Hello everyone,
Last October, I participated in Spoopathon hosted by Spoopyhol (her Youtube channel.) She also was helped throughout the month by a ton of other booktubers for the reading sprints.
The concept
The length of this readathon was of one month, from the 1st of October to the 30th of October and during this time, you need to escape a haunted house.
This readathon is a little competitive as you have teams, which give you power for the escape. Also, each book you read gives you a certain amount of points. Here are the five teams with their power:
- Spoop Shifters: You can move diagonally on the board (Spoopyhol)
- Spectral Shenanigan: You can join another path (Book Browsing Blog)
- The Order of Spies: Forget the doors you pass through them (BooksNest)
- Ghostbusters: The ghosts aren’t stoping you to pass (Wandering Through Worlds)
- Gouls Just Wanna Have Fun: You can skip one prompt on your way to escape (What India Read)
When you enter this readathon, you choose a name, a team, and pledge the number of times you are escaping the haunted house.
Here is how the points are allocated to your books:
Here are the different paths that you can choose and the prompts that you run through to escape the house:
The points you earn with your readings are essential. They help you to pass the ghosts and the doors. So you need to be strategic or do like me choose a team that remove the doors or the ghosts.
The fact that there were many reading sprints during the whole month helps to go through your TBR.
The books
I read a total of eight books during October, and five of them were part of the readathon. The only change I have made was to read the book in the wrong order: I start with the last book I should have read.
Here is the list of the books I read with the total of the points earned per book and how I earn them:
- The Looking Glass by Janet McNally: It’s for the gifted book prompt (offered for my birthday by my mom), and it also fits for LGBTQIA+ rep and the colour of the team on the cover. So I earn a total of 125 points.
- Circe by Madeline Miller: The cover screams autumnal with the colours and the flowers and leaves. Unfortunately, as I don’t have bonus points, the total for this book is only 25 points.
- Le Deuxième Sexe I by Simone de Beauvoir: It’s a recommendation, and I used it for the new genre prompt as it’s not a genre I usually read. I gave my team 75 points with this book.
- The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova: This corresponds to the diverse rep, and two bonus prompts LGBTQIA+ rep and spooky read. I earn 125 points.
- All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue: I read this book after dark, and it helped me to escape the haunted house. It also contains an LGBTQIA+ rep, and it was a spooky read. That book has a total of 225 points.
I add a total of 575 points to my team total points.
My experience
I didn’t see this readathon pass. I was surprised by how I went through it without stress or anything. Maybe the fact that I mood read at the beginning of the month with the last two books of the list above helps to go through it without any problem.
The readathon was excellent as you have a little competition, but the fact that you have the choice to choose the path you want to give you the freedom to read the books you want and don’t feel trapped by it. Like always, I liked the reading sprints parts and discord as you are a part of a big thing, and you aren’t alone to do it. If you have any problem, you can just discuss it with the other participants.
I cannot wait to do a new readathon; I like doing those readathons as you surpass yourself. And you, have you already participate in one readathon? Or do you want to do it? Which one?
If you have any experience with this kind of readathon, don’t hesitate to share it in the comment.
Bye, bye
Liz.
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