Category: Book Stuff

Book Trailers: Pro? Con? Why or Why Not?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)72 Comments

 

This is a post that has been in my head for a while and I never see anyone addressing this subject so maybe it is just me…. but I am going to get on my little soap box anyway and see what conversation can be started around this topic.

 

I am curious if readers enjoy watching book trailers.  Book trailers are used to promote book much like movie trailers promote movies.  On the pro side, I have heard that the book trailer can motivate reluctant readers to decide to read a book. It is said that librarians and teachers give a shout out that they love them…

So why don’t I?

 

Lets start with Movie Trailers.  I love them.  If I hear about a movie I think I would like to see I actively seek out the movie trailer.  What I see on the movie trailer is what I will see on the big screen…  the actors, the action, the dialogue…  Nothing changes from the trailer to the movie.


However, a book to me is a world hidden within the pages.  There is a reason this blog is called Book Jour n e y.  Books are journeys… tickets to other countries, to other worlds, forward and backward in time and space.  Within the world of a book that the author has developed – I still hold a little creative license with it.  While the characters may be well described, we still all get a chance to create him or her in our mind.  I love it when the author breathes life into the characters.  We as readers develop the character in our mind as the author gives us details, height, age, hair color, attitude.. the same goes for the development of the space in which this character lives – home, town, state, country…

When I see a book trailer, the trailer puts images in my mind that I carry throughout the book.  Now I have an idea of what the character looks like or the place he/she lives because of what I have seen in the trailer.  That image has now overridden what I would have hoped to discover for myself within the book.

Last fall I read a book I enjoyed very much.  After reading and reviewing the book I came across a book trailer for that same book and thought I would give it a viewing.  When they brought out the male character, he was nothing like the description of the man in the book.  He looked too young to be who I had just read about, and he was shorter than the book had described…. and suddenly this was now the character that over shadowed the one I had envisioned.


Yes, you could say, “But Sheila…. wouldn’t that happen anyway if the book becomes a movie?”

Absolutely – that could happen.  I don’t have all the answers here… I an just chatting.  😛

 

I personally discover books I want to read by reading reviews, stalking my favorite authors online, book sites, and from book lovers I know personally in my day to day life.  If someone gushes about a book… that interests me.

I am not saying book trailers are bad, I am just curious what other readers think of them.  I can see where they may help the reluctant reader to pick up a book but do you think that a visual book trailer is more powerful than a friends raving?

As readers, what do you think?  Do you enjoy seeing a book trailer?  Does it motivate you to want to read the book?  Has a book trailer ever turned you off from a book?

I would be curious to hear from authors too…. do book trailers enhance sales?  What advice would you say is a must if you are going to provide a book trailer for your book?

 

(*Please do not mention specific trailers in a negative way, however feel free to use  positive examples – this post is not to bash book trailers but to gather thoughts about them in general.  I am offering my thoughts here and am not aiming at any trailers personally.  I am basing this post as more conversational, and I am open to your opinions on this topic.)  😀

 

Excuse me, but do I look FAT in this book?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)111 Comments

This morning as I was checking what was being posted at some of the blogs I frequent, I caught a post of Amanda’s from The Zen Leaf that made me stop and think about my reading habits.  Amanda (who if you do not pop in and check out her posts – you should…. she is a fun to read blogger and reads some pretty amazing books!) was talking about the pace she reads and brought up some interesting points that started me thinking about my own reading habits.

I tend to read books between the 200 – 375 page range.  I admit as much as I am drawn to the look of the large chunkster books (I like big books and I will not lie!) I like them on my shelf – and rarely take the time to read them.

WHY?

Honestly – because the 200-375 page book can be read in a few days.  That keeps my moving because I always seem to have other books waiting in the wings that I just can not wait to get to.  Ridiculous reasoning?  Probably… but that is the way my reading habits have turned to.  I want to gush about books, but as Amanda pointed out, the book that can be read in a few hours, can probably be forgotten just as quickly.  Can a book touch your very soul within the page count I prefer?  Absolutely…. but the large books of my past that I have invested the time into reading over a week or more… can also make a huge impact on me.  (Harry Potter of course are the first that come to mind that I still treasure and these books average around 700 pages each.)

My point today – is that I went and looked at the chunksters that currently grace my shelves unread.  The only reason I have not read them is because I know they will require an investment of time from me.  I think it is time I put on my big girl pants and rise to the challenge of the larger book.

Looking at these books, the page count is not out of control – these average right around the 550 mark.

As of this week, I plan to break into one of these big boys…. I am not sure which one yet, but I would like to commit to a chunkster and take my time with it, allowing myself two months to get it finished if I need to.


Do you avoid larger book?  Do you have any chunksters waiting on your shelves that you need to make the commitment to start reading?  Care to join me with your own chunkster?  If so, let me know what BIG BOOK awaits you.

Morning Meanderings… The New Classics?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)52 Comments

Good morning!  I am buzzing around this morning coffee cup in hand making sure I have everything I need for the day.  I have work, gym, make dinner at home, book club at 6:30 pm.  Book Club!  I LOVE book club!


According to a list  found on Entertainment Weekly’s website – they have posted a list called the “New Classics”.  The best reads from 1983 to 2008.  I have went through and “white lighted” the ones I have read.


1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators’ Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)


There are many on this list I want to read:  Beloved, The Things They Carried, The Handmaids Tale, The House On Mango Street, and A Prayer For Owen Meany to name a few.  It would be interesting to post this list again in a year and see if I have made any progress.


I am curious – which of these have you read?  Are there books missing from this list, and if so which?  Are there books that do not belong on this list?


*On a completely random note – thank you to everyone who visited yesterday and helped celebrate the one year anniversary of Monday What Are You Reading?  A fun fact – J Kaye gifted this meme to me on February 8th 2010.  That day was the biggest day I ever had on this blog.  Yesterday, February 7, 2011, that record was broken.

Help! Seriously – I have lost my identitiy!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

I could really use your help.

Recently I have noticed when I comment on certain blogs my fabulous Gravatar has taken a hike….. gone … vamoose…. in its place… is…

well….

its pretty shameful but it is….

this:

I Know right?

Blank face.

Blank face?  Where did you come from?  What have you done with that wonderful little Gravatar?

I have only a few clues and I am asking for the expertise of all of you to maybe help me solve this mystery and return me to my original Gravatar state…

here is what I know…

It is happens on both WordPress.org and on Blogger – but not all….

I have went into the Gravatar sight and I pop up just fine under the correct email and everything so there is nothing to change there.

Now…


and this may have nothing to do with nothing but as I am clueless right now I will grasp at anything….

I am a contributor on the Banned Books Blog and noticed today that when I am on a Blogger blog and click on me and it takes me to the cute Blogger profile page – this blog, Book Journey does not show up.  The Banned Books Blog does instead and that is not my blog…. I am a team member of it, that is all.

The only place Book Journey shows up is on the webpage link which brings you here.

So – like I said – this may have nothing to do with anything, but I can not find a way to add my WordPress blog to the Blogger profile… and maybe… it doesn’t work like that…

and maybe…

this has nothing to do with my missing Gravatar.

SO – people of the blogesphere, I bow low before you and request any help, advice, and chocolate (oh come on – that’s a good thing!) that you are able to share with me.  I would love to fix this annoying little glitch but have no idea where to begin….  😀

What’s Your Reading Story?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)66 Comments

I often think back to my childhood and where my love of books came from.  I didn’t have a parent who I recall sitting and reading with me night after night, nor in later years did either of my parents read books.  Yet, I had found a love of reading at a young age.

In 2nd grade I won the “Bookworm” award.  It was a bookworm magnet that I displayed proudly in my locker.  It was true… I was the librarians best customer.. devouring books as fast as I could check them out.  Everywhere I went I had a book in my hand.

Little has changed…

As I think back on my history of reading, I think part of my start was I was an only child for the first seven years of my life.  Both my parents worked full-time jobs and those characters became my friends… maybe even for a while, my siblings. I could have adventuress with Nancy Drew… solve the mysteries alongside the Hardy Boys… and eventually move on to anything written by Judy Blume.

As I grew, my reading habits hardly wavered… in high school it was all Danielle Steel (how I wished we had more YA then!) and by the time I had kids I had moved into mysteries and enjoyed Dean Koontz, John Grisham, and Harlan Coben.

In 2001… I started the Bookies book club to increase my reading pallet, and increase it was exactly what it did.  I read authors I had never heard of…. genres I had never tried before…

and…

the more I read…

the more I wanted to.

I know throughout certain times of my life, during certain hardships… books were my escape.  I know myself well enough to know that occasionally – that still can be true.  Yet for the most part… I am just a reader.  A person who truly enjoys a good story.

♥What is your story?♥

Did you come from a family of readers?  Do you have memories of being read to as a child?  Or did you find your way into the pages by some other way?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)118 Comments

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!  As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme.  I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment.  You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.

Last weeks winner:

Joy from Joy’s Book Blog

***  Joy is also a brand new participant in Monday What Are Your Reading!


Congratulations!  Please choose an item out of the PRIZE BOX and email me your choice with your mailing address as well!   journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

 

I did not finish  a lot of books during this last week but I did actually get a lot of others things done that will lead to great reading this year.  Here is what I accomplished this past week:

 

  • I finally sat down and planned out what Challenges I wanted to be a part of this year.  This was fun and I think I can be successful in all of them.

  • The 2011 WHERE are you reading Map is up and now has three (woo hoo 3!!!) pegs on it coming out of the first week of January so I thrilled about that.  You still have time to join in!  😀  You can see my current map at the bottom of all my current book reviews in 2011.


  • Also – new in the house from my super fun road trip with my friend Wendy this weekend to St. Cloud and of course Barnes and Noble:

Yup!  I could not turn down the chance to pick up th LOST encyclopedia at 50% off!!!  AND Matched has been on my wish list for awhile and Wendy recommended Night by Elie Wiesel.

 

 

That was pretty much my week, but considering that I had work all week and a meeting every evening :  Monday – Thursday, I feel pretty good about what I accomplished.

 

For this week here is what I currently have going on as well as what I hope to accomplish:

 

I have not read Evanovich in years but while looking for something to listen to in my kitchen CD player at the library this one caught my eye.  I had heard that the audio’s were good and thought I would give this a try…. I am currently on disc 2 and enjoying the read!

 

 

Fresh from my library, Some Girls Are was on my wish list for 2010 and I just never got to it.  So – here it is, on my kitchen table and in the plans for this week!

 

I am listening to We Are All Welcome Here in my car.   Currently on disc 3 I am in awe of this one so far.  Key words of interest:  Polio, Iron Lung, Paralyzed

 

 

???????????

 

Currently on the IPod…… Nothing….. nada. After finishing Peace, Locomotion yesterday I have not looked to figure out what I want to download next to listen to on my IPOD.  I am open to suggestions – what would you recommend on audio?



 

Kitchen Boy that I am currently reading from last week has been put on hold for me to finish in the next 36 hours:  The Forgotten Garden which is my book club read for this Tuesday.

 


There you have it.  I am anxious to see what you are reading these cool January days and nights.  I will popping in as I can to check that out!  LINK up with the Linky below and I highly encourage each of us to take time to check out some of the other participants blogs.  It’s fun and appreciated and you never know where you may find that next great book recommendation – or blog you wish to follow.

 

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Author Chat: Rhonda Hayter (author The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

While in New York this past May I had an opportunity to meet and talk with the Class of 2K10 YA Debut Authors.  This was a lot of fun and I met some wonderfully talented women including my guest here today, Rhonda Hayter.  Rhonda and I had a little time to chat one on one and she presented me with a signed copy of her book, The  Witchy Worries of bbie Adams(SQQQQUUUEEEEEEEE)!

Please welcome to Book Journey, the lovely and talented Rhonda Hayter.

Rhonda Hayter

Rhonda, welcome.   I always start by asking, how do you take your coffee?


Rhonda:  By the gallon.


Good to know –  will keep the coffee pot on!  Have you been a long time reader?


Rhonda:  I always talk about this in my school visits just to horrify the children but where I grew up there was no TV.  It was in northernmost Canada in a place called Labrador and at that time, it was too remote to get a TV signal up there.  It was also thirty degrees below zero a lot of the time, so reading was the only game in town. Much of my growing up was spent huddled on a heating grate, buried in books.

Rhonda in her home office where everyone leaves her alone....except their dog, Kitty.


I was a book girl too Rhonda, I Almaty preferred books to tv.   What is one of the first books you remember falling in love with?


Rhonda:  I think it might have been the Pippi Longstocking books.  I ordered them through the book clubs at school and devoured them the day I got them. Pippi was so wild and free, without parental supervision and she could go anywhere and dress however she pleased.  Of course I was happy to have parents and all…but it was really fun to think about.


When did you know you wanted to be a writer?


Rhonda:  I actually always wanted to be an actor.  I started off as one but well..not in what you might call a hugely successful way.  I spent so much of my life yearning for that and riding the ups and downs of it all, that I almost didn’t notice that I wanted to write too…although I always did.  It wasn’t until I finally gave up my acting (or it gave me up)  that I noticed that writing gave me exactly the same kind of seat-of-the-pants/living-in-the-moment thrill that acting did.


I recently finished reading The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams.  Abbie is a delightful character and I enjoyed getting to know her.  Was this the book you thought you would write?


Rhonda:  I never actually thought of writing a whole book before Abbie but it just came pouring out of me. I had a fifth grader in the house at the time, and I was immersed in his life and his voice and his concerns….and that’s just the book that materialized.

 

Rhonda and her youngest son Ethan ( the inspiration for the character of Munch)


There are a couple of references to Harry Potter in the book.  You mention Abbie has a poster of Hermione on her bedroom wall and later there is a reference to Hogwarts.  I am a big Potter fan.  What is your Harry Potter connections – love the books, love the movies?  Both?


Rhonda:  My older boy Duncan is 16 now, so he was exactly the age to be ready for each book as it came out. It was such an incredible part of his childhood, waiting for the next installment…showing up at midnight at Barnes and Noble on the day it was to be released, watching him be completely consumed by it until he powered through to the end…and then passing it around the family, and reading it aloud to his younger brother…until he was finally ready to read it alone.  And the movies always came out right around Duncan’s birthday in November so that was always momentous too.  (Although I had to take him into the lobby for some of the scary parts of the first movie.  I have such an affection for the whole experience that Harry Potter gave our family, books and movies combined.


I love that connection your family has to the Potter books!  I heard a rumor that Abbie may be showing up in a future book…. hmmmm, is this true?


Rhonda:  Well I can tell you that she’s going to share a very big secret with her best friend Callie…and complications will arise.


Is there a fictional character that you would like to hang out with?


Rhonda:  I like that question!  Let me see. I’ve always been a monster Jane Austen fan, and I’d just love to swish around in long dresses exchanging witty observations with Elizabeth Bennett or the Sense and Sensibility gals.

Rhonda's hang out buddy, Elizabeth Bennett

It was so fun to meet you at BEA this past May.  I enjoyed hearing that you were part of the Class of 2k10 debut authors group.  Can you tell us a little more about this group?


Rhonda:  I LOVE that group.  We’re all published in YA or MG for the first time this year. I always liken it to my pregnancy yoga class— you’re united in fellowship with people at a unique and magical moment in their lives. We network and cross promote and all that, but more importantly, we have become friends and great support for each other. That was one of the things that made BEA such fun, getting to meet everyone in person, after having chatted almost every day over the Internet for months. We were all CRAZY about each other!


I can not let you leave without asking you to share a little known fact about yourself.


Rhonda:  Oh dear, let’s see.  I guess something that’s a little unusual is that I didn’t learn to drive until I was in my late 30s, when I moved out to Los Angeles.  I look at my 16-year old learning now and I realize that what it really takes is a teenager’s blithe unawareness that anything bad can ever happen.  At the time I learned, that ship had long since sailed and I felt exactly as if I was getting into the Electric Chair to be executed every time I strapped myself into the driver’s seat.  I’m better now….but I still ain’t good.


That is a great fact Rhonda!  Thank you so much for stooping in and chatting with me today!



Thanks so much for having me Sheila. This was fun.

 

Rhonda and I, May 2010, New York

Please stop in and see Rhonda at her website as well as at the  Class of 2k10 website.

Morning Meanderings… Do you like receiving books as gifts?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)88 Comments

Good Morning!

Last night I had dinner with three wonderful friends.  Tired as I was from a busy day… there is nothing like getting together with good friends to catch up, share and laugh.  Seriously I could also feel the days stresses just melt away.

We exchanged Christmas presents and among the wonderful gifts I received a beautiful LARGE unabridged book on the Chronicles of Narnia.  Now, some people may groan and say “Wow Sheila, you need another book like Minnesota needs more snow!”

And to that I say “pshaw to you.”  😀


Book gifts are my favorite treasures – to me gift books are my friends sending me on an adventure.  Within the pages of books I travel to all corners of the world… and occasionally beyond.  I may walk alongside pirates, or angels, bounty hunters, or princesses…. I can travel by land, by sea…. I may even be able to fly.  I could be eating cheese cake in New York, or steamed clams in New Orleans.  And finally… when that final page is turned, I have the memories of new locations, and possibly new friends.

When I give a book as a gift I am saying, “join me in this adventure”, and I can not think of a better gift to give.

The books I receive as gifts hold special places on my book shelves.  I carefully place the name of who I received it from on the inside cover and date it so I never forget.  If it came with a card, the card is tucked carefully inside.

Do you like receiving books as gifts?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)85 Comments

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!  As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme.  I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment.  You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.

Last weeks winner:

Bev from My Reader’s Block


Congratulations!  Please choose an item out of the PRIZE BOX and email me your choice with your mailing address as well!   journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

 

The two big end of the year holidays are over and my reading has been sporadic as of late.  It seems like I am either reading for hours at a time, or not picking up a book for days.  Here is what this past week looked like:

The WHERE Are You Reading Challenge

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Best of 2010

Fallen by Lauren Kate

The 2010 Challenge Recap post

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks (not your average Sparks at all!)

This week is a busy one.  I have a meeting every night Mon – Thurs and that puts a crimp in the reading time.  That said, I do still have goals:

Yes Torment was on last weeks list and here it is hopefully being read later this week.

 

The Kitchen Boy is a random pick up off my book shelves and I am sitting about a fourth of the way in this one now.

 

Our Bookies Book Club read for January due next Tuesday so this one hits the front line this week.

 

That’s my plan for this first week of the new year.  I am hoping to read more intentionally this year.  I cant wait to see what books you are reading to start off this new year.  Link up your What Are You Reading post below!  😀


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Finally.. The Challenge Recap

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments

In 2010 I was like a kid in a candy store when it came to Challenges.  I was so excited to be a joiner and I just knew I could complete them all!

Well…. such are the dreams of a rookie book blogger….

Life happens, shoot…. books happen, and before I knew it my reading went in other directions, books recommended by other bloggers (oh yes… you awesome book reviewers – I BLAME YOU, and of course new releases, and old titles I have always wanted to read, and impulse buys, and book sales – and of course back in January of 2010 I had not even dreamed I would go to BEA and of course I had no idea that if I did the books that would follow me home…to read…

to read…

to read…

So now I humbly come before you with the results of the Challenges and I said “OH YEAH!” too, and how I did. All the Challenge pictures are linked to the actual challenge page and lists the books that qualified.

This one was fun and I knew I could do this one as this counted for anything I read… anything I listened to on audio.  I came out of this one with a total of 116 books/audio in 2010.

 

I am thankful for this challenge even if I did make my goal of 25 Library reads.  This challenge actually caused me to sign up for a library card, which I have not done for almost 20 years.  Its true… I did not use my library – but I did in 2010 and I plan to use it even more in 2011.

 

This one was exciting for me and my goal was 25 and that is what I read!  YA has been an exciting genre for me and I really do enjoy reading these books.

 

 

Ok this would be one of those embarrassing Challenge fails… GAH.  To me this was a no brainer challenge, even a little self-indulgent as I LOVE all things Potter.  Yet… as I mentioned above, other books, other commitments… and I managed to hit 3 of the 7 I thought I could do.

 

I love Historical Fiction and I aced this challenge with a goal of 6 and read 7.  I hope to read even more of this genre in 2011.

 

 

The Gilmore Girl Challenge is another one I failed miserably at and that surprises me.  I really thought I would do well on this one and obviously… did not.  GAH!  Rory would shun me in public and I would not blame her one bit.

 

 

 

The Social Justice Challenge is one I wish I really would have done more with.  I really thought this was a brilliant challenge and I had a few months I was strong in and then I tapered off.

 

 

The Christy Award Challenge I completes one read out of the 6 I meant to.  Some of these books I even had checked out from the library… sadly I did not find the time to read them.

 

I do plan to join a few hopefully well-chosen Challenges this year, knowing now how a reading plan changes drastically throughout the year I will try to stick to ones that are more user-friendly for me, or stretch me to read into genres I wish I read more in any way.