Calling all hardcore readers and thriller fans!
What started as good fun on Twitter when one of our followers stated that he was taking the “Real Book Spy Reading Challenge” this year has now become a full-fledged, official challenge from our team here at The Real Book Spy.
We know what you’re thinking: What is this challenge, how do I participate, and what’s in it for me?
Really, more than anything, this is just a way to encourage people to read and read often. But also, it’ll allow us to collect more feedback from our followers, allowing us to better tailor our coverage to meet your thriller needs and desires.
Participation is simple. Every month we will release a new ‘Reading Guide’ that features our picks for the best new books coming out that month. All you need to do is pick a title from our list, get yourself a copy (or borrow one from the library), read it, then let us know what you think. That’s it!
To qualify for some really cool end-of-the-year prizes, you must participate in at least eight of the twelve months in 2017. In order to track participants, all we ask is that you let us know which book you’re reading each month by dropping us a line on social media using the hashtag #RealBookSpyReadingChallenge–or by leaving us a monthly comment on each Reading Guide right here on our site.
*We may, from time to time, offer bonus entries for certain books, which we’ll mark and highlight in each reading guide for your convenience.
That’s all the fine print, we promise. You don’t have to use our links to get the books, show proof of purchase, or anything like that. It’s all on the honor system and, hopefully, should you choose to participate, you’ll discover a whole bunch of really awesome thrillers this year.
Now, onto the prizes…
Everyone who participates in at least eight of ten months of the reading challenge in 2017 will be eligible for an awesome prize package of signed books and other collectibles that will be sent to ONE winner, who will be selected at random from a drawing we’ll do via a live video in December. We’ll also be handing out other freebies (books, books, and more books) to a bunch of people who don’t win the grand prize.
Again, even if you stumble upon this challenge half way through the year, there’s still plenty of incentives to play along because we’ll be handing out a number of surprises even for those who participate in a single month!
Thankfully, we’ve already talked to a number of authors, and the support has been overwhelming. Many are promising to chip in and have pledged to sign copies of their upcoming novels, which will all go into the prize pool. We’re not going to list specifics yet, but we’ll unveil new potential prizes each month as we receive them–so be sure to keep an eye out on our Facebook page and Twitter feed for more info!
We look forward to hearing from everyone about what you’re reading and how much you (hopefully) love it.
List of reading guides:
Happy reading!
– Ryan
The Real Book Spy