Oh my gosh. You have no idea how wild it is to type that title out! Can you believe that this is going to be the 5th year of the Hocus Pocus Readathon? This readathon is genuinely something I look forward to every year, I love connecting with other readers and Halloween lovers!
It feels so good being back. It’s September and I am finally getting to pick my spooky TBR for this readathon. I really feel like myself again when autumn arrives. Although summer is fun, nothing will ever beat fall! NOTHING!
Anyway, we have been hard at work putting this readathon together for another year! There are so many fun prompts, bonus points, activities, and an incredible group book! I look forward to connecting with everyone over our love of Halloween!
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What is the Hocus Pocus Readathon?
The Hocus Pocus Readathon is an online event held annually to celebrate Halloween and all things bookish. In this event, three groups of readers work to earn points for their team. In the end, there can only be one winner! The way you earn points is by reading books! How fun!
Continue reading if this sounds as exciting to you as it does to us! Below you will find some rules and regulations so we can all have fun this October!
Let’s also give some love to the lovely people who are putting this readathon together! Below I will link everyone’s Twitter, go give us all a follow and stay connected throughout the readathon!
Main Twitter account for readathon: @HPocusReadathon
Jackie @coffee_bookish (me lol)
Tiffy @deansgirltiffy
Stephanie @fyrekatz1
Nox @nox_reads
When is the Hocus Pocus Readathon?
October 1- October 31
This online event is held every year during the entire month of October! We have an entire 31 days to celebrate Halloween and books!
What are the Rules?
Here are the basic rules for the Hocus Pocus Readathon! These don’t cover everything, so if you have any questions, feel free to message any of us on Twitter and we can help out!
- Choose a team! Below you will see a rundown of each team, including the prompts you must follow to get points and the strengths/weaknesses. Choose your team wisely!
- Sign up via this form!
- Complete the prompts! Throughout the month, work to complete each prompt for your team. Every prompt gains points and the team with the most points at the end of the month is the winner! It doesn’t matter how many books you read, even finishing one of the prompts gets points for your team.
- Read as many pages as you can! Even if you finish all the prompts, or you read books that don’t fit the prompts, you can still earn points! Every 100 pages you read of any book during the readathon earns an extra 2 points for your team!
- There is no doubling up on prompts. For this readathon, you have to read a different book for every single prompt. The books can be anything you want, from novels to short story collections. From graphic novels to audiobooks. Whatever you want to read counts!
- Track your points! This will be a Google Sheet that can be edited on a computer. If you don’t have access to a computer, that is no problem! just message me or the Hocus Pocus Twitter account and we will get you all sorted! Click here to track your points on the spreadsheet!
- Have fun! The Hocus Pocus Readathon is meant to bring us all together for the love of books and Halloween! So enjoy!
What are the teams?
There are three teams available to you! Make sure to read the prompts for each team and choose wisely!
1. Team Sanderson Sisters!
2. Team Trick-or-Treaters
3. Team Undead
What are the Prompts?
The prompts are different for every team! Read them before you sign up and make your selection for which team you want to join! And don’t forget, you have to choose a different book for each prompt!
Team Sanderson Sisters Prompts
- Winifred wants to suck the life out of children to become immortal! Read a Halloween-themed middle-grade book. (15 points)
- We must find Book, he is missing! Read a book where the characters go on an adventure. (15 points)
- Mary only wants to impress her older sister by doing everything she asks! Read a book that features a sibling relationship in it. (15 points)
- Since the witches have been dead for 300 years, they don’t know a lot about the modern world. Read a book set in the past/ a historical fiction. (15 points)
- This is stressful! I suggest we form a calming circle! Read a book that is less than 300 pages. (15 points)
- I put a spell on you… and now you’re mine! Read a book with a romance in it!
- Watch Hocus Pocus 1 and 2! (25 points)
Team Trick-or-Treaters
- The burning rain of death has started! Read a spooky book while listening to rain sounds! (15 points)
- Help Max, Dani, and Allison beat the witches! Read a book that features characters with magical powers!
- The witches are working together to raise the undead! They have brought Billy back from the grave! Read a book about ghosts or a book that features ghosts! (15 points)
- It’s a full moon tonight, that’s why all the undead are running around and terrifying the trick-or-treaters! Read a book that you think has a creepy or weird-looking cover! (15 points)
- It’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus anyway! Why would we have to believe anything the candy corporations are trying to sell to us! Read a book set during Halloween! (15 points)
- Let’s light this sucker and melt the old broads! Read a horror book that you would be too scared to read at night! (15 points)
- Watch Hocus Pocus 1 and 2! (25 points)
Tea Undead
- Frightening events in a small town lead to a group of people digging up the grave of a recently deceased townsperson… but it’s empty! Read a mystery book! (15 points)
- I didn’t believe in ghosts until one night I was playing the piano and I heard clapping which was strange since I live alone! Then I looked up… Read a spooky book! (15 points)
- You find out that you are not only undead but you can also spread an affliction to others. But maybe the cure is worse than the illness! Read a book featuring a zombie, ghost, or other undead character! (15 points)
- An individual develops a terror of water after seeing the dead walk out of it one night! People can no longer touch, drink, or even be near water! Read a book about something you personally fear! (15 points)
- There is a serial killer running around your town! This murderer actually put up an ad for a victim and they have found a willing participant! Read a book about a serial killer or a murderer! (15 points)
- He locked the doors and shuttered the windows. But the witch still came in through the roof! The only safe place is holy ground, so you run back to the graveyard! Read a book that is set at a graveyard, or features a graveyard! (15 points)
- Watch Hocus Pocus 1 and 2! (25 points)
Strengths and Weaknesses
Team Sanderson Sisters
Strength: The witches use their lovely singing voices to cast a spell on the town! You can use your magic to cast a spell of time and get a head start on the readathon! You can start reading 5 days early, on September 26th!
Weakness: The Sanderson Sisters can only come out on Halloween night! This means you’re pretty busy trying to catch those pesky kids! You have to choose one entire day of the readathon where you are not allowed to read!
Team Trick-or-Treaters
Strength: Boo! Don’t let the witches win! You are able to steal one prompt from another team and switch it for one of yours.
Weakness: You are a trick-or-treater, of course, you have to dress up! While completing one prompt, you have to wear a Halloween costume the entire time you are reading the book!
Team Undead
Strength: The undead ended up switching sides and helped the trick-or-treaters against the witches! If you don’t like one of the prompts, you can switch it with a prompt from another team!
Weakness: The undead are only risen on Halloween night! For the first 5 days of the readathon, you have read only at night, and during these nights, your feet are not allowed to touch the ground!
What is the group book?
One of the best parts of this readathon is the group book! I love having a group of people that read a book together! It’s like a little, virtual book club!
So, the book that we have chosen this year is…
Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega
Click here to add this book to your Goodreads TBR!
Click here to purchase this book from Amazon!
This is a middle-grade book about a town full of witches! Seven is so excited once she turns twelve years old because it means she is finally going to be put in a coven and become a full witch. However, when the day comes, she isn’t put in a coven and is considered a “spare.” The only way she can get her full witch powers is to do an “impossible task,” which can end up being pretty dangerous! Hopefully, Seven and the other spare witches can work together and be successful!
You will earn 25 points for your team my reading the group book. If you don’t have access to this book, don’t fear! You can still choose a similar book and earn the points! Whether you choose another book about witches, or another middle-grade book, it will count!
Who has won in the past?
At the end of the month, we calculate the points and announce which team is the winner! Here is how it has gone in the past!
In 2019 the winner was… Team Undead!
In 2020 the winner was… Team Undead!
In 2021 the winner was… Team Undead!
In 2022 the winner was… TEAM TRICK OR TREATERS!
I can’t believe it, we finally had a different winner! It is still pretty stacked for Team Undead though, they have been killing it almost every year! Let’s see if Team Sanderson Sisters can pull it off this year with their first win!
The most important part of the Hocus Pocus Readathon is to have fun! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can message the Hocus Pocus Readathon Twitter or my Twitter. Either one, you will get an answer!
It finally feels like Halloween!!! I can’t believe I’ve done this readathon for 5 years!
It’s so wild that it’s been 5 years! Thank you for being here for each one! 💕👻🎃