Posts from the ‘Challenge’ Category

Jun 27

Summer Reading Challenge Update

Welcome to our first update in the Summer Reading Challenge! We have a lot of people joining us for this challenge and we hope you are all having fun picking out your books. Haven’t joined yet? There is still time to sign up and receive your virtual passport.

Every two weeks or so we will be posting an update on the challenge along with some ideas for book locations. We’ll also give an honorable mention to the reader who posts our favorite book-location pairing over the two weeks.

It’s only been one week but many of you have already traveled to at least one book destination. Remember you have 3 months to read so there’s no rush! Here’s how the scoreboard currently stands: Read more

Jun 21

3 Comments

Spring Challenge Results!

It’s official. Our Spring Cleaning Challenge is finally over and we have some winners to announce. You all did an amazing job cleaning up your TBR shelves while I unfortunately added to mine. As a group you read over 100 books. Our top two participants combined read over 50 of those books!

Our grand prize winner was selected at random. Each book you read counted for one entry and the winning entry was selected using random.org.

So without further ado, here our winners:

Grand Prize: Becky. Congrats to Becky! She wins a box packed with books and book-related goodies. Included in the box are the following items: book tote bag, literary teas, a personal library kit, bookmarks, a book journal, an adult coloring book, a $25 Amazon gift card, and a selection of 9 new books from a variety of genres. Books include a graphic novel, 2 non-fiction books, a classic, a short story collection, a science fiction book, a comedic fantasy, contemporary fiction, and magical realism/romance novel. Becky – please send me an email with your mailing address for the box. Here’s a glimpse of what she gets:

Most read: Our first place prize goes to Kate who received and incredible 26 points. Even more impressive, she even read Infinite Jest by Wallace for which she received 3 points. Kate wins a $40 gift card to Amazon.

First Review posted: Anita. She posted the first review in the challenge – The Housekeeper and the Professor by Ogawa. She wins: a pair of library card socks & a book lover’s journal. Anita – I will also need your mailing address. The socks crack me up.

Last Review Posted: This technically goes to Kate but since we limited everyone to one prize, the runner up gets the prize. Lynsey posted the second to last review of Adichie’s Americanah. Lynsey wins: A hardcopy edition of Judy Blume’s new book, In the Unlikely Event that was released earlier this month.

So congrats to all the winners. We hope that even if you didn’t win, you enjoyed the challenge.

And, if you didn’t win, there’s always the next challenge. I’ve already started collecting prize materials for the summer prizes. Sign up for our Summer challenge that begins today!

What did you think of the challenge? Which was your favorite TBR read? Which was your least favorite?

Jun 13

6 Comments

Final Spring Cleaning Challenge Update & Summer Challenge sign up!

This is the final update I’ll be providing for our Spring Challenge since it is over next week. If you haven’t already signed up for our summer challenge, please do so early since it will start June 21st. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll get.

I will mail hard copies to the first 10 people who request one (they took longer than I thought to make them so I’m limiting how many I make). I have 5 left since most have requested email copies. Once those are gone, everyone else will get a PDF copy. Inside is a list of reading destinations for the challenge!

Now on to the Spring Challenge update. The last two weeks have seemed like a back and forth between Kate and Tracy who are currently tied for first with 23 points. Special props to Kate who powered through Infinite Jest — a fairly mean assignment on my part.

As a group, you’ve read an amazing 135 books for this challenge! Please check your scores to make sure they are correct. You have one final week (until June 20 at midnight) to submit your last book. Here are the current standings.

Standings:
Kate – 23
Tracy – 23
Andrea – 6
Ellen – 6
Nicole D – 5
Becky – 4
Lynsey – 4
Sushicat – 4
Anita -2
Tessa – 2
Brandy – 1
Charisma -1
Sally -1
Tricia – 1

Prizes: The grand prize could go to any of you, although odds favor those with more entries. I will announce the winners on June 21st. What could you win? A box filled with a selection new books from a variety of genres, an amazon gift card, and several book-related items. The first place reader will also win an Amazon gift card and 1 new book. Anita (for being the first person to complete a book) also wins a small prize. And one final mystery winner (who will be announced) will get a copy of Judy Blume’s latest book!

NOTE: If an international reader wins the grand prize, she will receive the equivalent amount in Amazon gift cards and other online redeemable prizes since it might bankrupt me to mail the box overseas. In that case, a second randomly drawn person will be selected to win the box – so an extra person wins. Good luck everyone!

Keep reading to check out all the books you’ve read as a group along with the latest reviews. You might find a good book to add to your own TBR.

Jun 11

58 Comments

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. Read more

May 20

5 Comments

Spring Cleaning Challenge Update

It’s time for an update on our Spring Cleaning Challenge! New followers and readers, there’s still lots of time to join in the fun for the chance to win some fun book prizes! Find the instructions for the challenge here. If you’ve been with us from the beginning, you have one more month left to rack up your points. Remember the more you read, the more you stack the odds in your favor.

It’s a tough race for first place between Tracy and Kate although in the last 2-3 weeks, Kate has pulled ahead slightly — although we may have slowed her down with her latest book pick. Will she make it through her current book? And, how will the battle for 3rd play out? Will Ellen keep her slim lead for third?

IMPORTANT INFO: I will be away traveling to Prague next week (May 24-31) so will have limited access to my email. If you finish a book while I’m away, just respond with a comment on the main challenge post (here) saying you are done with the book and my co-blogger, Book Worm will make sure to get you your next book assignment. I’ll check the reviews when I get back.

Final day to submit a review will be June 20th at midnight EST (or before I wake up on the 21st). We will announce the winners on the first day of summer!

Current Standings: tbr
Kate – 15
Tracy – 13
Ellen – 5
Andrea – 4
Becky – 4
Lynsey – 4
Nicole D – 4
Sushicat – 4
Anita -2
Brandy – 1
Charisma -1
Tessa – 1
Tricia – 1

What do you think of the challenge thus far? Have you been surprised by any books (pleasantly or unpleasantly)?

Please take the time to read the reviews of books read thus far (since last update). You might find something you’d like to read. I’ve included hyperlinks to the book titles if anything strikes your fancy. You can also find all the books in our Amazon store here – under the spring challenge tab.

Apr 27

3 Comments

Spring Cleaning Challenge Update

A little over a month into the challenge and as a group, you’ve all read 4o books. New followers and readers, there’s still lots of time to join in the challenge! A little less than two months to go and reading even one book will count for the prize draw. Find the instructions in the challenge tab.

It’s a tough race for first place between Tracy and Kate. Remember that the first place reader gets a prize but the grand prize will be drawn randomly from everyone who reads at least one book. The more books you read, the more entries you get for the grand prize draw. Below are our current standings. Participants: let me know if you notice any errors in your scores.

Kate – 10
Tracy – 9
Becky – 4
Ellen – 3
Nicole D – 3
Anita -2
Andrea – 2
Lynsey – 2
Sushicat – 2
Brandy – 1
Tessa – 1
Tricia – 1

What do you think of the challenge thus far? Have you been surprised by any books (pleasantly or unpleasantly)?

Please take the time to read the reviews of books read thus far (since last update). You might find something you’d like to read.

Apr 4

7 Comments

Spring Cleaning Challenge Update: Reviews

Only two weeks in and readers are really cleaning up their TBR shelves! Below, I’ve posted a few updates with information about prizes, scoreboard, and reviews. Please take the time to read all the reviews — one participant even included a photo. You may find a book that is perfect for you!

Mar 20

213 Comments

Spring Cleaning Challenge

Welcome to our newest reading challenge! Are you like us with a TBR shelf that just keeps growing? Time to clean up that TBR. And what better motivation to clean up that shelf, than cool prizes?

In order to participate you must have either a goodreads or shelfari account & you must be willing to give us access to your shelf (send us your GR profile link or shelfari shelf link).

This challenge will start March 20th (first official day of spring) and will end June 21st (first day of summer).

Spring Cleaning Challenge
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Mar 16

12 Comments

Book Blind Date Results & Reviews

Thanks to all for participating in our book blind date challenge! We had a lot of fun organizing this challenge and we are happy that so many of you decided to join us. Keep reading to find out who won our prizes, the book titles of those poor dates that weren’t selected, and the compilation of all your reviews.
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Feb 14

83 Comments

Valentines Special Book Blind Date & Challenge

If you are reading this, I am betting that, like me, at some point in your life you have sworn that no matter what happens you will not get another book until you have reduced your current TBR pile to a manageable level. And, like me, you know you are doomed to fail. Full of good intentions, I went to the local library to return a book swearing I would not pick up another one (spoiler alert I failed). Just in the doorway I was greeted with this display — could you resist? I mean really? After careful consideration, I chose my blind date: “Fiction Victorian Supernatural Romp” When I got to work I had to share my excitement with the office and it was then that I discovered there are two meanings to ‘romp’…