Imagining the Reading Olympics

Well, another Winter Olympics has come to a close. This year, thanks to a full digital-cable package and a DVR, I was spoiled by being able to record/watch all of my favorite events and see all of the competitors, not just the few events/competitors they chose to highlight in the primetime show. Being able to do that reminded me that there are so many sports (both in the summer and winter games) that we never get to watch or that we even hear about. We all laugh about becoming hute Curling fans every four years, but, really, isn’t that what the Olympics are all about? Getting to become fans of sports we wouldn’t usually watch?

Then, of course, I started thinking about my own personal favorite sport . . . reading. Okay, maybe it doesn’t technically fit the definition of “sport,” but isn’t it fun to imagine a Reading Olympics?

The Reading Olympics

The Opening Ceremony
We find ourselves in a wonderland, a forest of wooden shelves stacked high with leaves printed with all sorts of words and stories. We dance and weave to and fro, seeking the parts of the forest that are of greatest appeal to us. In addition to being a spectacle of color and art, it’s also a learning experience. We learn about different books, different authors, and we leave excited about what’s to come.

Short-Distance Racing: Short stories and novellas

The Marathon: Tomes by the likes of Stephen King or Bernard Cornwell. Those that are 700+ pages.

Downhill/Sliding Events: These books may be long, but they’re so exciting and fast paced, we fly right through them, heart pounding all the way.

Team Events (softball, soccer, hockey, etc.): Books we read for book club!

Figure Skating: It looks shiny and pretty on the surface (cover) but it suffers from a lot of mistakes and “falls” in the middle and leaves us disappointed—and we’re most likely going to hate the ending.

Surprise Performances by Young Athletes: YA stuff that crosses over big-time into the adult market!

Slope-Style, Half-Pipe, Moguls, Freestyle: Genres we’ve always been afraid to try. But then we take a peek . . . and we’re hooked. At least once every four years.

Cross-Country Skiing/Distance Cycling/10k+ running-swimming-skating races: The books we start, thinking we’re going to enjoy them, but which we’re completely bored with less than 25% of the way in. Do we stick it out or “fast-forward” to the end or just quit entirely?

What are some other Reading Olympics events (winter or summer) you can think up?