2011 Challenge: 2011 Debut Author Challenge

I love trying out new authors and I love YA/MG books so this is just the challenge for me.  The Story Siren is hosting the 2011 Debut Author Challenge so head over there for more details.  It's pretty simple, read at least 12 debut YA/MG authors in 2011.  If you want to read more, you can, there is no upper limit.  After you read the guidelines, you can sign up here.

I'm going to set my goal for 30 and hope to read more than that, but I also have a focus on getting some of my older books read this year so I don't want to over commit.

I'm not sure which books I'll read yet, so I'll leave this post open-ended for that and pick and choose my books as they come to me.  All books will be listed here as I complete them and I will try to link my reviews as well.

1. Choker by Elizabeth Woods - read 1/3/2011
2. Haven by Kristi Cook - read 1/19/2011

2011 Challenge: 2011 E-Book Challenge

This challenge is hosted by The Ladybug Reads.  It's pretty simple - it's about reading e-books.  I've had my Kindle for close to a year now and still don't read much on it (thought I love it), so this is a perfect challenge for me.  You can find the specifics at The Ladybug Reads, but here are the levels:

-- Curious – Read 3 e-books.

-- Fascinated – Read 6 e-books.

-- Addicted – Read 12 e-books.

-- Obsessed – Read 20 e-books.

I'm going for the jackpot and the Obsessed reading level.  I'll make my list as I complete my ebooks and link up my reviews here.

1.  Choker by Elizabeth Woods
2.  Haven by Kristi Cook
3.  Final Vector by Allen Leverone
4.  Sink or Swim by Stacy Juba
5.  Boyfriends With Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez
6. Popular by Alissa Grosso
7. CYA2: The Sext Crime by Jason Ancona
8. Mayhem by Artist Arthur
9.  Songbird by Angela Fristoe
10.  Effie at the Wedding by Tracy Marchini
11.  Inconvenient by Maggie Gelbwasser
12.  Chasing Amanda by Melissa Foster
13.  Homeward by Melody Carlson
14.  The Circle Cast by Alex Epstein
15.  Vanish by Sophie Jordan
16.  Sweet Justice by Christy Reece
17.  Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
18.  Aefle and Gisela by Libby Malin
19.  Skulls by Armand Rosamilia
20.  Nearly Departed in Deadwood by Ann Charles
21. The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn
22.  Radiant Desire by Inara Scott
23. Wicked Good by Joanne Lewis and Amy Lewis Faircloth
24. Lucky Girl by Cate Lord
25. Ashfall by Mike Mullin
26. Hold Me by Lucianne Rivers
27. Thrill Me by Lucianne Rivers
28. Entice Me by Lucianne Rivers
29. Asenath by Anna Patricio
30. Farsighted by Emlyn Chand
31. Two Moons of Sera by Pavarti K. Tyler
32. Waves of Deceit by Marlene Sanchez
33. Bonjour 40: A Paris Travel log by Karen A. Chance
34. Marian's Christmas Wish by Carla Kelly
35. Dark Star by Creston Mapes
36. Watched by Sharde Richardson

2011 Challenge: Book Bucket List

Another great challenge to join is Bookworm Lisa's Book Bucket List Challenge.  It's simple, decide the number of books you want to clear off of  your tbr bookshelf/pile and read them.  No fancy rules or anything.  Since I have a large tbr pile and bookshelf that gets larger by the day, I definitely want to join in on this one.  Because of reviews, library books and new books, I'm going to set my number to 12, simply one a month.  If I do more great, if I make this number wonderful - because I'm not sure that I have read one thing from my tbr pile this year.

Here are my candidates which are subject to change:

1. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling - read
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling - read
3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
5. The It Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
6. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
7. Plan B by Jenny O'Connell
8. The Au Pairs by Melissa de la Cruz
9. Bound South by Susan Rebecca White
10. Freezing Point by Karen Dionne
11. First You Run by Roxanne St. Claire
12. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

2011 Challenge: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Challenge

January 1 2011 – Decemeber 31 2011

Here is another fun challenge to expand my reading horizons a little bit.  I found it over at A Novel Challenge Blog.  Here is more information:

Caitie is hosting her very first challenge, the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Challenge.  She writes:

I got this book for Christmas a couple years ago and am slowly making my way through the list. I have discovered some amazing books and writers. I don’t expect to ever read all of the books – but I do want to make a dent in the list and want to open it up for other to join me! The list is so great because it has a huge variety! There are classics that you may have read in school, but there are also some great books we have all missed and some fantastic world literature.

The challenge is simple – read some books from the list! If you don’t own the actual book, you can find a simple list online. For the most basic, check out the Listology list. There are spreadsheets outs there that you can look at too that are more complex.

Levels:

High School Diploma: 5 books from the list
Bachelor’s Degree: 6-10 books from the list
Master’s Degree: 11-15 books from the list:
PHd: 16+

Rules:

You don’t have to make a list beforehand.
You can use any version of the list, not just the current, since they update it every couple years

To join, go to 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Challenge. 

I think I will shoot for the High School Diploma level with 5 books from the list.

Here are some I am considering (I've already checked the library and they have these):

1. Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro
2. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
3. The Double by Jose Saramago
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan
5. Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

I'll update on this post as I finish books and review them.  I look forward to expanding my horizons with these books.

2011 Challenge: The Alphabet in Crime Fiction Challenge

I've never joined this type of challenge before, but it sounds like a lot of fun.  Crime Fiction is one of my favorite genres so this shouldn't be too difficult and will give me one weekly post that will challenge me, so it sounds fun.  Here is more information about it:

Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise is once again hosting the very popular Alphabet in Crime Fiction for 2011.

Rules are pretty simple, each week, starting Monday January 10, 2011, Kerrie will post a letter to use for the week.  By the end of the week you must post something that uses either the first letter of the book's title, the first letter of the author's first name or the first letter of the author's surname.  The post can be a review, bio of the author or anything that fits the rules.  Posts must be completed by the end of the week and linked back to the post for each week (check Kerrie's blog for the post)

• Each week, beginning Monday 10 January 2011, you write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
• Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
• You could write a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fits the rules somehow.

If you would like to join up, visit Kerrie's introductory post and linkiup with Mr.Linky.