What could be better than spending a month reading AND doing something good for the world, all at the same time? Not a lot, in my opinion. Which is why I’ve decided to take part in the Novel Challenge and MS Readathon, to help raise money for Multiple Sclerosis, the most common disease of the central nervous system affecting more than 18,000 Australians.
I’m going to be spending the next 30 days reading my little heart out whilst raising money for a good cause. Check out all the info by going to the top of this page and clicking on ‘The Novel Challenge’. There you will find details, a link to my fundraiser page (which, by the way, you should totally click on), and a running record of my reading list as I fry my brain in book loving goodness.
I started the challenge today with Aussie author Marianne de Pierres’ Burn Bright, a wonderfully eery piece of YA Fantasy Fiction.
Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones
I am now onto George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, which I couldn’t possibly resist after watching the brilliant television adaptation. So far I am hugely impressed at how alike the show is to the book. Gotta love that in a small screen adaptation.
Fingers crossed this little challenge will mercilessly reduce the size of my to-be-read pile, as well as making a small difference to those living with MS.
Happy reading readers!
~storytelling nomad~
storytelling nomad 
Good luck with this Katy. My To Read pile is SO big right now; just don’t know when I’ll have the time to knock it all out. Too much to write, too much to read. That’s a good thing, btw, not a complaint.
Game of Thrones was one of the best things on TV. Period. Can’t wait for the next season.
Thank you! Yes, I’m taking this opportunity to really push through the reading pile in the name of doing something positive for MS sufferers. I know what you mean about too much to write and read though. There just aren’t enough hours in the day!
GoT was mind blowing. I hear Season 2 will be out in April. YES! :)
A worthy goal, good luck.
Thank you Harry!
What an awesome fundraiser. Good luck!
Thanks Angela! First time I’ve done a readathon since I was little, and I can already tell it’s going to be as much fun now as it was then!
Good luck and have fun!
Would you mind explaining to me, though, how exactly reading for a month raises money? I’ve never understood these sorts of programs. Oh god, that sounded really snarky – that’s not how I meant it. I really just mean that just like MS or AIDS walks, there is something in the process that I don’t understand – I don’t get how doing these things raises money. I don’t get the whole “sponser someone” idea. I went to the website and still didn’t really understand it. Am I just really dense?
Lol. Not dense at all! It’s a good question.
I suppose the main idea with these things is to raise awareness and help raise money for a good cause. The idea of sponsoring someone, in my opinion, is to show people that that person is willing to do something or set themselves a challenge, in the name of reaching their fundraising goal.
Essentially, yes, I could just tell everyone to donate to a charity without doing anything for it, but I think you’d agree that less people would be likely to donate. If a friend, family member or colleague is *doing something*, on the other hand, to raise money (whether it be a readathon, marathon, cake stall, trivia night), then it is more likely that you would contribute because you are essentially supporting that person as it’s something they obviously feel strongly enough about to work for.
I should also note that when you sponsor someone, the money goes directly to the charity, not to the sponsored person. I am not getting paid to read, just in case that was unclear. Although, if anyone knows of such a position existing then please let me know asap!
I like the idea of a readathon because I think there is nothing better than celebrating the importance of reading in our society and encouraging more people to read by challenging each other and ourselves to do just that. But really, it doesn’t matter the manner in which a person promotes their cause, as long as it is raising awareness and hopefully financially helping the charity as well.
Basically it all comes down to a challenge, a bit of fun, and combining the two in the name of a good cause. I hope this helps!
Thank you so much for explaining this to me! I definitely agree that it’s a great idea and a wonderful cause, and I would participate if I lived in Australia! If I hear about something like this happening in New York, I will definitely sign up :D.
No problem at all! And happy reading! :)
Wow, that is so neat! You’ll have to post a list of all the books you managed to read at the end of the challenge.
I’m already onto it! My running list of books are on the Novel Challenge page. Woo!
A marathon I don’t have to run in? I approve whole heartedly.
My thoughts EXACTLY!
Hey Katy, I really like what you’re doing and I went to donate a little bit to you, but it didn’t go so well lol… Apparently my bank here in the USA doesn’t permit out of country transactions. The fraud detection agency put a hold on my account and I had to call them and tell them it had been legit. Even after all that, I couldn’t get it to go through. :( So I’m with you in spirit!
OH WHITNEY! I love that you tried and I’m so very sorry it caused you so much trouble! You’re my new favourite person today, just for being so damn awesome!
Lol, it wasn’t supposed to be that big of a deal, I just didn’t know. Still it’s a shame that I can’t do international transactions. :/
A shame indeed. I thank you kindly for trying though!
Anytime, girlfriend! :)