What: The Year of Readers 2009
When: 1 January – 31 December 2009
Who: Jodie (Book Gazing)
Rules: The participants of this challenge raise funds for a reading-related charity of their choice. Getting other people to sponsor you — pledge money based on number of books — is strictly voluntary. Due to the nature of the challenge, there are very few restrictions on what counts as a book: for example, graphic novels and poetry anthologies count; newspapers and magazines do not. To read more about the challenge, visit The Year of Readers website.
The charity I chose is First Book.
My personal pledge is $2.00 $3.00 per book. I hope to read 60 books by the end of the year.
I will track my progress on the 2009 Master Reading List.
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When I realized that I wasn’t going to reach my original goal of 60 books in 2009, I changed my per book dollar amount. I also decided to contribute $1.00 per short story/novella and .50 per book that I did not finish. Below is the breakdown of what I will be sending to First Book:
Completed Books: 36 books x $3.00 = $108.00
DNF: 14 books x .50 = $7.00
SS/Novellas: 3 stories x $1.00 = $3.00
Total: $118.00
What: The 2009 Pub Challenge
When: 1 January – 31 December 2009
Who: 3M
Rules: Go to the challenge website for the full list of rules. Here are a few highlights: Read nine books, first published in 2009; no Young Adult or children’s books; crossovers with other challenges allowed.
The list is possibilities. More to follow. . .
- Magic Strikes (Ilona Andrews) {28 Mar 09} (REVIEW)
- Dawnkeepers (Jessica Andersen) {15 Jan 09} (REVIEW)
- Skykeepers (Jessica Andersen) {17 Aug 09} (REVIEW)
- Kiss of Fate (Cooke, Deborah) {14 Oct 09} (REVIEW) **pending**
- On the Edge (Ilona Andrews) {30 Sep 09} (REVIEW)
- Silent on the Moor (Deanna Raybourn) {19 Mar 09} (REVIEW)
- For the Love of Pete (Julia Harper) {24 Oct 09} (REVIEW) **pending**
- Dark Crusade (Lori Devoti) {16 Mar 09} (REVIEW)
- Ravenous (Sharon Ashwood) {18 Feb 09} (REVIEW)
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One of my favorite challenges. Didn’t have a problem finishing this one and I probably would have gotten a few more read, too. Most of these books ended up on my Top Ten for the year.
I will be participating in the 2010 challenge.
What: New Author Challenge
When: 1 January – 31 December 2009
Who: Jackie (Literary Escapism)
Rules: To read as many new-to-you authors as you think you can in one year. Novels preferred, but anthologies are also acceptable.
My goal is 12 new authors. Books in RED count on multiple challenges:
01. Gifford, Blythe – Innocence Unveiled {6 Jan 09} (REVIEW)
02. Singh, Nalini – Slave to Sensation {24 Jan 09} (REVIEW)
03. Kenin, Eve – Driven {7 Feb 09} (REVIEW)
04. Ashwood, Sharon – Ravenous {18 Feb 09} (REVIEW)
05. Feehan, Christine – Shadow Game {10 Mar 09} (REVIEW)
06. Estep, Jennifer – Karma Girl {27 Apr 09} (REVIEW)
07. Blake, Ally – The Magnate’s Indecent Proposal {30 Apr 09} (REVIEW)
08. Maddox, Michelle – Countdown {11 May 09} {REVIEW)
09. Ambrose, Starr – Lie to Me {28 Jun 09} (REVIEW)
10. Menden, A. J. – Phenomenal Girl 5 {1 Jul 09} (REVIEW)
11. Rardin, Jennifer – Once Bitten, Twice Shy {18 Jul9} (REVIEW)
12. Force, Marie – Line of Scrimmage {29 Sep 09} (REVIEW)
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If you have seen my Top Ten for 2009, then you know that several of these new-to-me authors made the list. Most of them, I plan to read more of their work — if I haven’t already. I can’t really say which was the least liked, since I finished all of them and nothing got lower than a 3-star.
I’m signed up for 2010. I did so well, I plan to squeeze a few more new-to-me authors than I did this year. We’ll see how that works out with the move.
What: Anne Stuart Read-a-Fest
When: 15 April – 15 October 2009
Who: Ana O. (Cosy Little World)
Rules: To read as many novels written by Anne Stuart in six months. No list required. Ana will be awarding prizes. To learn more and sign up, read the sign-up post.
01. Into the Fire {25 Apr 09} (REVIEW)
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To quote what I said in my October monthly update: “The Anne Stuart Read-a-Feast kind of disappeared. Well, not kind of at all. The host moved to a self-hosted site but didn’t carry over this challenge. I never asked why, but my guess is that there wasn’t much participation. As you can see, I only read one book. I had plans to read more, of course. And since there were no minimums, I’m counting it as a successful challenge. “
What: 2009 Chunkster Challenge
When: Now – 15 November 2009
Who: Think Pink Dana
Rules: Decide how many 450+ page novels you want to read by November. Must be adult-level books (no YA). There are multiple levels. See the challenge site for more details.
Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? – this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 3-5 Chunksters over the next ten months.
1. Dawnkeepers (Andersen, Jessica) – 455 pages (REVIEW)
2. Silent on the Moor (Raybourn, Deanna) – 465 (REVIEW)
3. Skykeepers (Andersen, Jessica) – 454 pages (REVIEW)
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Though I had several books that came real close to the page requirement, I wouldn’t have been able to complete this challenge if it wasn’t for Jessica Andersen’s “The Final Prophecy” series. One of these day’s I’m going to figure out what my average is, page wise. If I had to guess, I’d say somewhere between 300 to 350. I’ve been reading quite a few category romances this year.
For clarification — I look for the last page of the story, not including the excepts, for the length. It’s a bit annoying to know that a book may have 450 pages in it, but the story ended on page 435 and the rest is a sneak peek.
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