If you hang around bookstagram for long enough, you're sure to come across people talking about "readalongs" or "buddy reads". When you're new to bookstagram, it can feel like just another thing you need to learn about and throw yourself into - or else, something you'll never be a part of because you don't know anyone yet.
For a while, I wasn't really interested in readalongs. I find it hard to keep pace with other people and could only just stay afloat when I had to read at the same rate as others at university. In fact, university reading is probably a big part of what put me off!
And then I made a post about sci-fi books. This post, in fact:
And when I asked for sci-fi recommendations, the wonderful Emilia Zeeland answered my call instantly! We got to talk and I started following her, becoming intrigued by the series she wrote called STAR Academy. Well, when I saw her post about doing a readalong of the first book, The Unsound Theory, I signed up instantly!!
Oh, don't worry, you don't actually have to sign up for these things. In fact, all I did was message Emilia that I was definitely on board and bought an e-copy of the first book in the series.
Meeting my fellow readers...
A couple of days before the readalong started, Emilia started a group chat with everyone who was participating, so that she could let us know the whole plan and we could start talking to each other. I inevitably stalked everyone's profiles to find out about their book tastes and aesthetics. I mean, what else did you expect?
Emilia laid out the plan and explained that along with the discussion points she had planned out, there was some quizzes and extra content she'd be posting.
Whilst some people in the group had already read the book, most of us were new to the series and we'd be discovering the universe together. These dates were such a useful guide as it meant I knew what speed everyone would be going at and we all knew to avoid spoilers if we read ahead.
Reading
The shared anticipation for the next big events was brilliant and reminded me what it's like to share excitement over a book with someone. I have to admit that I don't have a tonne of people in real life who read the same types of books as I do (reason number 1 bookstagram is great) and being part of a group who not only liked the same book but was reading it at the same time was a super motivational way to read!
Whenever we hit one of the pre-set days, Emilia would message us with prompts and discussion points about what has been happening. There was a good spread of questions about what had happened, the character development, and where we thought the clues were heading. It really prompted a lot of conversation and there were times where my phone would not stop buzzing as people threw their ideas into the mix! It really got me thinking about where the story could go. Normally I have an idea and that's it; I keep reading so I don't explore possibilities. These discussions, however, made me pause and consider other points of view. Being a bit of a newbie to YA sci-fi, I also considered that maybe my point of view was more influenced by fantasy tropes than sci-fi, making other people's suggestions even more interesting.
Some of the other prompts sent our way included a quiz to see which planet or moon we would be from if we were in the story (Earthling over here!) and a match-up game which prompted us to talk about the possible relationships between characters.
Finishing the Book
I finished the book one day before the designated deadline and was really pleased to have kept up with everyone else as there was a dip in the middle where I fell behind and had to not look at the group chat. On finishing the book, there was an instant desire from the group to read the next in the series together, continuing the conversation. This was so nice to hear as I felt like the group really got along and helped motivate each other.
We also had a little author Q&A with Emilia at the end which gave us an insight into how the story came about and some pointers about character development. It was a great way to round off the event, a behind the scenes look at what goes into writing a book!
Conclusion
As my first readalong, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was an opportunity to talk to other readers and meet people interested in the game genres. My favourite thing was the added motivation to finish the book; when everyone is contributing their ideas to the discussion, it's really interesting to see which way the book will go and whether anyone guessed correctly.
I would highly advise anyone to take part in a readalong! My advice is to make sure you have time to read as you don't want to get too far behind the group, and to find a book you think you will definitely enjoy. When you focus on a book you like, I promise you will get even more excited about it and have even better memories of the book because of it.