Take Me Away Saturday - EVENT

Weekly Event hosted by Lost In Books

Rebecca at Lost in Books is hosting a new weekly event that readers of global literature will love. Take Me Away Saturday is all about books that take place in different cultures and are about different cultures. Rebecca writes:

Each week I will feature a different country or culture (ex. Cherokee, Jewish, etc. that do not have a specific country per se) and list some books that can transport you there.

I am keeping a map of the countries we visit and a list of the specific cultures...

This week, Rebecca is visiting Turkey. To learn more and to suggest books which fit each week's travels, visit Rebecca every Saturday.

Reading in Order Challenge

Perpetual Challenge - No Time Limits

Andi at Tripping Toward Lucidity is hosting the Reading In Order Challenge which also has its own blog.

Goal: To read through one's stacks (a bookcase, several bookcases, the entire "to be read" pile, etc.) alphabetically.

The rules: Read alphabetically by author or book title. Make allowances as you see fit.

Andi will be reading her stacks in a reverse alphabetical order beginning with Z and working to A. Andi writes:

This is another one of those things that's personal choice. If you want to read through a genre alphabetically by author name or book title, that's fine. If you want to read through a specific bookcase alphabetically, that's fine. And so on and so forth. Tailor this challenge to your own needs and ambitions.

Andi has started a challenge specific blog for this challenge. If you wish to join the challenge blog so you can post your own reviews, leave a comment on the post about the challenge.

To learn more and to sign up, visit the post about the challenge.

GLBT Challenge 2009

July 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009

Amanda of The Zen Leaf is hosting this new challenge.

Here's what it's about:

Read 6 books that fall under the GLBT umbrella. The GLBT umbrella includes, but is not limited to:

Classics
Young Adult
Romance
Graphic Novels
Science Fiction
Fantasy
Erotica
Memoirs
Biographies
Nonfiction
Non-GLBT books written by GLBT authorsReally, the definition for GLBT literature for the purpose of this challenge is very broad.

There are only two restrictions (which hardly need to be given):

• pornography (R-rated erotica is fine, but no X-rated stuff please)
• books that disparage the GLBT community - we're here to learn, support, and/or celebrate, not injure

To find out more or to join, go to GLBT Challenge 2009.

My Favorite Reads

Weekly Event hosted by At Home With Books

Alyce of At Home with Books came up with this new event. It will take place every Thursday.

Here's how she explains it:

I've been looking through my goodreads account lately and realizing that there are so many good books that I read before I started blogging that I haven't had a chance to mention yet on this blog. I feel like these books each deserve their own post, yet I don't have enough time to give them a full review. Not to mention that I read some of them years ago, and if I was going to write a full review for them now I would want to re-read each book.

So I have decided to feature one of my favorite old reads each Thursday on my blog. Feel free to leave a comment with one of your past favorites (or a link to a post if you want to participate too). I would love to hear about more great books that I may not have read yet.

If you would like to see Alyce's Favorite Reads or participate go to At Home with Books, every Thursday.

Take a Chance Challenge

June 1 - November 30, 2009

Jenners at Find Your Next Book Here is hosting her first challenge. The Take A Chance Challenge is "all about taking chances in your reading." Jenners writes:

There are 10 tasks in all -- 7 involve finding a book to read in very random ways. The last three tasks are about taking chances as a writer as you are challenged to take on the role of short story writer, poet and movie/book reviewer. The challenge is meant to be fun and no pressure. Complete as many or a few of the 10 challenges as you want. However, the more you complete, the more chances you'll get to win the grand prize.

The rules:

• One winner will be drawn on December 1, 2009 and will receive a grand prize of $25 worth of books from Amazon (any books you choose!)
• Each completed task earns you one entry into the drawing for the grand prize.
• To earn an extra entry, blog or Tweet about this challenge and let Jenners know in the comment section on the post about the challenge.
• To earn 5 extra entries, complete all 10 challenges.
• The total number of entries that can be earned is 16 (10 for each challenge, 5 for completing all tasks and 1 for blogging/tweeting about the challenge).
• You can join the challenge anytime before the November 30 deadline but only tasks completed by November 30, 2009 will be counted as entries.
• To have your entries count, you must publish them on your blog and leave a comment with a link to your entries in the comment section on the post about the challenge.
• All participants must sign up in Mr. Linky on the post about the challenge.
  

The Tasks:

1. Random Book Selection. Go to the library. Position yourself in a section such as Fiction, Non-Fiction, Mystery, Children (whatever section you want). Then write down random directions for yourself (for example, third row, second shelf, fifth book from right). Follow your directions and see what book you find. Check that book out of the library, read it and then write about it. (If you prefer, you can do the same at a bookstore and buy the book!)
2. Random Word. Go to this random word generator and generate a random word. Find a book with this word in the title. Read the book and write about it.
3. Birth Year Book. Find a book that was published or copyrighted in the year of your birth. Read the book and write about it.
4. Judge A Book By Its Cover. Pick out a book based SOLELY on the cover. First, write about what you expect the book to be about based on the cover art. Then read the book and write about how the book was different from and/or similar to what the cover art led you to expect.
5. Phoning An Author. Pick a random last name out of the phone book. Find an author with the same last name and read a book by them. Write about it. (I'm flexible ... if the first random name you pick is Xprxyrsss, you can pick again!)
6. Public Spying. Find someone who is reading a book in public. Find out what book they are reading and then read the same book. Write about it.
7. Random Bestseller. Go to Random.org and, using the True Random Number Generator, enter the number 1950 for the min. and 2008 for the max. and then hit generate. Then go to this site and find the year that Random.org generated for you and click on it. Then find the bestseller list for the week that would contain your birthday for that year. Choose one of the bestsellers from the list that comes up, read it and write about it.
8. Lit Riff (inspired by the book Lit Riffs by Matthew Miele.) Choose a song and then write a brief story that is inspired by or further explains the lyrics of the song.
9. Poetic Review. Write a book review in three different forms of verse: haiku, limerick and free verse. (You can pick any book you want to write about.)
10. Movie/Book Comparison. Find a book that you haven't read that has a movie based on it that you haven't seen. Read the book and watch the movie within a few days of each other. Write about your reactions to both the book and the movie and compare the two.

Sound like fun? Want to join or learn more? Visit the post about the challenge.

A 2666 Invitation - Read A Long

May 1 - September 30, 2009

I am late posting this one because I just learned of it. Claire of Kiss a Cloud and Steph of Steph and Tony Investigate are challenging readers to read Roberto Bolano's huge tome this summer. M writes:

Beginning this first week of May, Steph and I are reading Roberto Bolaño's posthumous masterpiece, 2666, together. 2666 is made up of five books, all meant by Bolaño to be published separately. As it is, his estate decided to publish them all together in one volume, which may or may not have been the right choice. But consequently, a number of readers have expressed experiencing a burnout from reading the whole book in one go. Others suggest that to be able to enjoy this tremendous piece of work, it's helpful to read each of the five books singly, interspersing them with other books. That's what we've decided to do.

Their plan is to read one book a month. The schedule is as follows:

• May ~ Part 1: The Part About the Critics, pp. 1-160
  
• June ~ Part 2: The Part About Amalfitano, pp. 161-228
  
• July ~ Part 3: The Part About Fate, pp. 229-350
  
• August ~ Part 4: The Part About the Crimes, pp. 351-634
  
• September ~ Part 5: The Part About Archimboldi, pp. 635-894

They are also asking that participants write a wrap-up post for each part at the end of each month, or thereabouts.

It is not to late to join this read-a-long...to learn more and to sign up, visit the post about the challenge.

Sarah Dessen Reading Challenge

You pick the time frame in 2009

Em at Em's Bookshelf is hosting the Sarah Dessen Reading Challenge - a challenge to read all of this author's books. Em writes:

1) Read all 9 books by Sarah Dessen.
2) Set your own time frame. (Em's goal is to read all 9 books by June 30th but yours could be by the end of 2009 or by the end of the summer. Whatever works best for your schedule. Don't stress...this is supposed to be fun! :)

To learn more and to join, visit the post about the challenge.

VPR Poetry Challenge 2009

May 16, 2009 - May 16, 2010

Regular Rumination is hosting a poetry reading challenge.

The Rules:

• Pick any book of poetry (Regular Rumination has provided the VPR list on the post about the challenge for some ideas.)
• It has to be contemporary poetry!
• Published in the 20th or 21st century.

Then choose a level of participation:

1. The Shallow End – 2-5 books of poetry – Your choice, poetry or poetics, just enough to cool off with your healthy dose of verse.
2. In the middle – 6-10 books of poetry – A little bit more ambitious, but not too much that it’ll be over your head (har har).
3. Dive in to the Deep End! – 11-15 books of poetry – That’s right, jump in there, get all the way in. You know the only way to test the water is dive in.

For more information and to sign up, visit the post about the challenge.

Beowulf On The Beach Reading Challenge

May 25 - September 7, 2009

Books on the Nightstand is hosting the Beowulf on the Beach Reading Challenge.

Beowulf on the Beach by Jack Murnighan is an accessible, funny and extremely readable guide to 50 great works of literature, as chosen by the author.

Rules:

• Read at least one book featured in Beowulf on the Beach, though you can, of course, read more.
• Write about your challenge and reading experience (on a blog, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, etc.)

Visit Books on the Nightstand for more information, to sign up AND to win a free copy of Beowulf on the Beach!

A Book Blogger’s New Discovery

Weekly Event hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog

J. Kaye of J. Kayes Book Blog has started this wonderful new weekly event. It takes place every Friday.

Here's what she says:

Highlighting new book blogs has always been important to me. It’s the reason I pass along blog awards to new bloggers or at the very least, new to me book blogs. Without an audience, especially at the beginning, the life of a blogger can be sort of dreary. It feels good when another book blogger promotes your blog. Besides, I like blabbing about other book blogs. If you’d like to join in, please feel free. This event will take place every Friday and I’ll be listing the new book blogs or websites I’ve discovered during the week. Some might even be a rediscovery.

To Join J. Kaye in Highlighting new book blogs, join her every Friday, here.

The Four Month Challenge

June 1 to September 30, 2009

Virginie of Virginie Says is hosting her very first challenge.

Virginie Says…

So, I decided to make up my own challenge – mostly to push myself to get off the computer and read more! Plus, it will help me whittle down that TBR list…lol Here it is. Join if you like.

Here's how it works:
5 Point Challenges

• Read a Chick Lit book, Read a historical fiction book, Read a book just because you like the cover, Read anything by Jean Plaidy, Read a book with a number in the title.

10 Point Challenges

• Read a book about Royalty (biography or fiction), Read a classicRead a book by an author you’ve never read before, Read a celebrity biography/autobiography, Read a hardcover book.

15 Point Challenges

• Read a book with a one word title, Read a book based on a Biblical character, Read a book that was made into a movie, Read a book by an author born in June, July, August or September, Read a book with a summer word in the title (summer, sun, sand, hot, etc.).

20 Point Challenges

• Read a book in a series AND the one after it, Read a Danielle Steele AND a Maeve Binchy book, Read a book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list (http://www.listology.com/list/1001-books-you-must-read-you-die, Read a book considered Christian FictionRead a book of your choice BUT read it outside.

250 Points total.
To sign up go to The Four Month Challenge.

The Fourth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge

June 5-7, 2009

MotherReader of The heart of a Mother. The soul of a Reader. is hosting this challenge again.

It’s that time of year. I’m setting the date for the 48 Hour Book Challenge — that special contest that allows you to read and blog guilt-free for as long as you can stand it!

For more information and to join this challenge go to The Fourth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge.

What's Your Favorite Book This Week?- Event

Weekly Event hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog

J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog has started this weekly event that will happen every Thursday.

Here's how J. Kaye explains it:

I thought it would be cool to highlight my favorite book of the week each Thursday. With so many reviews posted on blogs, it's hard to tell which book is the most favored. So if you have a favorite book you've read this week, feel free to add it in the comment section below.

To participate or see some favorite books of the week visit J. Kaye's Book Blog on Thursdays.

Royal's Romance Reading Challenge

June 1, 2009 - November 30, 2009

The lovely women of Royal Reviews is hosting the Royal's Romance Challenge.

For this challenge you will need to read seven books in six months. To complete the challenge the title or author's name will need to begin with the letters R-O-M-A-N-C-E and must be classified as a romance novel (this includes as romance sub genre including contemporary, historical or paranormal).

To find out more or to sign up go to Royal's Romance Challenge.

Book AwardsReading Challenge III

July 1 through December 1, 2009

Michelle is hosting this wonderful challenge again.

The challenge for Book Awards 3 will be slightly different. First of all, it will only last for 5 months, from July 1 through December 1, 2009. That is because Book Awards 4 will be from February 1 through December 1, 2010.

Rules:

1. Read 5 books from 5 different awards during July 1, 2009 through December 1, 2009.
2. Overlaps with other challenges are permitted.
3. Choices don't have to be posted right away, and lists may be changed at any time.
4. Award winners' is loosely defined; make the challenge fit your needs.

To find out more of to sign up go to Book Awards Reading Challenge.

Heartfelt Award...

Many thanks to J. Kaye at J. Kayes Book Blog for recognizing A Novel Challenge for this award which is given to blogs that give you a warm, fuzzy feeling when you visit them. J. Kaye wrote:

[A Novel Challenge] has been instrumental in enabling me to sign up for the maximum amount of book challenges possible for 2009. Love all the work Wendy and Teddy Rose have done.

Always happy to enable other readers, J. Kaye! Thank you for being a faithful visitor of this blog!

Southern Reading Challenge 2009

May 15 - August 15, 2009

Maggie from Maggie Reads is once again hosting her very popular Southern Reading Challenge for 2009. She writes:

It's that time of year!

The time when you pour a glass of lemonade or sweet tea and take your official summer spot on the porch. Lean back in that chase lounge surrounded by geraniums and ferns, and begin the summer long journey into Southern culture.

Participants may choose to read any style of Southern book such as Appalachian tales, Civil War sagas, Gothic myths, Grit lit, etc... The goal is THREE BOOKS in three months. As she did last year, Maggie will be holding weekly drawings and contests.

To learn more and sign up with Mr. Linky, visit the post about the challenge.