It's been a little over a year since Bethanne Patrick (aka
@thebookmaven) wondered aloud on Twitter, "What are you reading?" A
few responses grew to hundreds, and in
the past six weeks, the #Fridayreads meme has exploded, jumping from a bit under 2,000 responses
weekly to well over 3,000. While it hasn't yet become a trending topic, #FridayReads
is worldwide. Tweeps from as far away as Australia and Europe regularly participate, as do plenty
of famous authors: @NeilHimself,
@JoeHill, @HariKunzru, @TracyChevalier, @JulieKlam, @ChrisBohjalian, @RLStine,
@MJRose, @ElizMcCracken, @JonClinch, @Urrealism.
Patrick, managing editor and host of WETA's Book Studio, explained,
"Our hope with FridayReads is, simply, to celebrate and promote reading. It's not about one kind of book or another. Audiobooks, even magazines and monographs
count." Each participant is counted only once, no matter how many tweets
he or she contributes. "Unlike a traditional book club, there's no need to
share analysis--unless you want to. Many people have commented that they've
discovered new books through FridayReads," she said.
Patrick attributes the recent jump in participants to "vigorous early and late promotion to capture a global audience." Indeed, she's on Twitter all day and night on Friday, hitting every time zone and encouraging everyone to share.
She recently launched a Facebook page for FridayReads; it drew more than 1,500 "likes" in less than 24 hours. Along with an additional place for people to post their FridayReads, the Facebook page provides an archive, RSS feed, FAQs and lists weekly prizes donated by authors and publishers (tomorrow's loot includes a shiny silver Kobo e-reader). "Prizes help get readers excited to share with their friends," Patrick added.
Future plans include a holiday gift list and a FridayReads Top Ten list, "a 'real-time' reading list that will show what people are actually picking up, as opposed to what they buy but never crack open." Patrick is thrilled with the response: "This is a community that includes everyone: readers, authors, writers, librarians, booksellers, critics, bloggers, editors, publicists, salespeople, publishers. FridayReads matters: it bands us together in the shared joy of reading and encourages us all to read more."