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1. I'm new to the read-a-thon, and am not really sure what to do. Where do I go for information?
Check the about page, the getting started page, this page, as well as the current sign up post. If they do not answer your questions, then please contact the team by using the contact options in the sidebar.
2. Who the heck puts all this together?
While Amanda is the Dark Overlord (and ultimately makes the final decisions on all things), the Bout of Books team also consists of Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal, Amanda's brain-sharing, shenanigan-causing, Tumblr-obsessed partner in crime! We are also helped out by a slew of dedicated Bout of Books experts (scroll down, they're at the bottom-ish!) who would love to answer your questions!
3. When is the next Bout of Books?
Bout of Books runs on a schedule of three per year:
- January: first full week
- May: second full week
- August: third full week
Dates for the next Bout of Books, as well as the three after that, are located on the about page.
4. Why aren't there more international/CA giveaways?
All giveaway and challenge hosts are volunteers, and they are almost always paying out of their own pocket. We try to make sure the majority of giveaways are open to our international participants, but sometimes it's just not possible.
5. What is CAPTCHA? How do I know if I have it on?
CAPTCHA (according to Wikipedia) is a "challenge-response test used in computing as an attempt to ensure that the response is generated by a human being." This usually translates into a string of random letters/words that a commenter has to correctly interpret before their comment is accepted. How does CAPTCHA affect you? Because of the difficulty in deciphering the words used, if you have CAPTCHA turned on, many people who would otherwise leave comments, don't. If you're on Blogger and you're not getting a lot of comments on your update posts, consider turning it off for the duration of the read-a-thon. Blogger turns it on automatically, and as the blog author, you will not see it. To check if you have it on go to: Dashboard > Settings > Posts and Comments > Show Word Verification > NO = Captcha is not on
Sign Up and Goals
1. I don't have a blog (or Twitter account or Facebook or Goodreads), can I still participate?
Yes! We only require that you update somewhere. Even if you have none of these, you can leave your updates in the comment section of this blog.
2. I don't want to participate in the giveaways/challenges/Twitter chats, can I still participate in the read-a-thon?
YES! All giveaways and challenges are optional. This is a read-a-thon. The only thing you actually need to do is read. As for Twitter, we understand that not everyone is a fan, and so it can be used however best works for YOU.
3. Ms. X and I run a blog together, but we both want to sign up. Do we sign up individually or together?
If the only updates are on the blog, sign up together. If you intend to update from your personal Twitter and/or Goodreads account, sign up individually.
4. Do audiobooks count for the read-a-thon? How do I track my progress with them?
Absolutely! It's more about finishing books than reading books. You can track audiobooks multiple ways: by discs, by chapters, or by how many hours you've listened to.
5. The goals I originally picked aren't working for me. Can I change them?
Please do! This read-a-thon is here to help motivate you. The goals you choose can be amended, altered, tailored, and otherwise changed to suit you. If you don't like the books you originally picked out, change them! If you were overly ambitious in the number of books you thought you'd be able to read, change it! Some people choose not to have a list of books to choose from. That's fine! Some people add to their original list as the read-a-thon progresses. That's fine, too! This is your read-a-thon, make it work for you!
Linky/Progress Updates
1. How do the daily link ups work?
Each day is for the previous day's progress. So, it works like this:
- Monday: goal posts (a re-post of the goal linky)
- Tuesday: progress for Monday
- Wednesday: progress for Tuesday
- Thursday: progress for Wednesday
- Friday: progress for Thursday
- Saturday: progress for Friday
- Sunday: progress for Saturday
- Monday: wrap up for the entire read-a-thon including whether your goals were reached or not
This is entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong way to track your reading throughout the readathon. We have provided a basic template in the Goals Post Template section that you can tweak to your heart's content.
3. One of the links on the goal and/or update linky is broken. What should I do?
If it’s your link, please fix it. The inlinkz linky is set up so that you can delete your own link (and re-add it). If it’s someone else’s, do let them know so they can fix it.
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Goals Post Template
Time Devoted to Reading
I will be reading a day/on the weekend/all week.
My Goals
- [this can be as detailed or as vague as you'd like]
Books to Read
- [add the books you hope to read here]
Updates
MondayNumber of books I've read today:
Total number of books I've read:
Books:
[repeat for remainder of week]
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Read-a-thon Tips
- Decide on the goals you'd like to achieve prior to the start of the read-a-thon.
- This can be something like reading X number of books or commenting on other participants' blogs.
- Make your goals achievable - If you know you're only going to be able to commit to 4 days of reading, don't expect to read 50 books in that time frame.
- Prepare a list of books to read.
- Having a list to work off often makes it easier to decide what you're going to read next.
- Diversify and you're less likely to get caught in a rut.
- Mix up your genres. Throw in a novella or two. Try an audiobook. If book X doesn't fit your mood, move on to something different.
- Decide ahead of time how you will deal with reviews.
- Mini reviews? Reviews on GR? Notes on each for a full review later? Write the review before starting your next book?
- Did real life throw you a curveball this week?
- Don't sweat it! Do what you can, when you can. Life happens. Sometimes you have to roll with the punches.
- Remember that you are only competing against yourself.
- Comparing your progress to someone else's only breeds negativity and disappointment. Focus on what you can accomplish.
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Twitter Tips
- Follow our official Twitter account, @boutofbooks, to get important updates.
- Link your Goodreads account to your Twitter account. Include the #boutofbooks hashtag when you update on Goodreads, and your updates will automatically go to Twitter too!
- Follow the #boutofbooks hashtag to keep track of the fun. Use TweetChat or a Twitter client like TweetDeck. TweetChat will automatically add #boutofbooks to your tweets so you don't forget.
- Use the #boutofbooks hashtag for general updates. When you use @boutofbooks to update, this overshadows actual readathon questions we need to answer.
- Do NOT use #boutofbooks to promote something unrelated to the read-a-thon (giveaways, book promotions, etc).
- Do make connections with other participants. Converse with people about what they are reading and what they think about their current read.
- And, most importantly, have fun on Twitter!
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Past Challenges
Please note: We are no longer accepting "Guess the cover" style challenges for the read-a-thons.
- Book Spine Poetry
- create a poem using the titles (spines) of books
- Pick It Up, Then Pile It Up
- take a picture of your current TBR pile.
- Babble Challenge:
- create a haiku for a book you're reading now
- Dream Cast:
- pick one of your favorite books/series and cast the characters using pictures of whomever you think best fits the character.
- Retitle It:
- choose a book and give it a new name.
- Book Confessions:
- share an embarrassing/shocking/funny story or answer this/that questions.
- A Bookish Question:
- answer a question related to books
- Books and Shoes:
- match a book or character with a pair of shoes
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