Read-a-thon for Mindfulness

[rachelmanija]

The Cause: I am holding a two-day read-a-thon to raise $2700 to attend "Japanese Approaches to Mindfulness," a 10-day study abroad in March staying at Shunkoin, a Zen temple in Kyoto, to study Zen, mindfulness, and Japanese concepts of psychology and mental illness. The abbott is active in the local LGBTQ community, and we will be meeting with LGBTQ activists as well as with practicing psychologists. I think this will benefit me professionally, and will also be helpful to my future clients. (I am studying to become a psychotherapist with a focus on survivors of trauma.) I will blog and take photos, for your enjoyment.

How to Participate: Please comment with an offer of an amount of money per book read and reviewed. You may put a cap on the amount. ("I offer $15/book, with a cap of $150.") In two days, I can read 6-10 books. If you sponsor me, you may propose a book for me to read and review. I will do re-reads, but not of books already blogged. (Check tags by author.) You may also make a general proposal, like, "Something by Robert Heinlein/an Old West memoir/one of your childhood favorites."

If a book is too hard to obtain, I will ask for an alternate. Please don't propose anything extremely long or dense.

FYI: I happen to have obtained a copy of the sequel to Sexteen, which I have been saving for a special occasion.

Please consider linking this post, to pull in more participants. If I have more sponsors than books I can read, I will give special consideration to larger donors and/or and/or prior participants whose books didn't get read and/or especially interesting nominations and/or hold a poll.

For possible inspiration, here are photos of my to-read shelves.

ETA: Day One of the read-a-thon will be held on SUNDAY, January 8. Day Two is TBA until I find out more of my schedule, but will be on Wed, Thur, Fri, or Sat of that week.

Comments

[oyceter]

Could I do something like sponsoring books by poc or lgbtq authors?

[kore]

I really want to sponsor but can't think of a book right now, am sick....or ohh, would Grounding of Group Six work?

[lab]

I, uh, am probably too tired to really understand the sponsoring-with-cap thingie, but can I just give you 20 USD and suggest a book?

[kate_nepveu]

Hmm. Amazon says that Opal Whiteley's book is 384 pages; is that too long or too brainbreaking?

[cyphomandra]

How about $50 for one volume of manga? (as a one-off, as I've just also snaffled a review from rushthatspeaks).

I will optimistically suggest Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture, which is appropriately about a college student, although that the agricultural college he attends is pretty weird, the student can see and talk to bacteria, and the first volume features the most disgusting traditional delicacy I've ever encountered... but if that's not available, how about Fumi Yoshinaga's food memoirNot Love but Delicious Foods as a contrast? Or feel free to take on Yoshinaga's Ooku, which won the Tiptree despite having a really irritating English translation?

[rydra_wong]

Before I signal boost -- is "and review" implicit in the "read" here?