Friday, February 7, 2014

I'm Wondering This Week (+ Giveaway)

So I skipped a week, sometimes life happens. But thanks to all who entered the giveaway 2 weeks ago.  I announced the winner on the post and emailed him, but I have not heard back.  Anyway, Carl Scott if you see this post,  you are my winner, email me at readingcrystal74**at**gmail**dot**com with your email and the bookstore of your choosing for your $5 GC. If I don't hear from Carl by 2/11 I'll draw a new winner.  Also thanks to Carl, his winning entry was a suggestion on what I would like to be a weekly feature so I'm trying it out this week.  What do you think?

Thanks for all the suggestions 2 weeks ago,  I learned new authors and will be adding books to my wishlist on Pinterest.

So onto my question and another $5 GC giveaway.

I'm thinking on sprucing up the blog, putting more time in it again and I have a very basic question for you this week.  Kind of a survey of sorts.  So my question is:

If you are a Blogger, what platform do you prefer, WordPress or Blogger?  If you are a blog reader which platform do you prefer, WordPress or Blogger?

Thanks for sticking with me and I look forward to hearing what you think!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Summary of Graham Parke's fundraiser/Winner of Kindle Fire HD

“I'm very polite by nature, even the voices in my head let each other finish their sentences.” – from Completely Flappable
 

Each year I organize an event during which I give away free books and raffle off some prizes. This year I thought it would be fun to donate the proceeds as well. I'd chosen Child Helpline International as they support toll-free child helplines worldwide, and help highlight gaps in child protection systems. I'd like to thank everyone who picked up a copy of "No Hope for Gomez!" or "Unspent Time", and I'm happy to be report that we raised over a thousand dollars for the CHI.

The Kindle HD Fire goes to: Daniel Wakefield Regs,


Graham Parke

PS -lets see how far we can get next year ;)



Monday, February 3, 2014

Read Your Freebies 2014 Reading Challenge


2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge

A challenge I definitely need to take part in that I just found last night.  Here is the information for it and you can go and join yourself at The Book Vixen.

Reading Challenge Details:
  • Runs January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014 (books read prior to 1/1/2014 do not count towards the challenge). You can join anytime before 9/30/2014. Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
  • The goal is to read at least twelve (12) free ebooks. While twelve is the minimum, there is no maximum limit. 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.
  • This reading challenge is for LEGALLY obtained FREE ebooks. We do not condone ebook piracy. These can be books offered through bigger sites, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or smaller sites, such as Smashwords and All Romance Ebooks. Ebooks offered through author or publisher websites are acceptable as well, provided they are available free to everyone at the time of download.
  • Any ebook format will work for this challenge (azw, EPUB, iBooks, mobi, PDF, etc.). You DO NOT need to have an ereader to participate in this challenge. You can read ebooks using Amazon’s Free Kindle Reading Apps, which you can download for your iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC, Blackberry and more. Free audiobooks also count towards this challenge provided they are free to the public. They can't be free as a condition of signing up for a service and they can't be provided by the publisher for review.
  • Only ebooks and audiobooks that were available free, in a legal manner, to the public will count towards this challenge. eARCs, library books, ebooks free through Amazon Prime, and/or books won or gifted are not eligible for this challenge.
  • Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).
  • Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, however, re-reads are not eligible for this challenge. The goal is to read the freebies you’ve legally acquired so that they are off your TBR pile.
  • To join this challenge, grab the 2014 Read Your Freebies! 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, LibraryThing, BookLikes, Libib, etc., so as long as you have a dedicated shelf for the 2014 Read Your Freebies! 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.

I have decided to forgo the review link-up for 2014. If you plan to review the books you read for this challenge, link them up in your 2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge post.

Levels:
     Coupon Clipper: read 12 books
     Penny Pincher: read 24 books
     Buying in Bulk: read 36 books
     Super Saver: read 50 books
     Extreme Couponer: read 100+ books



I'm going to go with Coupon Clipper and aspire to Penny Pincher.  I'll list books and reviews here as I finish them.

  1.  


***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.  ***

Sunday, February 2, 2014

2014 Rewind Challenge


I haven't signed up for any challenges this year mainly because I didn't know where my reading or my blog was taking me.  However last night I came across this one and this one really fits with my reading goals for the year.  Simply read books  I received before 2014!  It's an easy challenge.  You propose a goal on a post and then post reviews for the books you read that qualify for the challenge and there is a giveaway each month for those that post reviews to the linky.  You can find out all the details and sign up by clicking the link in the button above or this one: Coffee Bean Bookshelf.

Since my reading is spotty at best lately I'm going with 3 per month as an official goal (I still have new review books, new Kindle books and library books to tempt me so I'm trying to be reasonable).  I am going to hope for 5 books per month but we'll have to see.  So that puts me at 36 books for the year.  I'll list them here and link to my reviews.

  1. A Little Too Much by Lisa Desrochers (review book from 2013)
  2. Midnight in Death by J.D. Robb (bought for Kindle in Sept. 2013)
  3. A Life Without Limits by Chrissie Wellington (bought for Kindle in Dec. 2013)
  4. Caress (The Dining Club #6) by Marina Anderson (review book from 2013)
  5. Hopeless by Colleen Hoover (bought in 2013)
  6. Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines (bought in 2013)
  7. The Evolution of Mara Dyer (bought before 2014)
  8. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (bought before 2014)
  9. Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker (bought before 2014)
  10. One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker (bought before 2014)
  11. The Bet by Rachel Van Dyken (review book from 2013)
  12. Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia (bought before 2014)
  13. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (won in 2013)
  14. Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorenson (review book from 2013)
  15. A Little Too Much by Lisa Desroches (review book from 2013)
  16. Trust in Me by J. Lynn (review book from 2013)







Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday 1/29/14

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine. So here is my choice, 






Amity by Micol Ostow
Publisher: Egmont USA
Publish Date: August 24, 2014

Not much to the summary yet, just simply:  


Two teens narrate the terrifying days and nights they spend living in a house of horrors

 And somehow between that and the cover, that's enough for me.

What do you think of this, have you heard any buzz?  Is it your speed and what are you waiting on?




Saturday, January 25, 2014

Inside and Out Book Tag

 (I stole the image from Christian Bookshelf Reviews)

As I was going through and organizing and reading my blogs this morning (I'm moving my blog subs to my new email address and new twitter, just for reading/blogging) I came across this tag and it looked like a lot of fun.  I found it first on Christian Bookshelf Reviews who links back to Book, Biscuits and Tea, and Vicky has this to say about it:

Hello everyone! I found an interesting-looking book tag on Sabrina’s blog this morning and since a lot of you seemed to enjoy my previous book tag attempts and I think it’s a great way to get to know each other and our reading habits, I thought I’d join the fun. Let me know what you think and feel free to join in! The tag was originally created by MathomBooks on YouTube

So feel free to participate, link up in my comments, I would love to see what you have to say!

I ~ Inside flap/Back of the book summaries: Too much info? Or not enough (Discuss)

It all depends. I now do a cursory reading. I like to read the book and have things surprise me.  But I have to know whether the book will interest me or not.  And then sometimes the back cover doesn't represent what's in the book in the least!  So I'm in a less is better and be accurate camp on this one.

N ~ New book: What form do you want it in? Be honest: Audiobook, E-Book, Paperback, or Hardcover?

E-book for me.  I'm running out of physical room for books, but always have room on my Kindle for a new book or three.  However I do still get excited when I get an ARC or finished copy in the mail for review.  Something about holding a book still makes me happy.

S ~ Scribble while you read? Do you like to write in your books, taking notes, making comments, or do you keep your books clean clean clean? (Tell us why)
 
No writing in a book for me unless it's on my Kindle making notes.  I'm one of those anal people about keeping my books pristine.  I've watched my husband break the spine on a paperback to make it easier to hold and I cringe so there is no way I can defile a book with writing.  The idea even wore off quickly in college.  First semester it was highlight and note like crazy then I quit doing that even in textbooks I planned on keeping.

I ~ In your best voice, read for us your favorite 1st sentence from a book.

I'm not sure about my favorite first sentence, but you'll get my favorite book's first sentence (hear this in James Earl Jones' wonderfully amazing voice.  I'm a girl and sound nothing like him, but I love hearing his voice)



The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years- if it ever did end- began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain.


D ~ Does it matter to you whether the author is male or female when you're deciding on a book? What if you're unsure of the author's gender?

Does not matter in the least.  Gender is not something I think about if the book appeals to me.

E ~ Ever read ahead? or have you ever read the last page way before you got there?

No, I just don't do that.


&


O ~ Organized bookshelves, or Outrageous bookshelves?

Not organized at all.  I have a bookshelf that is semi-organized then I have piles of books here and there.  It's awful and wonderful.  I almost think I could organize my Kindle Fire if I was able, but I'm probably fooling myself there as well.

U ~ Under oath: have you ever bought a book based on the cover (alone)?

Of course.  I can't name a specific example, but I know I have been browsing books before and bought on the cover alone.

TTake it outside to read, or stay in?

Spring, Summer, Fall and Normal Winter here in coastal NC I would say take it outside and I do as often as possible. In spring-fall my husband puts my hammock on the front porch, but I also have comfy Adirondack chairs in the back yard, will carry my book with me on boat days and have a porch swing.  However with this winter you will find me happily cozied up under my electric throw in my chair in the living room or under piles of cover in the bed!

Please leave a link or answers to one or more questions in the comments, I would love to learn more about you!
 


Friday, January 24, 2014

Question Friday: What book are you looking forward to this year? (+ GC giveaway)

As a way to build some discussion/comments, I thought I would start a Question Friday. No that doesn't have a ring to it, but until my mind is in less of a flare-up fog and I can give it more thought it will be a boring name (if you have a suggestion, it's an extra entry option in the giveaway below).

So I'm trying to figure out the big new releases this year and I need your help.  What do I need to put on my wishlist.  And to answer simply tell me:

What book are you looking the most forward to this year?

If you comment, enter the Rafflecopter form below for an giveaway for a $5 Amazon (or B&N if you prefer that) GC. It's not much but it can either buy some great bargain books or go towards the purchase of a new release!  Open international, ends 1/29.


a Rafflecopter giveaway