At the last minute, I decided to participate in the 24 in 48 Reading Challenge this weekend, which turned out to be perfect since it snowed all day Sunday. The 24 in 48 Challenge is to read for 24 hours within a 48-hour period…and I totally did not achieve that, but I had a great time trying!

I actually don’t know how many hours I read total, since I wasn’t attempting to keep track–I kept the challenge more personal and just used the reading time as cozy, stress-free time to escape into great books. I also loved seeing what all the other challenge participants were reading, although I didn’t participate in any mini-challenges like I did for Bout of Books.

Books I finished: The Just City by Jo Walton

This was actually the first book I started in 2016, but I took a break in the middle of reading it because the storyline hit a lull. The premise is that the Greek goddess Athena has decided to carry out an experiment–to found a city based on the teachings of Plato, with citizens picked from different points in time who have each prayed to her. The citizens become the city’s founders, then teachers when children are brought in to craft into “philosopher kings” who are able to “become their best selves” by living according to Plato’s theories. It’s such an interesting premise that it’s hard to pull off as a book; for me, the story meandered a bit before really picking up partway through when Socrates is brought to the “Just City” and starts to question all of its premises. In the end, I found it really fascinating and thought-provoking, and will absolutely be looking for the sequel.

I read a little bit of: This is a Book by Demetri Martin

Honestly, this book is not great so far. I picked it up for a funny read since I like Demetri Martin’s stand-up, but it’s not really working for me. I’ll probably finish it at some point?

Books I started: The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

I loooove this so far! Kvothe is back and being very Kvothe-ish by constantly getting into trouble at the University and never having enough money to pay his tuition. There are so many mysteries in this series that I can’t wait to uncover, but at the same time I want to savor it for as long as possible since no one knows when book 3 will come out. This will definitely be my longest read of 2016 (unless I decide to tackle War and Peace this year, which I doubt, but you never know!) and I was able to read 400 pages during the challenge.

Now that the challenge is over, I’m anxious for more reading challenges and readathons–I’ve found they’re such a great way to get myself to relax and spend time reading. Does anyone know of any fun, timed reading challenges similar to 24 in 48, Dewey’s, and Bout of Books? Would love some suggestions!