitter)

Michelle B. (@coffeecatsbooks on Litsy)

Britain Callen (@callemarie @ Litsy)

Head over to the Prize page and pick your poison in the form. And don’t forget you have six hours left to enter the Intro Challenge from Hour Zero.

Are you a readathon pre-planner? Do you set aside a stack of books and plan out your weekend ‘thon schedule, down to the meals and snacks you’re planning on eating? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants? No matter what kind of readathon-er you are, sometimes things just aren’t working. Your favorite reading chair is suddenly uncomfortable. Or you keep picking up books that aren’t grabbing you. Or you’re distracted by social media or your family or your cat who has suddenly become very needy.

Whatever kind of ‘thon you’ve planned, inevitably you’ll hit a point where the gears stop moving. And when that happens, don’t be afraid to shake things up. Switch locations, switch books, switch formats (seriously, trying an ebook or an audiobook when you’ve been doing only print can work wonders). Even if you have to get out of your house for a quick walk around the block to reset yourself, do it. Or if you’re lucky enough to have a hammock (and good weather), take a book out and spend an hour in nature.

How do you change it up when your readathon mojo is broken? Do you have an alternate plan when you’re feeling off?

Do readathon prizes help? Oh good, cause I’ve got some more!

Callahan Davenport (@thirdculturekid15 on Instagram)

Andrea Eastman (@leprechaun416 on Instagram)

Emily Blaeser (@emilydblaeser on Twitter)

Alyssa (@apchaney on Twitter)

Laura Mezirka (lauramezirka.blog)

Danielle Murray (@tsukasa1025 on Instagram)

Catherine Gousetis (@c.gousetis on Instagram)

Zoeya (@zoebookobsessed on Twitter)

Don’t forget to enter the Hour 12 Roadtrip challenge and you’ve got until Hour 24 to complete the Intro Survey too! You’ve got another three hours.

Summer is roadtrip season, and just like for readathon, audiobooks are the perfect companion. In fact several readathon-ers are participating in this weekend’s ‘thon almost entirely in the car. I love a good roadtrip and whether you’re doing it solo or with one person or a whole carload, the opportunities for some good bookish shenanigans are multitude. Which books will you listen to? Which bookstores or literary sights will you see? How many fights over which Hogwarts house is better will you have?

So for our next challenge, in the comments, tell me either: 1) which three audiobooks you’d recommend for a roadtrip and why, OR 2) if you could take a roadtrip to any three bookish locations, what would they be? And because, books are magic, your destinations don’t obviously have to make sense within the confines of space and time. Want to roadtrip with Jamie to Lallybroch (from Outlander), the city of Sky (from The Inheritance Trilogy), and Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types (from Lumberjanes)? Go for it.

We’ll be announcing winners for this challenge at Hour 18 in six hours. And now for the winners of the Hour Six Shelfie challenge:

Jennifer S. (@robothugs on Litsy)

Ilse Matus (@matusilse on Twitter)

Kavita R. (@kavitathereader on Instagram)

Jenna Morrison Campbell (@sheridan4369 on Twitter)

Steph Auteri (@stephauteri on Twitter)

Sarah VInka (@sarahbussing on Instagram)

Gemma (@bookworm54 on Litsy)

Casey Rose (@caseyrosereads on Instagram)

Laura Brauman (@lauralovebooks1 on Litsy)

Katie H. (@skateanddonate on Twitter)

Winners, go hit up the prize page now! See you fine readers back here in three hours for more prizes.