Armchair BEA

May 25 - May 28, 2010

For those of us who are unable to attend the big BEA in New York, some bloggers have put together the Arm Chair BEA. All you need is a computer with internet to attend.

So far, there are over 90 people who have signed up for this event. If you aren't going to the BEA in person, why not join the Arm Chair BEA? You can sign up at the dedicated Arm Chair BEA site.

The Schedule for the Week of Arm Chair BEA:

• Tues. May 25th - BEA Related Posts
• Wed. May 26th - Blogger Interviews (Sorry Sign-ups for these are already closed and assignments will be posted very very soon!)
• Thurs. May 27th - BEA Related Posts & Giveaways on Participating Sites
• Friday May 28th - BBC Roundtables

See you there!

Amazingly Pretty and Somewhat Literary Challenge

May 5, 2010 - May 5, 2015

Madeleine and ii are hosting a fun challenge to read 100 books in four years...the catch is they chose the books! They write:

So, sometime back we were just sitting there, drinking wine and talking about how awesome we are. And how there really are no books quite as awesome as us. Or at least, we hadn't found them. Yet. So, we set out on a mission to read 100 books in order to find something that would rival our sharp wit and incredible eloquentness, not to mention our tragic beauty.

Because we do have a life it is sometimes difficult to find time for reading. Therefore, we calculated, carefully and with several drinks to tide us over, that it should take us no longer than four years to complete this Herculean task.

Check out their book list.

Want to join them? Learn more at the dedicated blog.

2010/11 Pre Printing Press Challenge

May 1st 2010-April 30th 2011

All Booked Up is once again hosting the Pre-Printing Press Challenge which started May 1st. Elena writes:

What I haven't seen is a challenge for reading books that pre-date the Printing Press. There's so many good pieces of writing that fit in this category (and I'm not asking you to read them in the original language unless you want to). So, for my first reading challenge, the pre-printing press challenge, I'm asking people to give these ancient and medieval books a try.

The rules of the Pre-Printing Press Challenge:

1. All books must have come out before 1440, when the printing press was first invented.
2. Books chosen for this challenge can overlap with other challenges.
3. Books can be translated into the language of your choice.
4. All the books you've chosen must be read by April 30th 2011.
5. You can read 1-3 books, 4-6 books, 7-9 books or 10 or more books if you're feeling particularly ambitious.
6. The choice of books is up to you. There are no set reading lists, and you don't have to set one when you join.
7. Post your blog address where you'll be posting your comments on your choice of books in the comments of the post about the challenge when you join, and indicate how many books you've chosen.

Learn more and sign up by visiting the post about the challenge.

Top Ten Picks

Weekly Event on Sundays

Jillian of Random Ramblings is hosting this weekly event called Top Ten Picks.  Here's what she says:

This is a weekly feature here in this blog where I would be posting just about that -- my top 10 picks! Every week, there will be a different and specific topic given. I will then choose 10 of my favorites from that given category, create the list, and post them up here! Everyone is welcome to join!

So far, the topics have been on:
1. Book Series
2. Fictional Characters
3. Books You Have To Read At Least Once In Your Life
4. Books That Made You Cry
5. Worst Books You've Ever Read
6. Favorite Young Adult Novels

To join in the fun, go to Random Ramblings every Sunday.

Stream of Suggestions Reading Challenge

April 1, 2010-April 30, 2011

Avisannschild of She Reads and Reads in hosting her very first reading challenge, the Stream of Suggestions Reading Challenge. Here's what she says:

I often read nonfiction books in which the author mentions other books that sound interesting, but I rarely seek out those books. So the idea behind the Stream of Suggestions Reading Challenge is to read books based on author suggestions, starting with one book and following the “stream of suggestions” to see where it will take you...

Rules

1. Pick a book to start with (it can be any book, but nonfiction is probably easiest). This can be a book you’ve already read in April.
2. The author of the next book must be mentioned in the previous book, either in the text itself or in the bibliography. (You don’t have to read the book mentioned; you can pick another book by the same author if you want.)
3. If you get stuck (no authors are mentioned or you can’t find their books easily or none of the ones mentioned is of any interest to you), you can go back one or two books and start again with a different author.
4. In my case, I’m going to try to give priority to books I already own or that are available through my library system, but this is optional.
5. You can read as many books as you want (and you don’t need to decide in advance how many books you will read), but you need to read and review at least 4 books to qualify for the giveaway.

Everyone who reads and reviews at least 4 books will qualify for the giveaway. The prize will be the next book on your list, as long as it is available from the Book Depository and is under $20 CAN. (The giveaway is therefore open internationally, as long as the Book Depository will ship to where you live.)

*The image is a picture of a stream near the Gabes Mountain trailhead in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. This picture was taken by Brian Stansberry and is under Creative Commons license.

To join, go to Stream of Suggestions Reading Challenge.