A Novel Challenge

The Stephen King Challenge!

noreply@blogger.com (Sherri W.) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:07:00 +0000

February 1, 2012 – No End Date

As far as I could determine, there are no other Stephen King challenges (yearly or perpetual) going on now. I know that Book Geek blog was hosting a perpetual challenge at one time, but I checked her blog and she has not been active since January of 2011 (hope everything is okay with her). I'm assuming that the challenge is no longer active. If I'm mistaken, feel free to let me know.

So...my friend Kate and I (Read 2 Review) were talking about doing a project together and we decided to host a Stephen King reading challenge! Since Stephen King has such a huge list of books, we decided to make this a perpetual challenge. I know, I know...you're thinking "perpetual? I never get motivated to complete perpetual challenges." Well, don't worry. We are going to have mini-challenges throughout the year with prizes and we will also have read-a-longs during the year as well. Kate had the idea for our first read-a-long...to read Carrie during prom season. Clever, right?! As far as the mini-challenges go, the first one will begin at the official start of this challenge, which is February 1, 2012, and the prize will be a brand new hard cover copy of Stephen King's newest novel, 11/22/63! The mini-challenge schedule will work as follows:

The first mini-challenge will be to read books within certain themes. You will choose three themes and read three books that will fit each of the themes during the three month mini-challenge period. If you complete the three themed reads, you will be entered in the giveaway for the book, 11/22/63. A bonus entry will be given to any person who reads a fourth book that fits within the fourth left over theme.

Examples:
Fantasy/Post-Apocalyptic
i.e. The Stand, any book from the Gunslinger series, Under the Dome, The Eyes of the Dragon, The Talisman (with Peter Straub), Black House (with Peter Straub), 11/22/63
Ghosts/Hauntings
i.e. The Shining, Bag of Bones, Duma Key, It, Insomnia
Creatures--supernatural (werewolves, vampires, demons/devils, zombies, etc.) or other type (animals, aliens, etc.)
i.e. Salem's Lot, Needful Things, Cycle of the Werewolf, The Eyes of the Dragon, Dreamcatcher, Pet Sematary, Cell, Cujo, It, The Tommyknockers
the mind--psychic, psychological, possession, abuse, etc.
i.e. Misery, The Green Mile, Dolores Claiborne, Rose Madder, Carrie, Gerald's Game, The Dark Half, The Dead Zone, Desperation, The Regulators

You can also earn a bonus entry if you read a book of King short stories. The books of short stories are clearly marked in the list of King works listed below in the footer of the blog.

To summarize:

Official start date is February 1, 2012 and lasts...forever! LOL! Stop when you've read all of King's books, could be two years from now, could be five years. Take a break any time or stop when you've had enough (although I'll never have enough of SK).
Choose three themes from the list and read one book within each theme during the three month mini-challenge period (Feb., March, April) to receive one entry in the giveaway.
For a bonus entry, choose one book in the left over theme and read it during the three month period.
You can also receive a bonus entry if you read a book of SK short stories (you do not have to read the fourth themed book to get this entry).
There will be a mini-challenge review page for you to link up your reviews. This will be the method we use to keep track of who completes the mini-challenge (and who earns the bonus entries). If you don't have a blog that you review books on, you can link to your reviews on Goodreads or leave your thoughts about the books in the comments (I will allow comments on the review page).

Giveaway rules: The winner will be chosen via random.org and must be a resident of the U.S. If the winner is not a U.S. resident, we will purchase the Stephen King book of your choice (under $10) from Better World Books (they ship free internationally) and have it shipped to you. This book will quite possibly be a gently used book.

The goal of this challenge is to, ultimately, read all of Stephen King's books. I have posted the complete list of his works in the footer section below. If you would like to embark on this journey with us, please sign-up in the linky below. If you have any questions, feel free to contact myself or Kate. Contact information can be found in the 'About' page.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Read & Resist Tucson

noreply@blogger.com (Sherri W.) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:01:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – January 31, 2013

Read! Resist!

By now, most people have heard about the 80+ (mostly Chicana/o) books and speeches that are forbidden from being taught in Tuscon, Arizona. The Mexican-American studies program has been effectively shut down after an ugly, racist, classist battle.

The list contains works by civil rights leaders, noted historians, Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners...even Shakespeare!

It's outrageous, and it's completely out of touch with the makeup of the Tucson student population, where minority students comprise up to 95% of the student body in some schools.

We can't just turn a blind eye to what's happening in Tucson.

Read & Resist Tucson is a yearlong reading challenge taking place from now until the end of January 2013. It's very informal: the only rule is that you read and review at least one book from the banned list, then add your link to the review database. You can read as many or as few as you want.
We need to get people talking about and celebrating these banned books.

Interested in reading/resisting? You can officially sign up for the reading challenge here. If you don't have a website to link back to, feel free to link to Twitter, Facebook, etc.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Read-A-Phrase Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Sherri W.) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:19:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 1, 2012

Rules (such as they are):

--As the name of the challenge implies, your choice must be a phrase.(Phrase=A sequence of words intended to have meaning.)

I’m going to use the title of this challenge as my phrase this time. That makes 20 books for me to read.

--Any genre of fiction is allowed. Either print or ebooks. Any release date. The only two conditions are that you haven’t read the book before(this will help that TBR mountain I know you all have), and it should be at least 100 pages.

--You don’t have to select your books ahead of time. Even if you do, you can change your books as you go. Your books can crossover with other challenges.

--~~To join in, sign up with Mr. Linky below.~~ (still trying to figure out how to do that one). For bloggers, please use a link to the post where you will be keeping track of the challenge. If you aren't a blogger, just add a comment with the phrase you plan to use.(finally figured out how to enable comments on this page)
--Reviews are not required, but if you want to do one and share the link with us, go for it.

--Challenge runs from January 1, 2012 - December 1, 2012

The reason I’m ending the challenge on Dec. 1^st is so that I have time to send out the prize in time for the winner to receive it by Christmas.

Yes, I said prize. Anyone who signs up for the challenge by June 25, 2012(my birthday), chooses a phrase that is at least 10 letters long(not counting any spaces), and completes the challenge by Dec. 1^st, will go into a drawing. The winner will be allowed to pick five books off a list I will be providing. I will get them shipped in time for the winner to have them as a Christmas gift. Sorry, US addresses only for this prize. I’m also thinking about a prize for the longest phrase completed.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Africa Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Meyer) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:20:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

Welcome to the Africa Reading Challenge.

I have absolutely no reason for hosting nor urging you to participate in this challenge save for the joy of discovering and reading African literature!
Here are the details:

Challenge Period

January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012

Region

The entire African continent, including its island-states, which are often overlooked. Please refer to this Wikipedia “list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa”. Pre-colonial empires and regions are also included.

Reading Goal

5 books. That’s it. There will be no other levels. Of course, participants are encouraged to read more than 5 books. Eligible books include those which are written by African writers, or take place in Africa, or are concerned with Africans and with historical and contemporary African issues. Note that at least 3 books must be written by African writers.

Genres

Fiction – novels, short stories, poetry, drama, children’s books. Note: You can choose to read a number of individual and uncollected short stories. In this case, 12 such stories would constitute 1 book. Individual poems do not count but books of poetry do.
Non-fiction – memoirs, autobiographies, history and current events

Reading Suggestions

Cover at least two regions, pick from North Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa, West Africa and Central Africa
Include translated fiction from Arabic, Francophone and Lusophone literature
You can mix classic and contemporary fiction
If you are intend to read mostly non-fiction, then please include at least one book (out of the five) of fiction

I’m not inclined to push any reading philosophy, I would however like to encourage participants to broaden their knowledge of African literature. Broadly then:
For the novice, if you have not read any African lit or if you’ve read one book (E.g. Achebe’sThings Fall Apart): I would advise a mix of at least two regions, two languages, classic and contemporary, with both male and female writers. A sample reading list could be:

Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih (North Africa, Arabic, classic)
Maps by Nuruddin Farah (East Africa)
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (Southern Africa, contemporary)
So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba (West Africa, classic, Francophone)
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes (Southern Africa, contemporary, modern fantasy)

For the advanced reader of African literature: perhaps there is some gap (country, region, language, theme, gender) you want to fill or author(s) whose works you want to explore further?
You could also, for example:

Read only collection/anthologies of short stories
Stick to the literary tradition of one country
Read only Lusophone literature
Explore the literature of contemporary South Africa
Read the books of North African countries of the Arab Spring
Read wherever the urge takes you!

My suggestions notwithstanding, the most important thing is to have fun and to explore Africa through books.

Other Details

Overlap with other challenges is allowed.
E-books and audio books are allowed.
There is no need to make a list beforehand. Although most of us love lists, don’t we?

To Sign up:

For those with blogs: write a post on your blog about the challenge (with or without your list) and sign-up with the Mr Linky below using the direct URL of your sign-up post.
For those without blogs: you can sign-up with your social media profile (Twitter, YouTube, Goodreads, Facebook or Shelfari). Please make sure to use the URL of your profile page. Alternatively, you can leave a comment indicating your intention to participate.

Reviews and Completion of Challenge

Reviews of books read are not required but are encouraged especially for those with blogs. Please share your reviews with the rest of community the on Reviews Page. If you do not have a blog and would like to guest review on this blog, then please feel free to contact me.
Likewise, completion posts are encouraged and you can share those on the Completion Page.

On Books and Reading Lists

Some classic African literature can be hard to find. Please check your libraries and use inter-library loans if you have access to such services. You will be able to do this challenge with the books currently available on the market.
I will publish lists of reading materials under various themes every Friday until I tire of the process. Please contact me at kinnareadsATgmailDOTcom if you need any help.

Events

Ghanaian Literature Week – I have hosted this event for the past two years. This year, I will move it up from November to probably August (pending an announcement). So you could save your GhanaLit reads for then.
Nigerian Literature Event – Amy will host this even again this year. She will provide more details in due course
A new reading event – I’m toying with the idea of a South African Lit week or month. I will decide soonest and let everyone know. Or if anyone is interested in hosting this or any event, please do!

You can subscribe to this blog (see top of the right sidebar) to stay updated on this challenge.
That’s it. Let’s enjoy reading for the 2012 Africa Reading Challenge.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Birth Year Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Meyer) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:20:00 +0000

Now through January 31st, 2013

Birth Year Reading Challenge 2012 - Honors
What books were published the year you were born, or the birth year of someone special to you? This challenge encourages you to find out, and then read some of them. You might even draw a few conclusions about social and literary trends that year. If nothing else, you'll have an incentive to explore books you might otherwise not have considered.
Wikipedia has lists of books by year published. You can also check literary prize lists for high-quality choices. Using Google to locate “best books of _____” also provides some interesting choices. There is also a cool feature at BibliOZ where you can check the New York Times bestseller list for the week you were born. (Special thanks to 3m at 1morechapter for pointing this out.)
If you already participated in this challenge, or if you discover you were born in a year of unattractive books, the Honors option gives you the chance to sample another year instead. So read on!
Ready to join? Leave a comment and a link to your post, and I'll sign you right up.
RULES
1. Join anytime between now and November 30, 2012. The challenge ends at midnight EST on January 31, 2013.
2. a. Choose books from your birth year.
AND/OR
2.b. Choose someone you want to honor, then choose books from their birth year. Your sign-up post should include who they are (not necessarily by name) and the reason you want to honor them.
3. Books may come from your TBR pile or list, but they don’t have to.
4. Overlaps with other challenges are allowed and encouraged.
5. Change your list at any time.
6. Reviews and reactions are encouraged, but not required. You don’t need to have a blog to participate. But you do need to let me know of your progress, so I can bestow your virtual candles. (Here's the progress and reviews page from BYRC 2011, so you can see how it works.)
7. All genres and formats are eligible. If it’s a book, you can count it.
8. One candle is awarded for each qualifying book you read. There is no limit on how few or how many candles you can earn.
ACHIEVER PRIZES
When you meet your reading goal, you can select a book from my library – most likely a gently used trade paperback – and I'll mail it to you. But keep reading because . . .
OVERACHIEVER PRIZE
The person who reads the most books for the challenge will receive a fun little surprise package with a bookish theme.
GRAND PRIZE

On February 1, 2013, the three readers who’ve earned the most candles will be entered into a drawing for a $25.00 gift card from Barnes & Noble. Nothing like a little no-cost book shopping to start a new year off right!

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Amazon Best Books of 2011 Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Alisha) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:00:00 +0000

1 January 2012 - 31 December 2012

I saw this challenge hosted last year. I cannot remember who hosted it though. I don't see anyone hosting it this year, so I thought I'd try it. If someone is aware of it being hosted already, then let me know.

Objective:

* Read books from Amazon's Best Books of 2011 list chosen by their editors. This challenges you to read a variety of genres. I've listed the books below, but you can also access it through Amazon HERE.

Levels:

Novice - 5 books
Competent - 10 books
Proficient - 15 books
Expert - 20+ books

Rules:

1) Challenge will run from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012.
2) I would recommend listing the books ahead of time, but this is not required. If you list your books ahead of time, then you are free to change them later.
3) Choose a level. You can move up levels anytime, but you cannot move down.
4) All book formats are accepted.
5) Challenge can crossover to other challenges.
6) Books must be read between the challenge dates.
7) You do not need a blog to join. You can use Goodreads, Amazon, or something similar to share your reviews and books read.
8) You can join anytime between now and 30 November 2012.
9) Add the link to your challenge post in Mr. Linky below.
10) Posts will be up at the beginning of each month for you to add your reviews to.

January Review Link Up - will post 1/12
February Review Link Up - will post 2/1
March Review Link Up - will post 3/1
April Review Link Up - will post 4/1
May Review Link Up - will post 5/1
June Review Link Up - will post 6/1
July Review Link Up - will post 7/1
August Review Link Up - will post 8/1
September Review Link Up - will post 9/1
October Review Link Up - will post 10/1
November Review Link Up - will post 11/1
December Review Link Up - will post 12/1

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Chunky Book Club

noreply@blogger.com (Alisha) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:53:00 +0000

January 1 - December 31, 2012

The votes have been cast. The poll is now closed...and we have FOUR clear winners for the books we will be reading and discussing this year.

The four books for the year are:

The Fall of Giants by Ken Follett (52.1% of the vote)
11/22/63 by Stephen King (47.9% of the vote)
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer (37.5% of the vote)
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (31.3% of the vote)

Below is the schedule for our 2012 Chunky Book Club:

March 2012: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

June 2012: The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

September 2012: Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

December 2012: The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

If you are planning to participate in these book club reads, I hope you will consider subscribing to the blog. Posts about the selected books will begin appearing at the beginning of the month for each book and discussion will begin on the 15th of each month EXCEPT for December when questions will begin posting on the 5th (due to the holidays).

Vasilly and I are REALLY excited about the book club and we hope you will consider joining us for one, two, three or all four discussions! Remember, you do NOT need to join the challenge to participate in the book club (although, of course, you are welcome to do both!).

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Edgar Awards Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Alisha) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:49:00 +0000

January 1 - December 31, 2012

I'm continuing the Edgar Awards Reading Challenge in 2012. If you are considering joining me, here are the details to help you decide.

What books are eligible for the Edgar Awards Reading Challenge?
Any Edgar Award winning books counts. Check out the possibilities here. You can leave the search box blank to bring up all winners for a particular category.

Do I have to choose what books to read before I sign up?
No, you can choose as you go.

What are the levels of participation?
Patrolman = 1-3 books
Sergeant = 4-6 books
Detective = 7-9 books
Lieutenant = 10+ books

What are the dates of the challenge?

January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012

When can I sign up to participate?

Feel free to enter anytime during the course of the year.

How do I sign up?

If you are interested in joining me...

grab the button code below for your blog,
enter your blog link in the Mr. Linky below,
and leave a comment telling me your participation level.

If you don't have a blog of your own, just leave me a comment to let me know you're participating and at what level.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Gone with the Wind Read-A-Long

noreply@blogger.com (Alisha) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:44:00 +0000

Discussion 1 will take place on February 14th, Valentine's Day. (Each consecutive discussion date will be announced on the current discussion post.)

The Gone With the Wind Read-A-Long will be done in 5 parts. Official start date is January 16th. Discussion 1 will take place on February 14th, Valentine's Day, here at my blog. We will be discussing Chapters 1-7.
Each consecutive discussion date will be announced on the current discussion post. i.e...on the February 14th post, we will announce the next discussion date and so on and so forth.

Anyone is welcome to join us! Read-a-long with us and have some fun discussing this epic novel.

If you'd like to join us, just leave a comment here and grab the button above. Make sure to come back here on Valentine's Day to discuss Chapters 1-7.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Books in Translation Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Alisha) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:11:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012

I've decided to host one more challenge, the Books in Translation Reading Challenge. I think this one's pretty self-explanatory. The goal is to read translations of books. They don't have to be in English; whatever language(s) you're comfortable reading in is good.

You can read any genre and any age range. Crossovers with other challenges are fine. Any format that you choose is also acceptable. The challenge will run from today, January 7, through December 31, 2012.

Looking for suggestions? I have a shelf on GoodReads you can check out. There's also a Listopia list on GoodReads.

Levels:
Beginner: Read 1-3 books in translation
Conversationalist: 4-6
Bilingual: 7-9
Linguist: 10-12

I am not limiting the challenge to bloggers. You can also link to a review you wrote on another site, such as GoodReads or LibraryThing.

I hope you'll join me!

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Soul Screamers Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:36:00 +0000

January 15, 2012 – June 14, 2012

Well, it’s a brand new year and I thought I’d do something new. Start a reading challenge of my very own. And I don’t think there is a more perfect series that I can pick than author Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamers series.

Why? Do I really need to ask that? This series is AMAZING.

If you need another reason, well… the timing couldn’t be more perfect. With five full-length books in print in the U.S. and If I Die coming out shortly in the U.K., it works out so that if one book is read each month, the series can be completely read (or re-read) just before the U.S. release date of Before I Wake, book six in the series.

***

The Challenge

To READ (or re-read) and REVIEW (or post about) all five full-length books in the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent between January 15 and June 14, 2012.

THE BOOKS

My Soul to Take

January 15-February 14, 2012

My Soul to Save

February 15-March 14, 2012

My Soul to Keep

March 15-April 14-2012

My Soul to Steal

April 15-May14, 2012

If I Die

May 15-June 14, 2012

The Deets

The Soul Screamers Challenge will begin on January 15, 2012 and end on June 14, 2012.

You can join the challenge at any time during the above dates by signing up in THIS POST.

You do not have to be a book blogger to join. You just need somewhere to post your review and/or talk about the books you’ve read (i.e., Facebook, Goodreads, personal blog). If you do not have any of those outlets, and your review is positive, I will be happy to post your review as a guest post on my blog Soul Screamers Reading Challenge.

Books must be read and reviewed between January 15th and June 14th. You can read and review them at any time during the challenge, but each book you read and review during the scheduled month will give you an extra entry into the Before I Wake giveaway at the end of the challenge.

You can read the books in any format or edition you’d like – eBook, audiobook or even in print!

Each month, on the 15th, there will be a post in which you can link up your reviews or posts for THAT MONTH ONLY. You can leave more than one link if you’ve read and reviewed more than one of the books that month.

If you choose to do a participation post, you can leave your participation post link on my SSRC page. At the end of the challenge, those who have added their links will automatically be entered into a giveaway for either a $50 Amazon or Barnes & Noble giftcard or $50 in books of their choice from Amazon or The Book Depository.

If you’ve already read and reviewed all the books in this series, do not fear. Re-reads count as long as you are re-reading them during this challenge! You don’t have to do a new review unless you want to. Just create a post talking about the re-read experience – Was it better the second time around? Did you discover something new that you missed the first time? Did you love Tod just a bit more? There’s plenty to talk about!

***

The Incentives

Before I Wake pre-order giveaway. For every ten people that actively participate in this challenge, I will be giving away one pre-order of Before I Wake. So, that’s a one in ten chance. (To be counted as an active participant you must sign up through the linky in this post and you will need to have read and reviewed at least one of the full-length books during one of the five months of this challenge.) The winners will be chosen at the end of the challenge.

At the end of each month, to those who have left their links on that month’s post, I will be giving away one of Rachel Vincent’s books to two winners.

Reading each book during the corresponding month will get you an additional entry into the Before I Wake giveaway.

Reading and reviewing (or posting about) one of the Extra Credit Reads (listed below) will give you an additional entry into the Before I Wake giveaway.

New incentives may be added as the challenge progresses. Stay tuned….

UPDATE: As of 1/6/12 at various stages of the challenge there will be giveaways for SIGNED copies of My Soul to Keep, My Soul to Steal and If I Die, as well as T-Shirts and something really special that will be revealed later in the event.

Thanks to the amazing author for donating quite a few of these awesome prizes and for signing all of the rest!

***

Extra Credit Reads

In addition to the five books for the challenge, there will be extra entries for each of the three Soul Screamers novellas you read. Links to reviews or posts for the extra entry reads should be left on the challenge post during the month you’ve read and posted about it.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Poetry: Read More/Blog More–A Monthly Event

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 18:45:00 +0000

January 2012 – December 2012

In December I posted about my desire to read more poetry in 2012. I even shared a couple lists that were favourite poems of Lu and Jason. In the comments people expressed an interest in also reading more poetry in 2012 and, after some discussion, a meme was born.

Now that the New Year has come and gone and you’ve started on all your challenges and readalongs, Lu and I would like to jump in and add just one more. Instead of a readalong or a reading challenge, though, this is a blog-along with one goal: blog about poetry once a month.

If you regularly read poetry, if you’re just starting to explore the form, if you want a reason to read more, but most of all, if you want a place to talk, gripe, or wax poetic about poetry, this is your blog-along. If you want a place where you can ask questions about poetry, share your favorite poem, discuss how poetry makes you feel, this is just your kind of event.

Most of all, this is a laid-back way to get the book blogging community posting about poetry. This isn’t necessarily a challenge to read more poetry, though we hope you will! (Check out Serena at Saavy, Verse & Wit’s awesome poetry challenge!) There is only one rule: post about poetry once a month, on the last Tuesday of the month. Then Lu and I will write a wrap-up post the following Friday to keep the discussion going.

Poetry: Read More/Blog More – A Monthly Event!

1) Post about poetry on your blog on the following dates:

January 30th

February 28th

March 27th

April 23rd

May 29th

June 26th

July 31st

August 28th

September 25th

October 30th

November 27th

December 18th

2) Sign up with Mr. Linky! (Please link to a post specifically about this event if possible! You will find the Linky on Lu's Blog here.)

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

2012 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:31:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

After 3 years organizing the Historical Fiction Challenge, the girls of The Royal Reviews gracefully passed over this exciting event to our team at Historical Tapestry last year and we are very excited that the challenge is going to be returning in 2012! During 2011 there were hundreds of books read by the participants and we hope that we continue to create a wonderful place to share and discuss our favourite (and maybe not quite so favourite) historical fiction books for the next year.

Each month, a new post dedicated to the HF Challenge will be created. To participate, you only have to follow the rules:

everyone can participate, even those who don't have a blog (you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish)

add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review)

any kind of historical fiction is accepted (HF fantasy, HF young adult,...)

During these following 12 months you can choose one of the different reading levels:

Severe Bookaholism: 20 books
Undoubtedly Obsessed: 15 books
Struggling the Addiction: 10 books
Daring & Curious: 5 books
Out of My Comfort Zone: 2 books

To join the challenge you only need to make a post about it, grab the button below if you like and leave your link in Mr Linky below. If you don't have a blog you can just leave a comment for this post saying that you are joining.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

The Books That Made Me Love Reading

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:01:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

How to Participate

♥ Write an introductory challenge post, discussing why you love reading and what some of your favorite books of all time are (especially those you loved when you were younger).

♥ Leave a comment below and link to your challenge post or GoodReads list.

♥ Add the challenge badge to your blog and link it back to this post. You can grab the code below.

♥ Re-read one old favorite per month and write a review that discusses why you loved the book back then and why you love it now (or why you don’t love it quite as much now). Remember: You can read anything from children’s books to classic literature—whatever turned you onto this beloved hobby is A-OK with us.

♥ Whenever you read a new book for the challenge, visit this website and add the links to your reviews on the corresponding month’s post.

♥ I’ll tweet out links to challenge entries as I receive them. I have over 12,000 Twitter followers and would love to help drive traffic to your blogs!

Additional Info

♥ Each month will be co-sponsored by one of my indie author friends. These awesome YA, Middle Great, and Children’s Lit authors will be donating copies of their books for challenge winners. We will also interview them about their favorite books. It’s gonna be super fun!

♥ You do not need a blog to participate. Reviews on GoodReads or other book-loving sites are fine as long as you can link them back here.

♥ Books read for this challenge can be used in other challenges too. We’re not jealous

♥ You can start the challenge as late as December 1. You won’t be eligible for our month-to-month prizes, but if you review at least 12 old favorites by December 31, 2012 and follow the other contest rules, you will be eligible for the year-end grand prize.

The Prizes

The Grand Prize: At the end of the year, if you’ve entered a post every month for the challenge, you will be eligible for the grand prize—a basket including 13 autographed books (Farsighted plus one from each month’s sponsor) and a $100 Amazon gift card.

The Monthly Prize: Each month, one challenge participant will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card, an autographed copy of my YA novel Farsighted, and an additional autographed book from our current month’s sponsor (either YA, Middle Grade, or Children’s Lit).

The Bonus Prize: We’d love to have you review our sponsor’s books. This is not part of the challenge but rather an extra opportunity. For each sponsor book that you review and link here, you will receive one entry for the bonus prize—there are 13 possible entries in all. This prize basket consists of a $50 Amazon gift card and 13 autographed books (Farsighted plus one from each of our monthly sponsors).

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

2012 Rainbow Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:57:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

For this year’s reading challenge I thought we’d have a little fun with colors. Each month has been assigned a color (along with some common alternate words to add variety). You just have to find a book with that color in the title. That’s it! As you read, come post the title and author of the book for that month below. At the end of the year… anyone who has post EACH MONTH, and completed ALL COLORS, will receive a handmade (by me) bracelet with a bead for each color, and a book charm to finish it off. I’m working on a grand prize (one random winner, only) basket of lovely, color themed books as well, but that will be a WIP during the year. In order to qualify for the bracelet, or be entered into the grand prize drawing for the basket, you MUST post each month with your title/author. If you post any reviews about the books you’ve read for this challenge, please post the link in your comment and I’ll send it out on Books Make Me Happy Twitter and Facebook streams. *All books must be at least 200 pages, or the ebook equivalent.*

Colors for each month are:

January – Red (burgundy, claret, crimson, fuchsia, garnet, magenta, maroon, ruby, scarlet, rose, cherry)
February – Purple (violet, lavender, amethyst, lilac, plum, periwinkle)
March – Aquamarine (teal, turquoise)
April – Clear (transparent, translucent, crystal, diamond)
May – Green (emerald, jade, malachite, lime, pine, sage)
June – Black
July – Pink (blush, carnation, mauve)
August - Brown (chocolate, tan, bronze)
September – Blue (cobalt, cerulean, navy, indigo, sapphire)
October – White (snowy)
November – Orange (peach, salmon, coral, tangerine, copper)
December – Silver (sterling, platinum, chrome, gray)

If you think you’ll have trouble finding books with the correct colors… check places like GoodReads.com and Google Books. Just search for the color and see what pops up!! (If you find a book with a color-type word you want to use, but it’s not on the list, email me or @ me on twitter to check.) Hopefully this will encourage all of us to look outside of our “tried and true” and find some fantastic new books. I’ll be posting my book/author each month below, can’t wait to see what YOU all find!!

Good Luck, and Happy Reading!!!

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

2012 Color Coded Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:08:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

Last year I found that I had quite the color-theme going on with my reading and I decided to put together a challenge based on colors in the title to tempt all those Reading Challenge Addicts out there. I had only 5 or 6 folks join me, so I thought I might shelve it for a year or so and try again later. But I've had a couple of the participants tell me how much they enjoyed it and I'm game for another go round. So, for your challenge reading pleasure, I will once again host The Color Coded Reading

Challenge:

Here are the rules:

*Read nine books in the following categories.

A book with "Blue" in the title.
A book with "Red" in the title.
A book with "Yellow" in the title.
A book with "Green" in the title.
A book with "Brown" in the title.
A book with "Black" in the title.
A book with "White" in the title.
A book with any other color in the title (Purple, Orange, Turquoise, Pink, Magenta, etc.).
A book with a word that implies color (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Paisley, Stripe, etc.).

* Any book read from January 1 through December 31, 2012 will count.

*Crossovers with other challenges are fine.

*Everyone who completes all nine categories will be entered in a year-end drawing for a book-related prize package.

*Please post about the challenge on your blog. Sign ups accepted until Nov 30, 2012.

*Please sign up using the Linky below. Give your name & blog (Example: Bev @ My Reader's Block) and use a direct link to your challenge post as your url. Please don't connect to just your home page.

*Please use the Review Page to post review links and a final wrap-up post when you finish the challenge.

*No blog? That's okay. Post a comment here to announce your entry into the challenge and when you have completed the challenge just post a comment at the review site with a list of your books.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Those Book I Should Have Read 2012 Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:04:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

Ah, yes. We all have them. That pesky list of books that we “should” have read. This list could consist of “classics” that we somehow managed to miss in high school and/or college (David Copperfield, Madame Bovary, To Kill a Mockingbird), books that we want to read but their size is daunting (The Outlander series, The Game of Thrones series, Anna Karenina, War and Peace), it could be books that just somehow passed us by (The Harry Potter series, The Hunger Game trilogy, The Earth’s Children series), or it could simply be books that have been languishing on our bookshelves forever.

These books may induce reading guilt every time we pick up a different book.

If you have a “should have read” list, then this challenge is for you! So what are the rules?

Challenge Rules

Timeline : This challenge runs from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012
You may join the challenge at any time during the year as long as the books were read in 2012
Levels: There are 4 participation levels to this challenge. You can change levels at any time.
- Level 1 – 6 books
- Level 2 – 12 books
- Level 3 – 18 books
- Level 4 – 24 books
Physical books and e-books count. Audio books DO NOT COUNT
You must display the challenge graphic in your blog’s sidebar, if you have a blog
You do not have to have a blog to participate. You can make a goodreads list or some other tracking method that can be linked to
You do not have to select your books ahead of time
If you do make an initial list of books for this challenge, you may change that list at any time during the challenge
Books read for this challenge may also count for other challenges
You must fill out the linky form below and link to your challenge post or goodreads list
Each month I will post a link up post where you can link any reviews you have written for books for this challenge

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Read the Bible 2012

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:03:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

I was planning to do this challenge completely solo, but figured I might as well open it up for public consumption. It’s been a while since I’ve read the Bible and I’ve been wanting to read the beautiful edition that was given to Jaime and me as a wedding present.

For anyone who might be considering doing this challenge with me, please continue reading.

Rules…

You must read every book of the Bible – Old and New Testament. (lists below)
- For those a bit intimidated, feel free to choose just New or Old Testament, but let us know in the comments!
You are not required to read the supplemental additions included in most bibles.
All reading must be done between January 1st, 2012 and December 31st, 2012.
Keep track of your reading. A blog isn’t necessary, just keep track of it however you feel.
I would normally suggest Goodreads, but from the looks of it, they don’t list the books of the Bible individually.
If you want to participate, drop a comment below and sign up with Mr. Linky at the end of the post.

Mini-challenges, I guess…

Post a favorite verse from each book.
Read the supplemental information included in your Bible.
Find a study guide (online, in your Bible, in another book, anywhere) and answer a few questions about the book that you are currently on.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

The Doctor Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:00:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

I've lately (surprisingly enough) found myself completely engrossed in the new series of Doctor Who, beginning with the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and continuing to the 10th (David Tennant). I have yet to see the 11th (and have resisted peeking ahead!), as I'm (slowly) watching the episodes on DVD.

Naturally, my interest has expanded to include the new series of books that have been released in conjuction with the television show. Initially, I was thinking of presenting it as a perpetual challenge, but I find I work better with a goal in sight, and thus, The Doctor Reading Challenge 2012 was born.

If you'd like to join me, you're more than welcome to read any of the published Doctor Who books, graphic novels, non-fiction, or other material. And like most challenges, there are a few (ahem) levels to choose from:

First Doctor - read 2 Doctor Who books
Second Doctor - read 5 Doctor Who books
Third Doctor - read 10 Doctor Who books
Fourth Doctor - read 15 Doctor Who books
Fifth Doctor - read 20 Doctor Who books
Sixth Doctor - read 25 Doctor Who books
Seventh Doctor - read 30 Doctor Who books
Eighth Doctor - read 40 Doctor Who books
Ninth Doctor - read 50 Doctor Who books
Tenth Doctor - read 75 Doctor Who books
Eleventh Doctor - read 100+ Doctor Who books

All the usual rules apply...
*challenge runs 1 January to 31 December 2012 - any books must be read in the 2012 calendar year to count
*any format is allowed
*cross-overs between challenges allowed
*link your post/reviews from your blog, goodreads, shelfari, librarything or the comments section (no blog necessary!)
*no list is needed beforehand - you can choose as you go (or change your choices!)

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

2012 Immortals After Dark Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:56:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

Welcome to the Immortals After Dark Reading Challenge hosted by Darlene's Book Nook!

I have always wanted to read this series. Since I could not find anyone else hosting this challenge, I thought I would give it a whirl!

The books in the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole are:

The Warlord Wants Forever (Book #1)
A Hunger Like No Other (Book #2)
No Rest for the Wicked (Book #3)
Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night (Book #4)
Dark Needs at Night's Edge (Book #5)
Dark Desires After Dusk (Book #6)
Kiss of a Demon King (Book #7)
Deep Kiss of Winter (Book #8)
Pleasure of a Dark Prince (Book #9)
Demon from the Dark (Book #10)
Dreams of a Dark Warrior (Book #11)
Lothaire (Book #12) - expected publication January 2012

Please read below for the challenge guidelines.

Immortals After Dark Reading Challenge
Here are the challenge details:

The challenge will run from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. You can join the challenge at any time, whether you haven't yet started the series or are already halfway through. As the challenge host, I reserve the right to extend the challenge period!

This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges.

You do not need a blog to participate! If you are not a blogger, you can post your reviews at Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing and link them up here.

All formats of books are acceptable: Bound copies, e-books, and audiobooks (as long as they are unabridged).

There will be link-ups for your reviews on a quarterly basis, which will be posted on THIS page.

There will be a link for your wrap-up post at the end of the year.

Create a sign-up post and link back to this post. Sign up with Mister Linky below! Be sure to use the direct url to your sign-up post and not the url to your blog.

Grab the challenge button and post it in your sidebar.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

2012 Dewey Decimal Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:50:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

The Challenge: Read any non-fiction book(s), adult or young adult. That's it. You can choose anything. Poetry? Yes. Memoirs? Yes. History? Yes. Travel? Yes. You get the idea? Absolutely anything that is classified as non-fiction counts for this challenge.

I always like levels in my challenges, so here are mine:

Dilettante--Read 1-5 non-fiction books
Explorer--Read 6-10
Seeker--Read 11-15
Master--Read 16-20

This challenge will last from January 1 to December 31, 2012. You can sign up anytime throughout the year.

I am not limiting the challenge to bloggers. You can also link to a review you wrote on another site, such as GoodReads or LibraryThing.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

2012 Judy Blume Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:49:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

How many of us grew up on Judy Blume books? I know I did. One of my all-time favorite books as a child was Blume’s Just As Long As We’re Together. Let’s take a trip down memory lane together and revisit Blume’s body of work. We are pretty laid-back over here at QGR. To participate all you need to do is read one book. Hopefully, you write a review and share the link with us.

The particulars:

The When: January 12, 2012 through March 20, 2012 (because we like short seasonal challenges.)

The Fun: Read any books written by Judy Blume, whether they be her YA or adult books. Read at least one but don’t let that stop you.

The Extras: We will be hosting a readalong of Forever. That might be the one book many of us haven’t read. (This could also count as your one Blume book.)

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

2012 A to Z Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:47:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

Hello Fellow Bookworms! So 2012 is getting closer and closer and it's around the time to start thinking about Reading Challenges for the coming year. This year, I've decided it might be fun to host one so I am. So without further ado, I present to you the A to Z Reading Challenge!

I think it is time for a little Q&A don't you think?

So what does this A to Z Reading Challenge entail?
The A to Z Reading Challenge, which shall henceforth be known as AZRC, challenges you to read and review one book starting with every letter of the alphabet. There are three possible challenges you can partake in.

1. Author - A to Z by authors last name, 26 books.
2. Title - A to Z by book title, 26 books.
3. Double Whammy - Do both Challenge 1 and 2 for a total 52 books.

Note: There is no option to do some by author and some by title and read only 26 books.

Deadlines?
The deadline to register is May 31, 2012

What books count towards this challenge?
Anything you want. Well not anything. It has to be a book. You can count books you are reading for other challenges if you would like and rereads are perfectly fine. The only thing is you have to have read the book between January 1,2012 and December 31, 2012. Part of this challenge is also reviewing the books and if you finished a book on December 31, you probably aren't going to review it that night. So the deadline for reviews is January 31, 2013.
And to reiterate, for books read, it only counts through the December 31.

Why should I partake in this?
Because you love me? Shouldn't that be enough. Just kidding. It should be really fun. The plan is to have fun fun activities every other week. (52 weeks in the year, 52/2 = 26, 26 letters in the alphabet. you get it). I'm going to start planning these really soon. THERE COULD BE MINI CHALLENGES INVOLVED! THERE COULD BE GIVEAWAYS! THERE COULD BE DISCUSSIONS! THERE COULD BE ALL THREE! I'll keep you posted I promise. And the best part for the giveaways that will happen, you are automatically get one entry JUST for participating.

I have an idea! Can I contribute?
YES! ABSOLUTELY YES! 26 events over the year is a lot to wrap my brain around and I definitely can't do it alone. So if you have any ideas at all, for now just email me at strawberryAvalancheReviews(at)gmail(dot)com and we'll talk. Later on, I'll have forms up for more specific things I need from you guys.
Oh and if you an author and have a book coming out in 2012 and you want to represent its first letter or the first letter of your last name, email me!!

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Armchair Theologian Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:44:00 +0000

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

Westminster John Knox Press has published a series of books for 'Armchair Theologians.' Here they are in alphabetical order:

Aquinas for Armchair Theologians by Timothy M. Renick
Augustine for Armchair Theologians by Stephen A. Cooper
Barth for Armchair Theologians by John R. Franke
Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians by Stephen Haynes
Calvin for Armchair Theologians by Christopher Elwood
Heretics for Armchair Theologians by Justo L. Gonzalez and Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez
Jonathan Edwards for Armchair Theologians by James P. Byrd
Luther for Armchair Theologians by Steven Paulson
Martin Luther King Jr. for Armchair Theologians by Rufus Burrow Jr.
Reformation for Armchair Theologians by Glenn Sunshine
Wesley for Armchair Theologians by William J. Abraham

The goal of this mini-challenge--which lasts all year long, to give you plenty of time to join in--is to read just ONE of these books. I'm not asking you to read them all. (I certainly don't plan on reading them all.)

Christianbook.com has many of these in paperback and on audiobook. Quite a handful--at least for the moment--are available for just $3.69!

Martin Luther King, Jr -- $3.69
Jonathan Edwards -- $3.69
Heretics for Armchair Theologians -- $3.69
Barth for Armchair Theologians -- $3.69
Reformation for Armchair Theologians -- $3.69
Augustine for Armchair Theologians -- $3.69
Aquinas for Amrchair Theologians -- $3.69

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

New Testament in a Week Reading Event

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Vixen) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:42:00 +0000

April 1, 2012 – April 8, 2012

In April, I'll be hosting a special event. I'm asking you to join me in reading the New Testament the week before Easter. I'm asking you to set aside time during the week of April 1-8 to read the New Testament.

Does it have to be the whole New Testament?

My goal is to read the entire New Testament this week. But that does NOT have to be your goal. You can set your own goals. Your goal might be to read one gospel and a letter or two. Read 27 books, read 3 books. Just read something.

You may read from any translation of the Bible.
You may switch translations throughout the week, if you want.
You may use a text-only Bible, or a study Bible.
You may use an audio bible, an e-Bible, or an online Bible.
You may read the books in ANY order.
If you would like to follow an exact plan, you may. Here is one I found to do the New Testament in a week.
You may reread certain books if you would like to take some time to meditate on what you're reading.
If you finish reading the New Testament early, consider reading Psalm 119, Psalm 22, Psalms 113-118, Exodus 12, Isaiah 40-66.
No blog is required, but you may blog your progress if you like.

I wanted to announce this early so you'd have time to think about it, to plan for it. If you are interested leave a comment. You can sign up now if you like. But you don't have to commit just yet.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.