10 of 50

A decade. That’s how long our little community, The Dark is Rising Worldwide Readathon, has been in existence. For many of us, our experience with Will Stanton and the Old Ones goes back farther than that. For Susan Cooper, it has been 50 years since The Dark is Rising was published 

For me, I first discovered The Dark is Rising in my small junior high school library. Always an imaginative child, I was instantly captured by Will’s story and continued to read in short order the rest of the series, getting whisked away into the battle of the Light and the Dark with the Drew, Merriman, Bran and the others. Then in my early 20s, I recalled the series and purchased the exact set I had read in my earlier years. I was taken back and rediscovered the magic over again. Almost another decade passed and I heard about Susan Cooper being honored with the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement award and realized that it coincided with The Dark is Rising’s 40th anniversary.

Light, Dark. Fear, Hope. These are universal and timeless subjects. They are ever relevant and are a part of each of us. Our days are filled and often centered around these themes and they are eternally connected. For it is rare for one to face the Dark and not feel Fear. Conversely, even the smallest ray of Light gives cause to Hope. These are personal reactions and yet also global. They affect everyone regardless of gender, social status, location, or circumstance. The wealthiest in the world still have fears. The most unfortunate, desolate or war-ravaged can still feel hope.

Fortunately, in spite of the darkness of Midwinter, we have the hope of longer days and the light of the Christmas season to help us through. We also have the support of this amazing community of readers and the eternal story that Susan has gifted us with. 

On that note, I want to say thank you to each and every one of you who have clicked “Join” or “Follow” over the last ten years and told friends about our community whether by word of mouth or social media. What started as a group of 100 has steadily grown beyond my wildest dreams. Over the last few weeks, our Facebook group has grown to over 1100 members and our Twitter account has passed over 1200 followers!

And, so, I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year! Or, if none of those suit your beliefs, a simple “Thank You” and Happy Reading! May the sentiments in the The Dark is Rising and the warmth of being part of such a special worldwide community give you whatever you need this season. You have all made this journey for me a wonderful, special endeavor.

Take care, stay safe, and blessings to all of you.

Danny

Founder, The Dark is Rising Worldwide Readathon

Welcome to the 2021 TDIR Readathon

It’s that time of year again.

No matter what part of the world you hail from, you’ve undoubtedly been affected by the COVID pandemic somehow over the past two years. Be it work, health, time, loved ones, we’ve all lost something during this period. 

Let us take something back. Let us be lifted by a narrative where good triumphs over evil and where hope is restored to humanity even if it is mere story. Let our spirits find comfort in a fantasy that has its roots in our current reality and let it be a nostalgic balm for our tired souls. 

Whether you prefer the thrilling quest for the grail hidden Over Sea, Under Stone, the chilling atmosphere that permeates The Dark is Rising, the emotional journey of Greenwitch, the brooding suspense of The Grey King, or the wondrous conclusion in Silver on the Tree, each of the five books is a unique thread deftly knitted together to form a vast and rich tapestry that tells a tale of the Light and the Dark. 

As we read together, my wish is that you will find something in the words that will bring you a drop of joy, a thrill of hope, a spark of light. 

Let the 2021 TDIR Readathon begin.

Welcome to the 2020 Readathon!

Welcome to the 2020 iteration of The Dark is Rising Sequence Worldwide Readathon!

Whether this is your first time joining us or first time reading this classic series or whether you’re one of our original patrons from 2013 or you’ve been reading The Dark is Rising around Christmas for 30 years - thank you for joining us! 

Grab your portal be they battered or brand new, dog-eared or bookmarked, hard cover, paperback, digital or audio. Open your copies of The Dark is Rising Sequence as we begin our 6th read-a-thon today, this 6th day of December, to join the Old Ones and their quest for the Light. 

The wonderful thing about stories is that they never are in the past. Words cannot be diseased. Pages can burn and be torn but the messages and tales they tell live forever in the memories of those who have read them. Every time we peruse the phrases and paragraphs we can be transported back to that world again and again if the author has written well enough for us to suspend our belief yet one more time. And Susan Cooper has done just that - written an adventure that provides us in equal measure the joviality of the Christmas spirit and the atmospheric melancholy of a riotous cloud of rooks, the shifting wariness of a sea breeze and the rising tension of a mountain-top storm. If she had not done her job as a storyteller so wonderfully, there would be no basis for this Readathon.

So, thanks again for reading with us and I hope the story will warm your heart with nostalgia and inspire you with the purpose of the quest.

Be in the Light and read on!

Announcing the 6th Readathon!

I hereby declare that the 6th Worldwide Readathon of The Dark Is Rising Sequence will commence on December 6th, 2020!

We'll start with Over Sea Under Stone and then start reading The Dark is Rising on December 20th. Of course, feel free to read at your own pace. Join us on Facebook or Twitter and follow the proposed schedule.

We now have over 600 Facebook members and over 500 followers on Twitter. Thank you to all for helping to build this wonderful community! 

Why don't you join us? More to come...

Readers of a feather...

As you may be aware by now, we won’t be the only group reading The Dark is Rising this month! Author Robert Macfarlane and poet Julia Bird have announced #TheDarkIsReading Twitter book club which will be reading The Dark is Rising starting on December 20th (Midwinter’s Eve). They have over 1000 readers ready to go and they will be posting questions and prompts from their Twitter accounts as well as they would “love people to share their memories of reading TDIR, as well as photographs, artwork, poems, music and other responses inspired by the novel.”

You can read the full post here:

https://juliabird.wordpress.com/2017/12/06/thedarkisreading-a-midwinter-reading-group

As for TDiR Readathon, like the rooks flying around Will Stanton, we will join along side #TheDarkIsRising readers and read with them but also keep with our plan of reading the whole Sequence. There’s still time to start Over Sea, Under Stone!

If you are on Twitter, participate with #TheDarkIsRising hashtag as well as our #ReadTDiR tag. I will be retweeting as much as possible on the @TDiRReadathon account and bringing the tweeted offerings to our Facebook group.

This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to join this many readers in reading Susan Cooper’s beloved classic. Bring your sense of wonder and your memories as we close 2017 in a way “beyond all imagining”!

Welcome!

Thanks for dropping by!

We're a bit slow ramping up this year but please, browse the info on this blog and join us on our Facebook or Twitter groups to get to know our wonderful community of fans.
 
We have lots of ideas on the go but it will take a few days to get everything ready. Keep checking back for more great content!

Happy reading!

Welcome to the 2015 TDiR Readathon!

I would like to officially welcome everyone to The 2nd Worldwide The Dark is Rising Readathon!

The readathon has globally kicked off and we are seeing tons of updates, book pics, memories, and stories on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks so much for contributing! It is all of you that have made the Readathon what it is this year (and in 2013) and made it such a pleasure to oversee. Please continue to spread the word, it’s never too late to join us!

I have added more content to the blog as you may have seen. There is now a blogroll on the right hand side and menu tabs with lots of extra information for your enjoyment. 

Here's a break-down:

About TDiR Readathon: A brief history of the Readathon and a glance at the books.

How to Enjoy the TDiR Readathon: I've had some folks ask what the Readathon entails. Here's the answer!

Schedule: The much-anticipated reading schedule! Optional, of course.

Contact Us: Where you can find us.

Links: Links to Susan Cooper and (coming soon) authors and bloggers who have gone out of their way to help promote the Readathon.

Also, we will have some guest bloggers providing some posts about their experiences with The Dark is Rising really soon and I will, in turn, be posting on some of their blogs. I will let you know when all those posts are up.

Thank you again for making this community so enjoyable. I will have some updates on the numbers soon (those of you from 2013 may remember I do love me some stats!).

Happy Reading!