Happy Tuesday and welcome to my sign up and #tbr post for Name-a-Thon!
What is the name-a-thon?
This is a month long readathon (from July 1–July 31 EST) dedicated to your name! The name you choose is totally up to you (ex: your full name, nickname, pen name, name you use online, blog name, Twitter @, channel name, etc.)! However, please keep your safety first priority if you’re using your middle name, last name, or any name that could potentially put your safety and identity in danger!
You’ll read books that start with the same initial. For example, if your name is Sara, your TBR stack might look a little something like this:
S– Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass
A– All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
R– Recommended for You by Laura Silverman
A– American Street by Ibi Zoboi
Since this readathon is very lowkey with minimal rules, you can make it as difficult or easy as you wish. Use a longer version of a name, use a shorter one, etc. You can even use author’s name instead of book title if that sounds better to you! However you want to customize this readathon is up to you! Also, it is totally up to you if you want to count “A, An, The” as the first word of a book title or if you want to skip to the second word!
However, the one rule is that you *aren’t* allowed to double dip letters (if you have two ‘i” in your name like Olivia, you gotta read two books starting with i!).
Now, one more thing to go over: What counts as a “book”? Basically anything! E-books, audiobooks, graphic novels, manga, short stories, plays, poetry collections, self-published books, and even wattpad and fanfiction! The point of this readathon is to just connect with other readers in a low-stakes environment, so anything goes!
resources and ways to connect
What’s a readathon without the social part of it! Follow the readathon Twitter account @namereadathon! They’ll be hosting reading sprints and just using that account in general to connect with y’all! While they don’t have an official bookstagram, Olivia is active on bookstagram (@curlyhairbiblio) (@stillhurtingstyles for Olive) so you can also use the hashtag #nameathon on your posts there if you end up posting about it!
If you’re also thinking “but… I can’t think of a book that starts with [letter]”, don’t fret! There’s a Google Doc of A-Z book recommendations! This is by no means a comprehensive list (and there are many genres on there), but it’s a good spot to start brainstorming your potential TBR!
My name-a-thon TBR
Okay, anyone who’s visited Kait Plus Books before probably knows that I am… horrible with TBRs. At least the part where I try to stick to them! But I do love making them, so here are some books I’m planning on reading during Name-a-Thon (although, let’s be honest… I’ll probably change it up as soon as this is posted)! I’m using my full first name plus my last initial here, so there’s 8 letters: K-A-I-T-L-Y-N-G!
Keep My Heart in San Francisco by Amelia Diane Coombs Published on June 22, 2021 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Pages: 416
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Caroline “Chuck” Wilson has big plans for spring break—hit up estate sales to score vintage fashion finds and tour the fashion school she dreams of attending. But her dad wrecks those plans when he asks her to spend vacation working the counter at Bigmouth’s Bowl, her family’s failing bowling alley. Making things astronomically worse, Chuck finds out her dad is way behind on back rent—meaning they might be losing Bigmouth’s, the only thing keeping Chuck’s family in San Francisco.
And the one person other than Chuck who wants to do anything about it? Beckett Porter, her annoyingly attractive ex-best friend.
So when Beckett propositions Chuck with a plan to make serious cash infiltrating the Bay Area action bowling scene, she accepts. But she can’t shake the nagging feeling that she’s acting irrational—too much like her mother for comfort. Plus, despite her best efforts to keep things strictly business, Beckett’s charm is winning her back over…in ways that go beyond friendship.
If Chuck fails, Bigmouth’s Bowl and their San Francisco legacy are gone forever. But if she succeeds, she might just get everything she ever wanted.
Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston Published on May 25, 2021 by Dutton Books for Young Readers
Genres: Science Fiction, YA
Pages: 256
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram, Tumblr, TikTok
Set on a family-run interstellar freighter called the Harland and a mysterious remote space station, E. K. Johnston's latest is story of survival and self-determination.
Pendt Harland's family sees her as a waste of food on their long-haul space cruiser when her genes reveal an undesirable mutation. But if she plays her cards right she might have a chance to do much more than survive. During a space-station layover, Pendt escapes and forms a lucky bond with the Brannick twins, the teenage heirs of the powerful family that owns the station. Against all odds, the trio hatches a long-shot scheme to take over the station and thwart the destinies they never wished for.
If You, Then Me by Yvonne Woon Published on July 6, 2021 by Katherine Tegen Books
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Science Fiction, YA
Pages: 416
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What would you ask your future self? First question: What does it feel like to kiss someone?
Xia is stuck in a lonely, boring loop. Her only escapes are Wiser, an artificial intelligence app she designed to answer questions like her future self, and a mysterious online crush she knows only as ObjectPermanence.
And then one day Xia enrolls at the Foundry, an app incubator for tech prodigies in Silicon Valley.
Suddenly, anything is possible. Flirting with Mast, a classmate also working on AI, leads to a date. Speaking up generates a vindictive nemesis intent on publicly humiliating her. And running into Mitzy Erst, Foundry alumna and Xia’s idol, could give Xia all the answers.
And then Xia receives a shocking message from ObjectPermanence: He is at the Foundry, too. Xia is torn between Mast and ObjectPermanence—just as Mitzy pushes her towards a shiny new future. Xia doesn’t have to ask Wiser to know: The right choice could transform her into the future self of her dreams, but the wrong one could destroy her.
This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron Series: The Poison Heart #1
Published on June 29, 2021 by Bloomsbury YA
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Mythology, Queer, Retellings, YA
Pages: 384
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Briseis has a gift: she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms with a single touch.
When Briseis's aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents decide to leave Brooklyn behind for the summer. Hopefully there, surrounded by plants and flowers, Bri will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they could never have imagined--it comes with a specific set of instructions, an old-school apothecary, and a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world that can only be entered by those who share Bri's unique family lineage.
When strangers begin to arrive on their doorstep, asking for tinctures and elixirs, Bri learns she has a surprising talent for creating them. One of the visitors is Marie, a mysterious young woman who Bri befriends, only to find that Marie is keeping dark secrets about the history of the estate and its surrounding community. There is more to Bri's sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it . . . until a nefarious group comes after her in search of a rare and dangerous immortality elixir. Up against a centuries-old curse and the deadliest plant on earth, Bri must harness her gift to protect herself and her family.
Lore by Alexandra Bracken Published on January 5, 2021 by Disney-Hyperion
Genres: Alternate History, Contemporary, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mythology, Thriller, YA
Pages: 480
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok
Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.
Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.
The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.
Your Life Has Been Delayed by Michelle I. Mason Published on August 24, 2021 by Bloomsbury YA
Genres: Contemporary, YA, Alternate History, Science Fiction
Pages: 304
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Past and present, friends and crushes collide in a YA debut about a girl who takes off on a flight and lands 25 years later.
Jenny Waters boards her flight in 1995, but when she lands, she and the other passengers are told they disappeared . . . 25 years ago. Everyone thought they were dead.
Now contending with her family and friends fast-forwarding decades, Jenny must quickly adjust to smartphones and social media while being the biggest story to hit the internet. She feels betrayed by her once-best friend and fights her attraction to a cute boy with an uncomfortable connection to her past. Meanwhile, there’s a growing group of conspiracy theorists determined to prove the whole situation is a hoax. Will Jenny figure out how to move forward, or will she always be stuck in the past?
Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach Published on September 14, 2021 by Katherine Tegen Books
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Pages: 384
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Eliza Quan is the perfect candidate for editor in chief of her school paper. That is, until ex-jock Len DiMartile decides on a whim to run against her. Suddenly her vast qualifications mean squat because inexperienced Len—who is tall, handsome, and male—just seems more like a leader.
When Eliza’s frustration spills out in a viral essay, she finds herself inspiring a feminist movement she never meant to start, caught between those who believe she’s a gender equality champion and others who think she’s simply crying misogyny.
Amid this growing tension, the school asks Eliza and Len to work side by side to demonstrate civility. But as they get to know one another, Eliza feels increasingly trapped by a horrifying realization—she just might be falling for the face of the patriarchy himself.
Girls Save the World in This One by Ash Parsons Published on May 25, 2021 by Philomel Books
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Paranormal, Queer, Science Fiction, Thriller, YA
Pages: 448
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Mega-fan June Blue's whole life has been leading up to this moment: ZombieCon! The Ultimate in Undead Entertainment has finally come to her hometown. She and her two best friends--gorgeous, brilliant Imani and super-sweet, outrageously silly Siggy--plan on hitting all the panels and photo ops, and meeting the heartthrob lead of their favorite zombie apocalypse show, Human Wasteland. It's going to be the best time of their lives--and one of their last adventures before they all split up for college.
And when they arrive, everything seems perfect. June's definitely not going to let anything get in the way of the flawless con experience--even though she's endlessly anxious about the SATs and college admissions, and she can't seem to avoid her ex-best friend Blair, whose VIP badge lets her walk straight to the front of every single line. No matter what, June is determined to make the best of her dream day at ZombieCon!
But something's not quite right at the con--there are strange people in hazmat suits running around, enthusiastic cosplayers taking their shambling a little too far, and someone actually biting a cast member. Then, at a panel gone wrong, June and her friends discover the truth: the zombie apocalypse is here.
Now June, Imani, and Siggy must do whatever it takes to survive a horde of actual flesh-eating zombies--and save the world. A hilarious and heartfelt horror comedy, that is an ode to zombies, friendship, and girl power.
Are you joining the Name-a-Thon? Let me know in the comments (and be sure to link up to your own posts if you are!) and have a splendiferous day!
I’m so excited you’re joining!!!