Hi all!

This year, an incredibly unique and fun readathon was created that I just had to be a part of: THE READING QUEST! It was developed by Bookish Blogger: Read At Midnight, with brilliant artwork/designs by Read, Think, Ponder. The readathon will commence Sunday, August 13th (wherever you are in the world) and conclude Sunday, September 10th. This makes it a four weeklong readathon. Plenty of time to tackle that unmanageable TBR!

This readathon operates like an RPG (Role-Playing Game), in which you pick a class, complete reading quests, gain experience points and level up. You all know I’m a big gamer, so this is my idea of heaven. To get started, first you have to pick your class:

You can either pick a Knight (action books), a Bard (famed & forbidden books), a Rogue (underrated books) or a Mage (fantasy books). My go-to class is usually a Mage, but for this readathon, I decided to try something different. I picked a Bard. Meet my cute character!

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you will understand my character’s name, mixed in with my own. All classes start with 10 EXP. Every challenge you complete, you gain more experience. Every 50 EXP points, you go up a level. You must begin at Level 1.

Once you have picked your character, it’s time to view the Quest Board!

You must complete the entire path of your chosen class before you can start a new character’s story. In the centre (the blue squares) are additional side-quests that you can do – regardless of your class – to obtain extra points. I will aim to complete all of the Bard’s challenges and if I have time, some side-quests.

I’m now going to outline my TBR for this Readathon:

Bard Challenge 1.) Read a book with a TV/Movie adaptation

I will be reading Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. The movie adaptation will be released in 2018. In this book, we follow Simon, a teenage boy struggling with his sexuality. When an email revealing his secret falls into the hands of the school bully, Simon is faced with the fear of having to come out before he is ready. This book has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time, so I’m excited to finally read it and get myself ready for the film!

Bard Challenge 2.) Read a fairytale retelling

In July, I began reading the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer and fell in love. I’ve since finished Cinder (Book #1) and now I’m ready to start Scarlet (Book #2), which is a fairytale retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. In the sequel, we follow Scarlet, who is tracking her missing grandmother. She teams up with a street-fighter named Wolf and together, they form an unlikely friendship. I will be listening to this on audio.

 Bard Challenge 3.) Read a book with striking typography on the cover

To be perfectly honest, I originally bought Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley because of the cover. It is so beautiful and unique. I love the bold typography, inside the bird’s silhouette. After my purchase, I started hearing lots of rave reviews. It has won awards and touched people’s lives. The story follows teenager, Cullen Witter’s, senior year of highschool. In a small, insulated village, Cullen finds himself dealing with his cousin’s overdose, the disappearance of his gifted younger brother, Gabriel and the town’s sudden obsession with an alleged sighting of an extinct woodpecker. I am really looking forward to seeing if it lives up to the hype.

Bard Challenge 4.) Read a book translated from another language

I have never read The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery but I have heard nothing but wonderful things. It’s perfect for the readathon, as it’s quite short. It has been translated from French to English, thus meeting the challenge requirements. In this story, we follow our hero as he leaves his tiny planet, for an adventure to Earth. It features strong themes of growing up and spiritual exploration. I cannot wait to dive into this classic journey.

Bard Challenge 5.) Read a banned book

For a banned book, I’ve selected An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. It was banned from Marshall University in Texas, due to its sexual references. The story follows Colin Singleton, who seems to have a type – girls named Katherine. That’s all I know but I love John Green and want to read all of his books, so I’m excited for this one. 

Here are a couple of side-quests I have chosen, just in case I have time to spare:

OPEN WORLD – Read whatever you want

I’m still making my way through the Demonata series by Darren Shan, so hopefully I can get back to where I was up to: Demon Apocalypse (Book #6). This series follows Grubbs Grady, a boy who witnesses his family get slaughtered by demons. Needless to say, there’s a lot more to it than that. The books are gory, horrific, violent and unbelievably fantastic. Truly one of the best series I’ve ever read.

EXPANSION – Read a companion novel or short story

And finally, if I have time, I will read Fairest by Marissa Meyer. This is a companion novel to the Lunar Chronicles (mentioned above). It follows evil Queen Levana and her backstory. I would love to know what made this villain so awful. Even if I don’t make this challenge in time, I will still read it afterwards.

So there you have it! Thank you for reading my super long post. As you can see, I am very excited for this video game type readathon. It is going to be epic. In September, I will post a wrap-up, detailing how I went. If you would like to enter, I highly encourage you to do so. Make sure to sign up and read all of the information so you’re prepared. Best of luck on your Reading Quest!

Peace & Love xoxo