Read-A-Thon Report

From 6:00 p.m. on Friday, October 10, until 6:00 p.m. the following day, intrepid volunteers conducted a twenty-four-hour Read-A-Thon at SecondRun Bookstore to benefit The Birchtree Center. Seventeen individuals of all ages read, answered literary trivia questions, played Scrabble, and heard local author Tim Horvath read from his work, all while raising pledges in support of The Birchtree Center's educational programs.

Great Expectations: A Reading Marathon (GERM), was established by RiverRun Bookstore and SecondRun Bookstore to bring attention to reading and independent bookstores and to support local nonprofits. GERM has gained national attention, and in October 2008, nine independent bookstores around the country hosted their own events.

The Read-A-Thon participants read more than 4,500 pages combined, from books that ranged from Harry Potter to Sense and Sensibility to sociology texts. In the process, they raised more than $700.00 for The Birchtree Center!

Thank you to the local businesses who donated to this event:

RiverRun Bookstore
SecondRun Bookstore
Breaking New Grounds
Café Espresso
G. Willikers
The Flatbread Company
The Fresh Local truck
The Music Hall
Prelude
The Stockpot Restaurant

You can learn more about the event here and in articles published in Foster's Daily Democrat, the Portsmouth Herald, Bookselling This Week, and Shelf-Awareness.