Quarterly Challenge Check-In (1)

One of my goals for 2013 is to do a quarterly update so that I don't lose track of the challenges I've signed up for. I've listed all the books I've read, but I'm really behind with reviews so only some titles link to their review.

2013 Book Bingo Reading Challenge

Sign up: Here
Goal: 73 books to complete
Progress: 24/73

So far I'm doing pretty well with the Bingo challenge. I've been able to count 24 of the books I've read so far this year and completed my first row.

 

2013 Outdo Yourself Challenge

Sign up: Here
Goal: Getting My Heartrate Up (1-5 more)
Number to beat: 115

So far I have read 30 books so I'm working towards my goal. Fingers crossed I reach it! I'd say I'm roughly on track at this point.

2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge

Sign up: Here
Goal: 12 books (one per category)
Progress: 7/12 categories

I'm just going to list the first book read for each category here as they are completed to stop these posts from being unreadably long, especially as I'm counting books across challenges.

Vampires: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Werewolves/Shifters: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Fey: Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
Angels/Nephilim:
Mermaids:
Dragons:
Zombies:
Demons: Blood Bound by Richelle Mead
Witches/Wizards: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
Ghosts: Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
Aliens: The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Other (sirens, unicorns, centaurs, time travel etc):

2013 Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

Sign up: Here

Goal: Just a Drop (1-4 books)
Progress: 1/4

So far I've managed to just read (or reread in my case) Dead Until Dark but I'm looking forward to reading some more soon.

2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Sign up: Here
Goal: A Firm Handshake (1-10 books)
Progress: 15/10

I've already completed my goal and even took part in January's mini challenge. I'm going to keep going and see if I can complete the next level up which is A Friendly Hug (11-20 books) because I'm loving working away at my TBR!

Frostbite by Richelle Mead
Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Into the Nightside by Simon R. Green
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Renegade by J.A. Souders
Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead
Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay
One Bad Apple by Sheila Connolly
Rotten to the Core by Sheila Connolly

2013 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge

Sign up: Here
Goal: Initiate (1-5 books)
Progress: 3/5

I thought I'd made zero progress with this one until I realised that magic and witchcraft has been a key part of the Bloodlines series since the beginning :) So glad to be doing so well on this challenge!

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead
The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Cruisin' Thru the Cozies Challenge

Sign up: Here
Goal: Snoop (6 books)
Progress: 3/6

One recommendation from a Goodreads Pick-it-for-Me Challenge and I went on a mini cozy kick meaning I'm halfway to my goal and it's only March!


Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay
One Bad Apple by Sheila Connolly
Rotten to the Core by Sheila Connolly

Dystopia Reading Challenge 2013

Sign up: Here
Goal: 24 total, split over 4 levels
Progress: 5/12

I'm a little behind with this one as I've just not been reading many dystopians lately. I'm hoping to catch up and be on track before my next update at the end of June, especially as I have a few more waiting to be read.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
Renegade by J.A. Souders
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Classic Double Challenge

Sign up: Here
Goal: Small (2 books/1 pair)
Progress: 2/2

I've managed to read both The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe and Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin and my comparison post (and review of Bethany Griffin's book) will be coming soon. I had so much fun I'm hoping to do another pairing before the end of the year.

Classic Double Challenge 2013

I thought I was done signing up for 2013 challenges...until I saw this one on Jenni Eylse's blog.It is so awesome I couldn't help signing up too :)

The Classic Double Challenge is hosted by Melissa @ One Librarian's Book Reviews and all you need to do is read a classic and a retelling of it this year. Melissa is being very loose in her definition of classics (any fairy tale, mythology, classic novel works - as long as there is some kind of original story to compare) and retellings (as long as it relates in some way) so this should be a pretty easy challenge to choose books for.

The Levels

Small: Read 2 related books
Medium: Read 4 books (2 sets of related books)
Large: Read 6 books (3 sets of related books)
Extra Large: Read 8 books (4 sets of related books)

The Rules

Once you decide on your level of participation, post your pledge on your blog/tumblr/goodreads/in the comments and maybe give us some possibilities of what you want to read (obviously, these aren't set in stone). When you complete a pair, feel free to write reviews/reactions/comparisons/whathaveyou about the books and I'll have a monthly link up here to share our progress.


I'll probably not be able to do monthly giveaways this time, but I will have giveaways periodically for challenge participants. And, of course, you definitely want to join in my Retell Me a Story celebration going on in January. That will have lots of fun stuff including author and blogger interviews/guest posts and giveaways.

I'm signing up for the Small level as I want to keep the pressure off. My possible reads are (originals on the left, retellings on the right - some with extra retellings):

 

 

 

If you'd like to sign up too, click here :)

2013 Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

The 2013 Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge is being hosted by Darlene's Book Nook. I've loved the Sookie Stackhouse books for years and I'm always amused by how popular they've become since True Blood started, especially as they are pretty different to the show.

I think this challenge is a great way to celebrate the release of the final book in the series (Dead Ever After) this summer and I'm really looking forward to taking part.

Rules

Copied across from Darlene's blog:

1. The challenge will run from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Books must be read during this time-frame to count.
2. You can join the challenge at any time! All books read in 2013 count for the challenge, regardless of when you sign up.
3. This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges.
4. You do not need a blog to participate! If you are not a blogger, you can post your reviews at Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing and link them up here.
5. All formats of books are acceptable: Bound copies, e-books, and audiobooks (as long as they are unabridged).
6. There are four levels for the challenge:
   1. Level 1 "Just A Drop": Read 1-4 books in the series.
   2. Level 2 "A Small Bite": Read 5-8 books in the series.
   3. Level 3 "So Thirsty": Read 9-12 books in the series.
   4. Level 4 "Hungry For More": Read all 13 books in the series!
7. When you write your sign-up post, you must choose your level. You can go up but you cannot go down!
8. There will be a separate linky for your reviews, which will be posted on THIS page.
9. There will be a linky for your wrap-up post at the end of the year.
10. Create a sign-up post and link back to this post. Sign up with Mister Linky below! Be sure to use the direct url to your sign-up post and not the url to your blog.
11. Grab the challenge button and post it in your sidebar. Copy and paste this HTML code into an HTML gadget for your sidebar: <a href="http://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.ca/2012/11/2013-sookie-stackhouse-reading-challenge.html"><img alt="2013 Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyl2YO4SbsH5Lu68r_ogjAqKwJ-TYH9WXUYw9JKumMjnWSwynJNnq0VM56EbEA8FSbVyKGdqQ6ZAQpI8J6uz6KW9X5GOb5egf67yUArcYQxCTOI0ovFRr9XHJ25FW_Ms9pzsFmnk_fmGQA/s320/2013+Sookie+Stackhouse+Reading+Challenge.jpg" width="190" /></a>

Although I'm hoping to read all the Sookie Stackhouse books in 2013, I'm going to sign up for Just a Drop in line with my no-pressure challenge policy. If you'd like to sign up, click here.

2013 Book Bingo Reading Challenge (#2013BookBingo)

2013 Book Bingo is a really creative challenge being hosted by Anne @ Creativity's Corner and Kristilyn @ Reading in Winter. It works in a similar way to playing bingo and gives a really wide selection of categories - books from your TBR pile, books that are part of a series, books released in 2013, books everyone but you has read and re-reads.

Here's the scorecard:

Below are the rules copied across from Kristilyn's blog:

Rules

Of course, a challenge isn’t really a challenge unless there are some rules and guidelines:

1. Be awesome. If you’re not, this isn’t going to work.
2. The challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2013.
3. If you want to participate, you can join in any time of the year! Feel free to write up a blog post with the rules linking back to my and Anne’s blog in your sign-up post.
4. If you read one book for the “1 book” in any category, you can’t change it later on when you read another book to “2 books.” Once a square is crossed off, it’s crossed off for good! (Feel free to print off the scoreboard to keep track!)
5. Books read for one square are for that square ONLY and cannot be counted towards another category. This is all about reading ALL THE BOOKS.
6. The FREE SQUARE isn’t really a free square. In order to cross it off, you must read a book by either:
   1. Reading a book picked by another participant, or
   2. Reading a book in a genre picked by another participant.
7. You can start your board over again, but ONLY if you receive the stamp of awesome by completing a blackout. The “winners” of the challenge will be the ones who achieve the most winning combinations by the end of 2013.
8. You can feel free to post your reading list for each category, though it’s not a requirement.
9. Having a blog or writing reviews for books read is not required. So long as you want to have fun, you can participate!
10. This isn’t a race, but don’t be afraid to rub your reads in the other player’s face. This will be seen as encouragement. Feel free to use the hashtag #2013BookBingo on Twitter!

While you can definitely “win” by the boring ol’ vertical or horizontal (or diagonal!) lines, the best ways to win are as follows:

If you think this sounds like fun and want to join in too, click here to sign up.

2013 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

The Book Vixen is hosting the 2013 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge which challenges you to read more books in 2013 than you did in 2012. So far I've read 110 books this year and I'd love to beat that next year.

Rules:

• Runs January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013 (books read prior to 1/1/2013 do not count towards the challenge). You can join at anytime. Sign up on The Book Vixen's blog.
• The goal is to outdo yourself by reading more books in 2013 than you did in 2012. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. You can move up a level as often as you'd like but no moving down.
• Books can be any format (bound, ebook, audio).
• Novellas that are at least 100 pages in length, as well as full-length novels, will count for this reading challenge.
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• Grab the reading challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads or LibraryThing.

Levels:

Getting my heart rate up: Read 1-5 more books
Out of breath: Read 6-10 more books
Breaking a sweat: Read 11-15 more books
I'm on fire! - Read 16+ more books

I'm aiming for the getting my heart rate up level, but as I've mentioned before with other challenges I may level up as I go (although any levelling up here will likely be quite late in the year). If you want to outdo yourself in 2013, click here to sign up :)

2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge

The 2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge is being hosted by Megan @ Megan Likes Books and Jessi @ Auntie Spinelli Reads and it focuses on reading the different sub-genres of paranormal books. The goal over the year is to read one book for each featured creature: vampires; werewolves/shifters; fey; angels/nephilim; mermaids; dragons; zombies; demons; witches/wizards; ghosts; aliens; and other (sirens, unicorns, centaurs, time travel etc).

I love paranormal books and having this challenge focused on the creatures means that you can pick any kind of paranormal book and have it count. YA, paranormal romance, urban fantasy even paranormal cozy mysteries will work :)

Below are the rules copied from Auntie Spinelli Reads:

Rules:

1. This challenge runs from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013.
2. You must have a blog to able to participate, since reviews must be added to the linky.
3. When you sign up with the linky, please put the link to your post about joining the Paranormal Reading Challenge.
4. You're welcome to list your books beforehand or just add as you go.
5. Sign-ups are open until December 1, 2013
6. At the beginning of each month, I will post a kick-start post, each month featuring a different category of paranormal creature. This post will also include a linky to include your reviews from that month.
7. Each review you link will qualify you for an entry into the monthy giveaway and if your review includes the feature paranormal creature of that month, you get a bonus entry.
8. Each book can only count for one category, even if it contains more than one paranormal creature. For example, Twilight contains both vampires and werewolves, but you can't use it for both the vampires and werewolves/shifters categories.
9. Everyone who completes the challenge will be entered into a grand prize giveaway at the end of the year.
10. If you read multiple books from one category, feel free to add them to the linkies. Don't stop at just one!
11. Book can count for other challenges.

One thing I love about this challenge is that each month has a featured creature, which is super handy for people like me who tend to forget about reading challenges in February and only remember in December. This way it'll be vastly easier for me to stay on track! The schedule is:

• January - Vampires
• February - Angels/Nephilim
• March - Fey
• April - Demons
• May - Aliens
• June - Zombies
• July - Witches and Wizards
• August - Mermaids
• September - Dragons
• October - Ghosts
• November - Werewolves/Shape-shifters
• December - Other

If you also love paranormal books and want to join in, click here to sign up :)

Take Control of Your TBR Pile! (#TakeControl)

So a little while ago I signed up for the Take Control of your TBR pile challenge in March 2013 which is being hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's taken me a while to get a post together about it though. As you may already know I've signed up for the 2013 TBR Challenge (here) so I'm hoping dedicating March to reading TBR books will help me with that goal.

Rules

• Link-up! This is open to everyone. If you do not have a blog then link your Facebook or Goodreads account.
• Beginning March 1st, 2013 and ending March 31, 2013 at midnight read books from your TBR pile ALL books must have been published before March 2013.
• Post a review to Goodreads, your blog or Facebook then link it to the Rafflecopter for an entry.
• Rafflecopter will close on April 2, 2013 at midnight and a winner will be chosen. Open internationally as long as Book Depository or Barnes and Noble ship to you. Prize: New 2013 release. I will do pre-orders as well.  
• You can use hastag #TakeControl on twitter and share your progress. Share the Take Control Button or this post on your blog, Facebook or twitter to earn an extra entry for each place you share. (Rafflecopter will post March 1st, so be sure and enter them)
• Note this challenge can be done in conjunction with any other TBR challenge as long as the book is read between March 1st and 31st.

Kimba will also be hosting a Read-a-Thon from March 15th to 18th to help us all reach our challenge goals :)

 

 

Cruisin' thru the Cozies

 

Yvonne @ Socrates Book Review Blog is hosting the Cruisin' thru the Cozies reading challenge for the third year. I love cozy mysteries and have a ton of unread ones so this sounds like the perfect challenge for me.

 

If you aren't sure what a cozy mystery is, it's basically a mystery with little-to-no violence, swearing or sex where an amateur sleuth has to solve a murder. If you'd like to know more, visit cozy-mystery.com where you can find a more in-depth explanation plus detailed lists of all of the varieties of cozies available (like culinary, craft, music, animals, holidays - you name it!)

The Rules

1. Choose the level you wish to participate:
• Level 1 - Snoop - Read at least 6 books
• Level 2 - Investigator - Read 7-12 books
• Level 3 - Super Sleuth - Read 13 or more books
2. The challenge runs from January 1, 2013 and ends December 31, 2013.
3. You don't have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year. Books can overlap with other challenges.
4. Books can be in any format - paper, audio, ebooks...it all counts!
5. You don't have to post a review, but I'm sure others would love to know about the books you are reading and may even want to add it to their reading lists. NOTE: If you don't have a blog and want to participate, that's fine. You don't have to have a blog, just post in the comments section as you finish books. If you belong to a site like Goodreads and review the books there, that's fine too. Just leave us the link.
6. Take the button above, put it on your blog and post about the challenge. Then add your name to Mr. Linky below. Just click here. Please use the link of your challenge post, not the link to your home page.
7. I'm going to have one link for signing up, one link for completed reviews and one link for your wrap up posts. I won't be having a monthly link, just one for all reviews read for this challenge

I'm going to aim for Snoop to start with, but I may move up a level (or more) depending on how my reading goes this year. If you think this sounds like fun, click here to sign up.

Dystopia Reading Challenge 2013

The Dystopia Reading Challenge 2013 is being hosted by Ula @ Blog of Erised. This challenge is to read 24 dystopian books in 2013 which works out as an average of two a month but can be split up and scheduled as you like.

Now I usually stay away from genre specific challenges with a set number of books, but I started thinking about the dystopians I have on my shelf and then I had a look on Goodreads. Turns out 24 dystopians is a pretty do-able number, and I'm already planning on re-reading several dystopians as the final book in each trilogy is released (Wither & Fever, Across the Universe & A Million Suns). 

 Rules

• The challenge will run from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Each month will have its own link form so you will be able to share your book reviews. You do not have to review the books you read to participate, but only those who read/reviewed at least one dystopian book will be able to participate in the giveaway (you can track your reading without the reviews with Goodreads, Shelfari etc.).
• Books that count in this challenge must include any form of post-apocalyptic theme (book sites like Goodreads are good sources of genre information). The books must be full-length.
• All formats allowed.
• Rereads allowed.
• It does not matter whether it's a series or a stand-alone book.
• If you are participating, grab the challenge button from below and post it on you blog. You can also make a post with the header (the code is also below). Please include the link back to this post so others will be able to participate as well.
• If you will participate, put the sign-up link to your blog post (about the challenge) or blog (for the button) directly into the linky below. Sign-ups will be open until December 20, 2013.
• You do not have to list your books in advance, go and do as you please. Read as many as you want (you can read more than 24!) and whenever you want, as long as you have fun!
• Info about the giveaway will be available in December 2013.

Levels

Level 1: Recruit (1 to 6 books)

Level 2: Rebel (7 to 12 books)

Level 3: Revolutionist (13 to 18 books)

Level 4: Leader (19+ books)

Each time you reach a new level, you will receive a badge and at the end of the year there will be a giveaway! :)

 

If you also love dystopians, click here to sign up.

2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

*cough*...*cough*...Erm...Hello...my name is Claire and I have a massive to be read pile. It's more of a mountain really and I'm starting to worry about becoming buried beneath it. So naturally when I saw a post over on The Windy Pages about a TBR challenge being hosted by Evie @ Bookish, I was very happy. Then I saw there were prizes and I HAD to sign up :)

Below are all of the guidelines and level details copied over from Bookish:

Challenge Guidelines:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2013 - Dec 31, 2013
2. Anyone can enter! You don't have to be a blogger, as long as you review the book you've read! (On your blog, Amazon or Goodreads/Shelfari!)
3. Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Only books released in 2012 and earlier! NO 2013 ARCs and 2013 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. When you sign up in the linky,put the direct link to your post about joining the 2013 TBR Reading Challenge. (If you don't have a blog, post about it on Facebook or Tweet!)
6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2013, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
8. On the 20th of each month one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will have it's unique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository. It's open to INTERNATIONALS. The giveaway will be open until the next wrap up post goes up! (i.e. the entire month)
9. If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice - we will be checking ;)
10. December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you'll link up in December will be entered into a HUGE giveaway - a box of books
11. You don't have to follow all the hosts to join the challenge, but you do have to follow all of us to be entered in giveaways!

Levels:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - A Sweet Kiss
31-40 - Love At First Sight
41-50 - Married With Children

Despite my massively overflowing TBR, I'm only going to sign up for A Firm Handshake to start with. I'm trying to keep the pressure off with my challenges for 2013 and with monthly check-ins I can level up whenever I'd like :) I'm also not picking books out in advance as a) I have no idea what I'd like to read yet and b) some TBR books I'm desperate to read may get read before the new year.

 

If you too are being threatened by the size of your TBR or just think this sounds like fun, click here to sign up.

2013 Witches and Witchcraft Reading Challenge

Melissa at Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf is hosting an awesome challenge for 2013 called the Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge. All you need to do is read books with a witch main character or major witchcraft elements and the best part is the challenge is incredibly low pressure with a minimum of just one book. How cool is that?

I've copied over the challenge rules and participation levels below.

Challenge Rules:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2013 - Dec 31, 2013. I will be posting a place to link up a sign-up post (below), reviews and a wrap-up post. (Note: You do not have to review the books to participate, but only those who link up reviews will be entered for the prize)
2. Grab the reading challenge button (code & button below) and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate- you could track your progress and post reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, etc.
3. Any full length book that includes a witch as a main character or major witchcraft elements counts. They may be fiction or non-fiction. However, they should not be reference books which are not read cover to cover-I will leave this to your discretion.
4. Books can be any format (bound, eBook, audio).
5. Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
6. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
7. When you sign up in the linky put the direct link to your post about joining the 2013 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge.
8. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
9. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2013, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
10. Have some Witchy Good Fun !!!

The Levels:

Initiate: Read 1 - 5 Witchy Books
Maiden: Read 6 - 10 Witchy Books
Mother: Read 11 - 15 Witchy Books
Crone: Read 16 - 20 Witchy Books

In order to keep this as low pressure as possible, I'm signing up for the initiate level but I am hoping to move up during the year. If this sounds interesting to you, you can sign up here.

2012 Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge

Halloween is my favourite holiday and I adore anything spooky or paranormal so stumbling across the 2012 Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge made my day. Hosted by Marie at Ramblings of a Daydreamer the challenge requires you to read and review a minimum of 3 books, posting the reviews for the first time between October 1st and 31st.

The definition of "paranormal" is really loose (perfect for people like me who like weird and wonderful creatures) and is: basically any 'creature' or 'otherworldly' book counts - vampires, werewolves, faeries, shape shifters, zombies, angels, demons, mermaids, dragons, witches/wizards/sorcerers, trolls, sirens, banshees, etc. Beyond that, both adult and YA both count, as do audiobooks and ebooks so there is a huge amount of scope.

If you'd like to sign up click here.

Now I'm off to plan my reading list :)

The Canadian Reading Challenge

I've signed up for the Canadian Reading Challenge hosted by Marie @ Ramblings of a Daydreamer and I'm sooo excited for this one. It turns out some of my favourite authors are Canadian: Kelley Armstrong (okay that one I knew), Lynsay Sands, Michelle Rowen and Margaret Atwood. There are also some authors I want to try like Kathy Reichs and Alyxandra Harvey who are also Canadian.

Basically all you have to do is read 3 books that are either by a Canadian author or set in Canada and review them for the first time. I've checked with Marie and it turns out that I can redo a couple of older reviews for this (they are pretty short and not like my blog reviews at all) which is awesome! I will be reading those books again (they're the first three Otherworld books).

I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in and I think for me the challenge won't be in reading 3 books, it'll be in reading anything not Canadian lol :)

Sign-ups are still open here if you'd like to join in!