30+ FOLLOWERS GIVEAWAY

***THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED***

As promised, this blog has exceeded 30 followers so now it's time for the $10 gift certificate giveaway to BetterWorldBooks...and guess what?  They now ship FREE WORLDWIDE!!! Personally, I love them because all purchases contribute to the funding of literacy programs around the world and they offer green shipping.

The rules are going to be fairly simple:

• since this is a follower appreciation giveaway, you must be a follower of this blog
• MUST include email address
• +5 bonus points if you also follow my book blog, The True Book Addict
• must fill out this FORM
• Giveaway is open WORLDWIDE and will end on March 31, 2011 at 11:59pm central time
• Winners will be announced here and will be emailed.  Winner must respond within 48 hours or another winner will be selected.

Thank you for following and good luck!!!

READING CHALLENGE ADDICT CHALLENGE 2011

The Reading Challenge Addict Challenge is being hosted by Cheryl at CMash Loves to Read and Gina at Hott Books at its dedicated blog.

Some of us have a bit of a problem.
Some of us have a huge problem.
Cheryl from CMash Loves to Read and Gina from Hott Books are two such people. We each can stand proudly and say,

I am a Reading Challenge Addict.

So we are challenging each of you who can also say that you also are a Reading Challenge Addict.

We'll be giving away quarterly prizes and recognizing those who are meeting their own expectations by completing the challenges they've entered.

How addicted are you?

Easy as Pie: 1-5 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
On the Roof: 6-10 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
In Flight: 11-15 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
Out of This World: 16+ Challenges (Entered & Completed)

Rules:

We're not making this a difficult challenge, actually, it's going to be very simple!

1. This challenge will begin on January 1, 2011 and end on December 31, 2011.
2. Write a starting post joining the challenge and outlining your challenges.
3. Track all of your challenge accomplishments - good & bad.
4. Stop by to join us in the mini-challenges, updates & extra giveaways throughout the year.

Easy, right? Who wants to be in on the fun? What else will we be doing? We'll have giveaways for our participants to enter and unannounced special drawings for commenters on the site so be sure to leave your email address with your comment! Are you ready? Sign up here to enter:

I'm signed up for 20 challenges in 2011 and 4 perpetual challenges so my level is...

Out of this World--16+

Wish me luck!

AGATHA CHRISTIE READING CHALLENGE

The Agatha Christie Reading Challenge (a perpetual challenge) is hosted at The Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival.

*click the button to sign up

Details:

The Agatha Christie Reading Challenge is really a challenge in two parts.

Part One

My original idea with the challenge was that I would read the books of Agatha Christie in order of publication to see what I could learn about her development as a writer, her exploration of the genre, development of her main characters and so on.

I've continued to tackle that on two fronts: her novels and her short stories.

I invited other people to join me and some are attempting to read the novels in order as I am, while others are simply reading them as they come across them.

I invite you to join us on this reading journey, reading at your own pace, either in publication order, or not, as you please.

You can join by adding your name to the Mr Linky at the foot of this post.

I find that I am reading about a title a month, aiming for 12 a year.
As I read a new book, I write a review and post it on my blog.
I also write an update post, recording my progress so far.
If you click here, you will see examples of these posts.

Part Two

The second part of the challenge is to be a participant in the monthly Agatha Christie Challenge Blog Carnival which is published 22-23 of each month.

It is an opportunity to submit your Agatha Christie reviews and updates to each carnival.

So when you write a review or an update about your progress in the challenge, then the next step each time is to submit your post to the Carnival here.

The carnival has various categories:
•General
•Miss Marple
•Tommy & Tuppence
•Hercule Poirot
•Superintendent Battle
•Short Stories
•Updates
•Discoveries (here you can submit interesting Agatha Christie related websites that you've discovered)

You submit your posts here

1. Partners in Crime
2. Ordeal by Innocence

ALPHABET CHALLENGE

COMPLETED!
UPDATED: April 30, 2011

The Alphabet Challenge is being hosted by The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object.

*Click the button to sign up for this challenge

Details:

1. 26 books!

runs January 1st 2011 –December 31, 2011. For each letter, read a book that has a main character or key supporting character (not some random minor character mentioned twice!) whose name starts with that letter. It doesn’t have to be the title of the book, just the name. Ex: Alice (in wonderland), Bella (twilight), Cathy (Wuthering Heights), Dracula (Dracula) Estella (Great Expectations), etc.

2. only one letter per book!

3. Crossovers are fine

4. audio, e-book, bound book, someone reading it out loud to you, reading a book to your little brother or sister, it all counts.

5. any length—short stories, books of the Bible, etc. they all count for this one.

6. Don’t have to be a blogger, don’t have to review the book. Just tell me you're participating. Goodreads is a great way to keep track of books for non-bloggers (make a shelf for this challenge and keep track of them that way!)

Levels:

Level 1: 10 Letters
Level 2: 20 Letters
Level 3: Completes all 26 letters (yes, that means X and Z and Q. I’m sure you can find something.)

Level 1 for me, to start off!

1. B=Becky in Blue--Lou Aronica
2. J=Juana in The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner
3. M=Maeve in The Raven Queen by Jules Watson
4. D=Daniel in My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares
5. A=Alice Perrers in The King's Mistress by Emma Campion
6. E=Elizabeth Stuart in The King's Daughter by Christie Dickason
7. C=Cecily of York in Queen By Right by Anne Easter Smith
8. S=Sugar in Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
9. L=Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
10. K=Kate Bradley in Night Walker by Lisa Kessler

WHAT AN ANIMAL READING CHALLENGE IV

COMPLETED! See full list with review links below.

The What an Animal Reading Challenge IV is being hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews.

*click the button to sign up for this challenge

Details:

1. Read at least 6 books that have any of the following requirements:

    a. there is an animal in the title of the book

    b. there is an animal on the cover of the book

    c. an animal plays a major role in the book

    d. a main character is (or turns into) an animal (define that however you'd like).

2. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)--dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark...dragon, mermaid, centaur, vampire, werewolf...you get the idea...


3. Challenge runs from March 1, 2011 to February 28, 2012. That’s a full year to read at least 6 books (you can read more if you’d like). You can still sign up after March 1st as long as you can get 6 books read by February 29, 2012).


4. Books can be fiction or nonfiction.


5. You may make a list of books at the beginning of the challenge or you can just list them as you find them.


6. Book titles may be swapped out at anytime (assuming you made a list to begin with).


7. Crossovers with other challenges are permitted and encouraged.


8. You don't have to have a blog or write a review, but you can if you want to.
 If you don't have a blog, just post in the comment section that you'd like to join. You can post your books in there.

9. Books can be in any format of your choice (print, audio, ebooks)

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (review)
2. The Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts (review)
3. The Reindeer Keeper by Barbara Briggs Ward (review)
4. The Dinosaur Hunter by Homer Hickam (review)
5. What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz (review)
6. The Raven Queen by Jules Watson (review)

CLASSICS CHALLENGE 2011

FAILED!

The Classics Challenge 2011 is being hosted by Stiletto Storytime.

*click the pic to sign up

Details:

The challenge is simple: Read classic literature. It can be from any period or genre you choose. The only rule is that it must in some way be considered a classic. What is a classic you ask? A classic to me is a book that has in some way become bigger than itself. It’s become part of culture, society or the bigger picture. It’s the book you know about even if you have not read it. It’s the book you feel like you should have read.

There are four great levels in this challenge designed to suit any reading level and the main goal is to share classics you may or may not have known about otherwise. I encourage you to sign up below and add the challenge button to your blog. The Classics Challenge Page will also allow you to add your reviews as time goes by. Each month I will post a wrap-up along with my own periodic reviews of the classics I am enjoying. And of course I will also be giving away prizes as the year progresses to those who participate. The challenge will run from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. You can join at anytime. If you have a blog fantastic! If not then we still want you to read along with us. You can post reviews from any platform or just follow along and participate in comments.

Levels:

Student: Read any 5 Classic Books
Bachelor’s Degree: Read any 10 Classic Books
Master’s Degree: Read any 20 Classic Books
P.H.D.: Read any 40 Classic Books

I'm going to start out small with the Student level.  Will see how that goes.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2.
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4.
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