#StartOnYourShelfathon| Sign-Up

Jan 1, 2020

5 min read

Hey friends! Once again I’ve started a new year with no plans to join in any readathons but there was no way that I could resist this adorable and heart-warming #StartOnYourShelfathon courtesy of CW at the magical The Quiet Pond. It also coincides really well with having recently completed my ‘owned book’ section on Kal’s book blogger spreadsheet with my owned book total going up to 100 unread books, so I am definitely in need of this readathon!

CW has done a fantastic job of putting together this readathon andthis lovely sign-up template. Read on to find out more about #StartOnYourShelfathon, my readathon goals and my tentative TBR!

What is #StartOnYourShelfathon?

#StartOnYourShelfathon is a 2020 star-themed readathon hosted and run by CW from The Quiet Pond. The aim of #StartOnYourShelfathon is to read as many unread books on your bookshelf as you can between December 13th 2019 and December 31st 2020.

#StartOnYourShelfathon isn’t an ordinary readathon too! The mascot of #StartOnYourShelfathon is Castor the Star Collector who is also a sloth friend of The Quiet Pond, who has lost all the stars he has collected over the years and needs your help to find them again.

For every book that you read as part of #StartOnYourShelfathon, you collect a star that you can add the star to your ‘star map’. Read books, collect stars, give yourself an amateur star-collector name, and create constellations! You can read Castor’s story and find information about and resources for the readathon here.

Information about Joining #StartOnYourShelfathon

Join the StartOnYourShelfathon anytime between Dec 13th 2019 to Dec 31st 2020!
To join #StartOnYourShelfathon, create a blog post, bookstagram post, booktube video, Twitter thread, or whatever medium you wish, with ‘#StartOnYourShelfathon’ in the title or your tweet.
In your post/video/thread, announce that you will be participating in the readathon. List your readathon goals and the books you plan to read! (Post templates and readathon banners can be found in the readathon resources below!)
Link back to this post so that others can find this readathon and join in.

Share your updates on your blog/bookstagram/booktube and social media. You are more than welcome to tag @thequietpond on Twitter in all your updates! We would love to see your progress and your star maps – in-progress and completed!

My #StartOnYourShelfathon Goals

As this will be the first year of my PhD, as well as my year of fieldwork, I have no idea how my leisure reading is going to go. Towards the end of 2019 my reading plummeted once I started the PhD though this was also combined with a massive reading slump and mental health drop so I’m trying to be a bit more realistic about how much time/energy I might have to read and the type of goals I might set:

To read at least 1 owned book a month
Aim to read at least 12 owned books in 2020 but preferably around 25 books!

My #StartOnYourShelfathon TBR

I massively fluctuate between finding TBR’s really useful and finding TBR’s very constraining. There are a handful of books that I know I definitely want to read this year though, many of which have been patiently waiting on my bookshelves, and the rest I’m planning on opening up for mood reads in the spirit of constellation based adventure!

Image result for adventure is out there gif

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

Everfair is an alternative history novel set in the Belgian Congo which explores what might have happened if natives of the Congo had learned about steam technology earlier and how the effect this might have had on colonization, Congan independence, and history more broadly. I love Nisi Shawl’s writing and Everfair has been high on my TBR since my partner bought me a copy for a birthday/Christmas a couple of years back! I have been terrible at never prioritizing it to read though.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

An Unkindness of Ghosts is another book that has been on my TBR for a few years and I managed to find a paperback copy of it in a local charity shop. Like Everfair, I hoped that owning a physical copy of An Unkindness of Ghosts would kick me into prioritizing it on my TBR. Despite repeated attempts to getting round to reading it last year, I never quite managed. This is the year I’m determined to read it though as I want to become better acquainted with Rivers work.

The Fifth Season by N.K Jemisin

I first heard about The Broken Earth Trilogy and N.K Jemisin through R.F Kuang’s recommendation of her writing at SFX Book Con 2 in 2018. In 2019, the series was then selected by Books & Tea to read throughout the year, I found copies at local charity shops, and determined to read them. However, that plan didn’t really… go to plan. Thankfully, The Fifth Season is a reading group pick for a group I attend in-person for May so I will definitely be reading it this year so want to include it on my #StartOnYourShelfathon list ❤

They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney’s Golden Age. The 1930’s by Dider Ghez

For anyone who has followed me for a fair amount of time, you’ll know this is another regular TBR feature that I haven’t gotten around to. It’s a beautiful book though which will take no time to read, so even more of a reason to prioritize it!

Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation edited by Ken Liu

Another gorgeous birthday present, this time from last year, and one I hadn’t expected to receive from a lovely friend. This is also one of my reading group’s picks this year which I had suggested so it means that I can hit two reading events with one book. It has a wonderful array of translated contemporary Chinese SF from a variety of Chinese authors whose work I am looking forward to being introduced to.

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

There are a few YA contemporary novels I own that I would like to make time for this year, Radio Silence being one of them. I love Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series and have been interested in trying out her novels for the past year, especially after meeting Alice at YALC last year. I don’t often make time for YA contemporaries much anymore as SFF has kind of taken over but I’m looking forward to rediscovering the world of YA contemporary this year!