Amy from My Friend Amy and Deborah from Books, Movies, and Chinese Food came up with a great Challenge to encourage Christian Fiction reading. I enjoy Christian Fiction and seeing this challenge tonight I knew I had to jump on!
The hard past was to decide at what level did I want to do this challenge. Here are the choices:
Total Christian Fiction Newbie:
This is only for those who have read no Christian fiction before…the challenge is to read one book from any of the Christy Awards Winners!
Baby Steps
1st Tier – 2009 Favorite Category Read All Nominated Books 3-4 books
2nd Tier – Any ONE Years Favorite Category – 3-4 Books or mix 3-4 winners from any category
It’s All in the Winners
3rd Tier- 2009 Winners – 9
4th Tier- Any ONE Year’s Winners 7-9 or mix’n’match 7-9 winners
Dedicated
5th Tier – Read 2009/or ANY Year All Books 36-40 Books
Hardcore
6rd Tier – Read all the nominees in your favorite category
7th Tier – Read all of the winners in every category
The Christy Challenge–Perpetual Challenge
Read all of the books nominated and awarded the Christy challenge throughout the course of your lifetime.
I think I am going to go with 1st Tier – 2009 Favorite Category Read All Nominated Books 3-4 books… the opportunity lies in the fact that there are two categories I am really interested in so…. I would like to do 1st Tier x 2… two different categories and here are the lists I would read for this challenge:
Suspense
The Rook by Steven James – WINNER
By Reason of Insanity by Randy Singer
Winter Haven by Athol Dickson
and…
Visionary
Vanish by Tom Pawlik – WINNER
The Battle for the Vast Dominion by George Bryan Polivka
Shade by John D. Olson
Here is all the information on this challenge here and where you can sign up too!
I am home from Honduras as of 2 am this morning. I have went to Church, unpacked, completed two loads of laundry, done the dishes, and looked through and recorded my books that came in this week as well as the 4 books I purchased in Honduras.
Want to see? (There are some pretty exciting titles in here!)
1. Gringos In Paradise sent to me by the author. This one is about Honduras…. thought I would have to check it out!
2. When Heaven Comes Down from Bethany House this looks like a great read!
3. The Secret of Joy came my way from Pocket Books. What a fun cover!
4. 7 I received two of so you know there will be a giveaway! Woo Hoo! These came from Hachette Book Group.
5. The Rapture is a book I won from Nikola’s Back to Books Blog. Thanks Nikola! Looks super good!
6. Treasured is for an upcoming Blog Tour. I love the look and sound of this one. Ths came from Ashley Boyer with Random House.
7. God Gave Us Christmas and God Gave Us Love are both from Ashley Boyer with Random House. I love childrens reads and these look great!
8. The Cost Of Dreams is a thriller set around Indian culcture and was sent by Robyn Schechter. I need to put this one on the tbr list soon!
9. Heretic’s Daughter was sent by Hachette House and I have a current giveaway on this incredible book that is ending soon – sign up today to win a copy here!
10. Ok if this was a vlog I would be squealing here! I found a book off my wish list in Honduras! Yeah! I found SOLD there are I know this will probably be an emotionally hard read but one I am truly looking forward to!
11. Yes! Another squeal and perhaps a back flip on this one! This is a copy of J K Rowlings The Tales of Beedle the Bard in Spanish! I have it in english too as you will see by the next picture. How fun is this? I picked this little treasure up in Honduras.
12. Increble Kamo! Is a book I seen that the children in Manuelito (Honduras) were reading as a group. It is a fiction read and then I seen it at the book store in Honduras and had to have a copy. This is in Spanish as well. (If you are wondering if I speak fluent Spanish – I do not, but I hope to some day)!
13. The Penderwicks is the last book from this past week and also my final purchase in Honduras. It just looks like a wonderful read. I havent peaked into it yet but I am guessing it to be an adventure like Narnia…. we shall see.
Thanks all for stopping in to see what I found in my mailbox this week. It was exciting to come home to all the packages and opening each one was like a new treasure. I am pretty tired now so I think I am going to break and read a bit or even possibly nap! Be sure to stop by Kristi’s blog the Story Siren to add your books you received to her weekly meme In My Mailbox!
Last morning in Honduras. We are packed up and ready to come home. We will leave at 10 am this morning, go to Huston Texas and then to Minneapolis Minnesota from there. I will get home at about 1:00 am tomorrow.
It has been a really good week and as exciting as this week has been – I really am ready to come back home.
Recently I had the opportunity to chat a bit with Kath from Insert Suitably Snappy Title Here. We were discussing her post on the the book, The Rights Of The Reader. Of course, it was the title that drew me in…. Here is a bit of our discussion, followed by Kath’s review.
Kath, how long have you been blogging?
Kath: I have been blogging for almost 4 years now. My blog started off as a way of finding my writing style but has
Meet Kath!
grown and developed into a book blog. Which is not surprising, given that I’m a complete book nut.
Hmmmm…. a complete book nut huh? I would know nothing about that….LOL. What do you find most enjoyable about blogging?
Kath: The thing I enjoy most about this blog is the fact that it has grown and developed with me. Now that I am in a position to spend more time on the things I love (reading and writing) I’ve really enjoyed making my blog into the sort of thing I’d always wanted to but never quite found the time to achieve.
Kath, why are you so excited about this book, Rights of the Reader?
Kath: The main thing that got me about this book is that it’s so true and so applicable. Right now, kids all over the world are learning to read and the accepted teaching methodologies risks turning a lot of kids off reading which is a huge loss not only to their lives but to the world. A more widely read population can only make for a better world, right? I also loved the way this book is written. Pennac uses the most gorgeous language to describe even the most ordinary situations which makes life sparkle.
It does sound interesting. What are you hoping that people take away from this book?
Kath: I’m hoping that people will take away inspiration and understanding, as well as the tools to ensure that future generations love books as much as many of us have.
Thank you Kath for sharing your review here with us today. Please be sure to stop by Kath’s blog at Insert Suitably Snappy Title Here and check out what else Kath is talking about!
Cast your mind back. You’re seven years old and you’ve just got your very own library card. Surrounded by silence and the smell of words and promised adventures, you run giddily towards the children’s section. You run your hand over the shelves of books, some smooth, some bumpy, all tagged with some weird and unfathomable code. Before you know it, you’ve picked up something that has caught your attention and you’ve settled into the bright red beanbag for the long haul. You forget where you are, consumed by the voices and exploits of Asterix or the Famous Five and you can’t believe it’s time to go already when, an hour later, your Mum comes round the corner to find you.
Every week you come back and you always leave with a pile of books, one of which you’re usually half way through by the time you get home. The need to read consumes you: you sneak off to the toilet to get in a few pages, you read late at night with a torch under the bedcovers. You are, in fact, a veritable addict, looking feverishly along the shelves to find your next hit.
Then, somewhere along the line, something happens. Reading loses some of the joy it once held – it becomes, unthinkably, a chore. A task that has to be completed by next Monday, with an 800 word essay to boot. High school literature studies have come home to roost. English class is now peering over your shoulder, pointing out that you shouldn’t be reading that book, you should read this one, the required text. You know, the one sitting ominously on your desk, unreadable and daunting.
This is where the education system, according to Daniel Pennac, fails our kids. I recently read his amazing book The Rights of the Reader (translated by Sarah Adams) as part of a bookring through Bookcrossing and was very pleasantly surprised. I was expecting something completely different – a fun and lighthearted look at reading as a hobby – but was met with an entertaining and brilliantly written manifesto on the importance of teaching our future generations to love reading and not make it a “should” – a word sure to kill any desire to do something.
Pennac points out that as kids, we loved to hear stories and would beg our parents again and again to read us our favourite books. It is in this tradition of oral storytelling, he argues, that reading is based. It’s our desire to hear new stories and follow new heroes on new adventures that drives us from one finished book to the next new one. But as soon as interfere with our child’s relationship with books and we disturb the private “alchemist’s voice” in their minds, we start to suck their joy out of their reading experience. This, claims Pennac, is a crime of epic proportions. A relationship with books is one of the most consistent and satisfying ones that most people will have in their lives, after all.
The solution? Simple, claims Pennac. Take it back to the basics – oral storytelling. Read to those who have become disenchanted by the hard slog of required textbooks and compulsory reading. Re-introduce that spark. Draw them back in. Before you know it, they’ll have rediscovered that “alchemist’s voice” and they’ll be off in their own private world of books again.
This book was a really fascinating read for me as I recognised that I had suffered a period of book fatigue until pretty recently. As a kid, I was the one hiding under the sheets with a book and a torch. I read an insane amount of books from all sorts of genres, right up until the age of 15 – that’s when it started for me. Required reading to be completed within a ridiculously short period of time, essays to write and not to mention maths homework and geography study…. Luckily, I’ve rediscovered that old spark and have come back to the ranks of the voracious reader – one “right” at a time. If there’s anyone out there that has lost their spark, or knows someone who is struggling with reading – I highly recommend this book. It’ll surely help you bring them back from the brink of a world without books.
Friday. Early start today – we are still in Honduras and being picked up today at 7:15 am to go to see the other area I have worked in while I have bee here in the past Maneulito. I love going there as I know most of the kids and I am excited for the three people with me who are first timers here. After that we will go up to the Valley Of Angels which is our one chance to shop this week. Its fun to pick up a couple little things but I am always looking for a book…. I love to get books from other parts of the world! We will see what I find.
I just wanted to say a quick Hi to everyone and say welcome to Word Verification Balderdash. This is Ryan from Wordsmithonia. This has to be the funnest weekly meme for me as it allows me to do two of my favorite things, comment on other people’s blogs and play word games. So when Sheila asked me to host this weeks edition I jumped at the chance. I love seeing what fantastic words everyone comes up with and find myself wishing I could work them into everyday conversation. So feel free to play along and make us laugh out loud.
Note from Sheila: I was hoping to be able to add some words this week but being gone has made that not possible. Please take time to stop by Ryans wonderful blog as he always has incredible words that make me smile!
A quick update…. I see yesterday I even put the wrong day…LOL. One more full work day today. Its hard to get time alone to write…. moments like that are rare. 🙂
Tonight we will have dinner at Jeoney’s – that will be an experience… real Honduran food. There will be pictures. I have to run – but will be back and posting my reviews, atc… this Sunday and probably still popping in yet this week.
Tuesday in Honduras. Last night we went out on the streets and gave food and water to the children who live on the streets. This is my 6th time doing the streets and it never gets easier.
Today we are back on the work site. I am sitting here before breakfast putting up a quick post. We are about half way through our trip. Lots left to do. Talk to you all soon! Thanks for hanging out and yes I am getting a little reading done, currently reading Jantsen’s Gift by Pam Cope.
Hey all you Book Journey Fans! This is Alipet813 (Alison) from That’s A Novel Idea.
Sheila is putting us all to shame right now by spending time in Honduras helping people, and she asked me to guest blog today. Let me just say that this is one of my absolute favorite blogs to visit and I am psyched to be here. It makes me love Sheila even more to know that she is such a giving person and spends at least once a year in Honduras doing her part to change lives. I was completely honored to be asked to guest blog today not because I love Sheila but because she actually remembered a review I did a couple of months ago – and she liked it! My review was on Jantsen’s Gift by Pam Cope. This is a book that focuses on a mother’s grief after losing her son. Not long after she feels that her life purpose is not only to adopt an orphan from Vietnam, but also to travel to less fortunate areas and set up centers to change lives. Months ago when I read this book it moved me to tears and made me want to get up off my booty and do more for others. Today, I still vividly remember Pam’s grief at losing her son. I can’t think of it without getting a little teary eyed. I also remember that Pam is a mom from a small town not all that far from where I grew up. She had no experience with missions work or setting up centers in faraway lands and she did just that. With faith and prayer I think God can do miraculous work through each and any of us. No well-known family/star status or millions of dollars are needed to get started. It basically takes some faith and getting up off our butts. I am ashamed to say I am still sitting on mine. I tell myself it is because I have a family to take care of and I have absolutely no extra money, but I think the truth is that I am afraid. What if I go for one trip and God uses me big like this? It would be a blessing, but how scary! So, read Jantsen’s Gift and if you think you should go on a mission trip when you are finished, don’t doubt yourself just start praying and make it happen. If you aren’t religious and still want to help – forget my God talk and make it happen your own way! I am quite positive there are many non-faith based programs/trips you can link to and make a difference.
Oh, by the way, Sheila has one copy of this book to giveaway and I think all of you should sign up to win it. You will not be sorry.
Giveaway is now closed
All you have to do to win is go to my blog and read the review I wrote. Make a comment on the review so I know you were there. Don’t just say “Jane was here” – this book deserves more than that. Then come back to Book Journey and leave your email address so she can contact you if she wins. We will check to see if you posted on my blog. The contest runs until November 20thand Sheila will pick the winner in her normal fashion. Entries from U.S. and Canada only.
For those of you who would love travel out of the country, but can’t or for those that would love to make a difference but refuse to leave the country there are many opportunities all around you. You can volunteer at a shelter, a soup kitchen, or a children’s hospital. You can join a mission that goes away but not far. You could go to build Habitat for Humanity Houses or clean up a disaster area. The possibilities are endless. You are only limited by yourself.
I have not done much meandering through the blogesphere these past few days, but as you know, I have meandered across the country. Currently I am sitting in the guest house in Tegucigalpa , Honduras. We will be eating breakfast soon (I think it is pancakes) and lots of fresh fruit.
At 7:30 we go to AFE where we are working on a school that is being built for children who live in the dump. I group of us are offsite working on an addition on a home for a girl who needs a place to live. I am on the off site team. It is hard to describe the conditions and when I have time I will add a few pictures on here.
I will be back to commenting and hopping around to all your blogs when I get home on Sunday. Thanks for checking here – there are postings going on daily from some great people who are helping me out. 🙂
Amy from My Friend Amy and Deborah from Books, Movies, and Chinese Food came up with a great Challenge to encourage Christian Fiction reading. I enjoy Christian Fiction and seeing this challenge tonight I knew I had to jump on!
Book Journey 