Sign up for our Summer Reading Challenge!
Summer is around the corner and we want you to join us for our next seasonal challenge! We are still having a blast as the spring cleaning challenge winds down. That challenge closes on June 20th and we will be announcing the winners on June 21st.
For now we want to announce our plans for our summer challenge and we hope that you all join us because we think it is pretty wonderful! Keep reading to find out more. It’s best to sign up early so you can get a “personalized” version.
Summer is a time for travel both near and far. And for those of us with busy jobs that don’t let up over summer months, what better way to travel than immersing yourself in a good book? So for our summer challenge, we want you to travel using your reading. This challenge requires some preparation on our part so please sign up early. The actual challenge won’t start until June 21st.
Here’s the challenge:
We will create reading passports for each participant. These can be hard copies to be mailed out or virtual copies that I’ll send as PDFs -depends on where you live and how early you sign up. Your reading passport will be unique to you (no other reader will have the same passport).
Passports will have approximately 30 pages and at the top of each page you will find a reading destination. Destinations may include a specific country, certain types of locations (beach, mountains, etc), certain types or modes of travel, and other categories. We have a large master list of destinations and your specific destinations will be selected using a randomizer. Some destinations will be tricky and you will need to think creatively to find a book that fits the destination. I will make sure that each person gets at least one “difficult” location.
Once you have your passport, it is your job to read your way through the passport visiting as many places as possible. You may start reading on June 21st. You choose which book you want to read to fulfill the requirement of your destination. In order for a book to count, your immigration agent (a.k.a. Book Worm or myself) must approve your book choice. This is to make sure that your book actually meets the spirit of the destination. We recommend doing this before you read the book.
Your goal is to read books for as many destinations as possible over the summer months. Be creative in your book selections and share your choices and destinations with other players in the comments section of the summer challenge page.
I will create a scoreboard and instruction page which you will be able to find in the challenges tab at the top of the blog.
The Challenge will officially begin on June 21st and will end on September 22nd at midnight. As usual, cool book prizes will be awarded to multiple winners (most well traveled/read, a randomly drawn winner, and a few other prizes).
Instructions:
- Sign up by emailing us a few things: 1) A name you want to use for your passport (can be your real name or even better a creative name from literature); 2) A photo or image you’d like to use for your “passport”; 3) either your mailing address (if you would like a hard copy passport) or email address for a virtual passport.
- Review your Passport. You will receive your passport from us either by mail or email.
- Pick a destination from your passport options and an appropriate book. It’s a good idea to have either myself or Book Worm approve it before you read it. For example, if you get “France,” you can read a book set in France, by a French author, with France in the title, written in French, etc.
- Read your book and send us the review when you have finished.
- When we have confirmed that you have fulfilled the requirement we will confirm that you can “stamp” or passport and move on. You can only read one destination at a time and only one destination can be crossed off per book (no doubling up).
- Repeat until you have read them all, you want to stop, or until the deadline.
Any questions? Sign up by sending your email to me (jenlane3@yahoo.com). In your email let me know if you want a hard copy passport — I recommend this especially if you send in your request early.
Are you in? Let us know in the comments section and send us an email with the info requested.
I’m not going to read Just Kids in time to finish spring cleaning, but i’m going to sign up for this. 🙂 Will email deets.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks great! Sending you a separate email with my details.
LikeLike
Count me in! Sounds like a fun way to read my way around the world! Sending you my details.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great! Remember you may also get some categories that are in the U.S and don’t involve international travel 🙂
LikeLike
Count me in!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! I’m assuming you will want an email version. I can also send a hard copy version but it may take a while to reach you!
LikeLike
Count me in, Jen. Sending you my details via email.
Btw, in case I haven’t mentioned earlier, I am Aarti as you know me on shelfari 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds good. I don’t think I knew who you were until just now. Yay!
LikeLike
Me neither 🙂
LikeLike
Following your blog 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now I’m confused, what name do you go by on shelfari? Don’t think I’ve come across deadlikeme13 yet?? 😀
LikeLike
It’s Charisma!
LikeLike
How lovely! Probably my first friend on Shelfari 🙂 So, nice to meet you here !
LikeLike
I would looooooove to sign up. I won’t have a lot of time because I will be working a lot and I leave for England September 10th, but I would love to try….:) What a great idea! I will send you an email with my info….
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m LibraryCin over at shelfari (and the other books sites!). I am already doing way too many challenges, but this sounds like a lot of fun, so I’m interested in giving it a try. I’ll have to email you, Jen. (It’s getting late already tonight, but I’ll try to remember to do so on the weekend!)
LikeLike
Great! Hopefully it’s the sort of thing where you can combine it with other challenges with some creative planning!
LikeLike
I’m hoping so, too! I’ll certainly give it a try! 🙂 Now, to email you my info (before I forget!)…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ok, email sent. One more question. What would be the best way to contact you or Book Worm to “approve” books ahead of time and to submit our reviews? Your email here, Jen? Shelfari? Something else? Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think the best way is to email both of us what do you think Jen? Feel free to add my email address to the details 🙂
LikeLike
You’ll all get an instruction sheet with your passports. BW and I will discuss the best strategy before we send the passports since it depends in part on how many people sign up. We’ve done email in the past. We may split the list and each be the point person for half the people.
LikeLike
I didn’t get your email. Did you send it to jenlane3@yahoo.com?
LikeLike
I copied and pasted from above, so that should be the email it went to. I’ll check my sent folder and resend it.
And thanks for the extra info about who to contact and how. I’ll wait for my instruction sheet! 🙂
LikeLike
That is the email it should have gone to the first time, but I’ve just resent it, so hopefully you’ll get it this time.
Thanks!
LikeLike
I have another question that’s not game related, so more… practical, I guess. How does one edit ones posts here? I only see “reply” as an option to any post here (including my own). Thanks!
LikeLike
that’s actually a really good question. I assumed you all could edit your own comments because I see an “edit” button next to all my replies. Now that I think of it, that may be because I’m the site manager. Do you see an edit button when you go in to your comments? Should be next to your name. If not, BW and I need to rethink some options.
It might be necessary to have you just add replies with any edits (copy and paste the updates into a new reply) then BW and I can keep going in and deleting the old replies so the threads don’t get crazy.
LikeLike
Do you see an edit button when you go in to your comments? Should be next to your name.
I don’t know where to “go in to” my comments.
Next to my name when I look here, I only see # (and I can’t see that clicking it does anything…)
LikeLike
I just tried it again. I think # is giving me a permalink. I can click that next to anyone’s name.
LikeLike
If I click my name, it takes me to my facebook page (which is how I’m logged in).
LikeLike
Okay, thanks. I send an email around last night so for we will basically have you update by replying. I will then go in and delete only messages so your threads don’t get too long
LikeLike
Hi, I’m in! I will send you my email address as this might be easier (I live in the UK). Sounds like a great challenge. Can’t wait to see what I get.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great!
LikeLike
Did you send me your info? Just checking because some have been blocked by my spam filter
LikeLike
I’m in! I will email separately. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great!
LikeLike
I am in. I will send an email once my computer cooperates.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m also in, even though I don’t anticipate covering many destinations… But not accepting this fun challenge would be a shame, so I AM IN!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This sounds like fun! Maybe this is just what I need to get out of the huge reading slump I’m in. I’ll send an email in.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope so! Reading slumps are the worst
LikeLike
I just got my passport in the mail. Jen, it is so much fun. You did an excellent job and I’m excited to get started.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! Glad it arrived. I just tracked them all and looks like most people will get them today.
LikeLike
I am in. virtual passport/s please to this email
LikeLiked by 1 person
You need to send me an email with your passport name and a photo. These can be real or not. You will be the only one to see the photo (and me). My email is jenlane3@yahoo.com
LikeLike
Count me in!!! I will email you with my details
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is a conflict of how many days we will get for the challenge.
The date above is Sept 22 and the :instructions say the 20th.
Hope it is the former 🙂
LikeLike
You’re right. I can change that to the 22nd. It ends on the last day of summer. I will get around to changing it later today. Thanks
LikeLike
So excited to join a reading challenge! Just sent you my details 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have been hemming and hawing about this one for a while, so I’m just going to jump in. I’ll email you my details. By the by, I’m Sara W on Shelfari.
LikeLike
Woo hoo! I think I have your email so I will send you a passport tonight!
LikeLike
Hi! Again, thank you so much for doing the Spring Cleaning challenge! I think I’ll try this one as well. I’ll email you my details.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This really sounds neat! Not sure how much traveling I’ll be able to do but the contest lasts long enough that I think it’s worth giving it a try. Quick question……do we have to travel in order? Or can we jump around the locations we are assigned?
LikeLiked by 1 person
You can jump around in any order. If you want to sign up just send me an email with your info and I’ll send you an email passport
LikeLike
Hi! This looks like a fun challenge. Is it too late to enter?
LikeLike
No, just email your info to me (jenlane3@yahoo.com) and I’ll put together a passport for you
LikeLike
Hi Jen, email was sent, looks like fun!
LikeLike
Hi Emily. This challenge was from last year and is t active at the current time
LikeLike
Oh darn 🙂
LikeLike
:). We’ll be having another summer challenge this year but a different one and it has t been announced yet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, I will be watching for it
LikeLike