MOTHER READER'S 48 HOUR BOOK CHALLENGE

Even though I can never fully participate, I LOVE Mother Reader's 48 Hour Book Challenge. I love the whole idea of it and look forward to it every year.  48 hours dedicated to reading. I am always fascinated by how much people read when they have the time to do it! This has become quite the exciting annual event. And perfect timing too--a great time to kick off summer reading!

This year, I'll be able to participate a bit.  Our last day of school is Friday, June 5 so I think I'll probably start reading that night between graduation parties.  

Then on Saturday, the Columbus Kidlit bloggers plan to get together for breakfast and book shopping at Cover to Cover to kick of the event.  (Thanks to Karen at Literate Lives for organizing us.)  This, along with breakfast, has become a tradition for us whenever big blog events are happening.  It gives us a great excuse to meet and talk books and life in person--over great food and coffee.  It is our way to celebrate the Kidlitosphere together.

This year, Mother Readers has made a few changes/additions this year. One component caught my attention.   Mother Readers says:

"There are three changes to the challenge this year. The first I have already mentioned, and that is connecting your personal readathon to a Greater Good. I plan to donate $1 per hour to the fund for Bridget Zinn and welcome others to sponsor me. You can contribute to this cause as well, or to something else that moves you. You can base it on sponsors, comments, or something else entirely. You can also choose not to participate in this aspect of the 48 Hour Book Challenge, but I heard from lots of people last year who wanted this option and I like the concept."

Mary Lee already posted that she will not be able to attend this year's Blog Event due to her participation in a FISH-A-THON.  She will be raising money for a cause that is important to her--Casting for Recovery, a nonprofit organizaiton that offers no-cost retreats for breast cancer survivors.  

The bloggers thought it would be a great idea to support Mary Lee while participating in the new component of Mother Reader's Challenge. Mother Reader suggests a certain amount of money per hour read. Since I am not sure how much I will be reading,  I am going to donate $2 per book that I leave Cover to Cover with on June 6--this includes books I purchase as well as ARCs that I leave with, and books that I borrow from friends.  (For anyone who has seen the size bags I leave that store with, connecting my donation to shopping makes more sense than donating based on my reading..) I think many of the other local bloggers are joining in to support Mary Lee in this book-related way during the 48-Hour Read.  

So, I'll keep you posted on my reading.  I don't think I'll finish a ton, but I will definitely make time to read that weekend. That is what I love about the event--even if you can't participate in the challenge, you can participate in the reading as much as possible. A great way to begin the summer!