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The Love of my Life <3

The Love of my Life <3

Thursday, January 28, 2010

A little note

So I've just started my classes again (yeah!) and have been reading about statistics for the past 2 hours (boo!) But this post is to inform you that I have some books that I must read for class and I thought I'd post my opinions here - even though the professor might be looking for another interpretation of the book ;)

I'm almost done reading Hex Hall (review won't be up till later - it's going to be part of a blog tour) and it's a really good book. I'm moving so all my books are at my new apartment so I might have a book around and I hope it's not a text book!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!! :)

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Hush Hush

Nora Grey is a bright sophomore who aspires to attend one of the big ivy league colleges. She walks into her biology class one day and is shocked to see two barbie dolls taped to the chalk board with "Welcome to Human Reproduction" written beneath them. She sits next to her best friend Vee, waiting to begin the semester. When the bell rings her teacher Coach walks in and tells the whole class he'll be switching it up a bit by making everyone have new lab partners. Vee is forced to move to another seat, and the person taking up Vee's old seat has danger written all over him.

The assignment Coach gives the new partners is to find out as much information as they can about their new lab partners - and yes he will check for authenticity. Nora introduces herself and waits for him to begin asking her questions. Patch however isn't a "follow the rules" kinda guy and decides to just write down all the information he knows about her. When Nora asks what he's doing he starts listing all the details about her, and all the information he's sharing is spot on. But how does he know all about her when they just met?

That's not the only thing troubling Nora. She can't stop thinking about him, and now it seems like where ever she turns Patch is right there. Half of her screams to stay away from him but the other half can't seem to stay away. Odd and scary things start to happen to Nora after becoming Patch's lab partner. One night while trying to fall asleep she is awoken by a strange sound and when she looks into her window she see a face looking back in, and her bedroom is on the second floor. She can't shake the feeling that she's being followed and watched, and it doesn't help that every time she turns around she sees a dark figure quickly disappearing. These strange occurrences are some how connected to Patch and she's having a hard time deciding if Patch is safe or dangerous.

I liked this book a lot, well generally I like all the books I read. When you first start reading this book you get a sense that Patch is dangerous but more of a 'bad boy' dangerous and you can understand why Nora is attracted and repulsed by him at the same time. He keeps telling her he has a dark past and again we along with Nora assume he was a teenage delinquent and now he's trying to reform. As the book continues more characters are added into the pot and we see how Patch/Nora react to them. Vee is the catalyst causing all the drama and friction between Nora and the new guy Elliot. I loved the foreshadows and twists and turns that were put into this story to make it fun and interesting to read.

Books in this series:

1) Hush Hush
2) Crescendo (Fall 2010)

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. New York (c) 2009

Monday, January 18, 2010

Beautiful Creatures Contest!

Blog with a Bite (hosted by ParaJunkee, Tina, and Emily) IS hosting a wonderful giveaway. They are giving away 3 copies of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl! Here are the rules for the contest . . .

Rules & Regulations:
  • Must be 13 or older
  • Must be US or Canadian resident (Mailing address)
  • Please no PO Boxes
  • You must be a follower of Blog with Bite
  • Contest Ends January 22nd Midnight CST
If you want to enter then by all means . . .Enter the contest here!!!!


It's Monday and What Are You Reading?



If you want to join w/other book bloggers about what your reading monday J. Kaye has a whole post for it!


Books Completed Last Week:
1. How to Ditch Your Fairy which I didn't quite enjoy.

Books I Gave Up

0. I almost gave up on the Ditch the fairy book.

Books I'm Currently Reading

Hush Hush!! I just started and I'm super excited :)

Books Up to Bat . . .

Geektastic
Never Slow Dance With a Zombie
And other's I can't remember (sry!)

Need by Carrie Jones

Everyone has a fear, even if they don't want to admit it. I have a fear of spiders - I hate them and I think it's because of their eight little beady eyes staring back at me. They creep me out and every time I see one I jump and run screaming from the room. I then convince someone to 1)not kill it and 2) to peacefully remove it from the room and throw it outside.

Zara knows all about fears; she can list them alphabetically and even tell you what they mean. Since the death of her step-father Zara obviously hasn't been the same. Her mother is worried about her and decides to send Zara to her grandmother's (the mother of her step-father) house in Maine. Maine couldn't be any different that Charleston. Where Charleston is warm and populated Main is cold and desolate. Since leaving Charleston Zara has been seeing a strange man where ever she goes.

On her first day of school she runs into Nick Colt a hot cross-country runner and Ian or Mr. Class President. Instantly those two boys are vying for her attention but there is something not quite right about Ian but Zara can't put her finger on it. She quickly befriends Issie and Devyn and it doesn't bother her one bit that Nick hangs around them. One day at lunch she notices the same man standing outside the cafeteria pointing at her. Issie and Devyn see him too and they decide to do some research. The only explanation that makes sense is that the person stalking Zara is a pixie - but come on, everyone knows pixies don't exist. Another strange thing is happening in the town, boys have started to disappear. When Zara, Devyn, and Issie do some more research on pixies and discover that when the pixie king becomes weak boys start to disappear. But Zara is having a hard time believing in pixies, I mean come on . . . they can't exist. When another boy disappears Zara and her friends decide to uncover the mystery.

This is a wonderful book! The first thing I think when reviewing the main character is she is a self-less young teenage girl. Zara is deeply involved in the group Amnesty International constantly writing letter to free political prisoners around the world. As you first start reading this book there is no feel of fantasy of sci-fi it's just a real girl with real problems and trying to deal with the death of her father. As the book continues you slowly slip into the fantasy world where pixies and weres (were animals) exist. I think this is a wonderful book and I can't wait to read the 2nd book!

Books in this series:

1) Need
2) Captive (Hardcover release 1/5/2010)

Need by Carrie Jones. New York (c) 2009

Thursday, January 14, 2010

How To Ditch Your Fairy

Fourteen year old Charlie lives in a town were mostly everyone has a fairy whether they believe in them or not. Her friend Rochelle has a clothes-shopping fairy which means that Rochelle will always find the most beautiful clothing at a wonderful prince. For example, Rochelle goes shopping and she finds this wonderful Chanel dress for $20(!) which would of course never happen in the real world. Charlie doesn't have a doos (awesome) fairy like Rochelle.

Charlie has a parking fairy which means she always gets the best parking spots no matter what day or what the event is for. All her friends and family love the fact that Charlie has a parking fairy - she does not. One particular person, "Danders Anders" hunts Charlie down just to lock her in his car so he can get the best parking spots. Charlie wants to get rid of her fairy no matter the cost. After hearing that she has to deny the fairy what it provides in-order get rid of the fairy she devises a plan. So she walks for 2 months before Dander Anders kidnaps her and locks her in his car insuring that he gets the best parking spots thus making her fairy gain back it's strength and stay.

That's the last straw for Charlie. Her enemy Fiorenze who has a "every-boy-likes-you fairy" comes up to Charlie and asks if she would switch fairy's with Charlie. Charlie's shocked! How could Fiorenze not want that fairy? Every boy will like you! Charlie agrees to switch her fairy with Fio. But there is a belief in Charlie's town that there is a reason you get a fairy and if you mess with the fairy there will be consequences. On her journey to lose her fairy Charlie starts to get into a lot of trouble.


I'm trying to think of a grown up reasoning of why I hate this book so much. Well not "hate'' but extremely dislike it. When I found this book at Barnes and Nobel 2 weeks ago I was excited, it looked like it would be a really good funny book to read. It turned out to be a rather dull not so funny book. There were words in the book like "doos" (awesome), "torpid" (boring), and "doxy" (terrible) that I had a hard time incorporating w/the story. Every time I came across those words it would jar me from the reading. I also found the pace of the book to go very slowly which didn't add to my already lowering opinion of the book. About 3/4 of the way the book started to pick up for me and I found it a bit more enjoyable to read. The author of this book wrote Liar but I don't know if I'll read it. I just feel let down by this book - it looked interesting and I thought it would be really funny but it just turned out to be a "blah" book.

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier. New York (c) 2008

Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Many of us will come across some books that will touch us to the core, help us to open our eyes, and give us a powerful message. Hopefully the powerful message stays with you, and helps you to see something you wouldn't normally view - or change the way you acted towards a certain situation. This books has done that for me.


The book opens with a young male, 9 years of age in Berlin during World War II. He walks into his room and sees the family maid Maria packing all his things - even his top secret things. When he asks the maid what she is doing, he is told to speak to his mother who informs him that his father has been promoted and they are all moving to "Out-With". Throughout the book the child refers to Auschwitz as "Out-With" because he cannot understand the word (you know how children are when they are learning new words, they mispronounce them.)

This young man is the only one to notice the people behind the fence, and question why they are there. When he asks his father who those people are his father replies that they aren't people at all. Bruno (the child) doesn't understand what his father means - for they are people - they have 2 legs, 2 arms, a head, walk like humans - how can they not be? One day Bruno decides that he will explore this strange place were people are separated by this huge fence and all wear gray striped pajamas. While exploring Bruno meets another young boy named Shmuel who is the exact same age, and after talking to Shmuel for a bit they both discover that they are in fact born on the same day - April 15, 1934. Soon Bruno and Shmuel form a strong relationship and talk to each other throughout the year. One day Bruno's mother wants to move her kids back to Berlin, telling her husband the Commandant that this is no place for children. Bruno goes to Shmuel with the sad news, and they both decide that for their last meeting Bruno should join Shmuel on the other side of the fence.

There are few of us in the world today who deny the existence of the Holocaust. The Holocaust is a very sensitive subject and like the author said ..."after all, only the victims and survivors can truly comprehend the awfulness of that time and place; the rest of us live on the other side of the fence . . . trying in our own clumsy ways to make sense of it all." John Boyne did a wonderful job of viewing the Holocaust through the eyes of 9 year old. Bruno and his grandmother were the only two to see the horror of war time Germany and questioning it's 'policies'. What matters the most is Bruno got that everyone is the same - age, race, sex, religious and political backgrounds don't matter. We all are the same, individual in our own way - yes, but the same. We are all human.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. New York (c) 2006

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Before the remaining three books came out, this book by far was the most action packed. Just like the maze at the end of the book, each turn held a surprise.

This summer break will be quite different for our Harry Potter. His friend Ron has invited him to the Quidditch World Cup, something that doesn't happen all the time. The only problem is to get the Dursley's permission. Well, Mr. Weasley doesn't care to have their permission so he arrives one day to pick Harry up, except his means of transportation are not what the Duresley's would've excepted.

When everyone is at the Quidditch World Cup they are blown away by all the wizards showing off. Half the camp site is maroon (for Bulgaria) while the other half is green (for Ireland). After the Irish win the cup everyone goes back to their camp sites to wind-down, but then screams start to pierce the night. Mr. Weasley has everyone run to the safety of the woods while he, with the help of the other wizards, try to subdue the rebels.
Hermonie, Ron, and Harry get separated from Ginny, George, and Fred. While Harry, Ron, and Hermonie are in deep woods a sign is placed in the air that causes more panic - the sign of Lord Voldermort.

The night before the kids leave for Hogwarts they learn that something very special will be taking place that year, but neither Mr. Weasley or anyone else will hint to what it is. While at the Welcoming Feast, Dumbledor tells that students that they will be hosting the Tri Wizard Tournament, which hasn't been hosted for many years. The tournament will begin on October 31st and anyone under the age of 17 will not be allowed to compete. When the day finally arrives the 2 visiting school arrive as well, Drumstrang and Beauxbatons. There is a wonderful feast that night with dishes from each of the visiting schools as well as the normal Hogwarts food. The next day the champions are selected - 1 from each school. When Dumbledor picks the 3 champions everyone is excited for the games to commence - until Harry's name is picked. But Harry couldn't have put is name in the running nor bewitched the cup to select his name, or could he?

Not a bad book as books go, quite better than HP and the Chamber of Secrets - but I did find the beginning of the book rather drawn out (and if I recall correctly I feel the same way for wither book 6 or 7). I do like how we got to learn about from wizards of other places, well I shouldn't say 'learn' because we didn't learn that much, but we did get to see some aspects - like their food or climate (based on how they dressed). I think my favorite part in the whole story would have to been Harry and Ron trying to find dates in time for the Yull Ball and then one acquiring them, not knowing what to do and just being extremely awkward.

Books in this series:

Books in this series:

4) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
5) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
6) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
7) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (c) 2000 US (c) 2000

Sunday, January 3, 2010

451 Challenge

This challenge is being hosted by Elizabeth who created the 451 Challenge blog. Again, do to my extreme laziness I copied and pasted all important information.



Here is how it will work: between January 1, 2010 and November 30, 2010, participants are challenged to read books on the 451 master list. There will be several levels of participation:


Spark - read 1-2 books from the master list
Ember - read 3-4 books from the master list
Flame - read 5-6 books from the master list
Blaze - read 7 or more books from the master list



I will attempt the BLAZE level - let's hope I don't get burned ;)



451 MASTER LIST

  • 1984 - George Orwell
  • A Bend in the River - V.S. Naipaul
  • A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
  • A Confederacy of Dunces - John O'Toole
  • A Solitary Blue - Cynthia Voigt
  • A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
  • A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
  • Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
  • Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
  • Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
  • Ashes in the Wind - Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
  • Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
  • Atonement - Ian McEwan
  • Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
  • Blake's Poetry & Designs - William Blake
  • Blindness - Jose Saramago
  • Call It Sleep - Henry Roth
  • Calvin and Hobbes - Bill Watterson
  • Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
  • Centennial - James Michener
  • Charlotte's Web - E.B. White
  • Collected Poems - Robert Frost
  • Collected Poems - William Butler Yeats
  • Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • Cry, The Beloved Country - Alan Paton
  • Demonology - Rick Moody
  • Devil in the White City - Erik Larsen
  • Diaries of Anais Nin - Anais Nin
  • Different Seasons - Stephen King
  • Dr. Seuss's ABC - Dr. Seuss
  • Dr. Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
  • Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
  • Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
  • Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
  • Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
  • Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise - Ruth Reichel
  • Geek Love - Katherine Dunne
  • Going After Cacciato - Tim O'Brien
  • Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
  • Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
  • Greengage Summer - Rumer Godden
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling
  • I Am America and So Can You! - Stephen Colbert
  • I Am David - Ann Holm
  • In This House of Brede - Rumer Godden
  • Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
  • Islandia - Austin Tappan Wright
  • Izzy Willy Nilly - Cynthia Voigt
  • Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
  • Jitterbug Perfume - Tom Robbins
  • Julius Ceasar - William Shakespeare
  • Just So Stories - Rudyard Kipling
  • Legends of Pensam - Mamang Dai
  • Les Miserable - Victor Hugo
  • Little Boy Lost - Marghanita Laski
  • Little Women - Louise May Alcott
  • Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
  • Long Day's Journey Into Night - Eugene O'Neill
  • Love You Forever - Robert Munsch
  • Macbeth - William Shakespeare
  • Mary Poppins - P.L. Travers
  • Maus - Art Spiegelman
  • Maus II - Art Spiegelman
  • Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
  • Middlemarch - George Eliot
  • My Invented Country - Isabel Allende
  • Night - Elie Wiesel
  • Night at the Circus - Angela Carter
  • Nursery Rhymes - Mother Goose
  • Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis
  • Paco's Story - Larry Heinemann
  • Paradise Lost - John Milton
  • Parthian Stations - John Ash
  • Peace Like a River - Leif Enger
  • Perfume - Patrick Suskind
  • Persuasion - Jane Austen
  • Piercing the Darkness - Frank Peretti
  • Pitch Dark - Renata Adler
  • Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
  • Quarantine - Jim Crace
  • Rabbit is Rich - John Updike
  • Rasero - Francisco Rebolledo
  • River's End - Nora Roberts
  • Roots - Alex Haley
  • Sam Bangs and Moonshine - Evaline Ness
  • Sea Glass - Anita Shreve
  • Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 - Nathaniel Philbrick
  • Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
  • Silence - Shusaku Endo
  • Small Gods - Terry Pratchett
  • South Riding - Winifred Holtby
  • St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves - Karen Russell
  • Summer of my German Soldier - Bette Green
  • Ten Tales Tall and True - Alasdair Gray
  • Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights
  • The Autograph Man - Zadie Smith
  • The Awakening - Kate Chopin
  • The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Beginning and the End - Naguib Mahfouz
  • The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Barbara Robinson
  • The Blindfold - Siri Hustvedt
  • The Blue Castle - L.M. Montgomery
  • The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
  • The Butcher Boy - Patrick McCabe
  • The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
  • The Complete Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  • The Complete Works of Shakespeare - William Shakespeare
  • The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
  • The Courage of Their Convictions: Sixteen Americans Who Fought Their Way to the Supreme Court - Peter Irons
  • The Double Helix - James D. Watson
  • The Dragonridgers of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
  • The Family from One End Street - Eve Garnett
  • The Far Pavilions - M.M. Kaye
  • The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
  • The Giver - Lois Lowry
  • The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein
  • The Golems of Gotham - Thane Rosenbaum
  • The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
  • The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
  • The Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
  • The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
  • The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom
  • The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
  • The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkein
  • The Hours - Michael Cunningham
  • The Iliad - Homer
  • The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde
  • The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan
  • The Joy of Cooking - Rombauer, Becker, and Becker
  • The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
  • The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Kay
  • The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
  • The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkein
  • The Love of a Good Woman - Alice Munro
  • The Magic of Ordinary Days - Ann Howard Creel
  • The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster
  • The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux
  • The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
  • The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene
  • The Ring and the Book - Robert Browning
  • The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4 - Sue Townsend
  • The Shadow of the WInd - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  • The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx
  • The Sleep Book - Dr. Seuss
  • The Stand - Stephen King
  • The Story Girl - L.M. Montgomery
  • The Story of a Mariage - Andrew Sean Greer
  • The Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
  • The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffinegger
  • The Way of Herbs - Michael Tierra
  • The Worst Hard Time - Timothy Egan
  • The Yiddish Policeman's Union - Michael Chabon
  • This Present Darkness - Frank Peretti
  • Time and Again - Jack Finney
  • To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
  • Tropic of Cancer - Henry Miller
  • Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
  • Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
  • We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
  • We the Living - Ayn Rand
  • We Were the Mulvaneys - Joyce Carol Oates
  • Where the Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein
  • Winesburg, Ohio - Sherwood Anderson
  • Women in the Wall - Julia O'Faolian
  • Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
  • Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig

We Didn't Start the Fire - Challenge

So, I saw this challenge upon a blog that I had never been before and it caught my eye. Many of us have heard the famous song "We didn't start the fire" by Billy Joel, it is this song that Sarah of Behold, the thing that reads a lot to create this challenge.

There are 3 categories that are then broken down into levels. *Copying and Pasting commence!*

Here are the levels:


FICTION

  • Bronze Fiction: Read 5 books specifically mentioned in the song or a book by an author specifically mentioned. Or, read a work of fiction about something else mentioned in the song.
  • Silver Fiction: Read 8 books within the same criteria mentioned above.
  • Gold Fiction: Read 10 books within the same criteria mentioned above.

NONFICTION

  • Bronze Nonfiction: Read 5 nonfiction books about any topic in the song.
  • Silver Nonfiction: Read 8 nonfiction books about any topic in the song.
  • Gold Nonfiction: Read 10 nonfiction books about any topic in the song.

COMBO

  • Bronze Combo: Read any combination of 5 fiction or nonfiction books related to the song.
  • Silver Combo: Read any combination of 8 fiction or nonfiction books related to the song.
  • Gold Combo: Read any combination of 10 fiction or nonfiction books related to the song.
I have decided to do GOLD COMBO! I need to read more non-fiction books and I think doing the combo will make it more fun! To sign up for this challenge here is the link.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Take A Chance Challenge

Ah. New Year, new blog layout/color scheme (which I'm still working on), and a new challenge for me. I saw this challenge last year but I didn't think I could enter - or it was over by the time I found it. I was sad because it looked like a REALLY fun challenge, and lo and behold I came across it again - and right at the starting point! :)

It is called the Take A Chance Challenge hosted by Jenners of Find Your Next Book Here.


I am copying and pasting the rules and guide lines here (I'm so lazy sometimes. . .)

"Basic Information
  • The challenge will run from January 1, 2010 until December 31, 2010.
  • Here are the participation levels. Feel free to do whatever level you want. You can also switch up or down midway through the challenge.
A Small Gamble: Complete any 3 of the 12 challenges described below.
A Moderate Gamble: Complete any 6 of the 12 challenges described below.
Gambling It All: Complete all 12 of the challenges described below.
  • Each challenge you complete and link up in the correct Mr. Linky spots (which will be posted on January 1, 2010) will earn you entries into a prize drawing at the end of the challenge. Some of the challenges are harder and will earn you more entries. If you complete all 12 challenges, you will earn 5 extra entries into the drawing.
  • The prize is a book of the winner's choice from Amazon (worth $25 or less).
  • Crossover books from other challenges is fine.
So here are the 12 challenges for you to pick from. The "easier" challenges are listed first, followed by the harder challenges that are worth more entries into the prize drawing.

The 12 Challenges

Challenge 1: Read Your Doppelganger (worth 1 entry)
Find an author who has either the same initials, the same first name, the same last name, or the exact same name as you. Read a book by this author and write a post about it. (If you try to keep your identity anonymous on your blog, you don't have to reveal what part of the author's name is the same as your name.)
Example: If your name is Susan Kasischke, you might read a book by Stephen King (same initials), Susan Donovan (same first name), Laura Kasischke (same last name) or Susan Kasischke (same exact name).
Challenge 2: Blogroll Roulette (worth 1 entry)
Find a blogroll at either your book blog or a book blog you like that has at least 15 book blogs on it. Go to
Random.org and, using the True Random Number Generator, enter the number 1 for the min. and 15 for the max. and then hit generate. Then find the blog that is that number on the blogroll you selected. (For example, if you get 10 at Random.org, then count down the list of blogs until you get to the tenth one). Go to that blog and pick a book to read from the books that they have reviewed on their blog. Read it and write a post about it. Be sure to link to the blog post you picked the book from!

Challenge 3: 100 Best Book (worth 1 entry)
Choose one of the lists below and go to the link provided. Choose a book to read from the list that you haven't read before. Read the book and write about it.
Challenge 4: Prize Winner Book (worth 1 entry)
Pick one of the major literary awards from the list below. Click on the link for the award you picked. You will find a brief description of the award and links to past winners. Pick one of the past winners, read the book and write about it.
Challenge 5: Title Word Count (worth 1 entry)
Go to
Random.org and, using the True Random Number Generator, enter the numbers 1 for the min. and 5 for the max. and then hit generate. Find a book to read that has that number of words in the title. Read the book and write about it.
Example: If you get 1 for your number, read a book that has a one word title. If you get 2, read a book that has a two word title and so on and so forth.
Challenge 6: Genre Switch-Up (worth 1 entry)
Go to
this list of book genres and pick a genre that you have NEVER read before. Find a book from that genre, read it, and write about it. Note: If you seriously cannot find a genre that you have never read, then pick the genre that is as far away from what you normally read.

Challenge 7: Break A Prejudice (worth 1 entry)
We all have reading prejudices--authors we don't like, genres we don't like, or even publishers we don't like. For this challenge, think of a reading prejudice you have and then find a book that is an example of this type of book. Read the book and then write about the reading prejudice you had BEFORE you read the book and how reading the book either changed your prejudice or reinforced it.
Examples: I always say I can't stand James Patterson; therefore, I might read a James Patterson book for this challenge. Or, if you sneer at "chick lit" books, you might read a "chick lit" book. Or, if you think books published by Harlequin are pure drivel, you might read a book published by Harlequin. If you turn up your nose at the Twilight books, then you might read one of the Twilight books.
Challenge 8: Real and Inspired (worth 2 entries)
Many authors or books inspire others to pay homage to them by writing another book inspired by the original work. For this challenge, read both an original work and a book inspired by that original work. Write about both books in one post. Note: This might require some research on your part and requires reading two books so it worth 2 entries.
Examples: Christopher Moore's Fool is based on Shakespeare's play King Lear so I plan on reading both King Lear and Fool. Another example is Jane Austen, who inspired the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. For this challenge, you might read bothPride and Prejudice and the zombie version. (There are tons of other Austen-inspired books out there too.) Another idea would be a graphic novel version of a "standard" novel. The only real requirement is that the "inspired by" book must clearly state what original work inspired it.
Challenge 9: Same Word, Different Book (worth 2 entries)
Find two books that have the same word in the title. Read both books and write about them. (Worth 2 entries because you have to read two books).
Example: If you pick the word "Love," you could read any two books that both have Love in the title. To help you find books that have the same word, you could go to Amazon.com, type a word into the Search box and see what books come up with that word.
Challenge 10: Become A Character (worth 2 entries)
For this challenge, you can read any book you want. However, you have to write about the book as one of the characters from the book. The character can comment on his/her treatment by the author, other characters, the "untold story," what happened next, and so forth. You could even have two characters interviewing each other! Your imagination is the only limit. Because of the difficulty level of this challenge, it is worth two entries.

Challenge 11: All in the Family (worth 2 entries)
The writing gene often runs in the family. For this challenge, you need to find two authors from the same family (either by blood or by marriage) and read a book by each of the authors and then write about both books. Because of the research involved and having to read two books, this challenge is worth two entries.
Examples: The Bronte sisters; Stephen King and his wife Tabitha OR his son Joe Hill; Jonathan Kellerman (husband) and Faye Kellerman (wife); Michael Chabon (husband) and Ayelet Waldman (wife); Joan Didion (wife) and John Gregory Dunne (husband); Mary Higgins Clark (mother) and Carol Higgins Clark (daughter)
Challenge 12: Author Anthology Pick (worth 2 entries)
Find an anthology of your choice. Read at least 5 entries in the anthology. Of the 5 entries you've read, pick your favorite one and then find a book by that writer and read it. (If your first choice doesn't have a book, then pick your next favorite until you find a writer that has a book.) Write about the anthology, your favorite pick from the anthology, and the book you read by your favorite pick. Because of having to obtain and read two books, this challenge is worth two entries. Thanks to J.T. Oldfieldat Bibliofreak who partially inspired this challenge.
Example: If you choose a poetry anthology, you would at least 5 different poems, pick your favorite, and then seek out a book of poetry by that poet. If you read a short story anthology, you would read at least 5 different short stories, pick your favorite, and then seek out either a novel or another book of short stories by that writer.
I'm dying to hear what you think about these challenges! I think they might be even harder than the previous challenge, but I'm really excited about the possibilities. I hope you are excited too. If you do a post about the challenge to announce your participation and help me promote it, you can gain an extra entry into the drawing. Simply link up that post in Mr. Linky below.

And remember, I'll be posting the places to link up your challenge entries on January 1, 2010 so look for them! Happy Reading and thanks for participating!"



If you want to enter please don't hesitate and hop on over HERE!!!
I will do all 12 Challenges because they all sound fascinating and I wouldn't be able not too! I know some of them will be hard for me - but that's what makes it exciting! Right? And I guess frustrating too. I forgot what else I was going to write. Well Good Luck to everyone!!