Classic Double Challenge: April

Sorry I'm late posting this month!  Hopefully some of you are making better progress on this challenge than I am, since I've finished one complete book, one unintentionally abridged book, and written no reviews.  If you'd like to sign up for the Classic Double Challenge, you still can.  Check out all the information at the Classic Double Challenge sign-up post.

I did pick a winner for last month's challenge, so I've sent an email to:

Jenny!

I'll hopefully get your package mailed out in the not-too-distant future (though, with my move, I'll have to find my books first :)

I've got a new link for those of you who read and review books for the challenge this month!  Remeber you get extra entries into the monthly drawing when you add a link.

And for your thought question this month, tell me what your favorite thing about retellings/sequels is - seeing your favorite characters in a new light, setting, etc.

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Classic Double Challenge: March

Another month already gone?  Seems like this year is flying past and I'm not doing so well on my challenges.  Not even my own!  I did make some progress, reading my first book that counts, New Girl by Paige Harbison, a retelling of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.  I am planning to write a joint review/comparison when I get Rebecca reread, so no real evidence that I'm making progress.  I picked a winner for the month of February, this time it was:

Tammy Gillmore

This month, I've decided to (try to) jazz things up.  You can earn extra entries into the monthly contest if you link up with any participating posts OR if you comment on the topic I mention below.  You are, of course, automatically entered in the contest just by signing up for the challenge (Classic Double Challenge sign-up page).  But you DO have to be signed up to win.  You can still comment if you have an awesome idea, though, whether or not you are joining the challenge.  So, what is this fabulous topic, you ask?

Today, we are doing a little dreaming.  I want you to come up with your dream retelling/sequel/related book.  Pick your dream author to write it, the original tale it's based on (or related to in some way), the setting, the genre, and any other details you want to tell us about it in the comments.  You can do as many dream books as you want (or dream series, if you're ambitious). 

Want an example?  Here's mine: I want a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, written by Scott Westerfeld (hey, I dream big), set in a futuristic/sci-fi world - can't you just picture Edmond being exiled to some distant planet, striking it rich and remaking himself as a powerful interplanetary leader? 

Ok, so it was a lot harder than I thought.  I'm excited to see what you guys do with it.  Your turn!

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

(Still) Wrapping up 2011: Stats and Challenges

You know, if I were more on top of things, I'd have done all this stuff before today.  Alas, I'm not. 

I really love to analyze the stats from my reading during the year, so here are a bunch of numbers (and a few more graphs) that show a bit more about what I read.

Total number of books read: 150 
(my favorites of the year are listed here)

Fiction: 142, 95%
Non-fiction: 8, 5% (ouch, I really need to up this number)

Age Range:
Middle Grade (or younger): 56
Young Adult: 78
Adult: 16

Sorta Genres:
Historical Fiction (ish): 19
Mystery (vague, I know): 2
Realistic Fiction: 20
Sci-Fi (ish): 2
Paranormal: 22
Horror (ish): 1
Magical Realism (in my opinion): 5
Fairy Tale Retelling (straight up, anyway): 3
Steampunk: 1
Fantasy (ish): 44
Dystopian: 20
Graphic Novels or Illustrated: 11
(Of course these "genres" won't add up to 150, since some cross over and some don't fit and so on.)

Authors:
Male: 38
Female: 114 
(Also not adding up because there are one book with a male and female author, three books with two female authors, one book with two male authors, and one book with three male authors.) 

Most Read: Catherine Fisher (4 books, the Relic Master series)

Most Read Runners-Up in a ten-way tie with 2 books each:
Richard Peck, Christopher Paolini, Lois Lowry, Kieran Scott, Jonathan Maberry, Cinda Williams Chima, Mary Pearson, Stephanie Perkins, Sophie Jordan, and Ursula Vernon

Source:
Books read for review: 69, 46%
Books from the library: 73, 49%
Books from my collection not for review: 7, 5%
Books borrowed: 1, <1%

Format:
Audiobooks: 14 
E-Books: 18
Print: 118

Other:
Published in 2011 (US): 72, 48%
Debut Authors in 2011: 23, 15%
Debut Authors in 2012: 1, <1%
Rereads: 10, 7%
Did Not Finish: 6, 4% (out of 156)
Books part of a series: 80, 53%

And while I'm wrapping up, here are the challenges I signed up for in 2011.  I just wanted to say: I finished them all!  The only one I nearly didn't was the historical fiction challenge, which definitely challenged me to pick more HF books.
 
Debut Author Challenge, hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren:
completed with 22 debuts (see the list here).
 
Middle Grade Book Challenge hosted by Cindy's Love of Books:
completed with 45 books (see the list here).
 
YA Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by YA Bliss:
completed with 11 books (see the list here).
 
2011 E-Book Challenge hosted by The Ladybug Reads:
completed with 18 books (see the list here).
 
100+ Reading Challenge, hosted by Home Girl's Book Blog:
completed with 150 books (see the list here).
 
I was also "participating" in two perpetual challenges, which I didn't do so well with.  The Local Author Challenge, hosted by Suey at It's All About Books, I read at least 2 by authors from my new locale, Arizona:
The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann and Slayers by C.J. Hill
And I think I got about 5 or 6 Utah authors too! (Ok, this year it will only be Arizona authors that count.)
 
For the Printz Project, I only managed to read one Printz book, the winner for the year, Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.  I've gotta work on that a little better this year!

Whew!  Now maybe I can get some reviews posted.  Congrats if you made it this far!  What stats do you love to keep? 

 

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Classic Double Challenge: January

The Classic Double Challenge has officially started! Though it is the first month and I don't expect many of us (including myself) to get the reading done for the challenge right away, I'm including a linky for any reviews or other discussions you have about the books you're reading that you may want to link to. Also, feel free to comment if you don't have a blog or goodreads account or other forum for discussing your book pairs. At the end of the month, I'll choose a winner from those participating in the challenge and send them some kind of bookish prize yet to be determined (bookmarks, swag, a book or two, etc). If you do happen to link up or discuss in the comments, I'll give you an extra entry for the monthly prize. I'm so excited to have so many participants (you can check out their posts/comments on the Classic Double Challenge sign-up page). Also, check out the (growing) list of possibilities for the Classic Double Challenge.  And if you haven't signed up and want to, you are welcome to join in any time this year!

Discussion question: What classic book do you wish there was a contemporary retelling (or more retellings) for and why?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

2012: The Books I Read

Since I decided not to join one of those big number challenges this year, I realized I still needed to have a post where I could keep track of what I read in 2012.  Since I started my new job, I've had a lot less time to read, but I'm hoping to read 100 books, since I think I can still manage that :)

Read in 2012

1. Legend by Marie Lu
2. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (reread)
3. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
4. Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
5. The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty
6. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
7. The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright
8. The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
9. Dragon Castle by Joseph Bruchac
10. Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison
11. Variant by Robison Wells
12. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
13. The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley, adapted by Yuri Rasovsky
14. Ivy and the Meanstalk by Dawn Lairamore
15. Frost by Marianna Baer
16. Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien
17. The Death Cure by James Dashner
18. A Million Suns by Beth Revis
19. In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce
20. The Queen of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker
21. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
22. The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
23. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
24. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
25. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
26. The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
27. Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
28. New Girl by Paige Harbison
29. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
30. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
31. Where Things Come Back by John Whaley
32. Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr
33. Room by Emma Donoghue
34. Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
35. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
36. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
37. I am Number Four by Pitticus Lore
38. Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
39. Fever by Lauren DeStefano
40. The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee
41. The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi
42.

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (for Challenges)

(That's right - Christmas and Reading Challenges, they go together :)  I'd decided to cut back on the challenges I joined this year, but I think I ended up with the same number.  Most of them are different ones, though, which makes it extra fun!  Here they are and hope you find something you might want to join:

First up is my own challenge, new this year.  The Classic Double Challenge, wherein you read an older classic book and pair it with a newer retelling, sequel, or otherwise related book.  Check out my Classic Double sign-up page for more info or to join in.  I've also got a list of possibe pairs if you want to get some ideas.  I've decided to try Super Size level, which is 4 pairs of books.  I might even try to squeeze in another pair too, if I'm feeling crazy.  Here are my tentative choices:

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2. A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont

3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
4. Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logstedt

5. Persuasion by Jane Austen
6. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

7. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
8. New Girl by Paige Harbison

And maybe something undecided which may or may not relate to Cyrano de Bergerac, Shakespeare, or ancient Greek mythology (keeping my options open, obviously).

Next up is another new challenge, the Dusty Bookshelf Challenge, hosted by Books: A True Story.  I have a hugely embarrassing number of TBR books and other languishing books that have been waiting so patiently for me to read.  This will give me the impetus to pick them up (I hope).  I'm doing the Dust Bunny level (5-10 books) and hoping I'll get more than that.  Here are just a few of the many needing reading:

1. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (2+ years)
2. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (2+ years)
3. Rampant by Diana Peterfreund (2+ years)
4. The Brontes: A Life in Letters by Juliet Barker (um, maybe a decade?)
5. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (2+ years)
6.

My next challenge is the only repeat for me, the Debut Author Challenge, hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren.  I really enjoyed the emphasis this places on reading books by debut authors (something I totally wouldn't have done before I started blogging).  The challenge is to read 12 books by debut authors.  Here are some of my options:

1. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
2. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
4. Variant by Robison Wells
5. Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
6. The Queen of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker
7. Where Things Come Back by John Whaley
8. The Book of Wonders by Jasmine Richards
9. Insignia by S.J. Kincaid
10.Tempest by Julie Cross
11. A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mott
12. Level Two by Lenore Appelhans

And lastly, I figured I would be reading as many dystopian/post-apoc/futuristic books as I could get my hands on, so why not join a challenge?  The Dystopia Challenge, hosted by Bookish Ardour looked like a good one (there are several) and I'm going for Contagion level (15 books) and hoping to get about 20 read.  I'm pretty excited to have an excuse to read more in these genres.  (See all the reviews here.) Here are some possibilities:

1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
2. Legend by Marie Lu
3. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
4. A Million Suns by Beth Revis
5. The Death Cure by James Dashner
6. Fever by Lauren DeStefano
7. Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien
8. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
9. Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
10. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
11. The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
12. Partials by Dan Wells
13. Level Two by Lenore Appelhans
14. Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
15. Ashfall by Mike Mullin

What is your favorite reading challenge?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Sign Up for the Classic Double Challenge: 2012

I finally got myself together enough to start this challenge!  Thanks to all those who expressed interest in joining up.  Here is the info about this challenge:

Essentially, the Classic Double Challenge will encourage you to read one older book (classic) and a newer book that relates to the older one in some way.  (BTW, can be any reading level from MG to Adult.)  This is best understood by examples, which I'll post below.  I've also compiled an anything-but-complete list of some examples for further perusal.  You do NOT have to pick something from the list.  I'm leaving the choices to your discretion - if you think there is some sort of connection between the books, go for it! 

Examples:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.  The first is kind of a "classic" and in the second, the main character loves A Wrinkle in Time and it plays a part in the plot. 
 
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel.
More obvious, since This Dark Endeavour is a prequel of sorts to Frankenstein. 
 
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Jane by April Lindner.
Jane is a retelling of Jane Eyre, set in modern times.

What I'd really love is for each person to write a review (or whatever you want to call it) of the two books (preferably together) and post it somewhere (blog, tumblr, goodreads, my comments, wherever) so that participants can check them out and we can discuss!  (I'd like to start a goodreads book group around this idea, but don't have the energy for that...yet!) 

And, of course, there are levels of participation, so you can choose how much or how little you'd like to commit to:

Small: You read 2 related books.

Medium: You read 4 books (2 sets of related books).

Large: You read 6 books (3 sets of related books).

Super Size: You read 8 books (4 sets of related books).

So, decide your size of participation and post about it wherever (or if you don't have a blog, you can leave your committment in the comments) and then link back below.  You don't have to decide what you're planning to read right away, but listing some possibilities is always fun.  Sign up any time from now until the end of 2012.

I'd love it if you'd spread the word about this challenge, if you so desire.  And, feel free to snag one of the buttons below and display it on your blog or wherever else you'd like.  I believe I'll have some prizes maybe each month next year for those who read and somehow post reviews (even if it's in the comments of my blog :)  I'm still pretty new at this, so we'll see!  Thanks everyone and I hope this is a fun challenge for you.

Some info on the list of book possibilities:
-I've included fairy tale retellings.  Essentially, you'd read the retelling and find some form of an original tale - as original as you can find it: Grimm, Andrew Lang, whatever. 
-The same goes for the myths/legends/stories that are included (though I obviously didn't spend much time working on that part of the list).  Try to find an older, original telling of the story. 
-Also, I didn't include some of your suggestions for pairing newer dystopian books with 1984 or Fahrenheit 451, simply because there were too many permutations that could take.  You are, however, welcome to pair them any way you like, and be sure to let us know the similarities, etc, in your review.  I'll try to add any other suggestions you have for additions.

List of Classic Double Books

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Interested in Joining a New Challenge?

Update: I'm thinking I'll get the ball rolling for this challenge.  I'm working on compiling book companions for this, so feel free to leave more suggestions.  And watch the blog for more to come!

So, I'm thinking of starting a new challenge for 2012.  It might be a little obscure or niche, but I thought I'd see if there is any interest.  It would be to read at least two books that were related in some way.  One of the books could be a "classic" meaning it was published probably quite some time before the other.  This could be reimaginings or it could be sequels or it could have some other tie-in.  Very vague, I know, but I think it's clearer with examples:
 
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.  The first is kind of a "classic" and in the second, the main character loves A Wrinkle in Time and it plays a part in the plot. 
 
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel.
More obvious, since This Dark Endeavour is a prequel of sorts to Frankenstein.
 
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Jane by April Lindner.
Jane is a retelling of Jane Eyre, set in modern times.
 
I think this would be a way to get folks to read a classic or just a great older book and a newer one as well.  I could come up with a list of possibilities (and welcome any suggestions you have as well). 
 

What do you think?  Any takers?  Should I just do this project on my own?

 

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Read-a-Thon Mini-Challenges

Read-a-thon has ended for the year, so here's my end of event mini-challenge:

Which hour was most daunting for you?
Actually, the morning hours were the hardest for me!  No catching up on sleep like I normally do.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I was really loving The Fox Inheritance by Mary Pearson and Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I like to know what mini-challenges will posted when, so I can be sure to check in those hours.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I loved the hosts, they did a great job of creating enthusiasm!

How many books did you read?
2 were finished, 2 partial

What were the names of the books you read?
I finished Can You Survive: Jack London's Call of the Wild adapted by Ryan Jacobson and Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Which book did you enjoy most?
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Which did you enjoy least?
Oh, they were all pretty good!

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I totally will, as a reader and maybe a mini-challenge host again.

Here is the post where I will do all the mini-challenges I can handle (oh, except the intro one, that is posted on my update post, because I'm weird that way).  And if you so desire, I'm hosting a mini-challenge myself - the Book Puzzle Mini-Challenge from hour 3 to the end of hour 6, so check it out!

Mini-challenge: 
Rereading from The Bluestocking Society
Here are some of my fave rereads:

Mid-event Survey
1. What are you reading right now?
Just finished up Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

2. How many books have you read so far?
That makes two :-(

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I'm thinking I'll start The Fox Inheritance by Mary Pearson, which I'm excited about!

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Nah, I didn't really have the whole day anyway, so nothing special to do

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Yah, some visitors, but you just roll with it.  Read when you can.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
How very much I expect I'll do and how very little I do!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I like to know what mini-challenges will be when so I know when to check for ones I like to do

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Seriously, set more realistic goals!

9. Are you getting tired yet?
Yes, but not of reading ;-)
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
I very much doubt I've got something no one else has thought of ;-)

Book Sentence from Midnight Book Gal
Here are my better sentences:

 I shall wear midnight twisted between shades of gray.

 Invisible things don't breathe a word under the never sky.

 

 Ten things we did with their eyes under the never sky.

And my favorite creepy one: All these things I've done with their eyes twisted under the never sky.  Doesn't make lots of sense, but cool anyway :)

Hodge-Podge from Erin Reads
Rose Accord has spent her life dreaming of flying above the earth. But growing up in the deep south, practically a swamp, her chances of escaping her small town are slim. Trying to fight her way against prejudiced teachers and the deep-set current thinking of her day, she finally makes her way to astronaut training, only to be bested by what she least expected – her own self. In this highly acclaimed novel set in the early 1970s, we see one woman’s struggle against the thinking of her day and the weakness of her own body to triumph in ways she’d never imagined.

State Settings
I've just finished the State Settings mini-challenge over at Avid Reader's Musings.  My three books that evoke a specific state:

Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock for Wisconsin
White Fang by Jack London for Alaska
these is my words by Nancy Turner for old Arizona


Intro mini-challenge is on my update post.

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
 

Read-a-Thon Mini-Challenge: Book Puzzle

Mini-challenge closed and winner chosen! Thanks for playing! 

Welcome reader-a-thon-ers!  I'm super excited to be hosting this mini-challenge again.  Hopefully this will be a fun break from your reading that will let you exercise other parts of your brain!  

For this challenge, you will be creating a Book Puzzle.  Essentially, this is a series of pictures, graphics, or photos that you put together that will describe a book title.  I have been doing a biweekly game called Name That Book where I create book puzzles and let people guess the titles.  Here's an example from that first one:

This series of pictures illustrates the title Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. 

Now it's your turn to create your own Book Puzzle (or you can create more than one - they are quite fun).  Once you've posted your puzzle on your blog, come back and leave me the direct link to your puzzle in the Mr. Linky below.  And be sure to visit others' puzzles - it's lots of fun to guess!  

I'll be picking a winner (randomly of course, I'm not good at judging awesomeness) who will be able to choose two books from photo below (sorry I'm so lazy I just take photos - let me know if you can't read titles).  This is open only to US addresses and you have until the end of hour 6 to enter.  Now go forth and create!

(Don't laugh at my dreadful TBR shelf):

[For more examples or some inspiration, take a look at last read-a-thon's Book Puzzle participants, check out other episodes of Name That Book, or check out Name That Book episodes from Stephanie Reads.]

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Review-a-Thon Wrap-Up

Guys, I don't know about you, but I'm all reviewed out.  I know I've been posting reviews like crazy this week (I apologize, since that can be pretty dull).  But, I'm happy to have gotten so many done.  I've been behind on reviews for over a year and I'm still nowhere near caught up (I have about thirty that are waiting to be published, the earliest dating back to April of this year).  Still, thanks to the Book Monsters' awesome Review-a-Thon, this is 
what I've done:

-I'm up-to-date on my goodreads review cross-posting (and even did a review on LibraryThing for a change too!)
-Wrote five additional reviews that are ready to be posted
-Updated my review/author archives with my most recent reviews
-Started to organize my upcoming to-be-reads by publication date in a spreadsheet, and
-Published eleven reviews this week 

With the reviews I wrote and the ones I published, that is 16 reviews!  I'm really happy with what I got done and hopefully I won't let all that motivation disappear!

Thanks again the Book Monsters, Kate and Kristen, for hosting this event.

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Giveaway Winners and Review-a-Thon!

Thanks to everyone who played the Name That Book game for a chance to win a book.  It's definitely not the most popular feature out there, but I have a lot of fun coming up with the puzzles and hopefully some of you enjoy guessing them.  Before I announce the two winners, here are the answers for those who are dying to know:

Book 1: The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima
Book 2: Divergent by Veronica Roth (I got a good kick out of this puzzle)
Book 3: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
Book 4: Supernaturally by Kiersten White (another fun one, I thought)

The first person who got all the answers right was:

Lieder Madchen

And the random choice winner from those who got them all correct was:

Jessica @ Books: A True Story

I've contacted both of you and your book choices will be wending their way to you shortly!

Now on to some details of my review-a-thon participation!  Thus far, my plan is to post two reviews a day this week.  One will go up in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening.  There are also some mini-challenges and other fun stuff that the Review-a-Thon hosts (The Book Monsters) are planning (see below for the first one).  Thanks again for stopping by my blog!

Mini-challenge #1:

1. Are you happy with your review format currently?
I'd say for the most part, yes.  I do get a bit tired of the same old same old.  I'm planning to do a post with several short reviews sans the usual items like ratings and like/dislike, like the cute twitter-style reviews other blogs do.  We'll see if that ever happens. 

2. Scrutinize it a little more, maybe compare it to other blogs you like, anything you think you might change?
I think if I were to change things, it would be adding more info about the books and authors (# of pages or links to author websites or stuff like that).  I like having ISBN, though I wonder if anyone else cares - especially since its only for one specific printing.  I also still really struggle with the summary.  I have such a hard time coming up with non-dreadful summaries and I wish could write short, witty one or two liners.  I tried for a while, but ended up becoming long-winded again.  Thoughts?

3. Implement some basic changes and tell us what you think. Or, you can tell us one or two aspects of your reviews that you like.
I'm rather fond of my like/dislike dichotomy.  I think just knowing I write reviews like that helps me notice things about books that I both like and dislike.  Though, sometimes I think it makes me seek out stuff I don't like about a book and I'm not sure I like that.  I'm also happy with the read-alikes.  Not sure I'll make any changes at this point, unless they're very minor. 

Anyone have suggestions to improve my review format?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Good Times in the Blogging World

Just wanted to mention a few events that are or will be taking place soon!  I have to admit, I love the blogging events that go on - I think they are one of the reasons I keep blogging even when I'm burned out.  Maybe one of these will help you get out of your slump:

First, Book Bloggers Appreciation Week (BBAW) is celebrating its fourth year in September!  Registration is now open and nominations for blogs and books that you love are open as well.  Be sure to visit and nominate your favorites.  I got the chance to help out (a very little) in the organization details this time and I'm so glad we were able to get things worked out so we can celebrate book bloggers again this year.

Second, I'm joining in with The Book Monsters' Review-a-Thon happening next week, August 7-13. I am ridiculously behind on posting reviews (book reviews from March that haven't been posted yet), so this will be a great chance for me to get lots of them up.

Last of all, I just wanted to shout out to those who haven't seen it yet, Presenting Lenore is doing her semi-annual dystopian celebration. Dystopian August is going to be fabulous with reviews and giveaways and previews for upcoming dystopian titles. Those of you who can't get enough of this genre, be sure to check her out. I'll hopefully be posting a few dystopian reviews this month to join in the fun :)

Oh, and just another shout out for my Name That Book giveaway going on right now.  Very few people have entered, so your odds are really good.  You could win your choice of a YA or MG book including Possession by Elana Johnson or Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.  It's open until Sunday, so be sure to enter.

Anything fun you're looking forward to this month in the blogging world? 

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

48 HBC - Finish Line

I made it!  It was not my best ever (well, I've only done 48HBC once, so not much to compare with).  And I didn't quite make it to my secret 20 hour goal, but I certainly did reach my other goal of 16 hours.  If you want to read my thoughts on the 3 books I finished, check out my previous post for the very short reviews and then watch the blog for longer ones coming!  A big thanks to MotherReader for hosting the challenge and to everyone who stopped by to cheer me on!  Here are the final stats:

Time read since last update: 1 hr 30 min
Total time read: 17 hr 5 min
Time blogged/read blogs since last update: 20 min
Total time blogged/read blogs: 2 hr
Total participation time:  19 hr 5 min
Total number of books read: 2 (Blood Red Road and What Happened on Fox Street) and 2 partial (finished Paranormalcy & halfway through Okay for Now)
Total pages read: 1045

I had fun, even if I didn't have the time I wanted to devote to it this weekend. I certainly enjoy this challenge and hope someday to make it past the 20 hr mark. Thanks again to everyone who cheered me on! Here's the link to MotherReader's finish line post and everyone's final updates.

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

48 HBC - Halfway There and Then Some.

So, I've made it through the first 24 hours, and I'm about halfway to my (secret) goal of 20 hours.  I'm terrible at staying up too late and then getting up early, so I'm just now dragging myself out of bed.  Still, I think I'm going to get some good reading in!  I wanted to do some very brief reviews (in preparation for longer ones later) of the two books I've finished:

Paranormalcy: a sweet, sassy paranormal that will have you falling in love with the genre all over again.  And sparkly tasers.

Blood Red Road: a gritty futuristic novel with a main character and her love interest that you can't stop thinking about or rooting for. 

What Happened on Fox Street: a bitter-sweet coming of age for a girl growing up on an ordinary street.

Update 2: It's looking like yesterday was my best reading day, which is sad because it wasn't that great.  I had another big and unexpected obligation come up this evening, so I've not had much time to devote to reading.  I may not make it to my secret goal, but I haven't gotten my not-so-secret goal of 16 hrs.  I hope to get in one or maybe two more this evening and tomorrow morning, but no guarantee.  I'm about 1/3 of the way through Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt (love it!) so maybe I'll keep my eyes open long enough.  Keep up the reading, for those of you who are participating! 


Time read since last update: 2 hr 10 min
Total time read: 15 hr 35 min
Time blogged/read blogs since last update: 10 min
Total time blogged/read blogs: 1 hr 40 min
Total participation time:  17 hr 15 min
Total number of books read: 2 (Blood Red Road and What Happened on Fox Street) and 1 partial (finished Paranormalcy)
Total pages read: 970

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Ending the Read-a-Thon Madness (for now)!

Guys, I made it to about the middle of hour 19 and then I crashed.  Honestly, I'm pretty sure I'll never go the full 24 hours.  I think I'm getting too old to recover from an all-nighter.  Anywho, here are my final stats:

Title of book(s) currently reading: A Train to Potevka by Mike Ramsdell
Number of books completed since you started: 2 (Bless This Mouse by Lois Lowry and Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt)
Pages read since last update: 45 (it was a slow/sleepy 1.5 hours)
Running total of pages read since you started: 533
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1.5 hrs
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 10 hrs (yeah!  I met my goal!)
Mini-challenges completed: 9 (see them here)

And here we have the end of event survey:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Probably the middle hours where I got totally distracted and had stuff to do.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
A Train to Potevka was pretty exciting, but not throughout
I'm thinking a nice dystopian would probably grab and hold your attention

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I think it runs pretty well, actually 

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Having the mini-challenges all run for 3 hours was helpful

5. How many books did you read? I finished 2

6. What were the names of the books you read? Bless This Mouse by Lois Lowry and Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt (I also got about halfway through A Train to Potevka by Mike Ramsdell)

7. Which book did you enjoy most? Bless This Mouse was pretty sweet and fun, though A Train to Potevka is exciting and interesting

8. Which did you enjoy least? That would leave Making Toast
 
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? N/A - though I love them!

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? 
It's pretty likely I'll be a reader again next time - not sure where I'll be in October though.  Also, I'm definitely wanting to host the Book Puzzle challenge again - it reminds me how terrible I am at guessing the puzzles!

Thanks again to all who made the Read-a-Thon happen - hosts and admin and whatever else.  And to everyone who cheered me on!

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage