Your host:
- Welcome! I am a mystery enthusiast and pleased to serve as your host for this challenge. Here is my personal web page and my Mystillery blog. You can email me at rickmills9@gmail.com - Rick Mills
Description and Goal:
The goal of the challenge is to complete the Mystery Marathon by reading 26.2 mystery books during the year. Sit back down and take a breath, no actual running is required.As there are 26.2 miles in a marathon, one book counts as one mile. The number of pages counts as the number of steps taken to complete that mile.
Like a real marathon, this is an endurance event, not a sprint. Do not feel pressured to read fast! You can complete the marathon without visiting the Medical Tent if you just average leisurely reading one book every two weeks.
Instructions:
- You are encouraged to select an appropriate runner nickname to reflect your speedy running style. Email your host to select a nickname which will certainly help your marathon time and flaunt your superior running ability.
- Generally, on what page does the last word of the story appear? That's your count. Exception: You may run into an omnibus where several books are bound together. In that case, the number should be the net number of pages - subtract first page number from last page number.
- Audiobook and Kindle users can find the equivalent page count by looking up the Goodreads listing for a print edition of the book, as in the example of this highly-recommended bestseller:
- When you complete a mile (book), submit the number of pages (steps). You can submit multiple books on the form by separating your page counts with commas.
Book author and title need not be submitted.
- If you use a tracking page or Goodreads shelf, you can put the URL in the form to link your entry to it.
- Step up to the starting line. Listen for the gun - and go!
Rules:
- This challenge is open January 1 to December 31 2024.
- Only fiction is allowed.
- BOOK LENGTH:
- Books of any length (short stories included) may be used for the first 26 miles.
- Only a short story (less than 100 pages) may be used for the final .2 mile.
- The first submission of a under-100 page book will be applied to the final .2 mile.
- You can reread books from previous years.
- Print books, audio books, and/or e-books may be used in any combination.
- Bloggers are welcome to any images for your blog.
FAQ:
- Once I complete the marathon can I run it again?
If you have enough energy left, sure! Just submit another mile to start another marathon.
Archive:
- none
Goodreads Discussion Group:
- If you are on Goodreads, you may wish to join the Mystillery discussion group, which is a companion to the challenges. There is a separate discussion group for each Mystillery challenge, an Announcement board, and a virtual coffee shop. A shortcut icon
appears at the top right of each challenge home page.
Messaging:
If you wish to contact another challenger, first try the Goodreads message system:- Click on the Goodreads icon on the challenger's line on the main page. This brings you to their Goodreads profile.
- Click the MORE button (with the down arrow)
- Click MESSAGE. This - hopefully - brings up a message form. Just fill it out!
- If the challenger does not have Goodreads, or is not accepting Goodreads messages, send an email to me (rickmills9@gmail.com) indicating who you wish to message. I will inquire of that challenger if they wish to message with you.
Privacy:
- Your name: You can choose how you wish your name to appear. If you wish to change it, just let me know.
- Your image: You can choose your icon image. Initially, this is set to a publicly available image if I can find one (Google account, Goodreads profile, etc.) If you do not wish your image to appear, a generic icon may be used. Just email it to me. Keep in mind they are tiny (50 px wide).
- Your location is optional.
- Your preferred pronouns will be honored if provided.
- Your email address is never posted, and is not shared with other challengers unless you specifically allow.
Back to the challenge page • Revised Mar 23 2024