Holiday Break Reading Challenge #15

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"I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve. The start of the new year brings the opportunity for reflection about what we've done during the past year and the goals for what we want to accomplish in the coming year. Take today to answer the following questions on your blog. If, for some reason, some of the questions to apply to you, just answer what you can."

REFLECTIONS



1. What was your favorite aspect of your blog in 2009?


I just got back into actually posting on my blog late in the year. My favorite posts were about books. I liked finding information about new books and authors and including links and trailers.



2. Was there a particular featured/weekly post you participated in that you enjoyed and plan to continue in 2010?

I like the In My Mailbox weekly post from The Story Siren and intend to keep posting in that one. Besides seeing what others were getting, it led me to lots of very interesting blogs. I also signed up for six challenges this year and will be posting about those too. The blog will be more focused on what I'm reading this year. I have spun off my work as a media specialist into a new blog -- Ms. Martin Teaches Media.

3. Is there anything you don't like about your blog that you want to fix? (design, posts, followers, blog host, etc.)


I have been playing a little bit more with design on my new blog. I like Blogger. I wish I had more followers though.



4. Is there a blog you visit that you admire and aspire to emulate?

I read and follow so many blogs! There are good points and bad about each of them. What I look for is information -- news about up-coming books and book-related movies, author interviews, clear and concise book reviews. Since I follow the blogs in Google Reader or Bloglines, I am often surprised when I go to the actual blog at the design choices some people make -- black backgrounds with words that barely stand out and difficult to read fonts are two of my pet peaves. I also get annoyed when I visit a blog and music starts playing and I have to search the sidebar to figure out what to turn off.


GOALS


1.  Post clear, informative reviews of the books I read


2.  Post at least 3 times a week


3.  Try to have at least 50 followers by the end of 2010

Reading Into the New Year

This challenge is completed and I won a prize. I am so excited and eager to get another book to read. The book I chose will fit into my Middle Grade Reading Challenge.

I will be participating in this challenge to see out the old year and welcome in the new year. I don't have a book planned. I'll just see what strikes my fancy from my TBR stack.

Here is the information about the Readathon from Kristen's blog Bookworming in the 21st Century.

Now, what is the Read-a-thon all about? Promoting reading in the new year - 2010!

Starts: 5 pm on Thursday, December 31st

Ends: 10 pm on Sunday, January 3rd

You can read as little or as much as you want! Also, I'm planning on having a smaller event called Reading Into the New Year - where us bookworms can read as it turns midnight! I will be posting the sign up for that event next. Please partake in either or both!!!

So, to start off. My goal is to read at least 24 hours. I'm going to see what books I get through closer to the date and then post about the pile of books I want to get through. As you're thinking about what books you want to read, consider the following:

• 
  
  Shorter books are easier to push through and you may want to include a few of those
  
  
  
• 
  
  You don't have to read a crazy amount of hours - whatever you can fit in!
  
  
  
• 
  
  This is a no stress readathon, so if you don't meet your goal - no big.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Think about any new challenges your starting and what books are on those lists.
  
  
  

I am not going to even guess how many hours I'll be reading. I usually don't keep track of the time I read. I will be keeping track of the number of books and number of pages that I read. I know that January 2 will be a day spent traveling from my vacation home to my home with stops along the way. I'm not sure how much reading I'll be able to fit in. Too bad I don't have an audio book for the car ride.

January 1 will also be the first day of the six challenges I am participating in this year. Probably some of what I read will fit in to one or more of them.

Here's what I read:

1. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper

2. Gentlemen Prefer Succubi by Jill Myles

That's it. I probably spent about 7 hours reading these two books.

I have spent all day today reading blogs (and adding to my TBR list) instead of reading books I already have. Bad, Kathy!

Best Books I Read This Year (Adult)

Holiday Break Reading Challenge #14

This challenge is like asking a mother to say who her favorite child is. As of this morning I have read 225 books in 2009. I can't limit myself to just nine books. I'm not sure I can limit myself to nine authors. But here are my memorable reads of 2009.

Many of my favorite authors came out with one (or more) books this year.

1. Jayne Ann Krentz added wonderful new books written as herself, Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick this year.
2. Nora Roberts and Suzanne Brockmann each had two books that I really enjoyed. And Nora, writing as J. D. Robb, added more excellent adventures in the Eve Dallas series.
3. Lois McMaster Bujold completed her Sharing Knife Quartet with still another excellent book. I reread all four of them this year.
4. Jim Butcher added to his Harry Dresden series and completed his Codex Alera series with excellent books.
5. Kelley Armstrong made additions to her Women of the Otherworld series and her series about Nadia Stafford, Hit Woman.
6. Mustn't forget Rachel Vincent, Patricia Briggs, Nalini Singh and Jacqueline Carey. They all added memorable books to my bookshelves this year.

These are the books by "new to me" authors that I really liked this year.

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready

I'm sure that I am forgetting more than one author or book that brought me pleasure this year. It was a good year for books.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge Update

Here is a list of what I have read since the Holiday Break Reading Challenge began on Dec. 18.

My first goal was to catch up with newly published books in series that I follow. I began with Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton. This is the eighth in the Merry Gentry series and was a good read for fans of the series. Then I read First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher. This is the sixth in that series and was filled with battles as the war with the Vord Queen comes to a head.

Then Christmas Eve came and I was looking for something lighter. I had brought Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle with me and it proved to be the light and fluffy romance that I was looking for. It was a very good Christmas story or, rather, three interconnected stories. Very young adult and very nice. This was also the first time that I have read anything by any of these young adult authors. I now have to go and read other things that they have written. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson was free for the Kindle and I downloaded it. I know I have John Green's books in my HS Media Center. I'm not sure about Lauren Myracle but when I get back to school I'll check.

Christmas Day I fired up the Kindle (so to speak) and read some adult books. I read Alpha Turned by K B Alan which is the story of a young woman taken home by a college boyfriend and forcibly turned into a werewolf. She eventually finds her place and love when she meets an honorable werewolf. Kiss and Kin by Kinsey Holley and Serengeti Heat by Vivi Andrews were also shape-shifter erotic romances. They were all good reads if you are looking for erotic romance. Alpha Turned was free for the Kindle and the other two were $2.80 each. As far as I know, none of them are available as print books.

Then, still in a paranormal mood, I picked up Immortal: Love Stories with Bite which was edited by P. C. Cast and included a number of stories by Young Adult authors of paranormal books. I chose this book to read the stories by authors I already read -- Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine, and Rachel Vincent -- but all of the stories were good and I may have to add a few more authors to my reading list.

After finishing that book of short stories, I chose another. I chose Changing the World: All-New Tales of Valdemar. The book quickly brought me back to the world of Heralds and Companions. I liked the Valdemar books written by Mercedes Lackey and like going back to it with the various short story anthologies that have been printed.

Staying in the short story mode, I chose to read The Queen in Winter next. This book is essentially composed of four novellas. I chose it for the novella by Sharon Shinn which revisits her Twelve Houses universe. I read the story by Lynn Kurland too. I lost interest before finishing the book but I did read the first two stories.

Next, I chose Shadowlight by Lynn Viehl. This is her first book in the Kyndred series. It is a spin-off from her Darkyn books. The Kyndred are children who were created by the Brethren to battle the Darkyn but were abandoned, adopted, and raised in ignorance of their abilities. The story talks about how the Kyndred are trying to find each other and learn about themselves and the other Kyndred while keeping themselves secret from the greater society for fear that they would be used again because of their powers. This was a good introduction. I'll be looking for the next installment in May.

That brings me to today. Next on the list is another short paranormal -- Eternal Desire -- by Roxanne Rhoads. I follow her blog and thought I would give her book a try.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge #12

I so don't do animal books (and talking animals are twice as bad). Any animals I read about are fantastical like werewolves or Companions (Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books).

But I did read one animal book as a child that has stayed with me for life. Somehow it is indelibly imprinted on my mind. I read Black Beauty. I remember crying so hard that my mother threatened to take the book away from me before I finished it. Maybe the memory of sobbing through a book is what has turned me off animal books to this day.

Product description from Amazon: "A horse is a horse of course unless of course the horse is Black Beauty. Animal-loving children have been devoted to Black Beauty throughout this century, and no doubt will continue through the next. Although Anna Sewell's classic paints a clear picture of turn-of-the-century London, its message is universal and timeless: animals will serve humans well if they are treated with consideration and kindness.

Black Beauty tells the story of the horse's own long and varied life, from a well-born colt in a pleasant meadow to an elegant carriage horse for a gentleman to a painfully overworked cab horse. Throughout, Sewell rails--in a gentle, 19th-century way--against animal maltreatment. Young readers will follow Black Beauty's fortunes, good and bad, with gentle masters as well as cruel. Children can easily make the leap from horse-human relationships to human-human relationships, and begin to understand how their own consideration of others may be a benefit to all. (Ages 9 to 12)"

This a is picture of a current edition of Black Beauty. I think mine was an old Whitman Classics version. In fact, it might still be here around the house if I would just go looking. (Now that I'm thinkiing about it there was also an old Spin and Marty book about a rich boy going to a dude ranch and learning all about horses and other critters that I read at about the same time period. That might be here too.) I'm spending Christmas Break in the house my parents built and brought me to as a 6-month-old baby.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge Activity 11: 2010 Challenges

I am either getting carried away on this blogging thing or losing my mind. I am planning to take part in 6 reading challenges in 2010.

Here they are:

The 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge hosted at J. Kaye's Book Blog. I chose this one because as a Media Specialist in a High School I need to know about Young Adult books (and I like them too.)

The next three are very closely related. I think that I can count the same books for all three of them. They all deal with getting books off of my massive TBR pile.

The Bottoms Up 2010 Reading Challenge is hosted by Ellz Readz.

2010 TBR Challenge hosted by MizB's and RYOB (Read Your Own Books) also hosted by MizB's

The next challange also will help my TBR pile but this one is the pile on my Kindle. Royal Reviews is hosting the 2010 E Book Challenge.

And, last but not least and to remember that I like to re-read books, I am participating in the Flashback Challenge at Booklust.

I have created separate posts for each of these challenges and will be keeping track of what I read for each challenge by editing the posts I think.

These ought to keep me busy in 2010.

I'd Like To Give A Shout Out To...

Holiday Break Reading Challenge #10

Time to give a shout out to blogs that I like to read.

This challenge was a hard one. The task was to pick three or four blogs to mention. I have 133 blogs that I follow in my Bloglines account and 20 that I follow through my Blogger dashboard. There is some overlap between the two lists -- but it is still a lot of reading and lots of really informative blogs.

Here are blogs that I follow because I love their content. Because I follow them in my RSS readers, I am not very concerned with the fancy stuff that fills up the sidebars. Good design is kind of lost on me but content is very apparent. They usually make me add something to my TBR pile because of their reviews.

Charlotte's Library

The Shelf Elf

The Page Flipper

The Story Siren

I especially like the In My Mailbox weekly post done on Sundays by The Story Siren. It has led me to bunches of new blogs about books as I visit the blogs that others add to Mr. Linky each week.

YA Review: Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances

Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances

Authors: John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle

Publisher: Speak, Reprint Edition

Date: October 2009

Pages: 368

Product Description from Amazon: In this charming trio of interconnected novellas, a massive snowstorm on Christmas Eve acts as a catalyst for romance in the lives of three teens. In Maureen Johnson’s tale, Jubilee Express, after Jubilee’s train becomes snowbound, she seeks shelter at a nearby Waffle House, along with a squad of hyper cheerleaders. In John Green’s story, A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, a guy summons three friends to the Waffle House, where the combination of cheerleaders and cheesy waffles prompts big realizations. Finally, in Lauren Myracle’s entry, Patron Saint of Pigs, self-absorbed Addie atones for cheating on her boyfriend (who was stuck on Jubilee’s train) by proving she can be an angel for someone else, even if that someone is only a pet pig. Johnson’s playfulness, Green’s banter, and Myracle’s sincerity mesh well here, resulting in a collection that is imbued with optimism and warmth. The plotting is tight, and each end loosed by one author is tied up by another like a bright Christmas bow. A delightful read any time of the year.

My Thoughts: These three intertwined romances by 3 YA authors were touching and heartwarming and a perfect read for Christmas Eve. They all take place on a snowy Christmas Eve. Jubilee meets Stuart, Tobin realizes that Angie is a girl, and Addie reconnects with Jeb. They were all interesting stories and my first introduction to all of the authors. I want to try out other works by each of them.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge Activity #5

Here is all you need to do:
1 - Pick up the book you are currently reading.
2 - Since it is December 22nd, turn to page 22 in your book.
3 - Count down to the 22nd line on the page. (If there is a partial word on the line you can leave it off.)
4 - Post a picture of your book cover along with the 22nd line from the 22nd page on your blog.
5 - Use Mr. Linky to link your post to the Holiday Break Reading Challenge blog.

I am reading First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher. My line 22 of page 22 is a sentence fragment. Here is the entire sentence with line 22 highlighted in red.
 
"He only hoped that he wasn't doing it for nothing -- that in the end, the desolation he was about to create would serve some sort of purpose."

Holiday Break Reading Challenge #4

Today's challenge is taken from Stella Matutina's blog. Here is what you need to do:
1 - List the title and author of the book you are currently reading.
2 - Use any photo hosting site (Google Images, Flickr, Photobucket, FlickrCC, etc.) to find photos related to your book. "The image(s) you post need to have something to do with the book you're currently reading. You can post a painting or photograph that makes you think of the story or the characters, choose a few pictures that highlight some of the book's most important elements, or do a little of both. The only thing you can't do is just post the cover art and leave it at that, though you're welcome to include a cover image alongside your other selections." (Stella Matutina)
3 - Put a short description with each picture explaining what it means to the book.

I am reading First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher. This is a fantasy based on ancient Rome.

The story begins with Tavi, his soldiers, and the Canim fleeing the Vord in ships made of icebergs.

The canim are enemies of Tavi's people but have formed a temporary alliance because both are fighting the Vord. Here is a visual representative of the canim.

The Vord are also in the process of taking over Tavi's homeland -- Alera. They spread their croach over all the land and kill everything in their path.

Tavi has to find a way to get his legions to where the Vord are in order to save his kingdom.

But defeating the Vord is only half his problem. He also has to convince his own senate that he is capable of ruling Alera.

This is an exciting book and I wish that I were home right now reading. However, we still have three days of school before our Christmas Break.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge #3

"If there be dragons dancing with werewolves when the King comes home, let it snow!"

 

This challenge was to take 3 or 4 books from your bookshelf and form a sentence. I grabbed these from my massive TBR collection. Although I think I need a comma before "let" if I were to be grammatically correct. Maybe I should move these higher up on the TBR pile.

Holiday Reading Challenge Project #1

Here is challenge #1

CREATE YOUR DEBUT YA COVER


1 – Go to “Fake Name Generator” or click http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/
The name that appears is your author name.
2 – Go to “Random Word Generator” or click http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml
The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.
3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php
Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.
4 – Use Picnik or similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.
5 – Post it to your site.


Here is my feeble attempt:
 

Angie’s life is complicated.

Mom’s illness

Caring for her, the house, and her little brother

Studying to get into college

Working at the coffee shop

How can she find time for Jake? Can they ever connect?