To Be Read: #TheReadingQuest
So at the very very last second, I decided I really wanted to take part in the Reading Quest readathon. I've never participated in a readathon before, and I thought this one sounded like a lot of fun. It's based on RPG-style games, and you get to choose a character from the categories of Rogue, Bard, Mage or Knight, and follow their path to complete the quest. There are also additional side quests, and if you're a faster reader than I am, you can continue on to another character once you've completed the quest of the first one.
All of the information and quests can be found at readatmidnight's blog post here. The readathon begins today, August 13th, and runs until September 10th. So without further ado, let's talk about what I plan to read to slay my dragons and complete my quest.
For this readathon, I've chosen to take the Mage path (because I feel very strongly about being a witch), which consists of five challenges, as well as optional side quests.
I'm going to be completely honest and say that Jackaby by William Ritter was a complete cover buy. But that being said, this story is said to be a magical version of Sherlock Holmes crossed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and if that doesn't sound like a rollicking good ride, then I don't know what does. I also considered reading Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, but this seemed more on-theme for the challenge. This is also among the shorter of my selections for this challenge, and so I think it will be a little easier to get through.
For this, I've chosen Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix. This is a fantasy of manners about a girl named Newt, who goes on a journey to recover a missing family heirloom that bestows magic upon its wearer. While I've never read Nix's famed Sabriel series, he's one of my sister's favourite authors and so I borrowed this book from her. This is actually one of the books I'm most excited to read from this list, as it seems really sweet and lighthearted.
I had to do it. I had to choose The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. For a little bit of backstory, I've been really interested in Greek mythology for years now. I've taken several university classes on the topic. And when I heard about this book through some very beautiful gifsets on tumblr, I knew I needed to read it. I went on a hunt, and found it for a very reasonable price at my local used bookstore, and then... I went to Italy. And I left it at home. And I never touched it again. Hopefully this readathon will fix that!
For this I chose another borrowed book, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. One of my friends leant this to me after we watched the incredibly good animated film a few months ago. I honestly liked the movie so much that I really want to read the source material, especially as the writing style is described as "heartbreakingly beautiful." This is the story about a unicorn who, upon discovering that all the other unicorns have disappeared, ventures from the safety of her enchanted forest to find out what happened to them, and hopefully, to save them.
For this challenge, I'm cheating a little bit. According to the rules of the readathon, you aren't supposed to use books that you've already started to count toward any of the challenges, but seeing as I'm only doing this for fun and not for a chance to win anything, I'm going to let it slide and do it anyway. Which is why I'm choosing This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. I've only just started this book (I'm two chapters in) but I'm really enjoying it, so I wanted to count it toward this challenge. This story is about a world where evil acts (such as arson, murder, robbery, etc) create literal monsters. We follow the children of two important leaders from either side of the conflict in Verity City, where there is a crumbling accord between humans and monsters to keep people safe.
The "Mini Game" side quest asks you to read a graphic novel, novella, or poetry collection. For this, I've chosen Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. This is a 90-page novella about a young girl named Binti, who is accepted to the most prestigious university in the galaxy. However, in order to take her place, she needs to abandon her home and be faced with strangers who don't share her beliefs or her customs, encountering dangers and war during her travels to make it to the school.
The "Open World" side quest is basically a free-for-all, read-whatever-you-want kind of challenge. So for this, I'm choosing my most recent acquisition, Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero. My boyfriend bought this for me for my birthday, and I really want to read it. It's basically a spoof of Scooby Doo, complete with real ghosts and swear words. This is also one that I've read the first few pages of already, but I don't care, I'm really excited about it.
So this is my TBR pile for the month. We'll have to see how these go, and if I do well, I'll likely attempt to tackle a few more of the side quests. If that's so, I'll be sure to update this page with my choices. Let me know if you're taking part in the Reading Quest readathon and what picks you've chosen for your character.
xx May B.
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