The Terror of Knowing

What’s this, Emma has decided to participate in yet another readathon because she’s forgotten how else to pick what she wants to read next when she doesn’t have a set of challenges to fulfil? Yes, that’s alarmingly correct. For the next month I will be taking part in the Book Junkie Trials.

This month-long readathon is the brain child of Rachel Marie and she has gone above and beyond in terms of theming so I can’t pass up the opportunity to join in on the quest to find the bookie grail. For more context and to learn about the readathon in full, check out Rachel’s announcement video or head over to the readathon Twitter.

For this readathon you join a team (I love it when readathons do that), and I have taken the personality quiz provided by the readathon host and discovered that (surprise, surprise) I belong to the scribes, who will be lead by Sophie, Duchess of the Scribes! I will be following a certain quest path along with my fellow scribes. You have to do the challenges in order (which will be a struggle for me is I am a polygamous reader at best) and then you can decide to be extra and do other challenges from the quest map if you want. Although I might do that, I won’t decide on my TBR for those right now, because once you pick your TBR, you’re locked into it! For now, let’s just see what my Scribe specific journey includes, shall we?

About Scribes

Scribes are professional chroniclers who write accounts of important or historical events. They follow where the action is. However, they have been known to give rather conflicting accounts of battles, depending upon which side they favour.

ABILITY: The ability to rewrite their tale. Their unique ability is to read a book that wasn’t on their declared TBR.

WEAKNESS As scribes spend so much time documenting their findings, one of their challenges will take MUCH longer than normal. Read a book over 500 pages.

Scribes Challenge Path

1. Dwarf Mount: You spot a fair tavern wench, however the Dwarf Mines, grimey and dusty, didn’t evoke a very romantic feeling.
Read a book with a hint of romance to get you in the mood.
2. Apothecary Towers: Where the wizards dwell. Tricksters. They have blind-folded you and randomised all your books.
Choose a book at random from your bookshelf.
3. The Great Library: Ahh the great archives
Find and read a book that has been on your TBR forever.
4. The Drowning Deep: The Whirlpool… is so…. mesmerising.
Read a book with rich world-building that will suck you into its own world, instead.
5. The Bookie Grail: Here you find a lost manuscript, delivered on this forgotten island by a fallen star.
Read the group book: Stardust

My TBR

1. Dwarf Mount – The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
I’m determined to methodically re-read these books so I can finally pick up the fourth book and finish off this series. I never want it to end which is why I’ve been putting it off, but I really need to get past that and just READ IT ALREADY.

2. Apothecary Towers – The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
I haven’t read as many classics this year as I hoped to (especially considering I’m taking part in the Classics Club) so I’m hoping to re-ignite my desire to do so by including a classic on this unchangeable TBR.

3. The Great Library – Uprooted by Naomi Novik
I’ve been umming and aahing about reading this one ever since I first heard about it and put it on my TBR. I’ve always been hesitant because I actually DNFed Novik’s Spinning Silver which was a book people seemed to love and I just didn’t get the same feelings from it. However, I’ve been enjoying her Temeraire series so clearly it’s not her writing style that’s the problem, I just didn’t get on with the plot of Spinning Silver. I’m hoping that Uprooted will be a hit with me rather than a miss.

4. The Drowning Deep – The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
This is a series I’ve been meaning to start for so long. Is it foolish to pick such a long book to read during a readathon? Probably, but that’s a good way to make me prioritise reading it! (Plus I need a 500+ page book to match with my scribe weakness.) I’ve heard SO MANY good things about this fantasy book that I will be sorely disappointed if I don’t end up getting sucked into its world.

5. The Bookie Grail – Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Although I’ve read this book before and thoroughly enjoyed it, it might be nice to re-read it with a huge group of people. Plus, Neil Gaiman narrates the audiobook so, hey, any excuse to listen to Neil Gaiman telling me a story is always welcome in my world.

So there we have it, that’s the quest I will be doing over the next month. I’ll likely keep a Twitter thread of updates as usual so be sure to pop over to my Twitter if you’re curious as to how I’m doing on my quest during July. Otherwise, I’ll see you once I’ve successfully hunted down the Bookie Grail!

Are you taking part in the readathon? Which team are you on? (Any fellow scribes around?) Which books are you planning to read? Let me know in the comments!

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