Monthly Check-In

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Howdy Fellow Addicts.  It's just me peeking into the interwebs to see how you all are doing with those Challenges.  Have you noticed that two of our number have already got one challenge notch on their book shelf?  Susan at Avid Series Reader and Neer at A Hot Cup of Pleasure have both burst out of the starting gates and finished January with one down and....how many to go?  I've mentioned it in the comments....but I think they really need to pick up another one to replace what they've finished.  After all, we don't want them to run out of challenges before the year's out do we?

So...how are we all doing as the new year gets going?  Life in a university English Department is pretty crazy right now.  I'm in the midst of shepherding the faculty through graduate admissions (coordinating hundreds of files and reviews and fellowship recommendations).  I'll be peeking in as often as I can and in the meantime, I'm working on some activities and requests for guest posts that will keep us all motivated.  If you'd like to be a Reading Challenge Addict Cheerleader and volunteer to write up a guest post or two through-out the year, then pop an email into my box (phryne1969 AT gmail DOT com).  Once I've got a roster of cheerleaders, we'll set up a schedule.  


On the Challenge front--I haven't finished any challenges yet.  But I'm half-way done with one and one-third of the way to a couple more.  Better polish up my reading glasses and get busy.

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A Brief Announcement

Hello new addicts and old addict friends!  Gearing up for another year of challenge madness.  As soon as the dust of another new semester settles at work, I'll get back to giving more attention to the blogging world.  We'll see what kinds of challenge temptations I can throw your way and how exciting we can make things this year!  From my brief forays, I see that several of you are off and running and already have books finished for challenges.  I've got to get my act together or y'all are gonna leave me in the dust. 

Good luck with all those challenges!!

5....4.....3....2.....1

Wanted to stop by and wish everyone a very Happy New Year !!!!!!!  

Let the challenges begin!!!   Good luck all !!!!!!!

And an FYI... Bev wanted me, encouraged me, told me I had to stop by and wave every so often.  She can explain how this came to be.    Have fun!!

TBR Pile Challenges....the better to tempt you with

For those of you who have piles of TBR stacks all over the place (and what respectable book blogger doesn't?), there are a couple TBR-tackling challenges out there to keep you motivated to read from your own stacks.  And....if you're REALLY a Reading Challenge Addict you'll probably sign up for both.

First up:

From Patricia over at planetpooks, we have....

 

The Embarrassment of Riches TBR Reading Challenge

RULES: 

Sign ups allowed through January 8, though the challenge begins January 1. 

To be considered a TBR book, you must own it prior to Jan 1, 2013. The book can count toward other challenges, as well. It can be fiction or nonfiction, poetry or play, as long as it is a book. This is not a picky challenge–just about reading the riches we already own.
On the last day of each month I will post an entry where you can say how many TBRs you read that month, titles, and whether you liked them or not. Full-blown reviews not required. You can list them in comments or link back to your own blog or page where they are listed.
At the end of the year I will have pretty badges for all levels, and if I haven’t learned to create them by myself, hopefully somebody else will make them for me.

There are five levels of accomplishment (and a bonus challenge) in the Embarrassment of Riches TBR Reading Challenge.

Copper:  Read 6 TBR books between Jan 1 and Dec 31 2013.
Bronze: Read 12 TBR books between Jan 1 and Dec 31 2013.
Silver: Read 24 TBR books between Jan 1 and Dec 31 2013
Gold: Read 36 TBR books between Jan 1 and Dec 31 2013.
Platinum: Read 50 TBR books between Jan 1 and Dec 31 2013.

Bonus Challenge! The same levels are also available for digital samples. If you are like me, you also have a quizillion samples you’ve downloaded onto your e-reader. Culling through samples and deciding whether to keep reading or not is a separate challenge with all five levels and the same year-end prize–a special badge.

For more details and to join, hop on the link above. 


Also available for those with a quest to tackle mountains of TBR books, there is the Mount TBR Reading Challenge over at My Reader's Block:

Challenge Levels (I've adjusted the levels just slightly this year):

Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR piles/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Olympus (Mars): Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s

Some basic rules:
*Once you choose your challenge level, you are locked in for at least that many books. If you find that you're on a mountain-climbing roll and want to tackle a taller mountain, then you are certainly welcome to upgrade.

*Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2013.

*You may sign up anytime from now until November 30th, 2013.

*Books must be owned by you prior to January 1, 2013. No ARCs (none), no library books. No rereads. [To clarify--based on a question raised last year--the intention is to reduce the stack of books that you have bought for yourself or received as presents {birthday, Christmas, "just because," etc.}. Audiobooks and E-books may count if they are yours and they are one of your primary sources of backlogged books.]

*You may count any "currently reading" book that you begin prior to January 1--provided that you had 50% or more of the book left to finish in 2013.  I will trust you all on that.

For full details and to join up, jump on the link above.

 

A New Queen in Town?

Pssst.  I think we may have a new Queen of the Challenges.  

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Has anybody stopped by Kelly's over at Reading Daydreams and Nightmares?  Well, have you?  She has, I believe, 41 (maybe 42--I got dizzy counting so high) Challenges already on the books for 2013!  FORTY-ONE (or TWO)!!!!   Wow!  We're so glad you found us, Kelly.  You definitely need this support group.

Calling Intervention Crew 9.  We have a severe case over at Reading Daydreams and Nightmares.  Immediate assistance required!

Now...let's get ready to watch in 2013 and see how Kelly manages to tame all those Challenges and finish them off.  Good luck, Kelly!