#StartOnYourShelfathon Is On Its Way! A 2020 Readathon to Read All of Those Books That You’ve Neglected! [Information Post]

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, friends!

Welcome to ‘Read-The-Books-That-Have-Been-Side-Eying-You-Because-You-Got-Them-Years-Ago-But-You-Haven’t-Read-Them-Yet-A-Thon!’ Or, aptly shortened to ‘StartOnYourShelfathon‘, a year-long readathon to help you beat your bookshelf! (But is it Start On Your Shelf? Or Star Ton Your Shelf? Read on to find out!)

I think an affliction of most book bloggers and avid readers is that there are not enough hours in the day to read all the books in the world. Another affliction, which makes the first affliction so much worse, is that book lovers love collecting books. So much, that we collect all these books that we have every intention and excitement to read — only to not read it. The book that we were so dead-set on reading then sits on the bookshelf and side-eyes us as it collects dust. ‘You said you’d read me,’ it says each time we look at it, deadpan and sick of our lies. ‘Yes… I will… one day!’ we tell ourselves earnestly. We mean it. Truly. We do! But. Will we ever?

Thus, this readathon is the very spontaneous product of a daring and ambitious shower thought: ‘What if I read all the books that I haven’t read on my bookshelf? What if, I can one day say, that I have read every single book on my bookshelf?’ Imagine the power that I would hold. I’d transcend this physical plane! I’d become a Level 99 Reader! And when I shared this thought as well as the idea of turning it into a readathon on Twitter:

Would anyone want to do this with me?? Shall we turn this into a readathon??? https://t.co/yslQlrsabl

— cw 🍰 (@artfromafriend) November 27, 2019

I genuinely did not expect that so many people would be excited to participate!

So, friends, join me in this readathon and let’s – deep breath before a bad pun – START ON OUR SHELVES, TOGETHER. And ourselves. Because we’re a mess. (Or, at least, I am.)

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About the StartOnYourShelfathon

• The concept is simple: From December 13th 2019 to December 31st 2020, participants of the StartOnYourShelfathon will read books that they already own (whether it’s a physical or electronic bookshelf)!
• Ambitious participants of StartOnYourShelfathon may want to try and read every single book that they haven’t read in their bookshelf.
• Deity-tiered and the most powerful participants may endeavour to read every book on their bookshelf before purchasing new books or borrowing books from the library.
• Participants who want to have fun and want to get in the spirit of StartOnYourShelfathon (but don’t want to be too stressed by it) may set their own goals for themselves by reading a specific number of books on their bookshelf each month.
• Participants who also want to participate in my upcoming Pondathon (my The Quiet Pond story-driven readathon!) that will take place between mid-January to mid-February – don’t fret! A specific team that you can join in the Pondathon will synergise with StartOnYourShelfathon.

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Read books and collect… stars?

• The theme of this readathon will be stars.
• A new Pond friend is making their way to The Quiet Pond to help motivate you for this readathon.
• Come visit on the official launch of the readathon on the 13th of December! Meet your newest Pond friend who will guide you through StartOnYourShelfathon and read the story about your first steps to becoming aspiring star-collectors. ✨
• Set goals for yourself and read, read, read! Every time you read a book and every time you achieve a goal for yourself, you will get to collect a ‘star’. (What does this mean? You’ll find out on the launch day!)
• Work towards getting a ton of stars! (So, I suppose it can be ‘Star-Ton-Your-Shelf-athon’? 🤔 Please don’t be mad about my awful pun; it took me all night. 😂)

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What can I do now?

• Start thinking about the books you’d like to read for StartOnYourShelfathon!
• Start preparing a list of books you want to tackle! Participants of StartOnYourShelfathon will be encouraged to post the books they want to read each month. Post your readathon book lists from December 13th onwards! (Don’t worry, post templates and readathon banners will be provided to make it easier for you!)
• But don’t post your lists yet – come December 13th, all the information and resources that you will need will be made available. Be sure to visit The Quiet Pond on the 13th of December!
• Emotionally prepare yourself. Because this readathon is going to be a doozy!

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I hope you all are excited about StartOnYourShelfathon! I know I am, especially since reading all my unread books on my bookshelf has been something I’ve wanted to do ever since I became a book blogger.

• Are you going to participate in StartOnYourShelfathon?
• What books are you excited to read for the readathon?
• What animal do you think your StartOnYourShelfathon Pond friend will be? 👀