Category: Challenge Accepted

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril X

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               Image: Abigail Larson

Andi and Heather, of the Estella Society, are taking over as hosts for RIP X, and this is the 1st year that I’m participating!

It officially started yesterday, September 1st, but things have been so crazy busy since the Fall semester started that I feel like I’m I always running just a little bit behind and forgetting to do things.  The challenge is for two months (ending on Halloween), and this is the time of year when I love to read Horror and Gothic literature, and there is a reading “Peril” for everyone.  Perhaps it will help me feel a bit more grounded and get me into the spirit of Autumn.

I will be doing Peril the First: Read four books, any length, which fit the definition of RIP literature.

I don’t know what other books I’ll be reading, but the 1st one will be Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice.  I’ve been itching to re-read the series for years, and now I’m finally going to do it.  I also want to read some Classic Horror like Edgar Allen Poe or H.P. Lovecraft, but I’m not going to lock myself down to anything specific right now.

I may also participate in the group read of The Quick by Lauren Owen, but I haven’t decided yet since it overlaps with my read-along of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.

Are you participating in RIP X?  Are you reading any Horror or Gothic titles that you think I should add to my TBR?  Let me know in the comments!

Bout of Books: Fictional World Travel Challenge

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Leann @ Between Library Shelves is hosting the first Bout of Books 14 challenge.  She has tasked all of us that want to give it a try with coming up with books set in countries other than where we live.  I’ve been traveling since I was born (in Japan), but much of my travels have been within the United States, where I currently live.  Ever since I started college, though, I haven’t been outside of Texas (I’m going to New Orleans soon, though).  However, that doesn’t stop me from traveling via armchair.  Here are only six books out of too many to list* that are set in various countries around the world (The book covers are linked to Goodreads):

ForeignForeign Correspondences by Lesley Krueger (India, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and Canada)

Smile, You’re Traveling by Henry Rollins (Africa and so many other places around the world) Smile

 

 

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Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (The title says it all)

The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg (France) Dream

 

 

 

Thief

 

 

 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Germany)

The Historian (Hungary, Turkey, Romania, and several other countries) Historian

*To find other great armchair traveling reads, check out Book Lust to Go by Nancy Pearl, which has a lot of great suggestions.

COYER Scavenger Hunt

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COYER-ScavHuntLogo-SignUp1

It’s time for COYER again, hosted by Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun and Michelle @ Because Reading. It runs from June 20th – September 4th, 2015 and you can sign up here (or click on the pic)!

My Goals

I have no idea what I’ll be reading, but I’m going to try to finish off as many of my Review books as I can. I also have a ton of FREE ebooks that I’m going to try to get to.

  • Read & review at least 10 books.
  • Participate in at least one Twitter party.
  • Join in at least 1 social media activity a week in the Facebook group.

I’ll be putting my updates in my weekly Monday’s Minutes posts.

So, what do you say? Will you join me?

 

Bout of Books Mini-Challenge: Cover Color

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Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, please visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

 

Tressa @ Wishful Endings has challenged us to come up with four books of ours that have covers with the same color or colors.  I chose to go with sky blue:

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  • Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
  • The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
  • So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Dresden decided he wanted to help me.  Either that or he felt an urge to check out the So You Want to be a Wizard book.  His namesake is a wizard, after all.

Bout of Books Mini-Challenge: Bookish Survey

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Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  It is a week long read-a-thon that begins May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th.  There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
Today’s mini-challenge, a Bookish Survey, is from Lori @ Writing My Own Fairy Tale.

 

The Questions: 

1. How do you organize your shelves?  I organize my shelves by hardcover to mass market paperback and by height.  So, my tallest hardcovers are on the left side of the top shelf and my shortest paperbacks are on the bottom shelf (I have a lot so they’ve got their own shelf)  I try to keep books by an author together, but sometimes that’s impossible, and I also keep series together as long as I own them in the same size/type of book.
2. What is one of your favorite books that isn’t in one of your favorite genres?  I don’t have one; every single one of my favorite books has come from my favorite genres.
3. What is the last five-star book you read? The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg.
4. What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon? I really want to finish The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon.
5. What book do you recommend the most?  That greatly depends on who I’m recommending a book to.  Sometimes it’s Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, other times it’s The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, still other times it’s The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Bout of Books 13: It’s Time to Read, Read, Read!

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Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

It’s that time again!  I’m super excited about this Bout of Books because, with the exception of two Final exams, I’ve got the whole week to read, read, read!

My Goals

  • finish off whatever books I’m currently reading.
  • Read at least one new book off of my TBR shelf.
  • I want to be able to finish at least 3 books, but I’m really hoping I’ll be able to finish 4.

Books to Read

This list has changed a bit since my sign up post:

  • The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
  • The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
  • A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall
  • Daughters of Shadow and Blood – Book I: Yasamin by J. Matthew Saunders

Updates

I will be updating with one post each day with the number of books I’ve read that day, the titles of the books I’ve finished, and the total number of books read.  If I wasn’t able to finish a book that day, I’ll put the number of pages read instead.  I’ll also list any mini-challenges I participated in.

#Readathon Mini-Challenge: A Hobbit Themed Party

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Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_BellezzaYes, I’ve already written about the Hobbit today for another Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon mini-challenge, but I just couldn’t stop my brain from coming up with all sorts of Hobbit-themed party ideas when I read Christina’s mini-challenge over at Christina Writes.

My Hobbit party would consist of the following:

  • Food and Drink:
  1. Waybread Blueberry Tarts (as found in the Unofficial Hobbit Handbook by The Shire Collective)
  2. Tea
  3. Scones
  4. Various Breads
  5. Jam
  6. Meat and Fruit Pies
  7. Various Cheeses
  8. Ale
  9. Wine
  10. Smaug the Golden Cocktail
  • Activities:
  1. Hobbit Trivia Game
  2. Viewing of all three Hobbit films
  3. Middle Earth Cosplay Contest
  • Party Favors:
  1. Hobbit bookmarks
  2. Handkerchiefs
  3. Large “hairy” plastic or rubber spiders for stabbing
  4. Books of riddles
  5. Pocket sized Middle Earth maps
  6. Small Treasure Boxes for storing the items listed above

#Readathon Mini-Challenge: Classic Words of Wisdom

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Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza

 

Allie over at A Literary Odyssey has challenged all of us participating in Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon to share our favorite words of wisdom from Classic literature.  Being a lover of the Classics, as well as a member of the Classics Club, I’ve got plenty of them, but one of my all time favorite quotes comes from my all time favorite book, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”

This bit of wisdom can be applied to just about everything as I’ve made my way through the past decade of my life.  When I decided to not re-enlist in the Army, I had no idea what I wanted to do instead, besides finish college.  I didn’t even know what I wanted my major to be; I just knew I didn’t want it to be what it was at the time.  I stumbled across a former passion of mine, and, after some research, chose International Relations as my major, but I didn’t have a clue what university I wanted to attend.  I stumbled again, and found Texas State, even though I had never intended on staying in Texas after I go out of the military.  It has ended up being the best university for me, and I’ve discovered new friends, and new interests, and have had a lot of great experiences I wouldn’t have had otherwise.  I also discovered that, even though I’m still interested in Humanitarian aid work specifically, and International Relations in general, what truly makes me happy is doing anything book related.  Books have always been my true love, but it wasn’t until I started reading some book blogs and then stumbled across the 24 in 48 Read-a-thon that got me started on my own blog, that I found out there are so many more book related jobs than I ever imagined.  I’m now on a crazy meandering path towards a fulfilling career, and that wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for all the finding of things I hadn’t been looking for.

#ShelfLove No Book Buying Challenge: Avoiding Relapse

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showyourshelves_zps8f6e8b06-png320x480This month’s #ShelfLove topic is all about how well we’re sticking to our goals and what we’re doing to refrain from caving to the temptation of buying books.

Honestly, I feel like I’ve got it pretty easy so far.  The Boyfriend has been buying me one book of my choice, as long as it’s not a full-priced hardcover or new release, every week that I get all of that week’s writing finished for my research papers.  Not only is the agreement motivational, but it’s keeping me sane.  It’s also making this No Book Buying Challenge a breeze.  So, check back with me around mid-May, when I’m not getting a book every week.

Besides the Boyfriend’s amazing gift of books, I’ve been making do with the books I already own but have never read, as well as the books I get through Netgalley, and I just recently used up the last of my gift cards.  I’ve also done quite a bit of “buying” and downloading of free books offered around through so many different websites besides the major book sellers, and checking out the occasional book that grabs my attention from the library.  Other than that, I don’t have any special strategy, which is why I’m a little worried about what I’m going to do when the semester is over and the Boyfriend is no longer enabling my habit.

The problem is that I’m addicted to bookstores, and not just to books.  Bookstores, with their mostly quiet and peaceful atmospheres and organized shelves, calm me down, but I have difficulty leaving them without buying at least one book.  Even when I lived in South Korea, I would find something to read in the smallest of sections dedicated to books in English.  It doesn’t matter if I’m also buying a magazine or something to eat or drink from the store’s cafe, I will come across a book that will call out to me and beg me to take it home.  After this semester is over, if I want to make it through this challenge, I will have to stay away from bookstores, unless I have adult supervision.  I have no idea how that will affect my mental health, but I plan on trying to mitigate any craziness by making frequent trips to the library, since it has a similar calming effect.

 

Once Upon a Time IX

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Today is the start date of the Once Upon a Time Challenge, which runs until June 21st.

I will be doing “Quest, the Third”:

Fulfill the requirements for The Journey or Quest the First or Quest the Second AND read Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” or watch one of the many film versions of the play.

My choice between. “The Journey”, “Quest the First”, and “Quest the Second” is “Quest the First”:

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time categories of Fantasy, Folklore, Fairy tales, or Mythology.

In addition to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, I’ll be reading: