My 2024 ReadAThon
At the start of the year I set myself a reading challenge. I would donate £5 for each book I completed during the year. Raising money for Schnauzerfest this way seemed easy enough.. Especially as I am not one to do things requiring a lot of physical effort or endurance. When I see the physical challenges the charity’s wonderful fundraisers undertake, reading books is by far the laziest option I came up with for myself.
Since 2017 I have used the annual Goodreads Reading Challenge to record the books I complete. Totals are between 46 (2017) to 75 (2021). So I guessed I could raise £300 if I hit 60 books this year.
The house move in the summer knocked out my regular reading habits and routines and at one point I thought I would miss the target. But, I made up for lost time as soon as I was settled and I’m pleased to close today at 61 books. This makes £305 raised. Which I am happy with. (Fundraising page).
I’ve read a mix of fiction and non-fiction, some excellent books and some less so. I used the Women’s Prizes for Fiction and Non-Fiction to read new (to me) writers. My choices were mixed, some I loved, others we’ren’t really my taste although I can see why they were shortlisted.
It’s very hard to select a top five selection from the 61, so I’ll give my top ten instead! (Links to them all can be found here).
In no particular order they are:
FICTION
The Outside Boy, Jeanine Cummins
Trust, Hernan Diaz
North Woods, Daniel Mason
James, Percival Everett
NON FICTION
People Who Eat Darkness, Richard Lloyd Parry
Wifedom, Anna Funder
How To Say Babylon, Safiya Sinclair
Managing Expectations, Minnie Driver
Knife, Salman Rushdie
A Thousand Feasts, Nigel Slater
