Freestyle Friday 4 - The Challenged Reader

#ff #freestylefriday photo from Here


The Challenged Reader (a Shelfari group)
Announcing: Read with Friends


How to Play:
1. Game Period: 1 January – 30 April 2013

2. A selection of 7 random letters and some words made up from those letters for the month will be announced the last day of the previous month (ie. January words will be announced on 31 December 2012 etc).

3. Pick one or more words from the selection OR find your own word/s out of the letters of the month and read books with first word in title starting with letters of your selected word/s (ignoring “the”, “a”, and “an”).

4. An Exception to (3) above will be made for the letters Q, X, and Z - where you may read book/s with word in title containing one of these letters.

5. If you found your own word, the word must be found in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble/en_US/). Word must be made up of a minimum of 3 letters. We trust that you will avoid the temptation of 'word builder' ;)

6. Books for the month may only be read starting on 1st of the month and to be finished by midnight of last day of the month.

7. Points will be rewarded as per values of letters (/books) read and if the word/s is /are completed, there will be bonus points (bonus points to be announced along with the words). This does mean that you can still get points even if you didn't complete your word

8. Bonus points will not apply if you find your own word BUT you will receive a ‘Finder’s Fee’ which will be 2 times of your word value. You may only claim ‘Finder’s Fee’ if you complete your word.

9. On the first of the month, there will be a thread requesting that you post your last month’s read/s within the first 7 days of the month to claim points.

10. Values of letters:
1 - A, E, I, O, U, L, N, R, S, T
2 – D, G
3 – B, C, M, P
4 – F, H, V, W, Y
5 – K
8 – J
10 – Q, X, Z

10. All formats of books are allowed however no picture / childrens books and must have 100+ pages (or equivalent if you are using audio books / ereaders).
Example:
Letters: N A E G P A Z
Words:
Zen +7
Pan +4
Page +5
Pang +5
Agape +10

If I choose 'Zen' - I'd have to read:
z - I escaped from Auschwitz by Rudolf Vrba
e - Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman
n - Nevermore (Maximum Ride 8) by James Patterson
Word Value: 10 + 1 + 1 = 12 points
Bonus Points: 7 points
Grand Total: 19 points

If I choose 'Agape' - I'd have to read:
a - Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
g - Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin
a - Absolution Creek by Nicole Alexander
p - Pantomime by Laura Lam
e - Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman
Word Value: 1 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 8 points
Bonus Points: 10 points
Grand Total: 18 points

If I found ‘Gaze’ – I’d have to read:
g - Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin
a - Absolution Creek by Nicole Alexander
z - I escaped from Auschwitz by Rudolf Vrba
e - Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman
Word Value: 2 + 1 + 10 + 1 = 14 points
Finder’s Fee: 14 x 2 = 28 points
Grand Total = 14 + 28 = 42 points


Read with Friends: January
The Letters:
A V R S E I N

The Words:

3 letters
Air +4
Ran +4
Sin +4
Van +7

4 letters
Nave +8
N
A
V
Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich


Word Value: 1
Bonus Points: 0
Grand Total: 1


Rave +8
Rise +5
Vain +8
Vans +8
Vase +8
Vein +8
Vine +8

5 letters
Arise +8
Naive +10
Naves +10
Raise +8
Raves +10
Risen +8
Vines +10

6 letters
Arisen +10
Varies +12



Read with Friends: February
The Letters:
F T Y N H D A

The Words:

3 letters
Day +5
Fad +5
Fan +5
Fat +5
Hay +5
Tan +3

4 letters
Daft +7
Hand +5

Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts
Awakening by L.A. Banks
Northern Lights by Nora Roberts
Delirium by Lauren Oliver


Word Value: 8
Bonus Points:5
Grand Total:13


5 letters
Handy +10

P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=S*4/FsYOoLE&subid=&offerid=258185.1&type=10&tmpid=9309&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kobobooks.com%2Febook%2FPS-I-Love-You%2Fbook-pB-VBeGosUawT7a4VlUuzA%2Fpage1.html%3Fs%3DWGexNlszTEafO6bTH4g-KQ%2526r%3D2
#ThrowbackThursday
rating: 3stars (2.8)

From Kobo:
A wonderfully warm and heartfelt debut from a stunning new talent. Everyone needs a guardian angel! Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mates. But not Holly and Gerry. Childhood sweethearts, they could finish each other's sentences and even when they fought, they laughed. No one could imagine Holly and Gerry without each other. Until the unthinkable happens. Gerry's death devastates Holly. But as her 30th birthday looms, Gerry comes back to her. He's left her a bundle of notes, one for each of the months after his death, gently guiding Holly into her new life without him, each note signed 'PS, I Love You'. As the notes are gradually opened, and as the year unfolds, Holly is both cheered up and challenged. The man who knows her better than anyone sets out to teach her that life goes on. With some help from her friends, and her noisy and loving family, Holly finds herself laughing, crying, singing, dancing -- and being braver than ever before. Life is for living, she realises -- but it always helps if there's an angel watching over you.

My Review:
P.S. I Love You is about love. Holly and Gerry have been together since they were teenagers. They are childhood sweethearts and soul mates. And more importantly best friends. Gerry dies and now Holly must learn to live without him.
Let me start by saying that this was perhaps not the best book to read for this game as it is long and quite emotional. I usually do not like lead female characters who are very dependent on others. Holly would seem like a character I would not like but the subject matter made me feel for her. She had the love of her life and to become a widow at such a young age would make any person more than just a little depressed. Gerry cares for her even after he is dead by leaving her a series of letters. The most important thing about these letters is that it gives her his blessing for her to keep moving forward with her life. So often when people we love leave our lives some times it may feel like you are betraying the person by having fun, falling in love, or whatever else the case may be.
This book has been sitting on my shelf for well over a year. Every time I look that it I would just say I am just not in the mood for what I thought would be a sappy book. Like I said above it may not be the best book for the relay but it is a great read. I can't say I can relate but I was in a relationship for years and when it ended I was lost for awhile. I missed our friendship most of all. And that to me is why the book is about love. If you are in a relationship and the two of you are truly friends then I think you will enjoy this book.
Note: I know that the likelihood of this ever really happening (the letters) is slim but I’m leaving this book on my boyfriend’s nightstand. I don’t want letters after he’s dead as I hope we have a long time together. But maybe it’ll spark some kind love note every now and then. LOL…a girl can hope.

Reading Challenges 2013:

2013 Book Bingo Reading Challenge
2013Book to Movie
2013 TBR Pile Challenge

Fun and Games 2013/2012

PBT's 5th Anniversary Relay (Play Book Tag)
Readers of Romance Book Challenges Winter 2013

Freestyle Friday 3 - Paging All Bookworms' Feb 2013 Mini Challenge

#FF #freestylefriday


February 2013 Mini-Challenge: Seeing Red (from a Shelfari group)
I hate Valentine's Day challenges. So every February I sidestep the obvious and go with something different. However it occurs to me that not everyone may feel the same way I do, so this year I am going with something that may still allow you to intercept Cupid's arrow, if you are so inclined. For February's challenge read a book that has the color red (or some variant of that color) in the title or author's name. If that coincides with something that is oriented in the Valentine's Day direction then that is great-I guess. Ain't love grand?

What am I going to read?

The only thing I have planned to read that is red is the Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce.

Freestyle Friday 2 - Play Book Tag's 5th Anniversary Relay

#ff #freestylefriday  picture is from Dolphin Talk photo taken by Bill Tigrett
PBT's 5th Anniversary Relay

Official Rules may change a bit but this is the jest of the game:


It's our Fifth anniversary in February - - so this game is all about the number 5.

This activity is essentially a relay race. The administrators will form teams of 5 people, making the teams as even as possible based on your prior year's reading.

Each team will be assigned a starting tag, selected at random. The first person on the team reads any book that has that tag. They must finish the book and write a review before the next person may start reading. When the first person has completed their book, the next person counts off five tags in the list of top 200 and reads a book that fits the new tag.

For example, the first tag could be "high school". So the first person would read a book tagged "high school" and writes their review. Then the next person would read the tag "holocaust".

The races will be run in "heats". So let's say we have 6 teams at the start. The first four teams to finish the relay (all five people have read their books and written reviews) will move on to the next heat. The final heat will feature only two teams. Heats will begin on Fridays at 8 pm EST - - that way everyone knows when they may start, and hopefully there will be some planning time between heats. A new starting tag will be provided for each heat for those teams that remain.

The minimum page count requirement is 250 pages. However, if you read a book that ALSO fits the monthly tag, then the book may be shorter by as much as 75 pages.

Graphic novels are permissible, but you must read 2 graphic novels instead of one book.

Each team may have 1 skip per heat. This would allow you to skip over one person on the team, for whatever reason, but then that person will need to read the final book for their team. Otherwise you must submit an order to us and stick with it before the start of each heat.

The administrators will do their best to post daily standings.

Reviews must consist of three paragraphs minimum and include a plot summary and your opinion of the book.

If you are interested, please sign up below and include how many books you completed last year along with your expression of interest.

There will definitely be prizes! All members of the winning team will receive a prize. Heat winners will be awarded participation points of varying levels depending upon the heat.

Take Control of Your TBR Pile March 2013

While I do an excellent job of keeping up on new releases and ARC reviews, my own personal bookshelf has suffered, so I decided that for the entire month of March I would focus on cleaning up my TBR pile, catching up on some series and finally cracking the spines on some of those books I cannot wait to read. So I am clearing my schedule, setting aside the ARC's and drowning myself in my own pile of lovely books. (new releases on my gotta have it now or die list-excluded..I will still read those, even though they will not count..LOL) 

So I am inviting you to join me! Glance over your shoulder at your own TBR pile...*yep it's that big!* Ya know you want at them and to encourage you for every book you read you'll get one entry into a Rafflecopter drawling to win a new 2013 release of your choice! 

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 hashtag #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.

I hope you will link up and join me! Spread the word and let's

Take Control of our TBR piles! 

Hopefully I will do well in on of these read-a-thons. This one is a month long so chances are good I will have read at least 2 books for this.

My Progress:

Week Ending 03/02

Books: None :-(

Week Ending 03/09
Books: Knit the Seasons, Death Match, Nightlife, A Faint Cold Fear (audiobooks)

Readers of Romance Book Challenges

I count this in my fun and games category. Bold are the ones that I am going to do. You can choose to do all 15, 10, or 5 of the list.

Winter Challenge 2013

December (2012) January and February (2013)

1) Read a Winter holiday themed book (Christmas, New Years or Valentine's Day)

Christmas Letters by Debbie Macomber

2) Read a book by either Susan Mallery or Lorraine Heath

3) Read a book with a 2 word title

4) Read a book set someplace warm

5) Read a book by a new to you author

6) Read a book with a cheesy cover

7) Read a book featuring Twins or Triplets

8) Read a book that you've had on the TBR forever

Northern Lights by Nora Roberts

9) Read a book with a headless person on the cover

10) Read a book where the hero or heroine's name starts with a D

11) Read a book where the hero or heroine's name starts with a J

12) Read a book with an F word in the title

13) Readers Choice #1

Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts

14) Readers Choice #2

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

15) Readers Choice #3

One Woman Short by Nelson George