After all the fun I had this summer participating in readathons I’ve been looking ahead for autumn events. October promises a full schedule of companionable reading, but September ... not as much. I’ve only found one readathon that could work. It’s called Contemporaryathon, and it involves reading books set in our time that do not have magical/fantastical elements.
Now anyone who knows my reading tastes may find it curious that I’m even considering it. Most of what I’ve read this year has been either ancient/medieval literature (and reception of/scholarship about it) and fantasy. And when I’m not reading that, I’m probably reading historical fiction. If you drew the conclusion, from my monthly reading recaps, that the last thing I want to do is read about our own time, well, you wouldn’t necessarily be out of order.
But you know what else? The Contemporaryathon hosts are extremely relaxed, and I like relaxed, especially as applied to readathons.
Also, I have a few thrillers on my TBR shelf, and thrillers count.
Also, I’ve been jealously hoarding Swing Time by Zadie Smith, waiting for just the right time to read it. Could that time be September? It’s quite possible!
The readathon runs from Monday, Sept. 23 through Sunday, Sept. 29, and the hosts have put together seven prompts to guide participants’ reading. Conveniently, I have a few books on my shelves that fit these prompts. It would be nice to get them off my TBR shelf, so I could go back to bingeing fantasy and ancient lit with impunity, hehe.
Swing Time by Zadie Smith (prompts 2 and 3)
This has been on my TBR since it came out. I haven’t wanted to read it because then it will be over. Bizarro logic, I know, but.
Watching You by Lisa Jewell (prompts 4, 5, and 6)
I picked this up at a Barnes and Noble 50 percent off sale earlier this year. That’s all I have to say for myself.
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (prompts 1 and 7)
I don’t own this one, but it’s on Scribed, to which I have a subscription. I’m generally not a fan of this author’s writing. However, this book, especially in audio, has been hyped in the extreme. Plus, my favorite booktuber, Tori Morrow, loved it, and I trust her taste.
The prompts:
1. Read a 2019 release
2. Read a contemporary with yellow on the cover
3. Read a diverse contemporary (aim to read something outside of your own experience)
4. Read a contemporary with an illustrated cover
5. Read a dark/hard-hitting contemporary
6. Read a contemporary with plants on the cover
7. Read a contemporary that is beloved by a member of the book community (and shout out the creator!)