2013 150+ Challenge

Since I read over 180 books last year (and that was a slow year compared to the two before it), the 150+ reading challenge is a great challenge for me to join.  I am hoping to get back over 200 again, but with kids at two different schools, one in Boy Scouts, one in Cub Scouts and then my work and other family things, I'll shoot for at least 150.  The Challenge is hosted by My Overstuffed Bookshelf and you can sign up and find out more here.

I'll list my books and links to reviews as I go here on this post.  Hope to see you as part of the challenge!

1. Yours At Midnight by Robin Bielman
2. Chance of a Lifetime by Jodi Thomas 
3. Imitation in Death by J.D. Robb
4. Mind Games by Kiersten White
5. Vanished by Irene Hannon
6. Saving Grace by Christine Zolendz  
7. The Look of Love by Bella Andre 
8. From This Moment On by Bella Andre

Week in Review 12/30/12

What went on in my life:
Christmas, family, fun and then back to work. It was a great holiday spent with my family.  I have to admit to being slightly bah humbug going into the holiday but once it was here I was fully into it and enjoyed every minute. It was stressful, busy yet a lot of fun.  It was a wonderful Merry Christmas and for those of you who celebrate Christmas I hope yours was wonderful as well.  Above was my big surprise from my parents, my husband got a bike as well. We spent 4 days on Ocracoke this past summer and loved it and now have a chance to spend Easter week there this coming year. The best way to get around is by bike so my parents surprised us with bikes.  I see several day trips over there in our future as well.  If you don't know about Ocracoke, NC, I suggest you google it and learn about this tiny gem of an island.  It's a two-hour ferry ride from our house, but it's a blast once you get there.  Bumper stickers read "Slow down you're on island time" and once you stay you fully understand. I love it for the great food (there is an awesome taco stand), the interesting and friendly people, and the relaxing pace of life.  Easter can't get here soon enough for me.

How was your week?

What I read (links take you to my reviews or to Goodreads page):
Tempting the Billionaire by Jessica Lemmon (review) - This was a great read, wonderful romance with great characters using two people attracted to each other, one working for the other makes this very interesting. Review coming this week
 

What I received (links take you to Goodreads page):
The Lives We Lost by Megan Crewe - from the publisher, Disney Hyperion, release date 2/12/13, my review 2/15/13.
Mind Games by Kiersten White - from Amazon Vine, release date 2/19/13, review 2/19/13.
Risk by Jamie Freveletti - From the publisher, William Morrow through Edelweiss, published 12/4/12, review as soon as possible.

What I'm Reading Now:
Fall From Grace (Mad World #1) by Christine Zolendz (mine) - I left my Fire at home when I went to the gym and this was downloaded on my Kindle app on my phone so I started it and was hooked. It's great so far and I should finish it later tonight.

Imitation in Death by J.D. Robb (audiobook) - I'm 3/4 of the way through this and it's great, I think I'll listen to the next one as soon as I finish this one.




What are you reading?

Faith by Heather Bixler Blast

Faith - 4 Week Mini Bible Study

In this four week mini Bible Study you will examine your faith and what it means to have faith in God. He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20 Our faith begins with what we know and believe about God. Our faith will carry us how far we are willing to let it take us. Faith is a choice and we need to begin by choosing to believe in Jesus and His power to move mountains, heal the sick, and save us from all our sins through His sacrifice on the cross. When we believe in God we then learn to walk in faith and trust God. But first we must believe, and it's up to us, we can either choose to believe in Him or not. But faith will mean nothing until we believe with all our heart that God is who He says He is.


Praise for Faith
Don't have time to read a long book on faith? This study will give you simple tools to understand faith and help you to develop a closer relationship with God. ~Lorilyn Roberts

This is a great book that allows you to start looking deeper into faith. I love the fact that there is a lot of scripture reference so one can look into the Bible and further study the word. ~Shraon

This study was a wonderful lift to my faith. I encourage others to take this short journey to an increased faith. ~Shirley Strait

Purchase

Print * Ebook

Author Heather Bixler

Heather is a Christian Stay at home homeschooling mom of three, married to a firefighter, and a writer. She is founder of www.CSAHM.com among other websites for Christian mothers, and women. Heather is passionate about sharing God's word in a practical and loving way.

Blog * Twitter *  Facebook

BookBlast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 1/3/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.



a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

2013 Audio Book Challenge

Photo credit: Jeff Golden

I love audio books so I can't wait to join in this challenge.  I'll be joining at the Lover level.  More information from Teresa's Reading Corner below.  Please visit her site to find out more and to sign up.  I'll list my books here as I listen to them.

Welcome to the Original Audio Book Challenge. This challenge is for Audio Book lovers as well as those who are brand new to them.
There are five levels to the challenge

• Flirting-Listen to 6 Audio Books
• Going Steady- Listen to 12 Audio Books
• Lover- Listen to 25 Audio Books
• Married-Listen to more than 25 Audio Books
• You Define the Relationship- Create your own challenge (choose your own name and level starting as low or going as high as you’d like)

This is a fairly laid back challenge and I want it to be as enjoyable as possible.

• Audio Books can be any genre
• You can cross challenges
• You don’t have to be a blogger to participate. You can tell us about what you are listening to in the comments of the monthly link up.

There will be a monthly link up so that we can share what we’ve listened to and make suggestions to each other.

I hope I’ve enticed you to join in the 2013 Audio Book Challenge. I’m really looking forward to reading your reviews and experiences over the next year.
Official Challenge dates: 1/1/2013-12/31/2013

1. Imitation in Death by J.D. Robb
2. Divided in Death by J.D. Robb
3. Vixen by Jillian Larkin
4. Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon
5. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

Week In Review 12/23/12

What went on in my life:
My son turned 12 this week, that's him at our favorite local Mexican place after they sang to him!  This is why I don't really concentrate on Christmas until after the 19th, now I feel I can settle down and celebrate Christmas.  Oh my house has been decorated (all but the tree) but I just don't get in the spirit until after I know he has had a wonderful birthday.  So Wednesday was busy and it was a crazy week with one kid getting out of school on Tuesday and the other on Thursday and finishing up Christmas shopping for us and for my in-laws.  And last minute prep for breakfast at our house on Christmas morning, but it all seems to be falling into place. 

How was your week?

What I read (links take you to my reviews or to Goodreads page):
Merry Christmas, Alex Cross by James Patterson (library)- This did not disappoint, one of the better installments in the last few years. A page turner, read this on our rainy Sunday and it was really enjoyable.
All the Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen (review) - This one is from Entangled Teen and I was excited to read it and was not disappointed in the least.
Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep (review) - I love the Mythos Academy and had this for review and interview with Jennifer this past Friday. I was excited to approach Jennifer about participating in her blog tour after reading her newsletter and she agreed :)  Make sure you check out the link and enter the giveaway when you check out my review!
 

What I received (links take you to Goodreads page):
Real Men Don't Break Hearts by Coleen Kwan - received from Entangled Publishing, released December 10, I'll be reviewing 1/16/13.
Dark Tide by Elizabeth Haynes - through Edelweiss, from Harper, release date 3/12/13, review date 3/8/13.
Kaylee's Ghost by Rochelle Shapiro- received from the author, already released, my review is planned for 2/11/13 unless I can get to it sooner because it sounds like a great book.
Wuthering Nights by Emily Bronte and I.J. Miller - received from Grand Central Publishing, through Netgalley, release date 1/29/13, review 1/25/13.
The Seventh Victim by Mary Burton - received from Joan Schulhafer Publishing and Media Consulting, releases 2/5/13, review and Q&A with Mary on 2/7/13.
Immortal Craving by Kendra Leigh Castle - received from Grand Central Publishing through Netgalley, release date 1/29/13, review  1/30/13.
Midnight Secrets by Ella Grace - received from Ballantine Books through Edelweiss. Pub date 4/30/13, review 4/26/13.
Highlander Most Wanted by Maya Banks - received from Ballantine Books through Edelweiss. Pub date 3/19/13, review 3/19/13.
Guilt: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman - received from Ballantine Books through Edelweiss. Pub date 2/12/13, review 2/13/13.
The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen - received from Ballantine Books through Edelweiss. Pub date 6/4/13, review 5/29/13.
Tempting the Billionaire by Jessica Lemmon - received from Forever Yours ebooks, Pub date 12/18/12, review as soon as I can, it's another one I can't wait to read.
Forbidden Sister by V.C. Andrews (Book One) - received from Gallery Books, out in Hardcover and Paperback on 2/26/13. Review 2/18/13.
Taken by Kelly Maine - received from Forever Books, through NetGalley, Pub 1/8/13, review as soon as I can.
No Take Backs (A Taken novella) by Kelly Maine - received from Forever Books, through NetGalley, Pub 1/29/13, review as soon as I can.
Mystery Man by Kristen Ashley -  received from Forever Books, through NetGalley, Pub 12/18/12, review as soon as I can.
Wild Man by Kristen Ashley -  received from Forever Books, through NetGalley, Pub 12/18/12, review as soon as I can.
The Forgotten Queen by D.L.Bogdon - received from Kensington through NetGalley, Pub 1/29/12, review as part of Historical Fiction Blog Tours on 1/23/13 and interview with the author on 1/24/13.
Riptide by Lindsey Scheibe - received from Flux Books through NetGalley, Pub 5/8/13, review 5/8/13.
Sweet 16 to Life by Kimberly Reid - received from K-Teen/Dafina (Kensington) through NetGalley, Pub 1/29/13, review 2/1/13.
A Passion for Life by Sylvia Day - received from Kensington through NetGalley, Pub 1/29/13, review as soon as possible.
From Ashes by Molly McAdams - received from William Morrow, it's out in ebook now, out in paperback 4/16/13, my review will be soon because as soon as I read this description I knew I wanted to read it.  Yes for some reason I'm into the love triangle thing right now.  It's all Thoughtless' fault!
Afterwife by Polly Williams - received from Berkley Trade, release 12/31/12, review as soon as I can.
Tidal by Emily Snow - bought with my first bit of Christmas money (I can pretty much promise a lot of my Christmas money will go to Amazon gift cards, hey ebooks don't take up space!)  I'm really into the New Adult craze right now :)
Serpent's Kiss by Melissa de la Cruz - I enjoyed the first book in this series (The Beauchamp Family) and looked today and this was down to $1.99 for Kindle so I grabbed it!
Unravel Me by Kendall Ryan - another title on my Kindle wishlist that was down in price a little bit so I had to grab it.  Hey it called to me! 
After: The Shock by Scott Nicholson - I really like Scott as a person and author.  No I've never met him, but he's a NC person and that makes me like him and we've emailed.  Again this one was $0.99 for a limited time and it's post-apocalyptic, what's not to like?

What I'm Reading Now:

Serpent's Kiss by Melissa de la Cruz (mine, ebook)- I enjoyed the first book in this series and bought it this week so I decided to start it.
Black City by Elizabeth Richards (library) - I've been wanting to read this so I was excited when my library got it in.
Imitation in Death by J.D. Robb (audiobook) - I realized I haven't read one of her books in awhile and it was time to read one.  I love these on audio.


Some Books that Piqued My Interest this Week (links take you to Goodreads page):
Thought I Knew You by Kate Moretti - saw the review for this one on Rainy Day Ramblings and it sounds really good, it's now on my wishlist.
Tempestuous by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes - I read an interview with author Amy Helmes at The Cheap Reader and it intrigued me about this book and it's been added to my wishlist. Good thing I know my FIL is giving me money for Christmas, I think it will all go to an Amazon Gift card for books for my Fire!

What are you reading?

2013 Where Are You Reading Challenge

I haven't participated in this one before, but it looks like a fun one to try.  So I'm going to give it a go, I love to read about different states so trying to read about all 50 should be great.  Here's some of the information from Book Journey:

3rd year running and OH I love this challenge!  As the host of the weekly What Are you reading meme, I find it awesome that I get to host the WHERE Are You Reading Challenge each year.  What is the point of this challenge?  It is to try to read in each of the 50 States between January 1 2013 – December 31, 2013.

How do you decide what state a book is categorized under?

1.  In a fiction read it would be the State or Country that the book spends the most time in.  (Ie. If your main character is from Wisconsin but the book is all about his/her time in college in California – the books should categorize under California….)
2.  Non fiction reads categorize  in whatever State or Country it is about (Ie…. a book about fly fishing in Colorado is a Colorado point, and a book about women in Afghanistan is an Afghanistan point.
3.  If the book goes from one state to another… go with the state that most of the time is spent.

Once you are ready and have your map set up please create a blog post (those who have blogs) using the Challenge picture of the map I provided above as well as link to this post so others may join in.  Then come back and link that post here to Mr Linky (below) so I as well as other participants know that you are participating and we can pop in throughout the year to check out your map and how we are all doing.  I will post a linky at the end of each month so participants can check in with their own post of how they are doing.  I will offer a $10 amazon gift card to one lucky participant who does a check in post at the end of each month and links it.


This is actually a fun and easy challenge as all books you read qualify and it will be fun to see where you generally read books from as well as searching out books to fill in areas that you need.
For those who have covered the 50 states by the end of 2013, they will go into a drawing for a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble or to Amazon.  **  All other areas beyond the 50 states are bonus points and we will have a drawing using random.org for those who read 10 or more books throughout 2013 in that category.

You can see my map I worked on in 2011 here to see what the map looks like and how the pictures link to the reviews.  (If you zoom in you will see the individual areas I read in and clicking on the blue pins will show you what book it was and clicking on the picture will take you to the post!

That’s it!  Here is a link to tips on how to do it.  Any other questions – please leave them in the comments section below. 
 
More information and sign-ups can be found at  Book Journey.



View 2013 Where Are You Reading Challenge in a larger map


50 States:

CA: Yours At Midnight by Robin Bielman 
TX: Chance of a Lifetime by Jodi Thomas 
NY: Imitation in Death by J.D. Robb
MO : Vanished by Irene Hannon
IL:  Mind Games by Kiersten White
 

2013 Ebook Challenge

It's that time of year, time to join challenges and as I have been reading more and more on my Fire, this is just the challenge for me!  Here's the information from workadayreads.com

The 2013 Ebook Challenge. Encouraging readers to expand past just physical books to embrace ebooks in all forms, whether on Kindle, Kobo, computer, or any other reader.
Challenge Guidelines:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2013 – Dec 31, 2013.
2. Anyone can join, you don’t need to be a blogger. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to sign-up in the comments. You can post reviews to any book site (i.e. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads, etc).
3. Any genre or length of book counts, as long as it is in ebook format.
4. You can plan your books in advance or as you read them.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the E-Book Reading Challenge.
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.

Levels:

1. Floppy disk – 5 ebooks
2. CD – 10 ebooks
3. DVD – 25 ebooks
4. Memory stick – 50 ebooks
5. Hard drive – 75 ebooks
6. Server – 100 ebooks
7. Human brain – 150 ebooks

I'm joining at Level 4, with hope to go higher.  I'll list the books here.

1. Yours at Midnight by Robin Bielman
2. Vanished by Irene Hannon  
3. Saving Grace by Christine Zolendz 
4. The Look of Love by Bella Andre 
5. From This Moment On by Bella Andre 
6. The Next Forever by Lisa Burstein
7. Tempting Acquisitions by Addison Fox
8. Recipe for Satisfaction by Gina Gordon
9. The Seventh Victim by Mary Burton
10. Frosted by Wendy Sparrow
11. Melting the Millionaire's Heart by Linda Morris
12. Vanilla on Top by C.J. Ellison
13. Temptation by Kathryn Barrett
14. Luck of the Draw by Kelley Vitollo
15. Hysteria by Megan Miranda
16. Bittersweet Blood by Nina Croft
17. Seven Night Stand by Nicole Helm
18. The Valentine Challenge by Marisa Cleveland
19. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
20. Neverfall by Ashton Brodi
21. Everbound by Ashton Brodi
22. Private Practice by Samanthe Beck
23. A Little Bit Cupid by Jennifer Shirk
24. With This Kiss Part 1, 2 &3 by Eloisa James
25. From Here to Eternity by Paige Cuccaro
26. Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire
27. Dream Dark by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
28. Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
29. Enslaved by Shoshanna Evers
30. Roses Have Thorns by Sandra Byrd
31. Abby Road by Ophelia London
32. Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
33. Unseen by Karin Slaughter
34. Because I am Yours part 8 by Beth Kery
35. The Offering by Angela Hunt
36. SEAL of Honor by Tonya Burrows
37. That Certain Summer by Irene Hannon