The Reading Rush Wrap-up 2020

Hey y’all, I wanted to get this out while everything is still fresh. This year’s Reading Rush was definitely the most productive one I’ve done. I got through 7 and a half books and I participated in most of the Instagram challenges. I even won a prize!

The Challenges:

1/ Read a book with a cover that matches the color of your birth stone.
2/ Read a book that starts with the word “The”.
3/ Read a book that inspired a movie you’ve already seen.
4/ Read the first book you touch.
5/ Read a book completely outside of your house.
6/ Read a book in a genre that you’ve always wanted to read more of.
7/ Read a book that takes place on a different continent than where you live.

To Be (Read) or Not To Be

I made a tentative TBR right before The Reading Rush began. I’m a mood reader so it can be difficult for me to commit, but I think I did pretty good this year. Two of the books I was planning on reading ended up not coming in on time but I was about to replace them and get through all 7 challenges.

I’m working on the full reviews for these so I’ll just give a few general thoughts here.

Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu

Status: Completed

This was my first read of The Reading Rush. I read it outside in my backyard, it matches my birthstone colors, and it’s a genre I want to read more of. Check, Please! knocked down three challenges in a matter of hours. It was such a fun read and I’m planning to say more in my upcoming review.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Status: Completed

This was my second completed novel for The Reading Rush. I listened to Crazy Rich Asians as an audiobook through the CloudLibrary app. The app doesn’t have actual speed markers (i.e. 1.5, 2.0, etc.) so I listened to it on “fast” and it went by in a timely manner. It was so good but I do have a couple qualms about it. This covered the “different continent” challenge.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Status: Completed

I absolutely loved Such a Fun Age. It was the book club pick for The Reading Rush. It’s so good and Kiley Reid does such an amazing job of bringing in those societal parallels. I love it.

Gmorning, Gnight by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Status: Completed

This was my “first book you touch” book. It was a cute collection but I don’t think it really works for a readathon. I would’ve preferred reading a page each day over the course of a longer period of time, but you live and you learn.

The Startup Squad by Brian Weisfeld and Nicole C. Kear

Status: Available for Pick-up

I put a hold on this with my local library but it wasn’t available until Friday so I decided to just wait on my other hold and read it when I get it.

P. S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

Status: On Hold

This was my other hold with my local library, but due to Covid-19, books are being quarantined for three days at each stop. It still isn’t available yet but I’ll be picking it up when it is.

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Status: Completed

Due to the unforeseen library holds, I decided to use The Wizard of Oz to cover both Challenge 2 and 3. I listened to the audiobook through the CloudLibrary app. It didn’t give me the same feeling as the movie but I’m pretty sure that’s because of the lack of musical numbers in the book.

Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton

Status: Completed

Since I wasn’t worried about sticking to anymore challenges, I decided to read Words on Bathroom Walls. This was yet another audiobook from CloudLibrary (I love that app). I heard about the movie through Kat’s page and decided to read the book. It was really good and I loved the Schizophrenia rep.

Training School for Negro Girls by Camille Acker

Status: Completed

I’ve been wanting to read this book for a little while now and I noticed the audiobook was pretty short so it seemed perfect for the readathon. This was a collection of short stories, which aren’t usually my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed these.

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

Status: 270/359

My ARC for the Hear Our Voices blog tour came in on Thursday so you know I had to start this immediately. I’m loving it so far and I plan on finishing it today or tomorrow so I can get my tour posts out.

Instagram Challenges

The Instagram challenges were fun to participate in. I didn’t do all of them but I did a few and actually won the last one.

The Book Club Controversy

I was pretty disappointed to find out that The Reading Rush hosts didn’t actually read the book club pick. I had been really excited for the live show since I’ve never participated in one before and I really enjoyed Such a Fun Age. I came in thinking we’d talk about all the symbolism and how amazing this book was. It was especially disappointing because this was a book by a Black author that addresses performative activism. I really hope they do better next year because this wasn’t a good look by any means.

All in All

I’ve been doing The Reading Rush for years but this is the first time I’ve read 7 books. Even though being at home hasn’t been the easiest, it definitely has it’s advantages.

If you want to see how I did last year, click here.

Did you participate in The Reading Rush?

How did you do?

What do you think about Such a Fun Age?

Let me know in the comments below, let’s chat!