The Reading Rush is a yearly read-a-thon, previously known as the BookTube-a-Thon, and unfolds during the last week of July. It's hosted by Ariel from the channel Ariel Bissett and Raeleen from the channel padfootandprongs07. The official channel for the Reading Rush features videos about the challenges, updates, and other stuff. Ariel and Raeleen are really great hosts and have done a wonderful job in the past of coming up with fun and engaging challenges both for reading and creating videos and photos during the reading rush week, as well as selling merch and having an amazing website.
So how does it work? Well, each year there is a list of seven reading challenges. The goal is to read one or several books that ticks off all the challenges. There is a permanent eighth goal of reading a total of 7 books during the reading rush week. The challenges for this year were announced recently (link to video) and I've had some time to mull over them and decide what to pick for each challenge. My goal is still to read 7 books but I'm going to really go for thin books this time, since I know my hours of reading will be severely limited.
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"The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales" by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith
"A strange collection of unusual versions of fairy tales we all know. With a clever little fellow named Jack as the narrator you will find tales such as Chicken Licken, The Really Ugly Duckling, The Tortoise and the Hair, Little Red Running Shorts, Cinderumpelstiltskin and many more!"
Pages: 52
Thoughts: My birth stone is apparently emerald, so I need a cover with something green on it. I've had my eyes on this quirky title for who knows how long, but I've never ended up reading it. Actually, I don't even own it yet. But a library near my workplace seems to have it available, so I might run over and pick it up. It has a lot of green details on the front, so it would work very well for this challenge.
or
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare
"Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander. Bad news is, Hermia's father wants Demetrius for a son-in-law. On the outside is Helena, whose unreturned love burns hot for Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plan to flee from the city under cover of darkness but are pursued by an enraged Demetrius (who is himself pursued by an enraptured Helena). In the forest, unbeknownst to the mortals, Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the faeries) are having a spat over a servant boy. The plot twists up when Oberon's head mischief-maker, Puck, runs loose with a flower which causes people to fall in love with the first thing they see upon waking. Throw in a group of labourers preparing a play for the Duke's wedding (one of whom is given a donkey's head and Titania for a lover by Puck) and the complications become fantastically funny."
Thoughts: My birth stone is apparently emerald, so I need a cover with something green on it. I've had my eyes on this quirky title for who knows how long, but I've never ended up reading it. Actually, I don't even own it yet. But a library near my workplace seems to have it available, so I might run over and pick it up. It has a lot of green details on the front, so it would work very well for this challenge.
or
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare"Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander. Bad news is, Hermia's father wants Demetrius for a son-in-law. On the outside is Helena, whose unreturned love burns hot for Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plan to flee from the city under cover of darkness but are pursued by an enraged Demetrius (who is himself pursued by an enraptured Helena). In the forest, unbeknownst to the mortals, Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the faeries) are having a spat over a servant boy. The plot twists up when Oberon's head mischief-maker, Puck, runs loose with a flower which causes people to fall in love with the first thing they see upon waking. Throw in a group of labourers preparing a play for the Duke's wedding (one of whom is given a donkey's head and Titania for a lover by Puck) and the complications become fantastically funny."
Pages: 40?
Thoughts: An almost entirely green cover, and by an author I've read for the Reading Rush before. I read "The Comedy of Errors" by Shakespeare earlier this year for the Stay At Home Reading Rush and had a lot of fun with it. This is his next to shortest play, and a comedy on top of that, so I think this would be a good choice for challenge number one as well.
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2/ Read a book that starts with the word "the"
"The Stranger" by Albert Camus
"Meursault will not pretend. After the death of his mother, everyone is shocked when he shows no sadness. And when he commits a random act of violence in Algiers, society is baffled. Why would this seemingly law-abiding bachelor do such a thing? And why does he show no remorse even when it could save his life? His refusal to satisfy the feelings of others only increases his guilt in the eyes of the law. Soon Meursault discovers that he is being tried not simply for his crime, but for his lack of emotion - a reaction that condemns him for being an outsider."
Pages: 117
Thoughts: I bought this one recently and actually planned to save it for the Reading Rush. It fits with this challenge, and therefore it will be my choice. I've had bad luck with philosophy-esque books before, but I'm ready for the tides to turn. This book has gotten a lot of praise and I'm intrigued by the synopsis. Looking forward to this one.
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3/ Read a book that inspired a movie you've already seen
3/ Read a book that inspired a movie you've already seen
"Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson
"Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in his grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side and outruns everyone. That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Together they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits."
"Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in his grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side and outruns everyone. That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Together they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits."
Pages: 190
Thoughts: It's time... Shockingly enough, Bridge to Terabithia is one of few movies that I like to watch again from time to time. It's also one of even fewer movies that makes me cry every time I see it (spoiler alert). So it's obvious that I quite like the movie. Nevertheless, I am dreading reading this book. Why? Because I've tried before, and found it a bit awful. Not at all what I wanted it to be. But I'm going to give it another shot now and hope we get along better.
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4/ Read the first book you touch
7/ Read a book that takes place on a different continent than where you live
4/ Read the first book you touch
"The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame
"Mole, Rat, and Badger are Toad’s dearest friends even as the aristocratic amphibian’s wastrel ways get him into trouble. After being arrested and sentenced to jail, he returns to his ancestral home of Toad Hall to find it overrun with stoats and weasels from the Wild Wood. But his friends haven’t abandoned him yet. In fact, they’ve conspired to help drive the villainous vermin from his home."
"Mole, Rat, and Badger are Toad’s dearest friends even as the aristocratic amphibian’s wastrel ways get him into trouble. After being arrested and sentenced to jail, he returns to his ancestral home of Toad Hall to find it overrun with stoats and weasels from the Wild Wood. But his friends haven’t abandoned him yet. In fact, they’ve conspired to help drive the villainous vermin from his home."
Pages: 192
Thoughts: To be honest I don't like this challenge. It reminds me too much of weird 'deep' questions some teachers would give us in school to discuss. I prefer challenges that let me decide easily on what books to pick. This one was not easy to interpret. I ended up going to a secondhand store and just buying the first book I picked up. It was this one. I'm actually excited to read it, and it is a classic. Wondering if there will be hidden political references in it.
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5/ Read a book completely outside of your house
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5/ Read a book completely outside of your house
"Nevermoor" by Jessica Townsend
"Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks--and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.
But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor."
Time: 10h 30min
"Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks--and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.
But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor."
Time: 10h 30min
Thoughts: Since I commute to and from work, I could listen to this while on the train and even during my breaks. It's a bit long, but I'll listen on 1,5x speed. I could sit outside in our garden as well, depending on the weather. I really look forward to reading this book, as I think it will be full of adventure and good times.
or
"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad
"Heart of Darkness was originally a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine in 1899. It is a story within a story, following a character named Charlie Marlow, who recounts his adventure to a group of men onboard an anchored ship. The story told is of his early life as a ferry boat captain. Although his job was to transport ivory downriver, Charlie develops an interest in investing an ivory procurement agent, Kurtz, who is employed by the government. Preceded by his reputation as a brilliant emissary of progress, Kurtz has now established himself as a god among the natives in “one of the darkest places on earth.” Marlow suspects something else of Kurtz: he has gone mad."
Time: 4h 38min
Thoughts: I'm not as excited about this one as I am about Nevermoor, but this is admittedly a lot shorter. Considering the challenge is to read the whole thing outside my house, I might have to go for this one instead. Not so sure I'd like it, though....
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6/ Read a book in a genre that you've always wanted to read more of
or
"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad"Heart of Darkness was originally a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine in 1899. It is a story within a story, following a character named Charlie Marlow, who recounts his adventure to a group of men onboard an anchored ship. The story told is of his early life as a ferry boat captain. Although his job was to transport ivory downriver, Charlie develops an interest in investing an ivory procurement agent, Kurtz, who is employed by the government. Preceded by his reputation as a brilliant emissary of progress, Kurtz has now established himself as a god among the natives in “one of the darkest places on earth.” Marlow suspects something else of Kurtz: he has gone mad."
Time: 4h 38min
Thoughts: I'm not as excited about this one as I am about Nevermoor, but this is admittedly a lot shorter. Considering the challenge is to read the whole thing outside my house, I might have to go for this one instead. Not so sure I'd like it, though....
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6/ Read a book in a genre that you've always wanted to read more of
"Vampire Academy: The Graphic Novel" by Richelle Mead & Emma Vieceli
"After two years on the run, best friends Rose and Lissa are caught and returned to St. Vladimir’s Academy, a private high school for vampires and half-bloods. It’s filled with intrigue, danger—and even romance."
Pages: 144
"After two years on the run, best friends Rose and Lissa are caught and returned to St. Vladimir’s Academy, a private high school for vampires and half-bloods. It’s filled with intrigue, danger—and even romance."
Pages: 144
Thoughts: I want to like graphic novels. I see BookTubers showing pages from beautifully illustrated graphic novels and feel a bit amazed. I don't know if this is the format for me, but since I've only read extremely few graphic novels, I think I should keep trying. I have this one at home, and I have wanted to delve back into the world of Mead's vampires. I hope I'll like it.
7/ Read a book that takes place on a different continent than where you live
"Convenience Store Woman" by Sayaka Murata
"Keiko Furukura had always been considered a strange child, and her parents always worried how she would get on in the real world, so when she takes on a job in a convenience store while at university, they are delighted for her. For her part, in the convenience store she finds a predictable world mandated by the store manual, which dictates how the workers should act and what they should say, and she copies her coworkers’ style of dress and speech patterns so that she can play the part of a normal person. However, eighteen years later, at age 36, she is still in the same job, has never had a boyfriend, and has only few friends. She feels comfortable in her life, but is aware that she is not living up to society’s expectations and causing her family to worry about her. When a similarly alienated but cynical and bitter young man comes to work in the store, he will upset Keiko’s contented stasis—but will it be for the better?"
Pages: 163
"Keiko Furukura had always been considered a strange child, and her parents always worried how she would get on in the real world, so when she takes on a job in a convenience store while at university, they are delighted for her. For her part, in the convenience store she finds a predictable world mandated by the store manual, which dictates how the workers should act and what they should say, and she copies her coworkers’ style of dress and speech patterns so that she can play the part of a normal person. However, eighteen years later, at age 36, she is still in the same job, has never had a boyfriend, and has only few friends. She feels comfortable in her life, but is aware that she is not living up to society’s expectations and causing her family to worry about her. When a similarly alienated but cynical and bitter young man comes to work in the store, he will upset Keiko’s contented stasis—but will it be for the better?"
Pages: 163
Thoughts: I'm super excited for this one! It was originally written in Japanese and takes place in Japan (I live in Europe). I haven't read any Japanese novels before, aside from one or two mangas. I've heard that Japanese authors often have a unique way of writing compared to western ones, and I think maybe that partly has to do with the language. I studied Japanese for two years in school, so it will be interesting to see how the translation is and if I can spot traces of Japanese cultural references, idioms, and wordings. I also think the story sounds interesting.
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That's all for my planning this time around. I'm not too confident that I'll succeed with my goal of reading all 7 books, but I will certainly do my best.
Are you planning to participate? What's your TBR? Are you going to buy that coin?
Happy reading!
Are you planning to participate? What's your TBR? Are you going to buy that coin?
Happy reading!
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