2015 Audiobook Challenge First Quarter Update

So how am I doing with the audiobook challenge?  Well it was the one thing I kept reading during my slump in March so I'm doing great. I've read from a variety of sources, e-audiobooks from my library, actual CD or MP3 audiobooks from the library, some of my own and some from Audible.  No matter what I value my reading time going to and from work (25 minutes each way).

One thing I've learned, is I love speeding up the reading of my audiobooks.  Audible and my Smart AudioBook Player app on my phone allow me to do this.  The app for a desktop for eaudiobooks from the library (OneClick) allows this, but the app for my phone doesn't. So I'm a little slower listening to those books, but I enjoy them. I've found my ideal speed is around 1.8x normal.  But with some readers I have to slow this down some.  I usually stay in the 1.5x-1.9x range.

So what have I read and where am I with my goal?  I've read 12/30-50 that I wanted to read.  So I would say I am right on task for this challenge :)

1. Tidal by Emily Snow
2. Bad for You by Abbi Glines
3. Hold On Tight by Abbi Glines
4. Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau
5. The City by Dean Koontz
6. One More Chance by Abbi Glines
7. Suspicion by Joseph Finder
8. Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines
9. Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb
10. You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz
11. Cell by Robin Cook
12. Death Benefit by Robin Cook

#Shelflove: Book Budgets

Book Budgets.  Something I have never done before, I've just bought books when I had the money and wanted to.  But this year I have pledged to read from my TBR pile.  How have I been doing?  Below are the books I have read that I bought before December 31, 2014.

1. Sometimes It Lasts by Abbi Glines (on my ereader since 2013)
2. Kiro's Emily by Abbi Glines (freebie from December 2014)
3. Tidal by Emily Snow (have had the audio since early 2014)
4. Enforce by Rachel van Dyken (bought December 2014) 
5. Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines (bought December 2014)
6. Bad for You by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from mid-2014)
7. Hold on Tight by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from mid-2014)
8. Take a Chance by Abbi Glines (bought 2014)
9. One More Chance by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from 2014)
10. Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from 2014)
11. Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb (audiobook from audible several years ago)

I've read 25 books so far this year so coming in close to 1/2 from my TBR feels good.

Now onto budget. Not buying books is out for me. Some of my favorite authors, series will come out through the year.  Then I'm sure there will be some new authors and books I will want and some book bargains that are too good to pass up. So I have set a budget this year at $20 a month along with my audible credit.  I also have a Scribd subscription but I had that before the new year.
 
In January I bought when I wanted, but came in under the $20.  This month I planned better and each pay period, I will put $10 on my amazon gift card (the electronic kind) and buy using that and that alone.  So far this month I haven't even spent the first $10 and get to put my next $10 on Friday.  I also expect to throw some of my birthday money to books, but that's acceptable since it's gift money :)

In January I bought:

1. Wicked by Jennifer Armentrout - $4.24
2. Inspire by Cora Cormack - $1.06
3. Beautiful Redemption by Jamie Maguire - $6.39
4. Ruin Me by Jessica Sorenson - $1.06
5. The Knitting Answer Book by Margaret Radcliffe - $2.68
6. Wicked by Emily Snow - $1.06

January Total:  $16.49 (less than budget!)

In February I bought so far:

1. Never, Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher - $1.06  (and it's already been read!)

So how are you doing with your challenge?  Haven't joined the challenge, then check it out here.

2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography
at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I've  been reading more and more nonfiction books each year (my favorites are interesting memoirs and running books, but I read just about anything).  So the Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by The Introverted Reader is a great one to challenge me to continue reading nonfiction.

The Challenge:  Read any non-fiction book(s), adult or young adult. That's it. You can choose anything. Memoirs? Yes. History? Yes. Travel? Yes. You get the idea? Absolutely anything that is classified as non-fiction counts for this challenge.

I always like levels in my challenges, so here are mine:

Dilettante--Read 1-5 non-fiction books

Explorer--Read 6-10

Seeker--Read 11-15

Master--Read 16-20

This challenge will last from January 1 to December 31, 2015. You can sign up anytime throughout the year.

I am not limiting the challenge to bloggers. You can also link to a review you wrote on another site, such as GoodReads or LibraryThing.

Crossovers with other challenges are acceptable, and feel free to read your books in any format you like.


I'm signing up at the Seeker Level, so come back and check out my progress.

***I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***

2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

I love a TBR pile reading challenge so this one hosted by Bookish is perfect for me.  Each year I strive to read more off my shelf, virtual or real, so this challenge helps me try and read more of my books.  The challenge is hosted by Bookish and will have read-alongs and wrap-ups alternating months.  Make sure you check out the sign-up post for more information.

Challenge Guidelines

1. The challenged will run from January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015. The sign up link below will remain open until January 16, 2015 at 11:30am.
2. Anyone can enter! You don't have to be a blogger, just as long as you review the book you've read. You can review on your book on your blog, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, etc.
3. Any genre, length, or format of book counts as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your self for some time. Short stories and novellas do count! The only stipulations that the book must have been released in 2014 or earlier. No 2015 ARCs or 2015 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed.
4. On the 25th of every other month (see schedule below), we will post a wrap-up for the previous two months. These posts will be done by one our bloggers and will contain new linkys for you to add your own wrap-up posts. If you did not sign up by January 17, this is where you can sign up as well.
5. To help you tackle your TBR piles we will also be hosting Read-A-Longs on months that do not have wrap-ups. Voted on by challenge participants, Read-A-Longs will have two post dates: the first half of the book and the second half. Please note: You do not have to take part in our Read-A-Longs to participate in the TBR Pile Challenge. You can participate in all of them, some of them, or none of them. This aspect of the challenge is entirely optional.
6. There will be two giveaways - July and December. Giveaway details will be explained once the giveaway post goes up. We don't want to overwhelm you with too many details now  :)
7. You don't have to follow Bookish to join the challenge, but you do have to follow us to be entered in the giveaways.

How many books are you planning to read for this challenge?

1-10 A Firm Handshake

11-20 A Friendly Hug

21-30 First Kiss

31-40 Sweet Summer Fling

41-50 Could This Be Love?

50+ Married with Children

I plan to read at the Could This Be Love level. I think I should be able to read 40-50 of my own books. Come back here and see how I'm doing :)

1. Sometimes It Lasts by Abbi Glines (on my ereader since 2013)
2. Kiro's Emily by Abbi Glines (freebie from December 2014)
3. Tidal by Emily Snow (have had the audio since early 2014)
4. Enforce by Rachel van Dyken (bought December 2014) 
5. Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines (bought December 2014)
6. Bad for You by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from mid-2014)
7. Hold on Tight by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from mid-2014)
8. Take a Chance by Abbi Glines (bought 2014)
9. One More Chance by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from 2014)
10. Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from 2014) 
11. Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb (from audible credit several years ago) 
12.  

2015 Audiobook Challenge

Another great challenge for me is the 2015 Audiobook Challenge.  I have a 30 minute each way commute so I enjoy listening to audiobooks.  This challenge is hosted by The Book Nympho and Hot Listens.  You can check it out and sign up here.

Reading Challenge Details:

• Runs January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015. You can join at anytime.
• The goal is to find a new love for audios or to outdo yourself by listening to more audios in 2015 than you did in 2014.
• Books must be in audio format (CD, MP3, etc.)
• ANY genres count.
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Shelfari, Booklikes, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc. – I’ve created a Goodreads Group for the challenge, feel free to join.
• If you’re a blogger grab the button (on the sidebar) and do a quick post about the challenge to help spread the word. If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Facebook or Tweeting about the challenge.

By request, a new level (Marathoner) has been added this year for the hardcore listeners and the numbers for My Precious has been changed from 30+ to 30-50.

Levels:

• Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5
  
• Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
• Stenographer (can listen while multi-tasking) 10-15
• Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
• Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
• My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30-50
• Marathoner (Look Ma no hands) 50+

I'm going with the My Precious level. Love the name of this level. So I'll be listening to 30-50 audiobooks.

1.  Tidal by Emily Snow
2. Bad for You by Abbi Glines
3. Hold on Tight by Abbi Glines
4. Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau
5. The City by Dean Koontz
6. One More Chance by Abbi Glines
7. Suspicion by Joseph Finder
8. Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines 
9. Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb

2015 Snagged @ The Library Challenge

Another great challenge for me to join is the Snagged @ The Library Challenge hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog & The Book Nympho.  Sign up here.

Guidelines:

• Runs January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015. You can join any time.
• The goal is to read at least twelve (12) books from the library. Twelve should be easy, that’s one a month. While twelve is the minimum, there is no maximum limit. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you.
• Any format will work for this challenge (print, ebook or audio) as long as you checked it out from the library it counts.
• Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).
• Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, including re-reads. The goal is to support your local library and save money.
• To join this challenge, grab the 2015 Snagged @ The Library 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 (so as long as you have a dedicated shelf and Felicia has created a Goodreads group), Shelfari (I’ve created a Shelfari group. You can join and post your progress within the group), or BookLikes, etc., for the 2015 Snagged @ The Library Reading Challenge. The point of linking up is to have a place where people can see what you’re reading.

Levels:

1. Dewey Decimal: read 12 books
2. Thrifty Reader: read 24 books
3. Overdrive Junkie: read 36 books
4. Stalking the Bookstacks: read 50+ books

I'm going for the Overdrive Junkie level, 36 library books should be easy. I will aim for Stalking the Bookstacks, but I'm trying to read some of my own books as well :)

1.  Burn by James Patterson
2. Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau
3. The City by Dean Koontz
4. Suspicion by Joseph Finder
5. You Don't Want to Know by Lisa Jackson
6. Private Vegas by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
7. Hope to Die by James Patterson

Show Your Shelves Some Love: A No Book Buying Challenge 2015

Wow, there honestly couldn't be a challenge more tailored to my needs than this one.  Chapter Break and Second Run Reviews are hosting the Show Your Shelves Some Love/No Book Buying Challenge.  And while this seems harsh, this is what I really need to do. Make sure you check out the guidelines below and then head to the blog(s) listed above to sign up for the email list (step 2) and link up.

The Guidelines

• Abstain from spending money on books for one calendar year (or follow a monthly book budget).
• Gift cards OK,  audible account OK, but no buying extra credits (Rose!!!)
• Encourage other challenge participants via comments, social media and emails.
• Participate in the monthly posts. (The link up post will go live on the first of each month and be open for 30 days.)
• Library books do not count for this challenge. This challenge is mainly for books you already own.
• Netgalley books can count for this because you have the book, so read it!

No Book Buying Challenge Step 1: Select your goal

Yellow Belt —-> 1-10 books: shake hands with your shelves
Blue Belt    —->11-20 books: pat your shelves on the back
Green Belt  —->21-30 books: give your shelves a warm friendly hug
Purple Belt  —->31-40 books: regular date night with your shelves
Brown Belt —-> 41-50 books: my shelves are now my bff
Black Belt —->51+ books: my shelves and I are going steady

I'm going for the Green Belt with aspirations to go higher.  I will also adhere to a monthly book buying budget, because there will always be a new ebook out there I want and they don't clutter anything but my iPad so I don't mind those as much.  My monthly budget will be $20 (hopefully less most months).

1. Sometimes It Lasts by Abbi Glines
2. Kiro's Emily by Abbi Glines 
3. Tidal by Emily Snow
4. Enforce by Rachel van Dyken 
5. Bad for You by Abbi Glines
6. Hold On Tight by Abbi Glines
7. Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines
8. Take A Chance by Abbi Glines
9. One More Chance by Abbi Glines
10. Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines
11. Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb

January spending:  $16.51 (Kindle ebooks)  Yay, under budget!

February spending: $1.06

2015 New Author Challenge

I love new authors. I love reading book blogs and discovering new authors.  I love having new authors pitch me their books for reviews.  So this is a perfect challenge to get me back into blogging next year and also to help find me some new go-to authors hopefully (Colleen Hoover, Abbi Glines and Rachel Van Dyken were some major winners for me this year).

Head over to Literary Escapism to find out all the details and to sign up. It's pretty simple, read something by a new-to-you author, and it doesn't have to be a debut author.

I'm setting my goal at 15 new authors.  I hope for more, but feel that is a good goal.

1. Emily Snow (Tidal audiobook)
2. Abigail Haas (Dangerous Girls through Scribd.com subscription)

2015 Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge

As a lover of romance novels in all forms, I would have to say that romantic suspense has always been one of my go-to genres in the larger romance genre, probably coming in second only to contemporary romance.  Something about coming suspense and romance really works for me.  It's like the best of both worlds.  So of course this challenge hosted by The Book Vixen is a perfect fit.

Reading Challenge Details:

• Runs January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015 (books read prior to 1/1/2015 do not count towards the challenge). You can join anytime before 9/30/2015. Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
• The goal is to read as many romantic suspense novels as you’d like. 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. Remember, the idea is to challenge yourself.
• Books can be any format (print, ebook, audio).
• Novellas that are 100 pages in length (give or take), as well as full-length novels, will count for this reading challenge.
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• To join the challenge, grab the 2015 Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge 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 can track your progress on Goodreads, LibraryThing, BookLikes, etc., so as long as you have a dedicated shelf for the 2015 Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge and your profile is not private. The point of linking up is to have a place where people can see what you’re reading.

Levels:

• Civilian: read 1–5 romantic suspense novels
• Hunter: read 6–10 romantic suspense novels
• Marksman: read 11–15 romantic suspense novels
• Sniper: read 16–20 romantic suspense novels
• SWAT: read 21+ romantic suspense novels

I'm aiming for the SWAT level.  We'll see how I do.  Come back in 2015 to cheer me on to read the books and write the reviews!

1. You Don't Want to Know by Lisa Jackson
2. Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb

2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Since I started the ball rolling with challenges for next year, let's continue.  At the moment, the 12th of December I have read 139 books and I hope to meet my goal for the year at 150 books.  Next year I do hope to beat that number so I'm signing up for this challenge at The Book Vixen.

Reading Challenge Details:

• Runs January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015 (books read prior to 1/1/2015 do not count towards the challenge). You can join anytime before 9/30/2015. Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
• The goal is to outdo yourself by reading more in 2015 than you did in 2014. 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. Remember, the idea is to challenge yourself.
• Books can be any format (print, ebook, audio).
• Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, mystery, etc.).
• Novellas that are 100 pages in length (give or take), as well as full-length novels, will count for this reading challenge.
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• To join the challenge, grab the 2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge 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 can track your progress on Goodreads, LibraryThing, BookLikes, etc., so as long as you have a dedicated shelf for the 2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge and your profile is not private. The point of linking up is to have a place where people can see what you’re reading.

Levels:

• Getting My Heart Rate Up: read 1–5 more books (or 250–1,499 more pages)
• Out of Breath: read 6–10 more books (or 1,500–2,749 more pages)
• Breaking a Sweat: read 11–15 more books (or 2,750–3,999 more pages)
• I’m on Fire!: read 16+ more books (or 4,000+ more pages)
 

I'm going to shoot for the Breaking a Sweat goal, reading 11-15 more books.  I use to read close to 200 books a year so I would like to get back to that!

My final total for 2014 was 166, so that is 177-182 books in 2015.

Come back to check this post out in 2015 and see how I'm doing and cheer me on to complete reviews!

1. Sometimes It Lasts by Abbi Glines
2. Kiro's Emily by Abbi Glines
3. Misbehaving by Abbi Glines
4. Enforce by Rachel van Dyken
5. Tidal by Emily Snow 
6. Burn by James Patterson
7. Bad for You by Abbi Glines
8. Hold on Tight by Abbi Glines
9. Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau
10. Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines
11. Take a Chance by Abbi Glines
12. The City by Dean Koontz
13. One More Chance by Abbi Glines
14. Suspicion by Joseph Finder
15. Happenstance #1 by Jamie Mcguire
16. Happenstance #2 by Jamie Mcguire
17. You Don't Want to Know by Lisa Jackson
18. Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines
19. Happenstance #3 by Jamie Mcguire
20. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
21. Never, Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher
22. Effortless by S.C. Stephens
23. Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb
24. Private Vegas by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro 
25. Hope to Die by James Patterson

2015 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge

As I finish up 2014 and look ahead to 2015, I hope to begin posting on the blog again more regularly. So a great way to do this is to challenge myself to various reading challenges and strive to complete them and write reviews for the books read for the challenge. As my first official declared challenge for 2015, I'm going with the 2015 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge. This is honestly one of my favorite genres so it should be easy to complete. Here are the details from The Book Vixen's website.  Be sure and visit there for more information and to sign up!

Reading Challenge Details:

• Runs January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015 (books read prior to 1/1/2015 do not count towards the challenge). You can join anytime before 9/30/2015. Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
• The goal is to read as many Contemporary Romance books as you’d like. Books that qualify for this challenge can be young adult, new adult, or adult. Books can be M/F, M/M, or F/F. Books must be a work of fiction (sorry, nonfiction does not qualify for this challenge). Romances with the following elements do not qualify for this reading challenge: paranormal, historical, time-travel, fantasy, science fiction, or mystery/suspense/thriller. 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. Remember, the idea is to challenge yourself.
• Books can be any format (print, ebook, audio).
• Novellas that are 100 pages in length (give or take), as well as full-length novels, will count for this reading challenge.
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• To join this challenge, grab the 2015 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge 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 can track your progress on Goodreads, LibraryThing, BookLikes, etc., so as long as you have a dedicated shelf for the 2015 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge and your profile is not private. The point of linking up is to have a place where people can see what you’re reading.

Levels:

• 1st Base: read 1 – 5 books
• 2nd Base: read 6 – 10 books
• 3rd Base: read 11 – 15 books
• Home Run: read 16 – 20 books
• Grand Slam: read 21+ books

My goal will be the Grand Slam.  Come back here in 2015 to see how I do.

1. Sometimes It Lasts by Abbi Glines
2. Kiro's Emily by Abbi Glines
3. Misbehaving by Abbi Glines
4. Enforce by Rachel van Dyken
5. Tidal by Emily Snow 
6. Bad For You by Abbi Glines
7. Hold on Tight by Abbi Glines
8. Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines
9. Take A Chance by Abbi Glines
10. One More Chance by Abbi Glines
11. Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines
12. Happenstance #1 by Jamie McGuire
13. Happenstance #2 by Jamie McGuire
14. Happenstance #3 by Jamie McGuire
15. You Don't Want To Know by Lisa Jackson 
16. Never, Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher
17. Effortless by S.C. Stephens