The Reading Rush is a staple for the end of the summer for me. Originally called the Booktubathon, it’s a week of celebrating reading and connecting with fellow bookworms. Given that we’re all stuck at home, they’re holding a weekend event! This includes reading prompts, sprints, and Instagram challenges. It officially started today, and I’m very excited to join in like I do each summer!
There are four prompts for this weekend, but you can choose to read however many books that you want! Since this overlaps with the OWLs Readathon, I might read more than that. For those of you that might still be scrambling to find books for each of the prompts, I thought I would include some recommendations! Here are the prompts for the weekend:
- A book with a house on the cover
- Read a book in the same room the whole time
- A book set somewhere you wish you could go
- Read a book that will make you smile
Some of these are subjective, but I’ll provide recommendations nonetheless!
The Reading Rush Book Recs
House on the Cover
- What I’m reading: Where the Heart Is by by Jo Knowles. A contemporary middle grade novel about a family in a financial crisis and a girl trying to figure out her own identity.
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Four people interacting in a spooky house. Not for those that dislike terror or horror.
- The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. A memoir about a dysfunctional family moving around the US. Perfect for fans of Educated!
- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Conor wakes to find a monster outside of his bedroom who proceeds to tell him stories while Conor copes with his mother’s cancer.
Same Room
- What I’m reading: Ms. Marvel, V. 1 by G. Willow Wilson. Kamala Khan suddenly gets superpowers and has to juggle being a teenager, being Muslim, and her new superhero powers
- The Superior Spider-Man by Dan Slott. In an alternate timeline, Doc Ock takes over Peter Parker’s body and thus becomes Spider-Man.
- Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden. Lou finds Bea when she runs away, and the two start a journey together with a mysterious cat.
- Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell. Deja and Josiah want to spend an epic last night together at the pumpkin patch they both work at.
Somewhere You Wish You Could Go
- What I’m reading: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. The final installment of the Infernal Devices, following Jem, Will, and Tessa as they fight the automatons in London.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling. No one said the place had to be real! Follow Harry in his first year at Hogwarts.
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Feyre is taken to the faerie world as punishment for killing one of them. But she just might break the curse on their land.
- The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson finds out he’s part Greek god and is thrown into their drama at Camp Half-Blood.
Make You Smile
- What I’m reading: Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke. A companion novel to Boneless Mercies, this is a gender bent re-telling of the King Arthur tale.
- Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. Alex is the son of the President and Henry is a Prince of England. What happens when they fall in love?
- Bloom by Kevin Panetta. Ari is dying to move to the city, but plans change when Hector starts working at the bakery.
- Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. Simon Snow is probably the worst chosen one we’ve ever seen. And maybe Baz is the only thing that can help him save the world.