2011 YA Reading Challenge

I didn't do too well with my 2010 reading Challenges but I met and exceeded the YA Reading Challenge so I decided to do this one again! Here are the rules:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.  Create a post about the challenge and link your challenge post up in the linky below.

--Non-Bloggers: Post your list of books in the comment section of the wrap-up post.

2. There are four levels:

--The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.

--The "Fun Size" YA Reading Challenge – Read 20 Young Adult novels.

--The Jumbo Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 40 Young Adult novels.

--The Mega size YA Reading Challenge – Read 50+ Young Adult novels.

3. Audio, eBooks, paper, re-reads all count.

4. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

5. The Challenge starts on January 1, 2011 and goes until December 31, 2011.


I'm doing the Fun Size...20 ya books!


If you would like to participate, head over to For the Love of YA and join in the fun!

2010 Reading Challenges

As the new year is approaching fast I took the time to review how I've done so far on reading challenges I'm participating in. I've concluded that I've failed miserably:-( I came really close on the 2010 Audio Book Challenge...only two left to go but I doubt I'll make it since It's not really my thing. If I commuted to work I would probably listen to more audio books but my drive is a very short one. I fell really short on the 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge. I use my local library a lot I just don't read as fast as I used to. The same goes for the 2010 E-Book Reading Challenge. I'm happy to announce that I reached my goal for the 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge (so I don't feel like a complete loser). I even read read 10 more than the required 12. This year when I sign up for 2011 challenges I think I'll be a little more realistic in setting my goals. What about you? How did everyone else do on their 2010 Challenges?

Success!

Summer Break Reading Challenge

I'm so excited that Karin is hosting a new challenge on her blog! If you haven't participated before now is the time. There are great prizes and lots of fun. Here are the details:

1. The Challenge will start today (June 23, 2010) and end toward the end of August.

2. You DO NOT have to participate in every activity - just pick and choose what you want to do.

3. Some activities will have a specific prize attached to them, but some you will be able to choose what you want from a list of available books.

4. Activity due dates will be listed in each post.

Any questions, feel free to email Karin at karinlibrarian@gmail.com.

Read, Remember, Recommend Teen Challenge

Bibliobabe is hosting the Read, Remember, Recommend Teen Reading Challenge to celebrate the April 1st release of her new book.

Here are the details:

* Check out all the amazing books (thousands!) mentioned in Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens and plan your attack. Books do not need to be decided upon in advance. All books must be mentioned in the journal lists.
* Write a challenge sign-up post on your blog. In that post provide a link to the Read, Remember, Recommend Teen Reading Challenge post. Please feel free to use the Read, Remember, Recommend Teen Reading Challenge button in your post. If you do not have a blog, introduce yourself in a comment below.
* Add your name and the direct link to the sign-up post in the Mister Linky list below.
* Each time you read and review a book as part of this challenge, share this with other challenge participants by adding a direct link to your book review to the list in a comment at this post. If you do not have a blog, leave your review as a comment.

Rules:

* Read as many books from the Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens reading journal as you can in one year. Books read before April 1st, 2010 do not count. Overlaps with other challenges (including the Read, Remember, Recommend Fiction Reading Challenge) are acceptable – and encouraged!
* Rereading doesn’t count – have fun exploring new authors, awards and books!
* Audio, print, and e-books are all acceptable.
* Post your review or link to your review in a comment below.
* You can change your commitment level at anytime.

Levels:

* NE2N – Not Even to Newbery – 5 books
* CYA – Covering Your Assigments – 10 books
* LOL – Literature Over Love – 20 books
* BFF – Book Fiend Forever – 30 books

The Grand prize is an e-reader of your choice! Check out the other awesome prizes at bibliobabe.com. This challenge runs from April 1st 2010-April 1st 2011

I'm choosing BFF-Book Friend Forever-30 books

1. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
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Dystopian Challange

I think I was a little too ambitious when I chose level 3- 20 books for this challenge. There is no way I would be able to read 20 book in that time frame. I ended up choosing level 1, five books.

First on my list is The Passage by Justin Cronin. From Goodreads:

“It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.”

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.

This one is gonna take me awhile with 784 pages!

Dystopian Challenge 2010

I love to read dystopian fiction and have decided to join this awesome challenge. If you would like to read more about what makes dystopian fiction read this post at Parajunkee's View!

Here are the rules:

1. Open to everyone (if you do not have a blog, just state in the comments section that you read the book and on what date)
   
2. Any book format - Wiki list of dystopian lit
   
3. Books can be chosen throughout the year, but must have been read within the timeline. Just because your read Fahrenheit 451 in 7th grade doesn't mean it counts.
   
4. Sign-up below with Mr. Linky
5. Post your reviews in the comments area
   
6. Three Levels:

• Level 1 - Experimental - 5 books
• Level 2 - Addict - 10 books
• Level 3 - Junkee - 20 books

Level 3 participants will get a dystopian button with their blog or name on it and entry into a contest to win The Hunger Games: Book 3.
Timeline: Jan. 1, 2010-Aug. 24, 2010

I'm going to choose level 1- Experimental-5 books

1. The Passage by Justin Cronin
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2010 Audio Book Challenge

Since I received a brand new purple Ipod this Christmas, I decided to join the Audio Book Challenge. This challenge is being hosted at the Royal Reviews. I've been enjoying listening to audio books on the Ipod while doing housework and driving in the car.

Here are the guidelines...

Challenge Guidelines:
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
--Non-Bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.

2. There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

3. Audio books only.

4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010. Only books started on January 1st count towards this challenge.

6. When you sign up under Mr. Linky, put the direct link to the post about the Audio Book Reading Challenge. Include the URL so that other participants can find join in and read your reviews and post.

I'm going to shoot for Addicted-12 books


1. Impossible by Nancy Werlin
2. Testimony by Anita Shreve
3. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
4. The BoneMan's Daughters by Ted Dekker
5. UR by Stephen King
6. Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
7. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
8. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
9. The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
10. Going Bovine by Libba Bray
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2010 Library Reading Challenge

I'm joining a new reading challenge and this one should be an easy one for me since almost all of my books come from a library. I use the Rolling Prairie Library System and encourage my students to use it too. It's a great resource as most books can be found on it. Every now and then I am unable to find a copy of the book I'm looking for and then I "break down" and actually purchase a book. This reading challenge is hosted at J. Kaye's Book Blog. I'm going to pick the Just My Size- check out 50 library books.

1. Rescuing Sprite by Mark R. Levin
2. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
3. The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
4. Testimony by Anita Shreve
5. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
7. Surviving Hitler by Andrea Warren
8. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
9. The Things That Keep Us Here by Carla Buckley
10. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
11. Surviving the Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Kor
12. Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart
13. House Rules: A Memoir by Rachel Sontag
14. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
15. Going Bovine by Libba Bray
16. Between Here and April by Deborah Kogan
17. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
18. Lessons From a Dead Girl Jo Knowles
19. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
20. Pop by Gordon Korman
21. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
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2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge

The 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge, hosted by J.Kaye, is all about exploring young adult novels. Here are the guidelines:

• Anyone can join. You don’t need a blog to participate. –Non-Bloggers: Post your list of books in the comment section of the wrap-up post. To learn how to sign up without having a blog, click here.
• There are four levels:
• The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.
• Just My Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 25 Young Adult novels.
• Stepping It Up YA Reading Challenge – Read 50 Young Adult novels.
• Super Size Me YA Reading Challenge – Read 75 Young Adult novels.
• Audio, eBooks, paper all count.
• No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.
• Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010.
• When you sign up under Mr. Linky, put the direct link to your post where your Young Adult novels will be listed. Include the URL so that other viewers can find this fun challenge. If you’d prefer to put your list in the sidebar of your blog, please leave your viewers the link to the sign up page. Again, so viewers can join the challenge too.

Sign up is at J. Kaye’s Book Blog! My list will be below — I’m choosing the Mini YA Reading Challenge option:

1. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
2. Impossible by Nancy Werlin
3. The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
4. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
5. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
7. Surviving Hitler by Andrea Warren
8. Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
9. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
10. Surviving the Angel of Death: The story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor
11. Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu
12. Going Bovine by Libba Bray
13. Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda
14. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
15. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
16. You by Charles Benoit
17. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
18. Lessons From a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles
19. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
20. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
21. Paper Towns by John Green
22. Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Couter
23. Protecting Marie by Kevin Henkes
24. After by Amy Efaw
25. Pop by Gordon Korman
26. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

E-Book Reading Challenge

For my birthday I purchased a Kindle! I love, love, love it! Probably my favorite perk of owning one is that I can download samples (free) of books I'm interested in and then decide whether to purchase the Kindle edition (for the right price) or request it from my local library. There are several free books offered on a regular basis and I subscribe to the blog, Free Kindle Books Plus a Few Other Tips, to keep updated. Subscribing to blogs on my Kindle is pretty cool too! With that said...I've joined another book challenge:

Challenge Guidelines:
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
--Non-Bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.

2. There are four levels:

-- Curious – Read 3 E-Books.

-- Fascinated – Read 6 E-Books.

-- Addicted – Read 12 E-Books.

-- Obsessed – Read 20 E-Books.

3. Any genre counts.

4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010.

6. When you sign up under Mr. Linky, put the direct link to the post about the E-Book Reading Challenge. Include the URL so that other participants can find join in and read your reviews and post.

I chose-Obsessed- Read 20 E-Books

1. Pieces of Happily Ever After by Irene Zutell
2. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
3. Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy Frost and Gail Steketee
4. The Passage by Justin Cronin
5. Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda
6. The Particular Sadness of  Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
7. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
8. You by Charles Benoit
9. The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell
10. Room by Emma Donoghue
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