BC: Space Opera September Readathon Participation Announcement

In September I will be trying to focus on completing the Space Opera September readathon (announcement video, Twitter), created and hosted by Thomas Wagner of SFF180 (YouTube, Website, Twitter). This will be my first readathon and I’m so excited to get stuck into a genre I have very limited experience with. The main goal is to read between one and four space opera books, though of course there are challenges which handsomely reward successful readers.

The Goodreads page for Space Opera September has all the information you could possibly need, along with a few discussions about the TBRs of other participants and a nice big catalogue of relevant literature from women/NB authors. The page and discussions linked are all really informative and interesting, so please do check them out! The only rule seems to be that you can only read one book per series – easy for me as I’m almost brand new to this sort of thing.

Thomas’ explanation of the readathon is as clear as can be, “Space opera is loosely defined as stories that are set predominately (if not entirely) in outer space, in which spaceflight is a key narrative element. Read from 1-4 books, with various optional challenges, to level up in rank and unlock your own fleet of spacecraft!”

Like in the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. readathons, readers are well-rewarded for their efforts. Instead of aiming to be an alchemist or a librarian, however, Thomas’ readathon sees participants unlock new positions either within a federation or pirate space force – with the successful completion of challenges rewarding people with new ships. The readathon looks incredibly accessible and focuses on the best of the bookish community, in my opinion, just encouraging each other to try out new things.

CHALLENGES:
1: Read a space opera novella — Unlocks SHUTTLECRAFT
2A: Read two space operas by women — Unlocks FIGHTER
2B: Read a space opera by a diverse author featuring a diverse protagonist and/or major characters — Completing this Challenge switches your Rankings to Rebel Track; Unlocks BLOCKADE RUNNER (Rebel Track exclusive ship)
3: Read a space opera published before you were born — Unlocks EXPLORER
4: Read a space opera 500 pages or longer — Unlocks DREADNAUGHT

Even better, the Goodreads page has a fair amount of artwork demonstrating what achieving different ranks (and different ships) actually means. It’s obviously all just a bit of fun, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll be sending off for my certificate when by the end of September!

Closer to September I will be posting my TBR for Space Opera September, though if you are interested in this readathon I really do urge you to check out the Goodreads pages, as well as Thomas’ own website and BookTube channel.