Tag: Challenges

Bout of Books 15!

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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 12:01 am Monday, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th 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 15 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

It’s that time again!  Unfortunately, I’m considerably more busy than I was during Bout of Books 14, but I’m determined not to let that stop me from reading every day instead of doing other things with my free time.

My Goals

  • Read for at least 2 hours each day.
  • Finish at least 1 book, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to finish 2.

Books to Read

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
  • An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
  • Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe

Updates

I will be posting an update each day with the amount of time I read, the number of pages read that day, and the titles of any books I’ve finished.

#ShelfLove 2016

Published on by Rachelle3 Comments
Shelf Love Challenge 2016
I’m joining the Show Your Shelves Some Love Challenge again!  Below are my goals.

My Goals

  • Read at least 51 books from my personal library that I got before January 1, 2016 (my shelves and I are going steady).
  • With the exception of one book, I can only buy books using gift cards.  I can “buy” as many free books as I would like, accept ARCs, and enter giveaways to my heart’s content, but I may only use my hard earned cash to buy one carefully chosen book.
  • The one book I buy this year must be purchased with the funds I raise from selling books to the used bookstore.
  • Participate in the monthly discussion posts.

My TBR

2015-12-29 11.54.22

These are, of course, only my physical books, and not all of them are books I haven’t read yet, but the majority of them have never been opened. Total, I have approximately 400 unread books sitting on my shelves or in my Kindle and Nook.  One of my projects this year will be to update my TBR shelf on Goodreads to get a more accurate total (none of the ebooks on my Nook are on it).

The Twelve Books of Christmas Challenge

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12 Books of Christmas

Shaina @ Shaina Reads has challenged those of us who wish to participate to read 12 books during the month of December!  I would have posted this earlier, but I refuse to do anything Christmas related, other than stashing away presents for those I love, before Thanksgiving.

The only rule is that the books have to be at least 100 pages in length.  So, I’m making up a rule for myself.  All the books I plan to read for the challenge will be Christmas or Winter related.  Some of the books on my challenge TBR are maybe stretching that a little bit, but it’s my rule, so I can do what I want 🙂  I doubt I’ll be able to read all 12 on the list since a couple of them are door stops, but I’m going to try.

My TBR List

  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (I read this every year.)
  • A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
  • Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  • Snowglobe 7 by Mike Tucker
  • The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson
  • White Fang by Jack London
  • The Winter Freak Show by Daniel Parsons
  • Greenglass House by Kate Milford
  • Around the World with Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis
  • Fire and Ice by Patty Jansen
  • The Girl from Krakow by Alex Rosenberg
  • Ice Demon by Elizabeth Watasin

I have several backups in case any of these wind up being DNFs.

Are you participating in the 12 Books of Christmas challenge?  Even if you’re not, are your December reads Christmas or Winter themed?  What are your favorite Winter books?  Comment below!

#COYER Going Back to Basics Challenge

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COYERBTBsignup

From December 19th to March 4th, I’ll be participating in the Clean out your E-reads (COYER) Challenge hosted by Fantasy is More Fun, Because Reading & Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh, My!

The Rules

  • Read your e-reads. Every book read for the challenge must be in an electronic format – meaning ebook or audiobook.
  • The books must be FREE or NEARLY FREE. What’s nearly free? No more than $5 for ebooks and no more than $16 for audiobooks.
  • Review & link reviews.

My Goals

  • Read at least ten ebooks/audiobooks.
  • Clear out my Netgalley ebooks.
  • Participate in at least one Twitter party.

TBR

This list will probably change by Dec. 19th since I’m hoping to have several of the books already finished and reviewed by then.

The Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge

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The Never-Ending Anne Rice Challenge

I recently found out about the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge and decided to join in.  However, I’m only challenging myself to re-read the “Vampire Chronicles”, including Anne Rice’s latest book, Prince Lestat, and “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches” trilogy.  I’ve already finished Interview with the Vampire, but the Boyfriend is currently reading The Vampire Lestat.  So, I’ll have to wait until he’s done.  He takes awhile to finish the books I loan him, mostly because he’s busy reading other books, and that’s ok.  I just won’t be able to set a time goal, but while I wait, I’ll be reading The Witching Hour.  I’ll update this post as I finish each book, and link the titles to my reviews.

The Vampire Chronicles

  • Interview with the Vampire
  • The Vampire Lestat
  • Queen of the Damned
  • The Tale of the Body Thief
  • Memnock the Devil
  • The Vampire Armand
  • Merrick
  • Blood and Gold
  • Blackwood Farm
  • Blood Canticle
  • Prince Lestat

The Lives of the Mayfair Witches

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril X

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rip10500
               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

 

 

80

 

 

 

 

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 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.

#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.