The start date for the 2024 Yangtze River Delta Reading Marathon has been officially announced for September 21, with registration opening on September 5.
How Does the Reading Marathon Work?
Read a New Book:
Each year, the Reading Marathon collaborates with publishers to select a new, unreleased book as the competition's reading material. Participants will have the unique opportunity to be among the first to read this book.
Form a Team:
The Reading Marathon is a team-based event. Participants can form groups of five with friends or family, encouraging each other as they prepare, compete, and discuss their experiences. After the event, teams can celebrate with a meal, making it a full day of socializing in a book-filled atmosphere.
Compete for Speed:
This marathon is not just about reading; it’s a race against time. Designed around skimming techniques, participants are encouraged to avoid getting stuck on difficult passages and instead focus on completing their reading within a set timeframe to grasp the overall essence of the book. This approach challenges participants to refine their reading habits.
Compete for Quality Reading:
In addition to speed, the marathon emphasizes reading quality. Participants must concentrate on understanding the book's structure and content while adhering to the time constraints. A quality assessment will be conducted, with scores converted into reading time, contributing to the overall competition results.
Promote Reading Together:
At its core, the Reading Marathon aims to foster a collective enthusiasm for reading. The event encourages participants to come together and showcase the joy of reading to the community. Through social media promotion, the initiative seeks to create a lasting impact, forming a "shared memory" of reading that resonates with everyone. If you are passionate about reading, join us in promoting this wonderful activity.
The Yangtze River Delta Reading Marathon is a celebration for readers, initiated by the Shanghai Library and the Reading Marathon, and co-hosted by the Nanjing Library, Zhejiang Library, and Anhui Provincial Library. This large-scale public reading event targets the YRD region, which consists of the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, as well as Shanghai municipality. The Anhui Provincial Library serves as the rotating host for this year's competition. Participants are tasked with completing a new book's skimming and reading within six hours while encouraging friends to engage with and appreciate reading, thus creating a "shared memory" of the experience. Since its inception in 2018, the Yangtze River Delta Reading Marathon has been held seven times, making it the largest offline reading event in the world.
Organizers: Shanghai Library, Nanjing Library, Zhejiang Library, Anhui Provincial Library, Reading Marathon
Co-Organizer: Hangzhou Shangcheng District Library