Around the World in 12 Books Sign-up

December 6, 2012December 6, 20122 Comments

I wavered a lot before taking the plunge, but I’ve finally decided to join the Around the World in 12 Books Challenge at Giraffe Days!

The goal of this challenge is to read one book per month, with each month being dedicated to a different country or political entity. The book must be set in the assigned country, and ideally it should also be by an author from that country. Books must be literary fiction or memoirs — no genre fiction. Children’s and YA books are OK. Be sure to click the link above for additional rules and to sign up!

Here are the country assignments for this year:

JANUARY = France
FEBRUARY = Sudan
MARCH = Wales
APRIL = Fiji (Note: it’s hard to find literary fiction set in Fiji, so any kind of book is fine.)
MAY = Belgium
JUNE = South Korea
JULY = Israel
AUGUST = Palestine
SEPTEMBER = Brazil
OCTOBER = China
NOVEMBER = Egypt
DECEMBER = Argentina

Some of these will clearly be more difficult than others. I’ve already pretty much decided on what I’ll read for France (Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda) and China (Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie), but I have NO CLUE about Fiji or Sudan. I guess finding an appropriate book will be part of the fun! 🙂

Historical Fiction Challenge Sign-Up

November 28, 2012November 28, 20122 Comments

It’s time to sign up for one of my favorite challenges, the 2013 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge at Historical Tapestry! Historical fiction is probably my favorite genre, and it always commandeers a large portion of my reading each year, so I’m definitely looking forward to this challenge.

The premise is simply to read a certain number of works of historical fiction in 2013. Any subgenre within historical fiction counts (historical YA, historical fantasy, etc.). A new post will appear each month where you can post your reviews for that month.

There are different “levels” of this challenge, so you can pick whatever number of books works best for you. I’m going to attempt the highest level, Ancient History, which will require me to read 25+ works of historical fiction. Hopefully I’m up to the challenge!

What’s in a Name 6: Challenge Sign-up

November 21, 2012November 27, 20122 Comments

Time to sign up for the What’s in a Name 6 Challenge at Beth Fish Reads!

This challenge asks participants to read a total of six books in 2013, one in each of the following categories:

A book with up or down (or equivalent) in the title: Deep down True, The Girl Below, The Diva Digs up the Dirt
A book with something you’d find in your kitchen in the title: Loose Lips Sink Ships, The Knife of Never Letting Go, Breadcrumbs
A book with a party or celebration in the title: A Feast for Crows, A Wedding in Haiti, Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness
A book with fire (or equivalent) in the title: Burning for Revenge, Fireworks over Toccoa, Catching Fire
A book with an emotion in the title: Baltimore Blues, Say You’re Sorry, Dreams of Joy
A book with lost or found (or equivalent) in the title: The Book of Lost Fragrances, The World We Found, A Discovery of Witches

Click the link above for more info and to sign up. I’m looking forward to finding clever ways to fill these categories!

Vintage Mystery 2013 Challenge: Scattergories!

November 14, 2012November 28, 20122 Comments

It’s finally time to sign up for the 2013 Vintage Mystery Challenge, hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block!

Basically, the challenge is to read eight vintage mysteries in 2013. “Vintage” means published prior to 1960, and “mystery” includes everything from cozies to thrillers, spy yarns to police procedurals. This year, there’s a unique twist on the challenge: each book must fit within one of the enumerated categories on the sign-up page. Click the picture above to sign up and see all the categories — there are far too many to list here, which means there’s something for everyone!

Personally, I don’t know which categories I’m going to choose yet. I think I’ll just read whatever vintage mysteries look good to me, and then try to squeeze them into the appropriate categories! Georgette Heyer will almost certainly make an appearance, as will Josephine Tey — and I’ve been wanting to dive into the Nero Wolfe books…

24-Hour Read-a-Thon Sign-up

September 8, 2012September 8, 2012Leave a comment

It’s time to sign up for the fall 2012 24-Hour Read-a-Thon!

The big day is Saturday, October 13, so mark your calendars now! Click the picture for more information.

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VII Sign-up

August 29, 2012August 29, 20126 Comments

I can’t believe it’s time for the Readers Imbibing Peril (RIP) event at Stainless Steel Droppings once again!

This annual event, which takes place from September 1 to October 31, asks participants to read books from the following genres:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.

There are many options for this event, depending on how many books you want to read. Right now I’m thinking I will aim for Peril the Second (read two books from the above genres) and Peril of the Short Story (read short stories from the above genres).

For Peril the Second, I’ll almost definitely be reading Seanan McGuire’s Ashes of Honor, the latest Toby Daye book, which I’ve already pre-ordered. Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl are also possibilities. I may also join the group read of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book if I can get my hands on a copy.

For Peril of the Short Story, I have Susanna Clarke’s The Ladies of Grace Adieu on my shelves. The book’s description on Amazon says it will introduce you to “a world where charm is always tempered by eerieness, and picaresque comedy is always darkened by the disturbing shadow of Faerie.” Sounds like it fits the criteria to me!

Anyone else participating in R.I.P. VII? What are you planning to read?

Bout of Books 5.0 Goals and Progress

August 9, 2012August 20, 201224 Comments

“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, August 13th and runs through Sunday, August 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 5.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. -From the Bout of Books 5.0 team”

It’s time for the fifth Bout of Books read-a-thon, a week-long event where the only requirement is to read. I’ve participated in this read-a-thon several times before and have always really enjoyed it, particularly the mini-challenges. So I definitely encourage you all to sign up! The preceding paragraph, taken verbatim from the Bout of Books blog, gives the basic info; for additional details and to sign up, click the picture!

My personal goals for Bout of Books 5.0 are: (1) to read for at least 30 minutes every day, and (2) to read at least three books from start to finish. I’m not sure which books I’ll be reading yet…I’ll have to do some examining of my bookshelves this weekend!

ETA: I will also be posting my progress for the read-a-thon here throughout the week, so stay tuned!

Monday 8/13:
Time spent reading today: 2 hours, give or take
Pages read today: 166
Books read today: Sarah Addison Allen, Garden Spells

Tuesday 8/14:
Time spent reading today: 40 minutes? I haven’t been keeping very close track, to be honest.
Pages read today: 124
Books read today: Sarah Addison Allen, Garden Spells (completed)

Wednesday 8/15:
Time spent reading today: 3 hours, perhaps.
Pages read today: 211
Books read today: Simon Brett, Blotto, Twinks and the Ex-King’s Daughter (completed)

Thursday 8/16:
Time spent reading today: Maybe 30 minutes? Definitely no longer, unfortunately.
Pages read today: 33
Books read today: Steve Miller and Sharon Lee, Agent of Change

Friday 8/17:
Time spent reading today: I can’t remember! Maybe 2 hours?
Pages read today: 144
Books read today: Steve Miller and Sharon Lee, Agent of Change

Saturday 8/18:
Time spent reading today: About 2 hours? Let’s be honest, I’m totally guessing at this point.
Pages read today: 146
Books read today: Steve Miller and Sharon Lee, Agent of Change (completed); Kate Saunders, Bachelor Boys

Sunday 8/19:
Time spent reading today: 2 hours 30 minutes??
Pages read today: 214
Books read today: Kate Saunders, Bachelor Boys (completed)