A few weeks ago ‘social distancing’ was a term that most of us had never heard of. Implementing the practice into our daily lives became an important and necessary adjustment to fight the spread of COVID-19. But while stay-at-home orders and physical distancing continues to take place, that doesn’t mean you have to abandon all things social. That also doesn’t mean you should throw a party and invite everyone you know. Not just yet. Lucky for you though, there’s a host of free, bookish social activities you can do from the comfort of your own home – all while safely practicing social distancing.
1. Join a Read-a-Thon
That TBR pile isn’t going to read itself. Sometimes you just need a collective push to get started. That’s when Read-a-Thons come in handy. Often organized by a particular theme and spanning several days to weeks, Read-a-Thons will undoubtedly remind you of your love for books. But why should you have all the fun? Encourage your loved ones to get involved. Children might especially get a kick out of tracking their reading progress. Here’s a link to one to get you started, with suggestions for Women’s History Month reads.
~ APR READ-A-THON ~
1-30 | Hypeathon
1-30 | Page-A-Thon
1-30 | Spring Into Horror Readathon (Seasons of Reading)
13-19 | AYearAThon (Highest/lowest rated Goodreads books)
17-19 | Off the Grid Readathon
24-26 | #24B4Monday
25 | Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon
2. Organize your bookshelf
Whether you have a lot of space or just enough space, there’s a fine art to organizing your bookshelf or wherever you happen to store your books (just ask anyone who’s ever tried to do it). If you want to put a new spin on an old concept, try arranging books by height, color, genre or subject matter. Plus there’s always the traditional, alphabetical way.
3.Read Book Blogs
In addition to reviews of a variety of books, book blogs often host interviews with authors, give advice for writers, provide literary news, and a host of other goodies. Some of our favorites that come to mind are Girlxoxo.com, Bookriot.com, Shelit.com, and TheEnglishist.com.
4. Review Books
Loved it? Hated it? Review it! There’s no shortage of sites and apps for fellow bibliophiles to post book reviews. A rightly worded review can make all the difference. You can start with Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram. And if you find a site that you want to hip fellow Mocha Girls too, let us know!
5. Watch Booktube
Looking to watch a book review? Look no further than YouTube, where a slew of hosts reviews books in conversational, creative, ever-entertaining ways. Here are a few to get you started, all created by young Black women: Noria Reads reviews fantasy books. Francina Simone is a YA author of “epic urban fantasies.” Kimberly Anne reviews inclusive books. Books with Jameelah and Jocelynn Reads round out our ever-growing list of Booktubers.
6. Find a Little Library
Chances are you’ve seen a little library in your neighborhood or at a local business. A free book-sharing resource, little libraries are a great way to add new books to your collection and donate used books to neighbors near and far. Visit littlefreelibrary.org to find one near you.
Mocha Girl Alysia
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