= Excellent
= Good/Very Good
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
Sponsored Challenges
Saturday, January 3rd, 20092009 Mini-Challenges - A Novel Challenge Yahoo Group
January 1 - December 31, 2009
UPDATE: January 3, 2009: I have now added a Mr. Linky to this post. Please use this to sign up for the challenge. If you have a blog, please provide a link to your post about the challenge. If you do not have a blog, simply type in your name and leave the http:// address blank. For those of you who have already signed up by leaving a comment, I’ve added you to the Mr. Linky already!
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Once again I am hosting a year of mini-challenges through my Yahoo Group: A Novel Challenge. I would love for you to join the group, but you do not have to be a member of A Novel Challenge Yahoo Group in order to participate. Here are the rules:
- Complete all 12 mini-challenges between January 1st and December 31st, 2009.
- Challenges can be completed in any order.
- Overlaps are allowed.
- IF you are a member of the Yahoo group, you do not need a blog to participate. IF you are NOT a member of the Yahoo group, you will need a blog.
- Sign up by either joining the Novel Challenge Yahoo group OR leave me a comment on this post.
- Have fun! Challenge yourself to do something literary every month of the year!
Here are the 12 challenges:
- Read a collection of short stories and either blog about it, OR tell the group about what you read.
- Read a play. Blog about it, OR tell the group about your experience.
- Read a nonfiction book; write a review on your blog or post it to the group.
- Read 2 essays from the same collection; write a review on your blog or tell the group about what you read.
- Go to a book event; blog about it or tell the group about it.
- Borrow a library book, read it and review it on your blog (or tell the group about it).
- Read a book by a new to you author. Do a little research on the author…do they have a blog? How many books have they written? Have they won any prizes? Where do they live? etc… Blog about the book you read and the author OR tell the group about them.
- Make a donation. You can either donate to an organization that supports reading OR make a physical donation of a book (or books) to ANYONE. Blog about it or tell the group what you did.
- Promote literacy. This is wide open - use your imagination. You could give a child a book, or read a book to someone who cannot read, or volunteer at an event which promotes literacy, or donate to your local library, or write something on your blog with a link to a group which promotes literacy, or anything in between. The only rule with this one is that you must PROMOTE literacy in some way…
- Participate in a buddy read or Group discussion. This can be a face to face group, an on-line group or a one on one discussion with a friend who read the same book. Either way, blog about your experience or share with the group. Did the discussion give you greater appreciation or insight into what you read?
- Read a book outside your comfort level or from a genre you don’t normally read. Blog about it, or tell the group about it.
- Read a classic (defined as anything published before 1970). Tell us why it fits the category of being a classic. Write a review or tell the group about the book.
Sunday, November 16th, 2008
Themed Reading Challenge - 2009 - INFO & SIGN UPS
February 1, 2009 - July 31, 2009
The Themed Reading Challenge is a six month challenge designed to help readers clear books from their to-be-read stacks which center around a common theme or themes. Here are the “rules”:
- Books should be chosen from the reader’s TBR pile (this may be an actual physical pile or a virtual pile).
- The goal is to read 4 to 6 books linked by theme.
- Overlaps with other challenges are allowed.
- Readers may change their list of books at any time.
- Readers may choose three different levels of participation:
- Read at least 4 books with the same theme.
- Read at least 5 books that share at least TWO themes.
- Read at least 6 books that share MORE than two themes.
Themes can be geographic, genre, author, subject matter, or anything in between! Last year’s themes were wonderfully creative and varied and included such things as: books about books, books set in New England, books with a color in the title, books about vampires, books with the word ‘lady’ in the title, Gothic classics, fairy tales retold for adults, highschool classics, Asian culture, feathered friends, WWII, Canada, books in translation, and Beverly Cleary. There were many others I have not listed here!
The only thing limiting your choices is your imagination - so have fun!
Sign-ups for this challenge will close on March 30th. Please use Mr. Linky below to link DIRECTLY TO YOUR POST about the challenge which should include your theme (or themes) and preliminary list of books. As I did last year, I will provide a Mr. Linky for you to link to your reviews for February/March, April/May, and June/July…as well as for your wrap up posts. IF you do not have a blog, you may still participate…please just enter your name in Mr. Linky below with no http link OR leave me a comment on this post.
Friday, September 26th, 20085 Under 35 Awards Challenge - LINKS TO REVIEWS 2008
To sign up for this challenge, visit this post.
Please post links to reviews in the appropriate Mr. Linky or leave your comment about the books in the comments of this post.
For links to reviews on winning books from 2008, use this Mr. Linky:
Thursday, September 25th, 20085 Under 35 Awards Challenge - LINKS TO REVIEWS 2007
To sign up for this challenge, visit this post.
Please post links to reviews in the appropriate Mr. Linky or leave your comment about the books in the comments of this post.
For links to reviews on winning books from 2007, use this Mr. Linky:
Thursday, September 25th, 20085 Under 35 Award Challenge - LINKS TO REVIEWS 2006
To sign up for this challenge, visit this post.
Please post links to reviews in the appropriate Mr. Linky or leave your comment about the books in the comments of this post.
For links to reviews on winning books from 2006, use this Mr. Linky:
Thursday, September 25th, 20085 Under 35 Award Challenge
Perpetual Challenge beginning October 1, 2008
Beginning in 2006, the National Book Foundation has recognized five young writers in its 5 Under 35 Program. The National Book Foundation writes:
These five writers have each been selected by a previous National Book Award Finalist or Winner as someone whose work is particularly promising and exciting and is among the best of a new generation of writers.
This challenge is designed as a perpetual challenge (no end date) to read the five books selected each year by the National Book Foundation in the 5 Under 35 Program. To see the lists of books chosen, follow the links below:
Participants in the challenge should sign up by using the SIGN UP Mr. Linky below. Please provide the link DIRECTLY to your post about this challenge. This linky is for SIGN UPS only. If you do not have a blog, you can still sign up…either just put your name in Mr. Linky with no link OR leave a comment.
I will be providing different posts with Mr. Linkys for links to reviews.